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  • Ben Rhodes And Crew Chief Penalized Following Daytona

    Ben Rhodes And Crew Chief Penalized Following Daytona

    NASCAR announced today that the No. 41 of Ben Rhodes failed post-race tech inspection after the eighth annual NextEra Energy Resources 250.

    Rhodes’s crew chief, Eddie Troconis is fined $5,000 and will not be at Atlanta this weekend due to Troconis serving his suspension this weekend. Rhodes was docked 10 points and the team was penalized 10 owner points.

    Rhodes will have a different crew chief adorn the pit box this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He currently sits seventh in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings.

  • Johnson swept up in stage-ending, multi-car wreck

    Johnson swept up in stage-ending, multi-car wreck

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It’s become an all-too familiar pattern for Jimmie Johnson during Speedweeks 2018: Standing outside the Florida Hospital Infield Care Center, waiting to talk to the media.

    He crashed out of his seventh straight Advance Auto Parts Clash a week prior, wrecked out of the Duel qualifier three days earlier and was caught up in another multi-car melee in the 60th running of the Daytona 500.

    “I know. It’s been tough lately,” Johnson said. “I have had some great days and nights here through the July race and this race, but of late it’s been tough. That is just how it goes. If I want to think too hard about it I can look at (Dale) Earnhardt’s record here and know how long it took him to get his first.”

    While not the main pinball of the wreck, as he was in his Clash wreck, Johnson collected early in the five-car wreck on the final lap of the first stage.

    Heading down the backstretch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. moved down to the bottom of the track to block the advance of Ryan Blaney. Stenhouse got loose coming up the track, but saved it. Erik Jones attempted to thread the gap between Stenhouse and Alex Bowman on the bottom, but Bowman either made contact or got him aero loose. Either way, it sent Jones squirreling back into the nose of Johnson, which turned him down into Bowman, who hooked Daniel Suarez into the outside wall in Turn 3.

    “Just racing that hard coming for a green and white checkered flag. I’m not sure everybody was thinking big picture and really using their head through that,” Johnson said.

    Johnson, who got loose from turning Jones, got kicked up into the wall by Jones’s car, sending him straight into Suarez.

    “It looked like everybody thought that was the finish of the Daytona 500 and it was really only lap 59 coming to 60,” he said. “Unfortunately, we lost our third car for the weekend. It’s unfortunate it has turned out that way, but we will get this Lowe’s for Pro’s Chevy dialed in for Atlanta and go do it again.”

    Johnson ended the race in 38th and left Daytona International Speedway 36th in points.

  • Austin Dillon Wins the Daytona 500

    Austin Dillon Wins the Daytona 500

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Aric Almirola, first race with a new team, just had to play the blocking game for 2.5 miles and he would have his name etched onto the Harley J. Earl Trophy. Well, he did for a mile and a quarter and wound up hooked into the wall by Austin Dillon, who drove his No. 3 Chevrolet to victory in the Daytona 500, 17 years to the day after Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

    “I did what I had to do at the end. I hate it for the 10 guys,” Dillon said. “We just had a run. I stayed in the gas. It’s what it is here at Daytona.”

    After he finished his celebratory burnout, his crew gathered by his car trackside as he and the crew were overcome with joy.

    “It is so awesome to take the 3 car back to victory lane. This one’s for Dale Earnhardt Sr. and all those Sr. fans. I love you guys!  We’re gonna keep kicking butt the rest of the year.”

    But his joy was upstaged by Darrell Wallace Jr. whose mother came up to the podium during his post-race press conference and hugged him, as did his sister, and he all but broke down in tears.

    And he was emotional after the race for good reason. He had just edged out Denny Hamlin by inches for runner-up in the Daytona 500 while getting run into the wall a few hundred feet past the start/finish line.

    Joey Logano and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-five.

    Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Alex Bowman led the field to the green flag at 3:07 p.m. Denny Hamlin powered by him, however, to lead the first lap. While much of the pack ran two and three-wide, he controlled the top spot in the early laps.

    The caution flew for the first time on Lap 7 when Corey LaJoie blew an engine on the backstretch. Hamlin lost the lead after he overshot his stall. Compounding his woes, he was held a lap for his crew servicing his car while it was on the line.

