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Tag: Coke Zero 400

The ‘Big One’ Takes Out Over Half the Field at Daytona

The “Big One” struck and collected over half the field just past halfway through last night’s race at the “World Center of Racing.”

A total of 22 cars suffered some degree of damage in the lap 91 wreck that started when Jamie McMurray made contact with Jimmie Johnson. This hooked McMurray’s car into the wall and triggered a chain-reaction that led to the mass of wrecked cars in turn 1.

Five cars – Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Brian Scott and Regan Smith piled into the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

Being shoved by Matt DiBenedetto, Kevin Harvick slammed into the rear of Scott and lifted the No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford off the ground.

Johnson’s battered No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet then turned down the track and collected Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Chris Buescher and Ryan Newman piled into Johnson.

Kasey Kahne, trying to slow down, t-boned the side of Smith, was rear-ended by Michael Annett and collided with Harvick.

“I was in the middle and something happened to the No. 1 and he went to the right and then he chased it…and was in a slide and came back down in front of me, hit the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) door-to-door – kind of light contact,” said Johnson – who finished 35th – of the wreck from his point of view. “I thought we were fine, but I eventually turned him sideways and the whole thing happened. I don’t know what happened to the No. 1 to change lanes as fast as he did from the outside, but we are all dealing with a matter of inches and once that started, it just collected everybody.”

“Just a bunch of cars crashing – pretty much that was it,” said Kenseth – who finished 28th – on what he thought triggered the wreck. “I was just trying to make my way back toward the front a little bit there. We had a bad pit stop exchange and came out way, way behind everybody. Carl (Edwards) was up towards the front and we were running with him before the pit stop. I probably should have just hung in the back, hindsight, but who knows when they’re going to wreck, you never know if they’re going to wreck. Just trying to get back towards the front and there was a wreck somewhere a few rows up in front of me and just nowhere really to go.”

“I didn’t see a lot,” Scott – who finished 37th – said of the wreck that he was also caught up in. “I was on the outside and our lane seemed to get a good run entering turn 1 and I saw guys check-up and hands out the windows so I started checking up. Then the check-up kept going and it became an accordion effect. We were in the wall and jacked up and I guess the 4 came up under me and drove underneath my car and then I was up in the air. It was a pinball effect. It is an unfortunate end. You always seem to get those big ones here in the Fourth of July race. Sometimes there is nothing you can do. There was no chance to ever miss that for our 44 Ford.”

Biffle rebounded from the wreck and drove his Roush Fenway Racing Ford to an eighth-place finish.

“It was a rough night after we got in that wreck,” said Biffle. “We got shuffled out of line and that will happen with speedway racing. We were working our way back up and running with the No. 4 car (Harvick) and a few of those guys and somebody got turned right in the middle. I don’t know who. We got pretty severe damage and were able to come back and finish eighth.”

Despite finishing 39th, Harvick left Daytona still the points leader.

July 3, 2016
Keselowski Dominates to Win at Daytona

It was a dominant day for Brad Keselowski in a carnage-filled race at the “World Center of Racing” as he held off an overtime charge from the likes of the Busch brothers and teammate Joey Logano to score the victory in the Coke Zero 400.

“Those guys were doing a heck of a job,” Keselowski said of the Busch brothers and Logano. “Kyle and Kurt worked together really well, and my teammate Joey Logano was a huge part of this today. We had two great cars here with Team Penske and worked together really well. Joey has won here and he’s really a pro, especially on that restart. He gave me that push I need to get to the front and here we are at Daytona in Victory Lane. I don’t care if it’s not the 500. It’s Daytona. This is huge. I love this place and here we are in Victory Lane with the Detroit Ford.”

The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford led 115 of the 161 laps on his way to scoring his 20th Sprint Cup Series victory in 250 starts. It’s his third victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2016, his third victory this season, and his first at Daytona International Speedway. Keselowski’s victory is the 100th victory in Sprint Cup Series competition for Team Penske.

Kyle Busch, who wrecked his primary car in practice the day before and had turned no laps of practice in his backup car, led 16 laps and posted his 11th top-10 finish of the season and his eighth in 23 races at Daytona with a runner-up finish in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

“It was really close to Talladega,” Busch said of the final laps. “We finished second at Talladega. Just there at the end of the race, the 2 car was really, really fast. Really, really strong. It’s really hard to get by him. I tried just about everything. The only thing I didn’t quite have was a big enough push one time to just try to make a move. He was really good at making that thing pretty wide.”

Trevor Bayne earned his third top-10 finish in 12 races at Daytona in rounding out the podium in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

“I owe the guys behind me that were pushing me,” Bayne said. “I had a lot of help. The race was really crazy today. Just watching some of the guys working the middle you knew there would be trouble at some point. My spotter has a better perspective than I do (and) told me to go to the back and ride and we did and got through some wrecks. It was a tough night.”

