A little NASCAR back and forth: Our gear heads debate the coming week and the championship Chase
News-Journal racing experts Godwin Kelly and Ken Willis think it will be Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Carl Edwards winning the Coke Zero 400. Things didn't work out so well when those two came together in May at Talladega. USA TODAY Sports/John David Mercer
News-Journal motorsports editor Godwin Kelly and columnist Ken Willis use their combined decades and decades of experience and go toe-to-toe to try telling us who will leave Daytona Beach this weekend with the race trophy and who will leave Homestead in November with NASCAR's Sprint Cup championship.
WHO'S GONNA WIN THE COKE ZERO 400?
Ken Willis: Call me crazy, but I'm feeling a strong hunch for Carl Edwards. Yeah, I know, he's never won at Daytona, but I blame most of that on his longtime relationship with former owner Jack Roush, who seemingly installed an institutional dislike of restrictor-plate racing in his organization.
Godwin Kelly: Carl Edwards? Absurd. He is 0-for-47 in plate races at Daytona and Talladega. There is no way. I'm putting my chips on Dale Earnhardt Jr. because unlike Edwards, who has two wins and a place in the Chase, Earnhardt desperately needs a victory. He did it last year. He can do it again.
Ken Willis: Junior "desperately" needs a victory? Calm down, Mr. Kelly. He'll make the Chase on points even if he doesn't win a race. Also, wasn't Junior practically a shoo-in to win the 500 in February? A detour behind the wall is always just one "oops" away. Also, since joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015, Carl is only 0-for-5 in plate races, so he's got that going for him.
Godwin Kelly: Those Joe Gibbs Racing cars dominated the Daytona 500, but they cannibalized each other on the white-flag lap. Denny Hamlin threw poor Matt Kenseth to the wolves. Since the Cup Series opener, Chevy and Ford have caught up to those Toyotas. So Edwards, who has as many plate wins as you and I combined, not only has to deal with other JGR cars but with opposing elite teams, including Junior.
WHO'S GONNA WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Ken Willis: I'm going with Brad Keselowski. He's one of a few guys through the first half who doesn't seem to ever have a real clanker. That kind of consistency, along with a well-timed win, will get him to Homestead in the fall. I like him slightly better than Kevin Harvick, which shows I'm not exactly willing to go out on a limb with this one.
Godwin Kelly: A tip-of-the-hat to Hey Willie. “Kez” was going to be my pick. I'm going to climb out on a fragile limb here and go with Martin Truex Jr. He made it to the Championship Round in 2015 and finished fourth. In 11 Homestead starts, he has seven top-10s. This time around Truex is driving superior equipment from Gibbs Racing.
Ken Willis: OK, so I stole your pick, but I practically presented Harvick to you on a platter. Yet, for once, you actually turned up your nose at a platter. I tell you what, give me Kez and Harvick, you can have all the rest, and let's talk wager.
Godwin Kelly: I don't think that platter was fully cooked and I sent it back to the kitchen. Harvick is great, but has not been overpowering. As the scales tip back and forth, I believe Toyota will be on top of the Ferris wheel at Chase time. Heck, Toyota owns a Ferris wheel. Let's go for a ride and let me talk some sense into you