    Kurt Busch led the field back to the green on Lap 12. Bowman ducked to the inside lane exiting Turn 4 to take the lead for the first time on Lap 14. Erik Jones, after a number of laps side-by-side with Bowman, dropped down in front of him to take the lead on Lap 23. Kyle Busch, running fifth, dropped off the pace on the backstretch with a flat left-rear tire on Lap 29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drafted past Jones to take the lead on Lap 34. He lost it on the backstretch to Chase Elliott on Lap 44.

    Kyle Busch’s troubles continued on Lap 50 when he suffered a left-rear failure and spun in Turn 3, bringing out the second caution. He was clipped by DJ Kennington. Jamie McMurray was also collected.

    Back to green on Lap 55, Kurt Busch drafted past Elliott entering Turn 3 to retake the lead. Busch won the first stage, as it ended under caution for a nine-car wreck in Turn 3. But just as Hamlin did in the first caution, Busch overshot his pit stall, losing the lead. Making matters worse, he had to make another lap around to make a stop.

    Bowman led the field back to green on Lap 66. The outside line pushed Ryan Blaney to the lead on Lap 68.

    Byron cut down his right-front tire and hit the wall in Turn 4 and left debris all down the backstretch, bringing out the caution on Lap 91.

    Martin Truex Jr. took the race lead after bypassing pit road.

    Back to green on Lap 97, Blaney took back the lead the following lap.

    Elliott’s day came to an end when he was sent hard into the outside wall in Turn 3 on Lap 103. Danica Patrick was also collected in it in her final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

    The race restarted on Lap 108. Stenhouse makes an unscheduled stop for overheating. Caution ends the second stage, with Blaney winning it.

    Back to green on Lap 126, the bottom line all but disappeared as everyone formed up along the wall for the run to the finish. The long green run to the finish was broken by Byron’s spin exiting Turn 4 with 11 laps to go.

    A 12-car wreck in Turn 1 with three to go set up the run to the finish.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours, 26 minutes and 15 seconds, at an average speed of 150.545 mph. There were 24 lead changes among 14 different leaders and eight cautions for 37 laps.

    Blaney leaves with a six-point lead over Dillon.

     

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2018-Daytona-500-Unofficial-results.pdf” title=”2018 Daytona 500 Unofficial results”]

     

  • Tyler Reddick Wins XFINITY Race by Inches at Daytona

    Tyler Reddick Wins XFINITY Race by Inches at Daytona

    Tyler Reddick came out on top in the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway. In what became NASCAR’s version of ‘Survivor’ with a new record of five overtimes, he battled his JR Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet against a very determined Elliott Sadler for the win.

    In the fifth overtime, Reddick and Sadler came to the checkers in a photo finish with Reddick taking the win. This would be the closest margin of victory at .000 in the NASCAR National Series history.

    Reddick, in his debut with JR Motorsports, collected his first win for his new team and his second career win.

    Reddick stated, “It feels amazing! He added, “This is a helluva way to start the year off at JR Motorsports.”

    Reddick is also running for Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR XFINITY Series this year.

    A frustrated Sadler finished in second place, his third runner-up finish at Daytona.

    Sadler commented, “It’s just a hard one to swallow (today) this has been a special place for us for a long time.” He continued, “We’ve had some good runs here just seem to always finish second, I’ve got a lot of seconds here but no wins so we just…it’s frustrating.”

    Compared to what would come later, the first stage was relatively calm. The only exception would be one caution that involved a total of eight cars. Kyle Larson and Joey Logano would swap the lead several times, but it would be Larson that would win the first stage.

    Stage 2 would be the only stage to go green flag all the way. Larson, again, would be up front. But this time Chase Elliott would be right there with him and come out ahead, winning the second stage.

    The final stage of the race is where the excitement would escalate, along with impatience. Sadler and Elliott would end up with a penalty for locking bumpers and pushing which is against the rules in the XFINITY series. Ryan Reed was penalized for pushing Ryan Truex down under the yellow line, a penalty he wasn’t happy with and didn’t think he deserved.