Logano led six laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 22 Penske Ford. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 17 RFR Ford.

Kyle Larson finished sixth in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

“I got a little bit better restart than I thought I would, through (Turns) 1 and 2 and was able to get to Joey inside. I got clear of the No. 22 down the back and the No. 17 shoved me and gave me a really good (push), but it kind of got me squirrely and stalled me out. I should have probably moved up in front of him (Logano). But I knew we had a good night going so I didn’t want to risk anything. So, me messing up on the backstretch probably ruined our shot at a win, but we still finished at Daytona, so that’s good,” said Larson.

Austin Dillon finished seventh in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

“I don’t know about track position but I thought that 2 car was pretty darn stout,” Dillon said. “He was the same way at Talladega and you just can’t get to his back bumper. He does a good job of keeping that bumper and that car is fast, so I really think fast cars pay off here and win races. We are getting closer, we just have to keep working.”

Greg Biffle led one lap and continued on despite damage in a wreck halfway through the race to bring his No. 16 RFR Ford home to an eighth-place finish. After an electrical fire in the dashboard the week before at Sonoma Raceway, Clint Bowyer led one lap and brought his No. 15 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet home to a ninth-place finish. Michael McDowell rounded out the top-10 in his No. 95 Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet.

Casey Mears led two laps and finished 12th. David Ragan, who led one lap, finished 16th. Denny Hamlin led seven laps and finished in 17th place. Carl Edwards led eight laps, finishing 25th while Martin Truex Jr., who led one lap, finished 29th. Regan Smith led one lap and finished 38th as Kevin Harvick, who led one lap, finished 39th.

Twenty-three cars finished the race on the lead lap and 31 were running at the finish. Nine cars failed to finish the race because of an accident.

The race lasted two hours, 40 minutes and 38 seconds at an average speed of 150.342 mph. There were 26 lead changes among 13 different drivers and five cautions for 28 laps.

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July 2, 2016
Biffle Takes the Pole at Daytona

Greg Biffle will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow night after scoring the pole for the Coke Zero 400.

“Yeah, we knew the car had pretty good speed from our practice but we never made a mock qualifying run,” Biffle said of his fast lap. “It was a little bit of unknown and we thought the car had enough speed to be top-10 for sure. If you hit your shift marks perfect and not try to put too much wheel in it entering the corner and be as smooth as you can and not make any mistakes. It is a little uneventful at Daytona but a lot of pressure not to make any little mistakes. I made two decent laps and the car has a lot of speed. We are pretty happy.”

It’s the 13th career pole in 491 races for the driver of the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after posting a final round time of 46.643 and a speed of 192.955 mph, first in 129 races, second in 28 races at Daytona International Speedway and first since 2004.

Carl Edwards will start second in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 46.693 and a speed of 192.748 mph.

“It’s a great starting spot – congratulations to Greg (Biffle) and all those guys at Roush Fenway, I know they work hard on this program,” Edwards said of his former team. “We would have loved to be on the pole, but starting up front will be great and hopefully we can stay up front. I need to get a win in that column, we have a big zero there from my career here at Daytona so I would like to get a win.”

Kyle Busch will start third in his No. 18 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 46.793 and a speed of 192.336 mph.

“Car felt good,” Busch said of his qualifying lap. “Everything about this Interstate Batteries Camry felt just like the primary car so I’m real excited about that and the preparation and the skill that these guys have here in preparing great race cars for me.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start fourth in his No. 17 RFR Ford after posting a time of 46.797 and a speed of 192.320 mph.

“It is a good day for the Roush Fenway Ford’s,” Stenhouse said. “It felt good in practice. The Fifth Third Fusion was pretty solid and the guys have been bringing really good cars to the speedways, really fast cars.”

Brad Keselowski will round out the top-five in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 46.813 and a speed of 192.254 mph.

Austin Dillon will start sixth in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

“Yeah, it’s good to be fast,” Dillon said of his qualifying effort. “Our car seems to have quite a bit of speed in it. And come tomorrow night, if we can keep it up there, it would be great to win.”

Matt Kenseth will start seventh in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Jimmie Johnson will start eighth in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“We did a little bit of drafting and enjoyed the car and thought that it had a lot of speed,” Johnson said. “I think we qualified maybe 10th or eighth; so that’s all-in-all, good. It’s always nice to be in the final round of qualifying.”

Denny Hamlin will start ninth in his No. 11 JGR Toyota. Kurt Busch will round out the top-10 starters in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Joey Logano will start 11th in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Ryan Blaney will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

Chase Elliott, who scored the pole for the Daytona 500 and Talladega earlier this season, will start 24th. This snaps a three-race pole streak at the restrictor plate races for the No. 24 team.

Regan Smith failed to post a timed lap due to fluid leakage and will start 40th.

