We are back to where we started. After the NASCAR Cup Series kicked off 2024 at Daytona in February, it will return to the same track this weekend. And so will the unpredictable superspeedway racing. There is no guarantee your favorite driver will win on the high-banked 2.5-mile course. Well over three-quarters of the field have a shot at the trophy – but Christopher Bell knows a way around it.

Bell tasted his first superspeedway win this year, at the Daytona 500 qualifying race. So the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is all geared up to face the upcoming Coke Zero Sugar 400 race, as the race field draws the regular season to a conclusion. And he has some tricks up his sleeve.

Christopher Bell lets slip a coveted secret

Every diehard NASCAR fan is aware of the two wild car racetracks on the sport schedule – Daytona and Talladega. While the latter is known for unpredictable crashes and downright bravado, the former specializes in muddling the climax. For instance, Jeff Gordon won twice in Daytona in his first seven seasons and added another victory in 2005. But since then things have been silent. “You get into this frustration of, ‘Man, what am I doing differently?'” Gordon said. Even legends like Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, and Mark Martin have never won at the track.

Underdog drivers frequently win at Daytona International Speedway. That is usually due to speed limits and giant drafting packs. However, Christopher Bell, who finished 3rd in this year’s Daytona 500, unravels a personal strategy to be ahead of the game. “Coming down to the end of a Superspeedway race, you have to be in those front two rows to be a likely winner. If you’re on the front row, you’re defending your position and trying to race the guy beside you. And if you’re in the second row, you’re trying to push the leader of your line out as far as you can. That way, you can get clear too.” 

Staying in the front allows you to use the aerodynamic advantages effectively. The reduced horsepower compels cars to rely on neighbors to draft around the track. A slight bobble can trigger “The Big One” and engulf numerous drivers in smoking wrecks as Talladega frequently witnesses. Yet the winning margin remains for the one who gets away. Christopher Bell explained further: “With two laps to go if the rows are side-by-side, I’d rather be on the front row. But if you’re single file being in the second row, that’s the prime position.”

Like Christopher Bell, some other drivers also agree that Daytona harnesses skills not visible to the unaided eye.

There’s more design than meets the eye

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Even Christopher Bell remarked after winning the Daytona 500 qualifier: “It’s 100% luck.” However, he retracted his earlier view as he delved deeper into the superspeedway style of racing. This style requires a different skill set compared to traditional tracks. The best drivers at Daytona possess not only excellent racecraft but also an innate ability to dodge danger. Additionally, success hinges on good pit strategy and an enormous amount of luck. Drivers also review videos of previous races to study which moves work, which ones backfire, and which lead to wrecks.

Tyler Reddick, who has crashed in all five of his Daytona 500 starts, said, “The smart ones can navigate through (the danger) or know, ‘I need to get out of this’ — or they’re already ahead of it to begin with. The drivers who win this are the ones who remain calm and make good decisions with the race approaching the end.” Even Kyle Larson, arguably the best racer in the US right now, said it is more skill. “I used to think this race was more luck than skill, but as I’ve studied more, the same guys are always up front. Those guys are not luckier than everybody else; they’re really talented when it comes to this style and they’ve got a good sense of how things work and where to be at the right time.”

Evidently, Superspeedway racing is not as unpredictable as the general community thinks. With an observant eye and a target for the lead, you can ace it, as Christopher Bell confided.