Features

2010 Oil Slick 200

Racing season is on the cusp once more. Time again for Daytona's most important race fo the year. No, not the 24 hours or the Daytona 500, though I'm told they each have their own minor following. I'm speaking of course of the ARCA stock car race that takes place the weekend before the 500. The promise of this race is what gets me through the winter break. The coming together of drivers and teams that take the spotlight as the racing world holds its breath.

For those unfamiliar with ARCA; It's a stock car series that runs mostly former NASCAR race cars on many of the same tracks as NASCAR. Though they do more short tracks and still do two dirt tracks a year. The drivers are a wonderful mixup of skill level, ambition and budget. At one end you have development drivers being groomed for NASCAR, often running with NASCAR crews, big-time sponsors and top-line equipment. At the other end you have the independent racer, self-sponsored with a crew of volunteer friends, but talentd enough to race at Daytona in February. Then there are the ARCA regulars. Teams and drivers that have set their sights no further than ARCA. These are the ones that make the series worth watching year-after-year. They are the drivers that the newcomers have to beat if they ever want to move on. Fun stuff.

This year's edition has several drivers entered that have caught my attention:

Danica Patrick

Danica should single-handedly raise the national TV ratings for this year's race. Everyone will be tuning in to cheer for her to succeed or fail, depending on their point of view. Critics have pointed out her small stature, but they all seem to miss the point that in a stock car there are fewer deterents to putting into the wall someone who annoys her. Don't think she'll do it? Then you haven't been paying attention. I don't know if Danica will make it in fender cars or not, but I'm going to enjoy finding out.

Nelson Piquet Jr.

Nelon's impact on the national ratings may not match Danica's but his participation will introduce ARCA to many people in Europe and South America. In case you don't follow the Formula One circus, Nelson is the driver who crashed out of a race to help his teammate and was then dumped by his team for admitting as much. I found it hilarious that people were upset by this team tactic. Team orders have always been part of racing and they always will. Pretending that you can regulate them out of existence is naive. F1 drivers have had mixed success in stock cars, but I think Nelson is young enough to unlearn the bad habits he picked up over in Europe.

Alli Owens

A semi-regular ARCA racer last year, she will be running a limited schedule this year for Venturi racing, which is an ARCA institution. I anticipate some good finishes this year, hopefully getting a full-time ride next year. I'd say she's the odds-on favorite to be the first female ARCA champion.

Ricky Carmichael

Yes, the motocross guy. He actually has quite a bit of NASCAR experience. I get the impression that he's in career reset mode. He's had some success, but I've always had the sense that he's more a sprinter, so maybe ARCA's shorter races will be a better match.

Dakoda Armstrong

Mr. Armstrong comes from the flying-sideways-on-dirt world of sprint and midget racing. Some drivers make the transition to stock cars well, like Tony Stewart, and some not so well, like J.J.Yeley. I use Stewart and Yeley because they are the only two drivers to win all three USAC divisions in the same season. My point is, it's not always just a matter of talent, but also depends on luck and adapatability. I've seen Dakoda race a couple times and he seems to have no fear, but is sometimes hard on his car. Should be interesting.

Milka Duno

Following Danica from Indy Cars into ARCA is Milka Duno, who has not had Danica's success, but also has not had Danica's quality of equipment. I've seen Milka make some nice moves in traffic, but to me her flaw seems to be a sense of entitlement. Like she can't understand why those other driver don't just move out of her way, or more often, how dare they pass/lap her. I think racing in ARCA may knock that attitude off her. I'm not sure she is adaptable as Danica. To tell the truth, I think Milka would make a great endurance racer. It didn't intend that to sound like an insult.

Leilani Munter

She's had some success in Indy Lights, which is no easy feat. Her advantage is that she's raced most of her career in stock cars, so it was the Indy Lights to which she had to adapt and she did it well. she has a tentative deal for a partial ARCA run. Hopefully her success in the early races will cement the deal.

Jenny Jo Cobb

A name so southern that even the most chauvanistic NASCAR fan would be unoffended by her success. I've seen her race a few truck races and she was well behaved on track, though not matching the pace of the leaders.

Jerick Johnson

I had never heard of Mr. Johnson but when I saw that he was sponsered by The American Legion I was intrigued. It's a great story. His budget is generated by donations by members of the American Legion from all over the country. That my friend is grass roots support. I will be rooting for him.

Steve Blackburn

A great example of self sponsorship. Steve is a well-rounded racer, having raced cars and motorcycles of several different configurations, all sponsored by, what I believe is, his own motorcycle dealership. He's also middle-aged and has a beard, so that's reason enough to root for him.

Schedule

So those are the drivers I'll be watching. The fun gets underway on Thu Feb 4 with a practice session. Qualifying is Fri Feb 5. The race is Sat Feb 6. I'll be posting updated after each session. Stay tuned.