Josh Wise was the lone DNQ of the race.

Nineteen Chevrolet’s, 12 Ford’s and nine Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field for tomorrow night’s race.

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July 1, 2016
Jimmie Johnson says there have been talks about changes to plate package

Speaking before the media earlier today, Jimmie Johnson says the Driver’s Council has discussed changes desired for the upcoming trip to the “World Center of Racing” next week.

During his media availability at Sonoma Raceway this afternoon, the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was asked whether there have been any discussions on making changes to the restrictor plate aerodynamic package ahead of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

“Yeah, I think we had one Driver Council meeting since,” he said. “I don’t remember spending a ton of time talking on it. I know following Talladega there were a lot of suggestions made.”

He also added that he made some suggestions right after last month’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, in which he was caught in a 21-car wreck in turn 1 with 26 laps to go.

“I certainly had some opinions of why passing was as difficult as it was and the energy that it created in the pack and the need to kind of bump-draft and slam-draft and then crash, like that whole process that took place. I know that they don’t want to over-react and we’re going to a different track in Daytona that works a little bit differently than Talladega does. So, I feel comfortable with it. I think, ideally, we would love to have the side draft be less impactful. We’d love to have a push from another car be more beneficial. And with the gear and horsepower reduction, I think that took away some of that offensive opportunity that existed. But, we’ll see how Daytona races and take it from there. I know that there’s another Driver Council meeting down in Daytona. It will probably be top of mind for everybody then.”

The current restrictor plate aero package has been in place with minor changes made to it since the 2013 Daytona 500. For the most part, the only real change to it is usually the size of the holes in the restrictor plates in order to add or reduce horsepower.

NASCAR has announced that the package as it was used at Talladega in May and the Daytona 500 in February will be used next weekend. This is in spite of three cars getting airborne in the most recent race at Talladega.

“The one car that got in the air on its own was the 20 car (Matt Kenseth) and we looked at that,” said NASCAR Executive Vice-President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell earlier today at Sonoma. He added that NASCAR is “satisfied with the race package we have.”

Despite the lack of major changes, Johnson says the drivers still notice the more minor ones.

“They don’t change a ton. There’s some sensitivity change to the dynamics and how it works, but the package is still very similar. You just notice or feel like last time you could clear a car more easily, or I could get up and push somebody a little bit harder and give them a run around a car. So, it’s more subtle things that we notice. Certainly, when you’re in the car after 300 or 400 miles, you can’t complete a pass, the little bump turns into a nudge and into a slam and then we have chaos like we did at Talladega. So, I guess it if gets off to a slow start, you can probably bank on a wild finish.”

June 24, 2016
Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

With drivers wishing their teams good morning due to the night race that went into the wee hours of the next morning, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 on the July 4th, 2015 holiday weekend.

Surprising: In spite of flying through the air, hitting the catch fence, rebounding back on the track, getting hit again and coming out of it all with a bruised tailbone and a bruise on his forearm, Austin Dillon was still able to keep his sense of humor. The driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet tweeted “What a friend lol” in response to Tim Dugger’s tweet “To all the ladies out there He’s fine. He ain’t gonna be such a romantic buckaroo for a while, but he’ll be fine.”

And even after that jaw-dropping, horrifying crash, Dillon was able to pull off a top-10 finish, taking the checkered flag in the seventh spot.

Not Surprising: With Chevrolets, many of them Hendrick-powered, dominating seven of the top-10 finishing positions at Daytona, there was one Toyota driver who was just happy to be in the mix.

“Our FedEx Ground Camry and battled with the best of them,” Denny Hamlin said after finishing third. “Those Hendrick guys, not only are their cars fast, but they’re good drivers and they work well together. It’s hard to break through with them.”

“You can get help from those guys every now and then, but they do a good job of sticking together and their cars are so fast and you can’t clear them at the right times. I was just happy to kind of be in the mix of them there late in the going. Worked well with all those guys at one point or another and still a decent day for us.”

Surprising: In spite of a disappointing season to date, as well as having to go to a backup car for the race, Trevor Bayne did the Ford and Roush Fenway Racing teams proud, finding his restrictor plate magic once again to finish in the ninth position.

“Our AdvoCare Ford was really fast tonight,” Bayne said after the race. “Despite getting into the wall avoiding that wreck off of Turn 4 our car ran really well, especially past halfway. We were able to get up front and run inside the top three with everyone and show that we belonged up there.”

“We’re happy to come home ninth despite getting collected in that wreck at the line. I definitely needed that AdvoCare spark tonight. I want to thank my whole team though for their work this weekend, especially since we had to go to a backup car after Friday. Now it’s on to Kentucky.”

Not Surprising: At least the fans who noshed to keep themselves awake during the race were not alone.

