Where did they have it tucked away over the weekend?

The speed, that is…

Wednesday practice at Daytona was showing several cars running above 197 mph. A couple topped 198…

It is interesting as the qualifying topped in the midway over 196. Danica Patrick snagged the pole with a lap of 196.434. Wednesday, Michael Waltrip pushed his Toyota 2mph faster.

Does this point to pack running with a draft, weather, gravity, lunar phase, the price of oranges…? Does this point to immediate trouble for Patrick to hold that position or is this an indicator for this new Gen-6 car in a pack race over single run qualifying?

We probably won’t have to wait long. The Budweiser Duals will likely give a better indication than the Sprint Unlimited from the weekend.

The season, the pressure, the questions and the price of oranges are all on the table for the Daytona 500.