    Cautions breed cautions they say and that is just what happened. The front-runners including  Logano, Larson and  Elliott all managed to make it through the cautions and stayed up front.With three laps to go Sadler would end up going for a spin through the grass and this would put us into the first overtime of the race.

    The first overtime restart would be where the front-runners’ luck ran out. Larson, who was the leader, tried to block Aric Almirola and chaos erupted with cars spinning everywhere. This would shake up the lineup and put drivers like Reddick, Truex, and Reed into position to go for the win. It would take four more overtime starts before the winner, Reddick, would be declared.

    Kaz Grala, Garrett Smithley, Spencer Gallagher, Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain and Brandon Jones also survived the carnage to finish in the top 10.

    The XFINITY Series heads next to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 24, for the Rinnai 250.

     

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Daytona-2018-Xfinity-Race-Unofficial-Results.pdf” title=”Daytona 2018 Xfinity Race Unofficial Results”]

     

  • Johnny Sauter Wins an Emotional Race at Daytona

    Johnny Sauter Wins an Emotional Race at Daytona

    Johnny Sauter was the first driver to punch his ticket in the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season tonight at Daytona International Speedway.

    This was Sauter’s 18th career victory, his third win at Daytona and his first win at the track since 2016. He led five times for 39 laps and earned six playoff points.

    David Gilliland competed in his first truck race since 2015 for Kyle Busch Motorsports and was on the pole, alongside him was the eventual race winner, Johnny Sauter.

    The stages were broken up into 20/40/100.

    The race was off to a clean start without much incident aside from an early caution that saw fluid come from the back of the No. 50 truck of Travis Kvapil. After the caution on Lap 4, Stage 1 was clean and green until the end of the conclusion which took place on lap 20. Gilliland was able to win the first stage followed by Sauter.

    Stage 2 resumed on lap 26. There were many lead changes that took place without incident. The field once again raced to the Stage 2 conclusion on lap 40. This time it was Sauter who collected the green-checkered flag to earn 10 championship playoff points.

    However, after the first two stages of clean racing, all heck broke loose when the caution flag flew on Lap 56 with seven trucks involved. These included Cody Coughlin, Dalton Sargeant, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Grant Enfinger, Scott Lagasse Jr, Parker Kligerman and Noah Gragson. Cobb took a hard hit into the inside wall just before pit road. After the race, Cobb was evaluated and released from the infield care center.

    Nine laps later, another incident took place on Lap 65 involving Gragson, Bo LeMastus and Kligerman. Kligerman and LeMastus were done for the night due to extensive damage. Gragson finished 23rd after the incident.

    The race was restarted on Lap 70, but the term “cautions breed cautions” came into play as another melee took place on Lap 74, where six trucks were involved. Brett Moffitt of the No. 16, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snider, Stewart Friesen, Spencer Davis and Austin Hill were all collected in the incident.

    One more incident came about on Lap 83, where five trucks were wrecked out of the race. These included Clay Greenfield, Bryan Dauzat, Matt Crafton, Austin Hill and Korbin Forrister coming off Turn 4.

    After the final caution of the night, the lead was swapped multiple times between Justin Haley, David Gilliland and Sauter. Sauter retook the lead on Lap 92 and held on for the final nine laps to win at Daytona International Speedway.

    There were seven cautions for 35 laps, with 21 lead changes among 10 drivers.

    “I like it,” Sauter said.  “I like it a lot.  Man, what a truck tonight. That Allegiant Chevrolet was just — man, yesterday in practice, you obviously try to feel things out. You don’t know what to expect coming down here with a new engine package, and unfortunately we only got in a pack of I think 10 or 12 trucks. You work the draft as best you can, but you know it’s going to be a little different when you get 30 of us or 32 of us out there running. Man, we qualified well, tried to keep track position all night, came from 10th, I think, a couple different times to get to the front, and I just felt so calm today. I just had all the faith in the world in the truck. It was fast.”

    With Sauter scoring his second win at Daytona since 2016, the victory was especially emotional for his crew chief, Joe Shear Jr., who lost his wife in December of last year.

    “Yeah, exactly,” Joe Shear Jr. said.  “Getting back on the road and actually going back to work was the biggest thing that kept me going. It’s sad, and I think about her all the time. But working and racing is my passion. So I just got back to it and tried to do the best I could, but I had many friends and family that worked with me and that supported me and kept me sane. Thank you.”