“Yeah, for sure when you’re under caution, you can feel the weight of the day kind of on you, on your eyes,” Jimmie Johnson, who finished runner-up, said after the race. “And then just sitting around waiting for it, there was a whole feeling, I think, throughout the industry that about 8:00, 8:30 the deal was over, so mentally I started shutting down and thinking, okay, I’m staying the night, what am I doing, trying to coordinate family things, and then all of a sudden it’s drying and the dryers are on the track.

Being in the sport as long as I have, you learn how to turn it off and turn it on,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet said. “I did overeat, so I haven’t figured that part out. It’s hard to sit out there for so many hours and not eat too much, but everything else went pretty well.”

Surprising: Jeff Gordon was racing his last Daytona race and ended up with his best finish there in quite some time, taking the checkered flag in the sixth position, yet he still is glad to put it in his rear view mirror and thankful that there is just one plate race left for him to survive.

Oh, my gosh chaos it was crazy,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “I’m so glad Austin Dillon is okay. That was a crazy one. You knew it was going to be crazy. Right from the start I thought it was a wild race. A lot of action and crazy stuff going on.”

“We were pushing like crazy, just wide open. It is literally like a video game out there these days, except for it’s real life. It’s crazy. It’s really crazy.”

“I love Daytona. This place has been amazing for me. I can’t believe this is my final race here, but after going through that experience I’m glad I only have one more restrictor plate race left.”

Not Surprising: Clint Bowyer, who finished tenth, had a front row seat for the big wreck at the end and in ‘Bowyeresque’ style described it all as only he can.

“He (Austin Dillon) went over me,” the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said. “I went under him and thank God the seas kind of opened a little bit. It’s just Daytona — it’s wild. I got up there and got in position.”

“The 3 (Austin Dillon) I think checked up. I don’t know the reason why but I was right behind Austin – they checked and he was already shooting up and I hit him and it just went right over the top of me and that was scary.”

“I haven’t seen the whole wreck but I damn sure lived it through the windshield there for a second. This is entertainment. It’s certainly dangerous as hell, but its part of the sport.”

“Our old hot rod wasn’t quite what it needed to be, but it was a decent day.”

Surprising: Carl Edwards went for broke but, unfortunately, ended up pretty broken. The driver of the No. 19 Subway Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing was involved in two separate accidents that led to his 41^st place finish.

“We went for it in this race and basically wrecked twice,” Edwards said. “The second one, I thought I had it saved a couple times and it just wasn’t meant to be. That’s just this style of racing.”

“For us, this was just a checkers or wreckers type of race and we were going to go for it.
Not Surprising: Restrictor plate tracks are often the great equalizers so it was not surprising to see some names not usually at the top of the leaderboard have good finishes. For example, Casey Mears finished 11^th and Landon Cassill finished a strong 13^th.

“The car was pretty fast,” Mears, driver of the No. 13 Geico Chevrolet said. “We were able to get to the front pretty quickly when it was time to go. There at the end we were sitting in a really good position. I was behind the No. 41 (Kurt Busch) pushing him pretty good. We had kind of talked.”

“I thought the No. 31 (Ryan Newman) might go with me. I went up a little high and he didn’t go, but that happens it is the way these races go. I think after all the carnage and everything that happened it would have been nice to be inside the top 10 or a little closer, but it’s a good day. A lot of guys had bad days here.”

“It was unbelievable,” Cassill, behind the wheel of the No. 40 Snap Fitness Chevrolet, said. “It’s just really tight racing. I’m just so proud of my Hillman Racing team. My Snap Fitness Chevy, we are so fast on these superspeedways and we can run up front and we have proven it.”

“I’m proud of our finish. These guys are just going to have to build another car and we will go to Talladega and be even faster.”

Surprising: Team Penske had a disappointing showing at Daytona, with Joey Logano finishing 22^nd and Brad Keselowski finishing 29^th.

“There isn’t much good to say about what happened here tonight,” Logano said after the race. “It is a product of the racing here. We got caught in the first crash which was way unfortunate after sitting around all day. We were five laps down and battled back to the lead lap, so that is something to be proud of but we couldn’t do much once we got there.”

Not Surprising: Brian Scott summed it all up best with his two words when asked about what happened after crashing out and finishing 42^nd.

“Daytona happened,” Scott said simply. The field was coming up to pass a lap down car and it looked like the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) got loose going around it getting in the middle, which happens with these Sprint Cup cars. They are so aero sensitive on the side. Then from there it was Daytona.”

“They were wrecking. My spotter was doing a great job telling me where things were and it was one of those where we needed to gas up to get by cars that were sliding up. As soon as we got past those Carl (Edwards) came up and we ran into the back of him. It looked like he got jacked up on the windshield and then we were tore up.”

