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  • Keselowski steals win on late restart, while Harvick blows it on late penalty

    Keselowski steals win on late restart, while Harvick blows it on late penalty

    HAMPTON, Ga. — Brad Keselowski passed Kyle Larson six laps to go to win in Atlanta, but it’s nothing compared to Kevin Harvick blowing another dominant performance for the fourth straight year at Atlanta.

    Harvick was the dominant car from the start of the race to the final caution of the race, leading 292 of 325 laps. There was a potential obstacle in his way when Keselowski beat him off pit road under the fourth caution, but Keselowski’s crew didn’t get all the lug nuts tightened on his car and he surrendered the lead to come back down to get them tightened.

    The critical moment came with 17 to go when Austin Dillon’s car lost power and he missed the entrance to pit road. The No. 3 came to a rest on the apron in Turn 2 and brought out the sixth caution with 16 to go. After the leaders made their stops, the call came in from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race Director David Hoots.

    “4, too fast on pit road.”

    Larson assumed the race lead for the final restart with 11 to go. Keselowski reeled him in, passed him on the backstretch with six to go and took the checkered flag.

    When asked if he thought he had a chance to catch Harvick with all he had to overcome, Keselowski said you just “never know. That’s how these races are.”

    “We had a lot of adversity today there’s not doubt about that. These races aren’t easy,” he added. “They’re 500 miles and a lot can happen and when you think you’ve got it they slip away. I know how it goes. This one kind of fell in our lap at the end and my team put it all together when it counted. They gave me a great Autotrader Ford Fusion and we were able to get by Kyle there at the end. I knew that he wasn’t going to be easy to pass. His car was great and I was able to make the right moves to get by him.”

    It’s his 22nd career victory in 271 Cup Series starts.

    Larson led seven laps on his way to a runner-up finish.

    “I raced around Brad a lot throughout the day, Larson said. “Any time I was in front of him on short runs, he’s drive around me up top. And so, I knew I was going to have to take his line away on that start there for a couple of laps and try it. I just didn’t have enough grip or not as much as I’d hoped. He did a good job being a lane lower than me and getting to my inside. So, it was disappointing not to get the win, but I’m happy about our second place run at a 1.5-mile where I struggle at. I can’t thank everybody at the shop enough for building great race cars, and Hendrick engines for supplying us with some great engines, I had a blast today. The Target Chevy was good. I ran the bottom a lot, which is not typically something I do. So, it was a lot of fun to learn how to kind of use both feet to get around the bottom and to do a good job with that.”

    Matt Kenseth rallied past two speeding penalties to round out the podium.

    The Hendrick Motorsports teammates of Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five.

    Harvick came home to a ninth-place finish.

    “Ya, this place, for whatever reason, I just feel like I’m snake bitten,” Harvick said. “It’s my own doing today. I really didn’t think I was even close on pit lane. It gets to bouncing around, I thought I was being conservative, apparently I wasn’t. I want to thank everyone on our Jimmy Johns Ford for everything they did this weekend. I was just pushing it too hard.

    “I just made a mistake that I preach all the time that you don’t need to make and beat yourself and then you go out and make it yourself instead of following all the things you preach. That part is hard for me to swallow. The good part about it is our Ford has been really fast. We didn’t know what we were going to have when we got here and we had a great weekend the whole time. Man, I just, one way or another I have figured out how to lose races here at Atlanta after being so dominant. We will pick ‘em up and start again next week.”

    The only two times the caution flew in the first 170 laps of the race was at the conclusion of the stages.

    In the final stage, the cautions started occurring more frequently.

    The third of the race flew with 86 to go for debris in Turn 4, the fourth flew with 63 to go for Gray Gaulding blowing an engine in Turn 4, the fifth flew with 47 to go for Clint Bowyer blowing a left-front tire and slamming the wall in Turn 1 and the final caution flew with 16 to go for Dillon stalling in Turn 2.

    Thirteen speeding penalties were issued to 11 different drivers in today’s race, a result of increased timing lines.

    The race lasted three hours, 33 minutes and eight seconds at an average speed of 140.898 mph. There were nine lead changes among five different drivers and six cautions for 32 laps.

    Harvick leaves with a four-point lead over teammate Kurt Busch.

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  • Elliott Fastest at Atlanta in Final Cup Practice

    Elliott Fastest at Atlanta in Final Cup Practice

    HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott topped the chart in the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 29.487 and a speed of 188.015 mph. Brad Keselowski was second in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 29.552 and a speed of 187.602 mph while Kurt Busch was third in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 29.556 and a speed of 187.576 mph.

