There was a tangible sense of electricity surrounding the first event of Speedweeks, a race that everyone expected to be so rough-and-tumble that NASCAR's relaxed rules toward aggressive driving would most certainly be tested.
Instead, Saturday night's exhibition Budweiser Shootout felt more like a cease fire.
The bumping and banging that's become the trademark of Daytona and Talladega wasn't too intense until the closing laps. The slicing and dicing of drivers weaving through the field seemed minimal.
And the opportunity to dazzle fans with a spectacular Daytona 500 preview was lost.
"It wasn't nearly as crazy as I thought it would be," fifth-place finisher Denny Hamlin said. "You would've liked to have seen a little bit more excitement."
That's because NASCAR all but promised as much by lifting the restrictions on bump-drafting and giving drivers the "Boys, have at it" to mix it up more on the track. Series officials had progressively squeezed out bump-drafting -- the practice of one car shoving the car in front of it to push each other through the field at Daytona and Talladega -- but decided to let the drivers police themselves after complaints of sterilized racing at NASCAR's fastest two tracks.
So it seemed logical that the no-points Shootout would be the perfect opportunity to see just what NASCAR would allow.
But come actual race ti me, it all felt fairly calm.
There were a few in-race incidents, including Kurt Busch's wild slide through the grass and subsequent hard hit into the outside wall, but the breathtaking passes and all-out aggression seemed fairly limited. A late caution set up a two-lap sprint to the finish, but Jeff Gordon's bump-drafting of Greg Biffle started an eight-car accident with one lap remaining to draw a race-ending caution, giving Kevin Harvick the win.
So what went wrong?
Nothing, if you ask the drivers. Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray, the second- and third-place finishers, both raved about how exciting it was on the track. And fourth-place finisher Kyle Busch complained numerous times during the race that many cars were out of control.
Only it didn't translate to the audience, which had hoped that all 75 laps were as action-packed as the final two.
It's wishful thinking, but also unrealistic.
With several practice sessions and next week's qualifying races remaining, drivers walked a fine line Saturday night of trying to preserve equipment and keep their focus on the Feb. 14 main event.
Results
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (2) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 76 laps, 134.8 rating. 2. (19) Kasey Kahne, Ford, 76, 97.8. 3. (9) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 76, 99.8. 4. (17) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 76, 69.6. 5. (24) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 76, 75.5. 6. (23) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 76, 69.6. 7. (21) Joey Logano, Toyota, 76, 59.7. 8. (3) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 76, 99.7. 9. (13) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 76, 107.2. 10. (20) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 76, 64.4. 11. (11) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 76, 48.5. 12. (7) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 76, 74.2.
13. (16) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 76, 79.9. 14. (14) Ken Schrader, Toyota, 76, 50.6. 15. (5) Greg Biffle, Ford, accident, 74, 89.5. 16. (8) Matt Kenseth, Ford, accident, 74, 62.5. 17. (1) Carl Edwards, Ford, accident, 74, 98.2. 18. (12) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, accident, 74, 43.8. 19. (4) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, accident, 74, 47. 20. (6) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, accident, 74, 49.9. 21. (15) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, accident, 69, 43.1. 22. (10) John Andretti, Ford, accident, 69, 32.6. 23. (22) Kurt Busch, Dodge, accident, 32, 39.8. 24. (18) Derrike Cope, Dodge, engine, 15, 23.3.
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