“Our car wasn’t going to run to the end. It sounded like it maybe caught fire for a second. But the bottom line is just a bad end to an already long weekend. Not the way we wanted to end with our Shore Lodge Chevy SS. I felt like we had a car that was capable of running up there in the top 10; top five early on. I felt like we could get back up there. Just trying to learn in the draft and be ready for the end, but the end came too soon.”

July 6, 2015
It’s Time for NASCAR to Wake Up and Look at the Debris

Everyone has to still be stunned to see Austin Dillon walk away from the horrifying last-lap crash that sent his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet flipping into the catch fence at the end of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. The multi-car incident occurred as the field raced to the checkered flag, Dillon was clipped by another car, sending him airborne into the tri-oval catch fence and then back onto the track sliding on his roof. The No. 3 came to a rest upside down and was lastly clipped by the spinning, out of control No.2 car of Brad Keselowski.

“The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) car got turned by the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) car across the start/finish line and I thought the race was going to be over right there. We were almost there and I was just pushing the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) car and the next thing I knew, I was looking at my roof for a long time. I thought it was all over when I was sliding there and the No. 2 car came in and really got me. It was a wicked ride, but thank the good Lord above for taking care of me. I am just going to be really sore. It got my tailbone pretty good and my arm. I should be fine,” Dillon said.

Luckily safety equipment, enthusiasm and extremely good luck prevailed and no one was killed.

“I am just going to be really sore. It got my tailbone pretty good and my arm. Should be fine, just go ice it up and get ready for Kentucky,” Dillon added.

Race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to take a moment in victory lane to collect himself after seeing the carnage in the rear view mirror.

“Yeah that scared the hell out of me, I will be honest with you. I saw the whole thing happen. You are looking in the mirror the whole last lap. I saw Denny (Hamlin) get turned. I guess that is kind of how it started. That was terrifying to watch. You know a wreck like that has such a high potential for someone to get injured and you saw the car get high and get into the fence. You just worry about everybody else in the grandstands and all that stuff. You just don’t want to see that happen.”

Jeff Gordon described the restrictor-plate style of racing as more like a video game, but in real life. Dillon agreed, saying, “It definitely is a video game. With three to go you are just going to push somebody until the end of the race. It’s wreckers or checkers. It’s like Talladega Nights out there.”

Gordon said after the race, “It is literally like a video game out there these days, except for it’s real life. It’s crazy. It’s really crazy. I love Daytona. This place has been amazing for me. I can’t believe this is my final race here, but after going through that experience I’m glad I only have one more restrictor plate race left.”

Clint Bowyer summed it up as, “This is entertainment. It’s certainly dangerous as hell, but its part of the sport.”

I expect seeing the No.3 crashed up at Daytona had to be a horrible experience for team owner Richard Childress. But there’s no need to get into that part of it. The racing is what it is, as they say.

With that said, why exactly are we racing like this?

NASCAR will do all of the political head nodding and hand shaking this week while it all goes in one ear and out the other. We will hear them take the usual stance that they are checking for any safety issues and improvements that can be made for future races. Hey NASCAR, how about not doing it at all?

Do we really need four of these restrictor plate races? Do we really need video game roulette during the chase races? I believe those are the questions that need to be answered and no more changes that end up creating the same ole, same ole, four times a year.

I keep holding my breath during these races and hoping that no one will get hurt. But it seems like the inevitable “big one” always rears its ugly old head. I just keep thinking there has got to be a better solution.

July 6, 2015
Coke Zero 400 Qualifying Canceled Due To Rain, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gets Pole Based On Top Practice Speed
- Austin Dillon Will Start Second in RCR No. 3 Chevrolet
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Qualifying for Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca Cola was rained out Saturday, giving the pole position to Dale Earnhardt Jr., based on his chart-topping, 200 mph-plus practice speed.

Earnhardt led the first of two practice sessions on Friday in the No. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet, with a fast lap of 202.284 miles per hour – one of 14 drivers to post fast laps exceeding 200 mph. Austin Dillon will start second in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, on the strength of his 202.066 lap.

Last season, NASCAR instituted a new procedure, setting fields based on speeds from a weekend’s first practice session, when qualifying is cancelled. Previously, fields were set based on season point standing. Earnhardt said that with rain in the Saturday forecast, there was extra effort to find serious speed in practice.

Tickets for the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola – set for 7:45 p.m. Sunday – can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or visiting www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

Fans can follow NASCAR on Twitter and stay up to speed on the latest news by using hashtags #CokeZero400 and #SubwayFirecracker250. Fans also can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest news all season long. Fans can follow the latest on DAYTONA Rising, the $400 million frontstretch renovation at the “World Center of Racing” by using #DAYTONARising on Twitter or visiting www.daytonarising.com.
July 4, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Daytona International Speedway

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series travel to Daytona International Speedway this weekend. NBC Sports Network will carry each practice, qualifying session and race. The Camping World Truck Series is off. Please check below for the full schedule.

All times Eastern.