    AJ Allmendinger was fourth in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet with a time of 29.565 and a speed of 187.519 mph and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 29.567 and a speed of 187.506 mph.

    Ryan Newman, who posted the sixth-fastest single lap, also posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 181.429 mph.

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  • Seven-Time’s Success at Atlanta

    Seven-Time’s Success at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga. — Atlanta Motor Speedway has been dominated by a number of drivers over the years. There was Dale Earnhardt with nine wins, Bobby Labonte with six and Jeff Gordon with five. Now Jimmie Johnson owns the deed to the Hampton, Georgia facility.

    Although Kevin Harvick dominated the stat sheet in the last three visits, it’s Johnson who has stood in victory lane when all was said and done in two of those three years (the third belongs to Kasey Kahne in 2014). In 2015, Johnson pulled away on the restart with 13 to go to win, despite Harvick leading 116 of the 325 laps to Johnson’s 92. The following year, Harvick again led more laps than anybody (131), but a slow pit stop, compared to Johnson, saw Harvick lose the race to the driver of the No. 48 car.

    “I can say the last two races we have won here we didn’t really get our stuff situated until late in the going and been able to come out on top,” Johnson said. “Just because you might have a slow Friday or a slow start to the race I don’t think you can count anybody out. We have a lot of chances to work on the car and can make stuff happen here, which is really neat.”

    Atlanta was the location of the win that came when Hendrick Motorsports was at their lowest in 2004. A week after a plane crash in Stuart, Virginia that killed eight members of the Hendrick Motorsports organization/members of Rick Hendrick’s family, Johnson took the lead on the final restart and beat Mark Martin, who led 227 of 325 laps, by nearly three-tenths of a second (.293). It was also his third-consecutive win, with wins at Charlotte and Martinsville the preceding two weeks. This made him the first to do so since Gordon in 1998-99 (Rockingham, Atlanta (1998) and the Daytona 500 (1999)).

    In 2007, Johnson swept both Atlanta races, the last time this was accomplished prior to Atlanta scaling back to one race in 2011. The fall race was the second of four-straight wins, winning the previous week at Martinsville and winning the following weeks at Texas and Phoenix on the way to his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title.

    He was involved in a memorable battle for the win, despite coming up on the losing end, in 2011, with then teammate Gordon. For the final 10 laps, the two drivers battled side-by-side or in close proximity on worn out tires. Johnson made one final drive for the win, only to back off the gas exiting Turn 4 to avoid wrecking out and settled for runner-up.

    He admitted that he had trouble remembering what happened that day in 2011. But said he more vividly recalled his duel with Gordon at Martinsville in 2007 because “I came out on top.”

    Needless to say, Atlanta has been a great track for Johnson over his career, as well as Hendrick Motorsports.

    “When I look back over my career and when I think of Hendrick related race cars and success from (Jerry) Nadeau running well here, Jeff has obviously always been amazing here. (Kasey) Kahne, it has been a good track for (Dale Earnhardt) Junior over the years. It is a good track for all of us.”

  • Harvick Takes Pole Position in Atlanta

    Harvick Takes Pole Position in Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga. — Kevin Harvick will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford scored the pole after posting a time of 29.118 and a speed of 190.398 mph.

    It adds on to the string of three straight years of dominance in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series that Harvick has maintained at Atlanta. However, he’s been unable to translate that dominance into a second career victory at the track that played host to his first career victory in 2001. And he doesn’t know if a pole start is the missing link to getting the victory.

    “We have been in this position before and this really goes back to 2009 when we really started running well here. We have led a ton of laps here but just haven’t won a race,” Harvick said. “It is a little frustrating because we have won a whole bunch of races in the other two divisions with the same performance on Sunday. It just seems something happens at the end of the race. Hopefully, this is the year we can close it out.”

    Ryan Newman qualified second in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 29.199 and a speed of 189.870 mph. Kyle Busch qualified third in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 29.202 and a speed of 189.850 mph. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified fourth in his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after posting a time of 29.356 and a speed of 188.854 mph. Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 29.367 and a speed of 188.783 mph.

    Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-10.

    Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Prior to the start of qualifying, a large number of cars were still in the process of going through inspection after failing a station.

    NASCAR executive official Elton Sawyer addressed the media on the matter.

     

    At the conclusion of the first round, only five cars failed to post a timed lap.

