Real' Cup season gets going in California

By Mike Harris, The Associated Press
February 23, 2006
07:23 PM EST (00:23 GMT)
Now, the real season begins in NASCAR.
At least that's what most of the Nextel Cup drivers and crew chiefs are saying as they prepare for Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.
The Cup season always opens with the Daytona 500, the biggest prize in stock car racing.
But it is a 10-day marathon of practice, time trials, qualifying races and, finally, the big event itself. And racing at Daytona is also something of an aberration because the teams are forced to use carburetor restrictor plates to keep the cars under 200 mph on the big track in the interest of safety.
The plates sap horsepower and keep the cars bunched in packs on the 2.5-mile Daytona oval, often two- and three-wide at speeds hovering over 190.
"I think everybody's pretty worn out after being in Daytona for so long,'' said reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart, who finished fifth in the 500. "California means a normal routine and a chance for the crew guys to get back to their families for a couple of days before heading to another racetrack.''
And the plates are off for the 2-mile California oval and every other race until the Cup competitors get to Talladega -- the only other plate track -- at the end of April.
"What you do at California is solely based on what you and your team can do with your racecar, not what drafting line you're in or how the car behind you is going to affect your next move,'' Stewart said. "Once we get away from Daytona, everything kind of settles into a groove. We're back in the weekly grind.
"I enjoy going to California because I really feel that's where our season starts. That's a track where you don't really worry about what everybody else's car is doing. You worry about what your car is doing. You're racing the racetrack.''
At Daytona, you always need buddies to help you make passes. Stewart, who now has finished in the top 10 in 20 of his last 23 starts, dating to last June at Michigan, said it's nice knowing you don't have to rely on anyone else to help you on the California track.
"Regardless of what everyone else is doing, you can find a way to help yourself out,'' he said. "It makes you feel good knowing that because the place is so wide, you can move around, and basically, earn your money that day.''