Friday, July 3:

On Track:

2-2:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series practice – NBC Sports Network
3-3:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – NBC Sports Network
4-4:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – NBC Sports Network
5-5:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

12:45 p.m.: Aric Almirola
1 p.m.: Kyle Larson
1:15 p.m.: Chris Buescher
1:30 p.m.: Daytona Rising Update

Saturday, July 4:

On Track:

2:35 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBC Sports Network
4:35 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBC Sports Network
7:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Subway Firecracker 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

2 p.m.: NASCAR Hall of Fame Squier-Hall Award announcement
3:45 p.m.: Kyle Busch
5:45 p.m.: Post-qualifying NSCS press conference (Time approx.)
9:45 p.m.: Post-race NXS press conference (Time approx.)

Sunday, July 5:

On Track:

7:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola (160 laps, 400 miles) – NBC

Press Conferences Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

5 p.m.: Clint Bowyer
10:45 p.m.: Post-race NSCS press conference (Time approx.)

Click the link below to find the NBC Sports Network Channel in your area.

NBC Sports Network Channel Finder

July 2, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

From a rain delay of a day to a rain-shortened race, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Surprising: In spite of the fits and starts of the race due to the rain, the Coke 600 was still the stuff of legends, from the anniversary victory for The King and Richard Petty Motorsports to the last call of Barney Hall of Motor Racing Network.

RPM’s famed No. 43 made it to Victory Lane, thanks to some rainy luck for driver Aric Almirola and crew chief Trent Owens, on the 30th anniversary of The King’s 200th historic win at Daytona. Almirola was the 43^rd driver to pilot the No. 43, scoring his first win of his career at his home track.

“I couldn’t have dreamed of a better place to get my first win,” Almirola said. “I’ve sat in these grandstands and watched the Daytona 500. I’ve watched the Firecracker 400s. That’s what everybody always talked about, and as a young kid, coming over here and watching, just dreamed about what it would be like to have a chance to race at the highest level at this racetrack.”

“I think it’s very cool that we won on this weekend,” Almirola continued. “It’s 30 years to the weekend that The King won his 200th race with the President here. That’s really special.”

Another legend, Barney Hall, also called his final race at Daytona and will retire from race announcing at the age of 82 years.

“He has spoken to millions of fans and made millions of individual fans of our sport,” NASCAR president Mike Helton said. “I wanted to thank him for all he has done for us personally, but also all he has done for NASCAR.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., an aficionado of the history of the sport, also shared his appreciation for the career of Hall.

“Barney Hall is a legend,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted. “I grew up listening to him. Forever grateful.”

Not Surprising: In spite of the weather drama and the strategy that was playing out to outfox the rain drops, it was not surprising that what caught the eye of mainstream media were the two ‘big ones’, involving a total of 42 crashed race cars.

Second place finisher Brian Vickers had a bird’s eye view of both incidents, barely making it through each incident.

“We went to the front, and then it got a little bit too dicey for my comfort that early, and guys were moving around a lot,” Brian Vickers, second place finisher, said. “So we went to the back, just had a bad feeling about kind of the energy in the pack and where it was headed, so we dropped back, and at about two laps later there was a big crash and we were fortunate to be out of that.”

“We ended up actually getting into the pack at about the wrong moment and were fortunate enough to get through the last big wreck,” Vickers continued. “I saw it kind of starting out of the corner of my eye, a car from the outside to the inside just went way too quick, and I just jumped on the brakes and as soon as I saw it opening downshifted and went to the gas and was able to get through it. But very lucky to get through that wreck and keep the FSU car out of trouble.”

Surprising: Kurt Busch had some surprising comments about his relationship with his crew chief Daniel Knost after finishing the race in the third spot.

“Yeah, the relationship with Daniel, you know, there’s some times when a driver and a crew chief hit it off and they’re off to the races right away. Daniel and I have been slower to mature together in our relationship, and so we’re 18 races into our first date,” the driver of the No. 41Haas Automation Chevrolet, said. “Now we’re going into the second half of the season, and all of our first dates are done.”

“We’ll go to New Hampshire next week, and that’ll be the last new track that we see together, and then from there on out, all the tracks that we’ve been to we have notes and we have test sessions planned, and that’s where we have to make the 41 team stronger.”

Not Surprising: There was no driver more excited about a top-five finish than Austin Dillon, who has been battling Kyle Larson for Rookie of the Year honors. And this race saw Dillon hold serve over Larson, who was involved in the first wreck and finished 36^th.

“It’s huge for us getting a top 10, a top 5; it definitely can change the rookie race,” the driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/NRA Museum Chevrolet, said. “We’ve got some momentum now.”

“We’ve got the last four races, I think, in the rookie race, and just stay consistent and hopefully we can come out with this thing,” Dillon continued. “Our cars have been really fast all year, and we’re getting better each week. I feel like we’re gaining a little bit, and I’m excited about that.”

