The reviews are not good for the plate racing tendencies of the Gen-6 car. After more single-file action in Thursday's Budweiser Duels than having to walk the silver line in the halls at Sagamore Hills Elementary for seven years of my life, fan and media response is not good. Agreeing with that dissent isn't hard. Several drivers said during the Media Tour that plate racing would be drastically different than the tandem racing of the last two years - and it is.

Both Duel races saw the fields not only settle into single-file lines, but also break into smaller packs. The biggest problem seems to be the inability for cars to break out of line and make runs on the bigger pack. Drivers can no longer stuff their cars together and move faster than a bigger line. And aerodynamics are much different for the Gen-6 car. The left rear of the new cars seem to have some sensitive air disruption spot that can cause a front car to snap loose if the car behind it lines up wrong. This is what happened to Denny Hamlin in the first Duel race when Trevor Bayne got behind him. That triggered a wreck that destroyed Carl Edwards' fourth racecar since January testing and also destroyed Bayne's.The 2nd Duel race saw zero wrecks (except when Ryan Newman evasively spun out and ended up hitting the wall, so he would not run over the other cars trying to pit) and stayed single-file almost the entire race. At the very end, Kasey Kahne and Austin Dillon tried to make a move on leader Kyle Busch, but Busch stayed in front of them to win.

There are two other reason that these Duel races lacked drama. Despite the SPEED/FOX crew trying hard to amp up the suspense of who was going to make and miss each race, that drama was much more pervasive before the green flag. In each race, Brian Keselowski (Duel 1) and Mike Bliss (Duel 2) fell of the lead lap early and out of contention of racing into the Daytona 500. Since only 45 cars showed up to qualify for the 500 this year, only two were going to go home. Keselowski and Bliss essentially sealed that fate from the get go. NASCAR's getting rid of the top-35 was a brilliant move for the whole season, since car counts are lower now and too many teams showed up at tracks each week locked in. But with about five less entries than normal in this year's Daytona 500 and with Bliss and Keselowski doing poorly in Sunday time trials, the "making the 500" drama was not there. Which drivers made what transfer spot in each race made little relevance.

Another problem that new racecars simply will not fix at any track is the fact that drivers will race hard when they want to. This was a big complaint during some of the low-caution, low-passing races last spring. Drivers in these Duel races wanted to run well, but they wanted much more to learn how these new cars would act in the draft and also to not wreck their racecars before the 500. Starting position in the Daytona 500 matters little, because of the unpredictability of the draft. There simpy is no urgency to race three-wide in the corners during a non-points plate race. But drivers did learn that they cannot wait as late as they used to be able to to make their moves for the lead. If there is a glimmer of light for the type of racing action we'll see in the Daytona 500, it's this: the racing in the final laps of Duel 1 was killer. Drivers amped up, got three-wide, side drafted each other extremely close (which is necessary with the new car), and darn near knocked Kevin Harvick off from his 2nd win of Speedweeks. The last 50 miles of the Daytona 500 will be nuts. Fans that hated the tandems may be crying for them now, but at least the plate racing this new Gen-6 car brings makes drivers’ fates much more in their own hands. Considering the moves that Harvick and Busch made to win their races in Speedweeks, the 2013 Daytona 500 winner will not be random.

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What I'll be doing in Daytona
Add the WSB Radio Race blog to your favorites, if only for this weekend. My mission at Daytona International Speedway begins Friday afternoon, as I will provide updates for 95.5FM/AM750 News/Talk WSB and add several entries to this blog through the weekend. I am fishing for the local angle in Daytona, just like I do at each race. Tracking down Georgia drivers in each race and getting the low down on their expectations for the 2013 season will be a big part of my work, as will getting some good pictures of the CaptainHerb.net TOYOTA that Conyers' Chris Cockrum will race in the Truck Series Friday night. Saturday, I am set to interview former Falcons wide receiver Terence Mathis, who is a part-owner of Leavine Family Racing (the No. 95 of Scott Speed racing into the Daytona 500 in Duel 1). I also plan to add some videos to the blog for race fans, explaining the new car and getting some good looks of one of America's most famous race tracks. And, of course, any original audio, analysis of the wekeend's racing, and breaking news I find, will end up here quick. Be sure to follow me on Twitter - @DougTurnbull - for updates all weekend.