Dale Jr: Buckle up! Here’s what to look for in the Daytona 500

EDITOR’S NOTE: NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr., a two-time Daytona 500 champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, drove the Next Gen car during a two-day test at Daytona in January. He shares his thoughts about the challenges drivers could face in Sunday’s Daytona 500 with the new car.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Think about this. You’ve been a brain surgeon for years, and right before surgery, somebody walks in and hands you new instruments that you’ve never used and you must use them in the next operation. That would be a little unsettling. 

That, in a way, is what NASCAR Cup drivers face in racing the Next Gen car in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Drivers are in a completely different car that reacts differently in the draft than what they’ve run for years. They have to be willing to go to class and take notes as they run. Some drivers will be real stubborn and try to keep forcing the same sort of effects and techniques that don’t really apply anymore. 

The way I would handle this and figure out the side draft would be like putting your foot in the water. You go a little in and then a little more. Just like the draft. You try a little of the side draft. As it works, you try a little more to understand what the car and the air will do. You are going to be learning about this car all the way through the 500, into the Talladega race in the spring, and Daytona later in the year. You’re going to be learning all year.

One thing that has stood out so far is that it looks like the Fords tandem draft very well. They can push in the corners. They can push in the straightaways. I don’t know that the Toyota or the Chevrolet drivers are that comfortable with the way their bumpers work to do that.

You don’t want to go into this race feeling like