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  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Atlanta

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Atlanta

    NASCAR heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway with all three series for a full weekend of competition. The NASCAR XFINITY Series (2 p.m.) and the Camping World Truck Series (4:30 p.m.) races will be televised on FS1 Saturday. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 will be broadcast on FOX at 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

    The Cup Series event will be comprised of three stages. Stage 1 and 2 will consist of 85 laps each with a final stage of 155 laps (325 laps total).

    Jimmie Johnson, the defending race winner, has the most victories at Atlanta among active drivers, with five, and swept the 2015-2016 races. He also has the series-best driver rating of 107.1. Daytona 500 champ, Kurt Busch, won the Atlanta pole last year and has three victories at the 1.54-mile track.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 3

    On Track:
    10-10:55 a.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
    11-11:55 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice – FS1
    Noon-1:25 p.m. Cup Series Practice – FS1
    1:30-2:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
    2:30-3:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice – FS1
    3:30-4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – FS1
    4:30-5:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
    5:45 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:15 a.m.: Chase Elliott
    10:30 a.m.: Daniel Suarez
    10:45 a.m.: Kurt Busch
    11:30 a.m.: William Byron
    11:45 a.m.: Brandon Jones
    2:30 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    2:45 p.m.: NASCAR announcement
    6:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m.: Cup Series
    3 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Saturday, March 4:

    On Track:
    9:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    10:40 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    Noon-1:20 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1
    1:30 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY Series – FS1
    2 p.m.: XFINITY Series Rinnai 250 (163 laps, 251.02 miles) – FS1
    4:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 (130 laps, 200.02 miles) – FS1
    6:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Post-Race Show – FS1

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    4:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-XFINITY Series Race
    6:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Camping World Truck Series Race

    Sunday, March 5:

    On Track:
    12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show – FS1
    2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FOX Pre-Race Show – FOX
    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (325 laps, 500.05 miles) – FOX

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    5:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Cup Series Race

    Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 TV/Radio Coverage:

    Broadcast Booth: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon
    Pit Reporters: Jamie Little, Chris Neville, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum
    In-Race Analyst: Larry McReynolds
    Race / Hollywood Hotel Host: Chris Myers
    Analysts / Hollywood Hotel: Jeff Gordon, Darrell and Michael Waltrip
    Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90

    Follow @angiecampbell_ on Twitter for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

    Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Entry List:

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  • Chase Elliott Describes Running out of Fuel at Daytona as ‘Devastating’

    Chase Elliott Describes Running out of Fuel at Daytona as ‘Devastating’

    HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott won the pole for the Daytona 500, won his qualifying race, led 39 laps and was in the lead in the closing laps of the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, destiny was not in his favor.

    With four laps to go, Elliott’s fuel cell ran dry, resulting in a 14th-place finish. He left the track without addressing the media, rather than take his frustration out on them.

    The following week in Atlanta, Elliott said it “was a devastating way to end a good week” considering he “had such a great car down there (Daytona).” He said there were two things to look at when he thought of Daytona.

    “A. We had to play the cards we were dealt. I felt like we planned to the best of our ability. I think that is something to be proud of. B. We ran out of gas.”

    He said it’s easy to say the Daytona 500 win was “his to lose,” but he was still short of the fuel window to make it. So for him “to sit back and think that we had it locked down is kind of foolish.”

    “For us, it’s disappointing for sure, but there are some positives to take from the day and again,” Elliott said, “We were faced with circumstances that we really couldn’t control and I felt like we played what we had the best we could. Somedays that is all you can do.”

    Elliott is no stranger to coming up short. Last season, he blew late restarts at Pocono, Michigan (twice) and Chicagoland.

    However, Elliott said losing Daytona 500 in the closing laps wasn’t especially painful. “It’s just “kind of the same deal,” he said.

    “At Chicago, faced with a caution there at the end of the race, I don’t really know what we could have done about that and I really don’t know what you do about running out of gas with just a couple of laps to go either. In both of those cases, I felt like from a performance side I thought we did a good job and we were close, just not close enough. I don’t know. I don’t know that it really changes my complexion or outlook on how I view things. It’s definitely a disappointing finish to a good day.”

  • Newman Fastest in First Cup Practice at Atlanta

    Newman Fastest in First Cup Practice at Atlanta

    HAMPTON, Ga. — Ryan Newman topped the chart in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 29.509 and a speed of 187.875 mph. Jamie McMurray was second in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 29.531 and a speed of 187.735 mph. Kyle Busch was third in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 29.553 and a speed of 187.595 mph.

