This weekend, NASCAR heads to Daytona for the final race of the regular season with everything on the line for some big names and teams. While most of the focus is on the likes of Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman to finally come good, Sunday will also give Bubba Wallace the chance to make it to the playoffs for the first time in his career. And if history is anything to go by, Daytona might spring up plenty of surprises, something Dale Earnhardt Jr. also predicts.
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On this week’s Ask Jr. segment, the Hall of Famer spoke on how he feels the race will play out, something the likes of Elliott and Wallace won’t particularly feel good about.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. predicts a “nasty, crazy race” at Daytona
When Earnhardt was asked about his predictions for the regular season’s final race, he said, “Something’s giving me this weird vibe man that whatever, whoever wins at Daytona is going to be a non-winner. Therefore, it’s got to be Bubba if he’s going to get in. I got this weird feeling man it’s going to be this sort of, it’s going to be this weird non-winner like, uh, Harrison Burton somebody like that yeah.”
Junior also feels that the race will be extremely chaotic, a safe take given the stakes involved and considering it is Daytona.
“I got this weird feeling like it ain’t gonna be any of the current winners or anybody that… I think it’s gonna be a wild, nasty, crazy race. In the top 5 crossing the finish line at the end it’s gonna be like a Rick Ware car, and Spire Motorsports. It’s gonna be one of those races.”
“I think it’d be chaos.”
Chase Elliott likens winning at Daytona to winning the jackpot in Vegas
Just how difficult it is to pin your hopes on winning at Daytona to make it to the final 16? As good as hitting the jackpot in Vegas, according to Chase Elliott.
“To show up there and be in a must-win situation is like going to Vegas and having to hit the nearest slot machine for the jackpot. That’s just silly.”
Last year, the final race saw a massive crash, ultimately leading to a win for Austin Dillon that clinched a playoff spot for the RCR driver at the expense of Martin Truex Jr. Dillon was the 16th race winner last year in an incredibly unpredictable season. Plenty of drivers are knocking on the door this year as well, and if Dale Jr.’s prediction of a chaotic race comes to fruition, fans are in for a treat.
