Bill Elliott will be behind the wheel of the No. 50 Chevrolet Sprint Cup Series entry this weekend at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for Saturday night’s running of the Coke Zero 400. Yes, the announcement of a Turner Cup debut with Elliott behind the wheel was announced back in January, but with said debut on the horizon, I thought it would be a good idea to post this reminder. To be quite honest, I forgot about it, myself, until the reminder, i.e. race preview press release from Turner Motorsports, arrived in my e-mail inbox a few days ago.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of Turner Motorsports’ Cup debut and to celebrate Walmart’s 50th birthday,” Elliott said. “This has been a pretty cool deal to be a part of. I know we’re going to have a good, competitive car. We just have to run a smooth race and put ourselves in the right position at the right time.”

The car will carry primary sponsorship from Walmart, another newcomer to the Sprint Cup Series. The sponsorship is part of a program to celebrate the retailer’s 50th birthday/anniversary, hence the car number.

Veteran crew chief Trent Owens will be atop the pit box to call the shots for the Turner Cup effort for its debut. Owens was in victory lane the last time he was at Daytona, guiding the No. 30 Nationwide Series Turner Motorsports entry and Buescher to Buescher’s first-career NASCAR national level win back in February. He was also crew chief on the No. 30 team for Piquet’s first NASCAR win, guiding him to victory in the Nationwide Series race at Road America last month.

“It’s exciting to be part of Turner Motorsports’ first Cup race with Bill Elliott and support from Walmart,” Owens said. “We’ve come a long way in just the last two years, so to take this step is realling going to be a milestone for everyone who works so hard for this team every day.”

And to say that Elliott has been successful at Daytona would be an understatement. The veteran semi-retired driver has made 59-career Cup level starts at Daytona International Speedway — 59 starts that have resulted in four wins, 15 top-fives and 24 top-10 finishes. He last visited the Daytona victory lane in 2001, winning the July Sprint (then-Winston) Cup race there in a car owned by Ray Evernham.

“Obviously, the wins are pretty special, but for the most part, any time you can go down there and run well, it’s a good deal.”

Photo courtesy of Getty Images for NASCAR

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I have always believed that on the Nascar circuit, there are some drivers who enjoy the thrill and excitement that the faster tracks like Daytona, Talladega and Michigan bring, and some are just not comfortable with them. After a day of testing at the Michigan International Speedway on Thursday, we started to hear comments from both sides of the fence.

Jimmie Johnson, five time Sprint Cup Champion, and driver of the Hendricks Motor Sports #48 Lowes Chevrolet said in an interview after testing at the Two Mile D-Oval in Southeastern Michigan,  “It is quite a rush for the driver to be going this fast, there seems to be a good combination with the new surface and the tire that Goodyear brought. I feel comfortable in the car, although it’s still quite the challenge as a driver to get around at these high speeds.”

He also stated that with the newer chassis on the cars, and as long as the handling was what it should be, he wouldn’t have a problem running at speeds that top 200 mph. Like the new commercials on TV where guys talk about being comfortable in thier own skins, some drivers like Jimmie Johnson are comfortable in a good handling car at these speeds.

On the other hand, Greg Biffle, driver of the Roush/Fenway 3M-Salute Ford was not quite as impressed. He was quoted after testing  as saying that “every lap is like a qualifying lap and you are holding your breath.” He also said that the track being as wide as it was, provided for two unique grooves that melded into one another and gave some relief for the fast speeds.

It’s pretty obvious here that Greg Biffle is not real comfortable with speeds North of 200 mph, and Jimmie Johnson doesn’t seem to have a problem with them.

This would prove out the reason Biffle runs really well on 1.5 mile tracks that have mostly flat banking. Tracks like California, LasVegas

Tony Stewart Testing at Michigan

and Phoenix. Tracks where he went to the top of the points standings. Now that we have gotten into the summer schedule with faster tracks, he has started a slide that will probably continue until he reaches the fall where Nascar returns to these types of tracks.

There were questions last night floating around Twitter about the possibility of having to use restrictor plates here at Michigan, and one report said that Robin Pemberton,  NASCAR Vice President of Competition had stated there would be no restrictor plates. He also indicated  the Morning test session was optimum for getting the high speeds, but that once the track takes on more rubber from Friday Night’s ARCA race, and Saturday’s Nationwide race, the track should slow down some, especially with the expected 90 degree temperature range for Sunday.

With qualifying set for Saturday afternoon, we should see for the second week in a row, previous records start falling in a hurry. I’m betting  Ryan Newman’s previous record of 194.232, set in August of 2005 should be history by the fifth driver out. Bill Elliott holds the Nascar record for fastest qualifying lap at Talladega in 1987 where he posted a lap of 212.809. I don’t think that record will be beaten this weekend. If it is, Nascar will for sure mandate a restrictor plate.

Michigan International Speedway is a very fast dangerous track, that due to it’s length and modest banking should provide some good racing, both with the Nationwide cars, and especially the Sprint Cup guys. The drivers that are the most comfortable with these speeds, and are not spooked by that wall in turn two, should hold a size-able advantage in Sundays Quicken Loans 400. I know I’ll be buckled into my Laz-y-Boy and ready for the fun to begin.

Photo’s Courtesy Getty Images For Nascar

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