    Matt Kenseth was fourth in his No. 20 JGR Toyota with a time of 29.569 and a speed of 187.494 mph as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a time of 29.570 and a speed of 187.487 mph.

    Kevin Harvick, who posted the 25th-fastest lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 179.977 mph.

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  • Multi-Car Wrecks Ruled the Weekend at Daytona

    Multi-Car Wrecks Ruled the Weekend at Daytona

    On Sunday, 16 cars retired from the Daytona 500 due to an accident. On Saturday, 23 cars retired from the XFINITY Series race due to an accident. On Friday night, 11 trucks retired from the Camping World Truck Series race due to an accident. And those numbers don’t include the vehicles that also received damage as a result of these wrecks.

    Austin Cindric heads for a head-on collision with the Turn 1 wall as the field wads up behind him in a multi-car wreck on the second lap of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 Camping World Truck Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

    The car graveyard opened for business on only the second lap of the race when Noah Gragson was shunted into the wall by Chase Briscoe. Gragson’s lifeless truck came back down and clipped the No. 19 of Austin Cindric and sent him into the wall. The rest were collected or received damage because of checking up and the wreck played out as a result of an accordion effect.

    “I was riding probably around seventh or eighth at the time on the outside and just got popped from behind,” Gragson said. “It felt like, going through one and two, the 29 got me. He hit me, got me sideways and then I tried not getting into the 27 (Ben Rhodes) in front of me, but it was not our night tonight I guess.”

    In total, 14 trucks were involved in the lap 2 Big One: Gragson, Cindric, John Hunter Nemechek, Clay Greenfield, Stewart Friesen, Tommy Joe Martins, Tyler Young, Ross Chastain, JJ Yeley, Briscoe, Terry Jones, Cody Coughlin, Myatt Snyder and Bobby Gerhart.

    Capping the night was the final lap wreck that collected 12 trucks.

    Exiting Turn 2, Grant Enfinger was bump-drafting with teammate Ben Rhodes when he shunted him too much and loosened him. This turned him down into Matt Crafton, who did a 180 spin before his truck was lift up in the air, flipped in a corkscrew motion and landed on all four wheels.

    “I was coming off (turn) two and I was like, ‘I’m going to win this race, I’m going to win this race.’ I got my Daytona jinx off of me and all of the sudden I looked in the mirror and I saw the 27 (Ben Rhodes) get turned and I’m like, ‘Just don’t let him get in the right rear of me,’ and the 27 of Ben Rhodes gave me the push to win that race and I got out so far going through the tri-oval and then I got hooked and then I felt light and it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the air then I was in the air and then I saw lights and we had the wrong side down boys,” Crafton said.

    Amongst Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Ben Rhodes, Austin Wayne Self (who finished second), Regan Smith, Christopher Bell, Yeley, Snider, Coughlin, Timothy Peters, Spencer Gallagher and Enfinger all received some form of damage from the final lap wreck.

    The next day in the XFINITY Series PowerShares QQQ 300, all but two cars made it through the race unscathed.

    On lap 23, Scott Lagasse Jr. loosened Tyler Reddick and sent him into Spencer Gallagher, who comes back down and pinballs off other cars. In total, 20 cars (Kyle Larson, Garrett Smithley, Ryan Reed (who went on to win the race), Gallagher, Ray Black Jr., Cole Custer, Jeremy Clements, Michael Annett, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, Ryan Sieg, Yeley, Brad Keselowski, Jeff Green, William Byron, Benny Gordon, Lagasse, Anthony Kumpen, Clint King and Brendan Gaughan) were involved.

    Cleanup necessitated the red flag for 18 minutes and 22 seconds.

    On the restart with two laps remaining in the segment, Daniel Hemric gets loose in the speedy dry in Turn 3 and clips Justin Allgaier, sending him into the wall.

    “I think the 7 (Allgaier) got turned by somebody and I saw Erik didn’t lift, so I didn’t lift and we were trying to go through the middle, and I think me and Daniel collided there. It was just unfortunate circumstances that put us there,” Wallace said.

    Thirteen cars (Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Darrell Wallace Jr., Chris Cockrum, Hemric, Harrison Rhodes, Brandon Hightower, Matt Tifft, Lagasse and Blake Koch) were involved.

    Cleanup for this wreck necessitated 27 minutes and 51 seconds of red flag time.