    This was the first win for Sauter since Phoenix of last year in the playoffs.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend with first practice kicking off at 2:05 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/NextEra-Energy-Resources-250-Truck-Series-race-at-Daytona-2-16-18-unofficial-results.pdf” title=”NextEra Energy Resources 250 Truck Series race at Daytona 2-16-18 unofficial results”]

  • Five Cars Wreck in Final Lap of Clash

    Five Cars Wreck in Final Lap of Clash

    Standing outside the infield care center at Daytona International Speedway, the consummate professional Jimmie Johnson maintained a stoic composure as he told Jamie Little of FOX Sports the events, from his point of view, that led him to wrecking out of his seventh consecutive Advance Auto Parts Clash.

    “Yeah, I got turned,” he said. “(Kyle) Larson and I were just talking about that in the Care Center. I need to go back and look at the video and see if he really did get me center and if that could have been a contributing factor to it. A lap before that, I think the No. 41 (Kurt Busch) got into me and pushed me pretty hard and everything was fine. So, in my head I cleared that concern and was looking out the windshield sitting in a great spot, but unfortunately didn’t make it back.”

    Johnson was the main pinball of a five-car wreck on the backstretch on the final lap of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash. It started when Kyle Larson, carrying a run off Turn 2, hit Johnson square in the back, which got him loose and slowing veering toward the outside wall. Larson hit him again in his right-rear corner panel, hooking him into the outside wall.

    “Yeah, that’s the first time I’ve went to push somebody and I hit him pretty solid and just turned him into the wall,” Larson said. “I hate that I was the one that caused the wreck. I still haven’t seen a replay. Obviously, I know I’m the one that started that, but I’d just like to see if I did hit him as hard as I think I did, or what. Or if our bumpers just don’t line up as well with the new Camaros, or what. But, I hate that I was the one to do that. Our DC Solar Chevy was a handful all race and it was, even in practice yesterday. So, we have a lot of work to do to just get it driving stable enough for me to run 500 miles next Sunday. It was a tough race, I guess. I felt on-edge the whole time. So, I’ve got some work to do.”

    From that moment on, calamity ensued.

    Larson made contact with Johnson a third time, which spun him into the outside wall. Kyle Busch received damage from running into Johnson’s right-rear, but he completed the remaining mile and a quarter of the race. Kasey Kahne, either because he was hit by Johnson’s spinning car or he veered to the left to avoid hitting him, was t-boned by Chase Elliott, who dove onto the apron to avoid the wrecking cars in the higher lane.

    “Yeah, we had a good car, just the circumstances, the way the top kind of formed up there it just happened to be we were on the bottom at the time,” Elliott said. “I thought our car was as good as anybody’s. I mean I don’t really know what I would have done a whole lot different to change the circumstance, but happens and luckily next week is the important one.”

    Martin Truex Jr., while he didn’t hit a car, spun out on the grass trying to avoid the spinning cars.

    Busch came out the best of the cars involved with a seventh-place finish, Larson finished 10th, Johnson finished 12th, Elliott finished 13th, Truex finished 14th and Kahne finished 15th.

  • Keselowski Wins The Clash

    Keselowski Wins The Clash

    Drenched in beer and sporting sunglasses that complemented his swagger, Brad Keselowski celebrated going from last to first and winning the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway. Especially after he confidently said on Twitter earlier in the day, “I believe that we will win.”

    As he revealed in victory lane, his confidence was more based in superstition.

    “Last year, we started first. It didn’t go our way,” Keselowski said. “We were joking after the drawing (for position) Paul Wolfe, who usually does the drawings, he didn’t do it this year and we got last. And he said, ‘Look, this’ll be the year we win.’”

    He said after the race he wasn’t “‘Babe Ruthing’ it by any means” when he said he’d win. He just thought he was due.

    Keselowski took the lead from Chase Elliott on the final restart of the 75-lap exhibition event and held the lead largely unchallenged, aside from a final-lap charge from Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson — the latter resulting in a multi-car wreck — for the final 26 laps.