Surprising: Driver Paul Menard no doubt had the most appropriate car name for this Daytona race, driving the No. 27 SPLASH/Menards Chevrolet. Menard was marking time in the back but then got caught in the second big one to finish 16^th.

Menard did, however, gain at least one position in the point standings, regaining his spot in tenth.

“We battled weather all weekend,” Menard said. “Our strategy was to ride around in the back and miss all the wrecks, but with rain coming we knew it was time to move towards the front.”

“Of course, when we got to the front someone got turned around and we were caught up in a huge mess,” Menard continued. “Fortunately, my guys did a great job on pit road to repair damage and were able to keep us on the lead lap.”

“I think we moved up in points, so all-in-all it wasn’t a terrible day.”

Not Surprising: With Daytona, anything can happen during the ‘big ones’, including cars going airborne and upside down. Unfortunately, for both Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch, each experience a little bit of both.

“It’s kind of scary I think my car got airborne,” McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, said. “I have never had that happen before it’s a helpless feeling when you are getting hit as you are in the air.”

“It was kind of scary, but glad it looks like everyone is okay.”

“Just felt like a slow carnival ride,” Kyle Busch said of his upside down ending. “I guess that’s fitting for the Fourth of July weekend. I just got T-boned there at the end and it just kind of toppled me over.”

“I got hit by the 26 (Cole Whitt) which just toppled me over and when I toppled over you know you just sit there upside down basically in your restraints,” Busch continued. “Your chest is held, your abdomen is held and everything is held and you just wait for them to come in there and get you and turn you over, because it’s way safer to get turned over in that seat because you already got turned over once then it is to try to undo the belts and bang your head off the ceiling and try to get out.”

Surprising: One would have thought that the race was at a short-track rather than on the high banks of a restrictor plate track with the way tempers were flaring.

“The No. 17 car (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) got sideways on the lap that we’re all getting a competition caution,” Tony Stewart, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet said. “I don’t know. I guess Ricky thought it paid something to get to lap 20. I don’t know. It didn’t make much sense to me, but I’m not that smart either; so I don’t know. I don’t know that I’m the right person to ask.”

“I guess is was just Stenhouse being an idiot,” Smoke continued. “It didn’t make much sense when we’re coming to the caution, we’re like a quarter of a lap from getting to the caution and he does something stupid.”

“It tore up a lot of people’s cars and a lot of people’s days,” Stewart said. “To get here on Wednesday night and sit here all day and run 19 and three-quarter laps and get wrecked by somebody who’s doing something stupid.”

Not Surprising: Like so many of the other racers, Martin Truex Jr. was ready to put Daytona in his rear view mirror. In spite of a vibration and battery change, Truex finished 15^th in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.

“It was a roller coaster day,” Truex said. “We never could get going. I didn’t like what I was seeing early in the race and I hung back. That turned out to be a good move as we missed being collected in the first wreck.”

“Then we had a vibration in the car, and later we needed to make a battery change,” Truex continued. “As I was exiting pit road after the battery change, the second big wreck happened. We most likely would have been in that wreck had we not been on pit road changing the battery.”

“We eventually got back on the lead lap and we were ready to move forward. But we never got that opportunity because of the race being declared official following more rain.”

“It’s been one of those weekends you want to forget about and move on.”

July 7, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kentucky Quaker State 400

From the jaw-jarring bumps of the old pavement in which Kentucky Speedway takes such pride, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 4th Annual Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts.

Surprising: Dominance and redemption surprisingly co-existed in the Bluegrass state. Penske dominated, from qualifying to Victory Lane for Brad Keselowski, yet there was also redemption for several drivers, including Tony Stewart, who rebounded from an engine change to finish 11^th, as well as Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, who both had struggles in the pits and went on to finish sixth and seventh respectively.

“Yeah, what a really fast car,” Keselowski said after his second win of the season and his second win at Kentucky in the No. 2 car. “It feels really good, obviously, to get that second win.”

“We have got a really good stretch run going here over the summer, so it’s very exciting for me personally, very rewarding, and I feel like we’re in such a strong spot,” Keselowski continued. “A lot of momentum, and this was really a big night for us in so many ways.”

Stewart, Gordon and Harvick may not have been in Victory Lane, but all three felt redeemed nonetheless.

“I would’ve liked to have been a little better than what we were there at the end, but I think we definitely had to fight our way up there through the day,” Stewart said. “We never did anything tricky to get track position. We pitted every time the pits were open. We didn’t do any less than anybody else did on any stop.”

“All in all, I thought we had a pretty honest day there and I can’t complain about that.”

Not Surprising: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, played it fast and loose, right into the runner up position. This was Busch’s fourth top-10 finish in four races at Kentucky Speedway and his seventh top-10 finish of the season.

