Yahoo Autos Revved Up! Readers React to Week’s Biggest Racing News, Feb. 22 Edition
The green flag has dropped on the start of the 2023 motorsports season, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pulling off the surprise win in the Daytona 500.
Now, get ready for a lot more surprises not just in NASCAR, but also IndyCar, NHRA, Formula 1 and more!
Speaking of surprises, let’s look at some of the most surprising, most-read and most responded to stories from the past week in this week’s edition of REVVED UP!!
Crash Bang Wallop! How Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Dodged Mayhem for Daytona 500 Victory
Readers Say:
• Motionman: The reason Daytona is so popular for the fans is that anybody can win, as has been proven year after year.
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB Says: Exactly. Who would have guessed that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would win this year’s 500, or rookie Austin Cindric would have come out of nowhere to win last year’s race or Michael McDowell the year before that? And the list of Daytona 500 surprises goes on and on over the 65 years of The Great American Race. Even if Stenhouse doesn’t win another race this season (like Cindric failed to do last season), Sunday’s win was a defining career moment for Stenhouse and JTG-Daugherty Racing. Going forward, they can proudly say they are members of one of racing’s most exclusive fraternities, namely, they are and always will be considered Daytona 500 champions. Even guys like Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte and Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, among others, don’t have that accomplishment on their racing resumes.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG-Daugherty Racing Slayed the Giants with Daytona 500 Win
Readers Say:
• ccr5793: The problem with the superspeedway is no strategy, preparation, or execution matters in the final result. NASCAR does put on many great races during the year, examples being Bristol, Pocono sometimes, Darlington, etc. Just mho. I actually agree that superspeedway is not good racing. The best drivers and cars only win by luck. I only watched it because it is the first and only major series that starts this early. You do need to understand that many younger fans enjoy the high-speed parade.
• daninGA: I will never understand why so many people make negative comments. Whether you like it or not, it is an amazing accomplishment. Give the guy, and the team, some credit.
• sea2988: I watched, very boring parade for the three quarters. I think the driver of the day was Kyle Busch, from last to the top three, then knocked back to almost last again, then to work his way up to first was astounding. I think to be taken out by a bunch of clowns behind him was once again NASCAR's obsession with a demolition derby for the last few laps to entertain the crowd.
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski
JB Says: Daytona can appear to be a race of little strategy, more so just put the pedal all the way to the metal and hold on for dear life. But actually, there is more strategy than one might think. As for the comment from “daninGA”, I couldn’t agree more. Let’s give Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the whole JTG-Daugherty team their due. They won a race that 39 other teams would have given anything to win themselves. As for the comment from “sea2988”, I also thought the 500 was Kyle Busch’s to win. But it just shows how fickle Lady Luck can be at a place like Daytona or Talladega. Just when you think a win is in the bag, it only takes the last lap – heck, sometimes, even just the last couple hundred feet – for the expected anticipation of winning and (borrowing a well-work sports analogy) the thrill of victory to turn into the agony of defeat once again.
Why Brad Keselowski's Bittersweet Daytona 500 Finish was Sweet for RFK Racing
Readers Say:
• TheStick: Keselowski needs to take up farming and drive tractors - has zero clue on bumping people except to push them into the wall. Worst driver I think I have ever seen in NASCAR and there are a lot of them but he takes the cake - not the sharpest pencil in the box either. Way to go Ricky - bout time.
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB Says: Whoa, whoa, whoa, their “TheStick.” I’m going to stand up for Kes (and not just because he’s Polish like me! LOL). This is a guy who is a former Cup champion (2012) and has 35 Cup wins in his career. That is not the sign of a “worst driver” or a tractor driver, but rather, an outstanding driver. Admittedly, he’s had a rough go of it since shifting from Team Penske to part-ownership of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2022. But things will start turning around eventually. Sure, Sunday’s outing didn’t look great and essentially continued last year’s bad luck for RFKR, but Brad’s time will come again soon, mark my word.