    “It’s a great way to start the season with the Miller Lite Ford, and I’m happy for everyone on my team,” he said. “This is the first time I won anything in Speedweeks. I feel like I’ve choked them away. It’s nice to not choke this one away, Vince. Definitely, a good day and I’m really thankful for the team. Completely different package than what we’ve had here at Daytona ever before. Guys had to show up with a way different car and that’s a testament to everyone at Team Penske to work on it and do that. Good day, great start, two more to go.”

    Joey Logano, Busch, Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon rounded out the top-five.

    Austin Dillon led the field to the green flag at 3:25 p.m. He edged out Denny Hamlin to lead the first lap, but the outside line pushed Hamlin by Dillon exiting Turn 4 to take the lead on the second lap.

    Everyone merged into the top lane for a few laps. But when Kyle Larson got loose trying to pass Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and spun on the apron, the single-car train broke up. Chase Elliott led the re-formed inside line back to the front, where he powered ahead of Hamlin exiting Turn 2 to take the lead on Lap 10.

    Dillon worked his way back to the front and edged Elliott at the line to retake the lead on Lap 15. Elliott sliced under him exiting Turn 2 and slid up in front of him going down the backstretch to take back the lead on the 17th lap.

    Joey Logano took the lead for a lap, on Lap 25, before he and all but four cars pitted prior to the final lap of the segment. Larson took the lead as the caution flew to end the segment.

    Kurt Busch, attempting to go under Jamie McMurray in Turn 3 on Lap 35, hit the rear of the No. 1 car and sent him into the wall, setting up the run to the finish.

  • Sunday Recap: Daytona 500 Qualifying and The Clash

    Sunday Recap: Daytona 500 Qualifying and The Clash

    Daytona 500 Qualifying

    Alex Bowman captured his first ever Daytona 500 pole in his new No. 88 Nationwide Insurance Camaro ZL1 with a lap of 195.644 mph. Starting alongside Bowman with a lap of 195.092 mph will be Denny Hamlin in his No.11 FedEx Camry.

    “It was a little nerve-wracking. Our Nationwide Camaro ZL1 has been great since we unloaded. All the guys back at the chassis shop, body shop and the Hendrick engine shop have been top-notch. They’ve all worked so hard. And we knew we were going for the pole; that’s what we’re here to do,” said Bowman.

    Bowman looked like he had the car to beat after the first round, where he topped the chart with a lap of 194.885 mph.

    The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas were fast too, as they all made it to the final round of qualifying.

    “Just great teamwork. It’s a testament to all of the hard work at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and all the work they put in to give us great engines and technology. Really, everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing’s fab shop to give us a race car that’s obviously very fast,” Hamlin said.

    The rest of the field will be set Thursday night after the Can-Am Duel races.

    The Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona

    Brad Keselowski took the No. 2 Miller Light Ford to victory lane after starting in the last position.

    “I’m really proud of the whole effort here. What a way to start Speedweeks, putting the Miller Lite Ford in Victory Lane. I’m really proud of my team. I felt like we were due today,” said Keselowski.

    The top five included Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Dillon.

    Dillon started on the pole position but quickly lost the lead to Denny Hamlin. The field would run single file until Kyle Larson saved his loose race car from the apron after trying to pass Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Prior to the competition caution on Lap 25, most of the field pitted and the lead was passed on to Larson. Larson would later be passed by Kevin Harvick as he brought the field to the caution.

    On Lap 33, Jamie McMurray went around and hit the wall which brought out the second caution of the day. About seven cars pitted and Chase Elliot would lead the field back to the green on Lap 39. But that did not last long as Blaney gave Keselowski a push to gain the lead.

    Stenhouse would be penalized with a pass-thru penalty on Lap 43 after passing Kyle Busch under the double-yellow line to advance for a position in the backstretch.

    With 10 laps remaining the field was single file which was a bit surprising. By the way they ran earlier in the race, most probably expected the same to happen as the laps were closing.

    The white flag waved and Larson gained a run in the backstretch which led him to turn Jimmie Johnson into the wall and fail to finish a seventh straight Clash.

    The Clash was just a little preview of what to expect for next Sunday’s Daytona 500.