“I got to traffic, man, I just got too loose,” Busch said. “I was kind of loose the whole run, but I kept getting looser and looser throughout the run, where normally the rest of the runs prior to that throughout the race I was getting tighter throughout the run.”

“I was loose the whole race,” Busch continued. “I was loose, but it was a drivable loose, it wasn’t just a wrecking loose, until the end, and then I was wrecking.”

“For as loose as I was I had good grip and I was moving forward,” Busch said. “It looked like a lot of guys were struggling with the same issues I was but worse, so I was able to go by them, so I felt pretty good about it.”

Surprising: As a past champion, Brad Keselowski most certainly knows how to celebrate, but this time it resulted in some surprising bodily harm. Thanks to a broken bottle of champagne in Victory Lane, the victor ended up with four stitches to boot.

“We were playing around with some champagne bottles and as I told my good friend, ‘We should have stuck with beer,’” Keselowski said. “We were having too much fun with champagne and one of the bottles broke and I cut my hand open. It’s no big deal.”

“It’s all fixed now, so we’re good,” Keselowski continued. “Yeah, welcome to the party. It’s all good. I’m just glad we won. It’s a lot better story when you win and get hurt.”

Not Surprising: Usually race car drivers emerge after the race being mad at other drivers, but there was one driver who was just mad at himself after the Quaker State 400.

“The first wreck one of those lapped cars spun in front of us and when he spun he lit up his rear tires and made a huge smoke cloud,” Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Eckrich Ford, said. “My spotter, Tyler, was telling me to go high and I was kind of in the middle of the race track to see what he was gonna do and at the last minute he was like, ‘Go high, go high,’ so I veered high and McMurray was out there.”

“I honestly had no idea he was out there and I ran into him, so I feel horrible,” Almirola continued. “I’m just mad at myself. I realize circumstances weren’t in our favor, but I should have done a better job of getting slowed down and not running into the 1 car.”

Surprising: Kentucky race weekend was certainly a good one for Ryan Newman, with Caterpillar Inc. renewing their sponsorship on his car, and with a third place finish, just his second top-10 at Kentucky Speedway.

“Just a good, solid night for the Caterpillar Chevrolet,” Newman said. “All the guys did a really good job strategy wise. Kept our track position all night.”

“Good job for everybody at RCR and ECR, and we’ll keep digging.”

Not Surprising: Clint Bowyer took to Twitter and told it like it was for his No. 15 5-Hour Energy race team after finishing 23^rd.

“Got our natural asses kicked tonight,” Bowyer tweeted after the race. “Testing this week to get to the bottom of a few things. We WILL get it fixed!!!”

Surprising: After a tire issue sent rookie Kyle Larson hard into the wall and out of the race, Austin Dillon became the highest finishing rookie. The driver of the No. 3 Cheerios Protein Chevrolet took the checkered flag in the 16^th position.

Larson does, however, still lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle and has scored Rookie of the Race honors eleven times to Dillon’s five.

“Blew a right front (tire),” Larson said dejectedly. “This is the first time that’s ever happened to me in stock car racing.”

“So, big hits,” Larson continued. “But it sucks. We were hoping for a good points day to pad our points were we are before we go to Daytona where it’s a real crapshoot. It’s disappointing to have two weekends that didn’t end up very well the last couple of races.”

“Oh, well. That’s how it goes,” Larson said. “We’ll try and go to Daytona and rebound and gain some more points.”

Not Surprising: Joey Logano proved that not only was his teammate powerful, but he had Penske power to boot, finishing ninth place in spite of being down a cylinder.

“I think Team Penske dominated Kentucky this weekend, it’s just unfortunate we dropped a cylinder there, but it’s still a top-10 out of being down one cylinder,” Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, said. “We’ll take that.”

Surprising: Matt Kenseth, in his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, proved his worth to his sponsor, who announced prior to the race that they would increase their primary sponsorship from 27 to 30 races. Kenseth finished fourth and felt that “Overall, it was a positive weekend.”

“I feel like we’re gaining on it,” Kenseth continued. “I thought we had a pretty good car. They had a great stop and got me good track position and I was able to get up two or three spots for the restart and hang onto fourth.”

Not Surprising: Dale Jr. was fired up and ready to go after struggling mightily in practice, qualifying 29^th, yet racing back to finish fifth, scoring his ninth top-five in 2014. And with that, Junior became the only driver so far with that many top-fives for the season to date.

“So Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and the guys did a good job in having to deal with me and trying to put a good car under me this weekend,” Junior said. “It was a lot of fun in the race.”

“It just fired me up … (and) they put a good setup under the car,” Earnhardt continued. “It wasn’t the best car out there, but we finished where we should have tonight with the speed the car the showed.”

The Cup Series next heads to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca Cola on Saturday, July 5^th. Happy Independence Day!

June 29, 2014