Dale Earnhardt Jr. one of many drivers happy with pack racing despite crashes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fl. — Here’s the good news: pack racing is back. The Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, the exhibition race that kicked off the 2012 season, proved that the two-by-two racing that tainted restrictor-plate racing in the past season is all but gone. The bad news: judging from three crashes that thinned the 25-car field to 10 lead-lap cars, including a wreck that sent Jeff Gordon tumbling across the track, drivers and NASCAR officials will be busy reacquainting themselves with the old style of racing.