NASCAR at Daytona: Cup Drivers Dancing With the Cars, Shock Jock in Pace Car

Perhaps the rallying call for the drivers should be, "Gentlemen, check your radios," as they pick their dance partner for the two-car tandem action on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.

The new repaving job of the track will still have lots of grip just as it did in February, but the Florida summer heat may add a slight slick factor that will bring handling more into play.

It will be critical for the drivers in the elite series of NASCAR to have a partner who will either push them or be the one they push.

Many deals have already been made by teams as to who they will hook up with. It may be a teammate or someone from another team, and it may change as the race plays out.

Once again you can expect Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to team up as will Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. Most drivers will initially go with teammates to see if it works.

It is a tricky deal to maneuver the two-car draft while keeping the pusher from over-heating, the front car getting spun out or pushed into harms way.

The driver who is doing the pushing really can't see through the car being pushed. He can only hope for a glance of the track ahead while in the turns.

The art of the exchange, which is the switching of the front car with the pusher, has to be mastered so as not to lose their positions on the track.

The radios will be key to the drivers enabling them to talk with whoever they have on their channels. Any given driver may have four channels or many more, perhaps even two radios.

Drivers doing the pushing must trust radio communication with their spotters and other drivers because they are driving nearly blind at times with the car in front of them filling their line of sight.

Indeed the two-car tandem is a high speed, high stakes dance that promises a surprise ending and most likely some chaos with the intensity of the drivers since only ten races remain until the Chase.

NASCAR is working hard on the youth movement with fans and they are attempting to attract the 18 to 34-year-old male demographic.

The pace car for the Coke Zero 400 will be driven by shock jock Bubba The Love Sponge, a radio disc jockey based out of the Tampa Bay area in Florida.

Bubba, also known as Todd Clem, has a fan base most popular with the demographic NASCAR and other sports are trying to capture.

Clem knows about racing cars having been a driver and currently owns a dirt short track in North Central Florida.

On June 15, Brad Keselowski gave Bubba a test run with the Dodge Charger pace car that will lead the field.

According to a press release posted on the Daytona International Speedway website, Bubba said, "I've always been a race enthusiast, but I never thought I'd have the opportunity that Daytona and DIS President, Joie Chitwood, has given me. I'm still pinching myself."

Though Bubba is a controversial radio personality, he may well be able to bring in some of those hard to get males in the younger demographics that are so attracted to social media, video games and other electronic sources.

Just as NASCAR is reaching out through social media to reach new fans, certainly it can't hurt to have somebody as popular as the nationally syndicated jock promoting NASCAR to his fan base.