It’s nothing new, as Daytona usually has at least one “Big One” … but the Clash was a step above in terms of ridiculousness, and did not deliver what most true fans want: Clean, competitive racing. It’s hard to enjoy something where the yellow flag is flying more than the green flag.

Here’s hoping for cooler heads prevailing next week, but I wouldn’t put any money on it. And as a side note, after seeing how little happened earlier in the race, I say the Clash should be shortened to 50 laps or less.

And congrats to Erik Jones, who somehow pulled out a victory in a car that looked like yesterday’s lunch. 

Ford vs Toyota: The dislike is real
In his sharp words while being interviewed after being eliminated from the race, Brad Keselowski made a point that stood out to me. He said the wreck took out all the top Fords and allowed a Toyota to go on and win the race.

What that signals to me is that manufacturer rivalry intensity is growing. The impetus of course is that Toyota won 19 of 36 races last year in the Cup series, and the title with Kyle Busch. Ford’s top drivers (including Brad and Joey Logano at Penske, and Kevin Harvick at SHR) are not going to want to let that happen again. So even in an era when most of the drivers are friendly with each other, once they get on track those rivalries surrounding the car makes will no doubt come into play even more than usual in 2020.

I look forward to seeing how an increased focus on these manufacturer rivalries will spice up the action on track in 2020.

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Matt Myftiu can be reached on Twitter @MattMyftiu, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..