    With 17 laps to go, the field was riding down the backstretch when Elliott Sadler was shunted into the wall by Austin Dillon and the resulting accordion effect resulted in a 16-car wreck (Reed, Dillon, Black, Sadler, Gaughan, Annett, Yeley, Koch, Byron, Suarez, Kumpen, Sieg, Chastain, Reddick, Smithley and Joey Gase).

    After the checkered flag flew, there was a four-car wreck that included Smithley, Byron, Lagasse and Annett.

    Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth and Ty Dillon come to a rest at the bottom of Turn 3 following a multi-car wreck just past halfway in the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Photo: Jerry Markland/Getty Images

    The Daytona 500 was more collected for the first 105 laps. But that changed when Kyle Busch suffered a left or right-rear tire blowout, spun out in front of Erik Jones and Matt Kenseth, and collected them both as they went into the wall in Turn 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. who was leading the race, was clipped by Busch and sent into the wall.

    “I don’t know what happened there with the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) he just got turned around. I tried to get the wheel turned and get down the race track but I lifted off the gas to miss it, and got on the splitter a little bit and the car went straight. We jumped him, and got in the wall a little bit,” Earnhardt said.

    Cleanup necessitated a 17-minute red flag.

    On lap 127, Jamie McMurray is shoving Jimmie Johnson down the backstretch when Johnson gets loose and turns down into Trevor Bayne. This sent both of them pin-balling through the middle of the pack and collected 12 other cars (Clint Bowyer, Chris Buescher, Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick, DJ Kennington, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, David Ragan, Matt DiBenedetto, Gaughan, Cole Whitt, Kurt Busch (who would go on to win the race), Martin Truex Jr., Gase and Joey Logano) in the process.

    With 59 to go, McMurray dove to the inside of Chase Elliott to pass, but was blocked. He checked up and was hooked into the wall by Gaughan. Suarez, who swerved left to avoid McMurray, came down on Ryan Newman and triggered an 11-car wreck (McMurray, Keselowski, Newman, Hamlin, Ragan, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Suarez, Ty Dillon, Elliott, Michael McDowell and Gaughan).

  • Kurt Busch Wins the Daytona 500

    Kurt Busch Wins the Daytona 500

    Kurt Busch now adds a Harley J. Earl Trophy to his collection and résumé, alongside his 2004 championship, after winning the 59th running of the Daytona 500.

    Cole Whitt, who opted not to pit during the final caution of the race, led the field to the final restart with 47 laps to go and promptly lost the lead to Aric Almirola, who then lost it to Kyle Larson the following lap. He had a dicey battle for the lead with Joey Logano with 38 to go. Chase Elliott, who started on the pole, powered by Logano on the outside line on the backstretch with 26 to go to retake the lead.

    With 20 to go, the bottom line started dissipating and the front 12 cars formed up in a single-file train on the top line. They remained in line until Ryan Blaney broke rank and attempted to form a working bottom line with 10 to go, but there was little help from the others and he jumped back in line.

    “I tried to make a move with about 10 to go and I didn’t go anywhere,” Blaney said. “We were kind of stuck. Luckily we had the 22 with us and I kind of helped him and he kind of helped me.”

    On the backstretch with four to go, Elliott’s car ran out of fuel. He fell back, went on to finish 14th, and gave way to Martin Truex Jr. He also ran out the following lap and Larson took back the lead, only to run out of gas in Turn 1. Busch was in position to capitalize and scored the victory.

    “There is nothing predictable about this race anymore and the more years that have gone by that I didn’t win I kept trying to go back to patterns that I had seen in the past,” Busch said in victory lane. “My mirror fell off with 30 laps to go and I couldn’t even see out the back. And I thought that was an omen. Throw caution to the wind. The more unpredictability that keeps unfolding at the Daytona 500, I predicted it. It just got crazy and wild and I am so proud of all the drivers at the end. We put on a show for a full fuel run and nobody took each other out and it was one of the smartest chess games I have seen out there. All the hard work that Ford and SHR put into this — this Ford Fusion is in Daytona’s victory lane.”

    The first half of the race was light on cautions with just two in the first 105 laps and only one for a wreck. That wreck being Corey LaJoie on lap 31 when he mistimed his entry onto pit road and aborted before slamming into the back of Clint Bowyer’s car, only to slam the tri-oval wall.

    The cautions, and wrecks, started adding up with a six-car wreck on lap 105 that began when Kyle Busch’s car suffered either a left or right-rear tire blowout, piled into Erik Jones and Matt Kenseth, and slammed the wall, collecting also Ty Dillon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was leading the race when he was clipped by Busch.