    Follow @MrBrandonRivero for his latest articles

  • Bowman Takes the Pole Position for the Daytona 500

    Bowman Takes the Pole Position for the Daytona 500

    Shaking with joy as he climbed out of his car, Alex Bowman shook hands with and hugged team owner Rick Hendrick after winning the pole in the same race he failed to qualify for three years earlier.

    “I mean, if you talked to me in 2015 and told me that in 2018 I was going to be driving the 88 car for Hendrick Motorsports, I would have called you nuts,” Bowman said. “You know, everything happens for a reason. My career had a lot of ups and downs, and I’ve been able to lean on my past experiences a lot to make me better and to better prepare myself for this job.

    “Honestly, I think I’m better because of the things that I had to go through. I got to make a lot of mistakes without anybody watching. Just never give up.”

    Since Bowman was driving a chartered car and the number of cars entered was only 40, he was going to make the race no matter the outcome. But winning the pole for the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s biggest race, for him is “a little surreal.”

    Bowman’s final round lap of 46.002 and a speed of 195.644 mph earned him his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole. Given he went out early in the first round, he thought he was at a “disadvantage” for the second.

    “Just a little nerve-racking. Our Nationwide Camaro ZL1 has been great since we unloaded. All the guys back at the chassis shop, body shop, the Hendrick Engine Shop is top notch. They all work so hard and we knew we were going for the pole. That’s what we were here to do. I thought we were at a little disadvantage letting the car cool down as long as we did, since we went pretty early in that first round. I was a little nervous for that second round, but I’m glad it took off well off pit road. And (I) did everything I could do, but this really comes down to the crew, all the guys back at the shop. Whether it’s the aero group, the engine shop, the chassis shop, everyone works so hard at these speedway cars, especially for the (Daytona) 500. Which means the world to have Nationwide’s support and to be able to put it on the pole.”

    Joining him on the front row is Denny Hamlin, who’s lap of 46.132 and speed of 195.092 mph was on top of the board for roughly 90 seconds, before it was usurped by Bowman.

    But that didn’t diminish his enthusiasm for starting front row of the Daytona 500.

    “No, I literally am so ecstatic. It’s just so out of the blue because obviously I thought that today was going to be a tough day qualifying,” Hamlin said. “We focused so much on race trim yesterday. We stuck in a pack and I think we did one real mock run which wasn’t really even a mock run and we were so far off that we just switched and made sure our car was going to handle real good on Thursday and obviously next Sunday. This car is ready to race. It’s handling well and we’re looking forward to Thursday. Now, obviously to the 500 being on the front row. I’m so proud of FedEx and TRD (Toyota Racing Development). All of the hard work that the fab shop at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) has done. This is really about them and their preparation for the Daytona 500. I couldn’t be prouder to represent them and hopefully we’ll get us another Daytona 500 next Sunday.”

    Every driver from third on down must race for their official position in the Can-Am Duel races on Thursday night.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/01dis2018qualresults.pdf”]

  • Byron Fastest in Second Practice at Daytona

    Byron Fastest in Second Practice at Daytona

    William Byron topped the chart in second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 44.625 and a speed of 201.681 mph.

    With less than 13 minutes in the second of five practice sessions for the 60th running of the Daytona 500, the lead went back and forth between Byron and Kevin Harvick. Both drivers were part of a 12-car pack.

    Byron took the lead from Denny Hamlin, who took it from Danica Patrick.

    Taking to the track as part of a six-car pack, along with Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Brendan Gaughan, DJ Kennington and Ty Dillon, she hopped to the top of the leaderboard with roughly 30 minutes to go in the second of five practice sessions for the 60th running of the Daytona 500.

    It ended 20 minutes of single-car runs.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished the session second, with a time of 44.632 and a speed of 201.649 mph. Joey Logano was third with a time of 44.641 and a speed of 201.608 mph. Hamlin was fourth with a time of 44.673 and a speed of 201.464 mph. David Ragan rounded out the top-five with a time of 44.764 and a speed of 201.054 mph.

    Paul Menard, Trevor Bayne, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell rounded out the top-10.

    First Practice Results

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/01dis2018prac2.pdf”]