    This brought out the red flag for 17 minutes.

    The next wreck was the Big One that started when Jamie McMurray shoved Jimmie Johnson down the backstretch. It loosened the 48 car and turned him down across the No. 6 of Trevor Bayne. This spun both of them out and sent them both pin-balling through a gaggle of cars. Fourteen cars were collected or received damage from the lap 127 wreck in Turn 3.

    With 65 laps to go, Blaney signaled on the backstretch that he was coming to pit road. As he slowed down exiting Turn 4 to dive into the pits, Elliott Sadler turned up the track to avoid hitting him, only to clip Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This sent the two Roush Fenway Racing drivers down the track and into the inside wall.

    On the backstretch with 59 to go, McMurray, on the outside, tried to pass to the inside of Elliott. Elliott blocks the advance, so McMurray checks up. This gets him hooked into the wall by Brendan Gaughan. Daniel Suarez swerves to the left to avoid McMurray, takes out Ryan Newman and starts a chain reaction Big One that involved 11 cars.

    The final wreck was a two-car wreck with 51 to go that started when Joey Gase was turned into the wall by Elliott. This set up the final 47 lap run to the finish.

    The race lasted three hours 29 minutes and 31 seconds at an average speed of 143.187 mph. There were 37 lead changes among 18 different drivers and eight cautions for 40 laps.

    Kurt Busch leaves with a 12-point lead over Blaney in the points standings.

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  • Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin Win Can-Am Duel Races at Daytona International Speedway

    Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin Win Can-Am Duel Races at Daytona International Speedway

    NextEra Energy Resources 250 Set for Friday Night

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2017) – Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin won the Can-Am Duel races on Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway, as the starting grid for Sunday’s 59th annual DAYTONA 500 was established by the two 150-mile qualifying events.

    For the first time since 1971, drivers in the Can-Am Duel earned Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship points for their efforts – the top-10 finishers in each race, to be exact. Drivers responded to that new situation by staging all-out battles in both 60-lappers. There was no indication of drivers playing it safe and looking ahead to the DAYTONA 500.

    That flat-out mindset was personified by Elliott in the No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. He started on the pole of the first Can-Am Duel race after posting the fastest speed last Sunday during DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger – which also locked him into the pole position for the DAYTONA 500. Elliott led a total of 25 laps including the last 24 in dominating style.

    “It was a great way to start the season,” Elliott said. “I know this is just a Duel win and obviously I wish this was Sunday … but it still means a lot to me and it means a lot to our team.

    “We had some big steam under the hood which was a huge factor in keeping us out front. I’m glad we were able to race and stay aggressive and battle those guys. Hopefully we can dial it in a little better on Sunday and give it another shot.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, had the pole for the second Can-Am Duel race after qualifying second behind Elliott last Sunday – which locked him into the DAYTONA 500 outside pole. Earnhardt led 53 of 60 laps but was passed by Hamlin in Turn 3 on Lap 59 and came home sixth. Hamlin got invaluable drafting help from a trailing Austin Dillon, using the momentum to zip by Earnhardt on the outside.

    Hamlin – the defending DAYTONA 500 champion – will start the No. 11 FedEx Toyota behind Earnhardt on Sunday in the fourth position, thanks to his Can-Am Duel victory.

    “We had a great car and we got a great push from Austin,” Hamlin said. “[Earnhardt] thought I was going one way and I went the other. I’m not sure what this means or what this says [about our DAYTONA 500 chances] but overall, pretty happy with the result.”

    Two drivers from each Can-Am Duel race – part of a group of six “Open” entries who came to Speedweeks without guaranteed spots in the DAYTONA 500 field – “raced their way” into the big show via their Duel race result. (Thirty-six drivers were guaranteed spots via their status as NASCAR “Charter” entries.) From the first Can-Am Duel race, it was Corey LaJoie; from the second race, it was DJ Kennington.

    Friday night at 7:30, the NextEra Energy Resources 250 will open the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Qualifying for the event will be at 4:30 p.m. There was one practice session for the trucks on Thursday, with rookie Chase Briscoe posting the fastest lap – 192.980 mph – in the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford – owned by Brad Keselowski Racing.

    Also Friday, two practice sessions will be held for both the DAYTONA 500 and the 59th annual PowerShares QQQ 300, Saturday’s season-opening race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

    Tickets for the 59th annual DAYTONA 500 and other Speedweeks events can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat, and by downloading Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.