Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Daytona International Speedway

  • NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings- Daytona

    NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings- Daytona

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series kicked off their 2020 season opener at Daytona International Speedway on a bright sunny Saturday afternoon in central Florida. It was the first race of the season and it sure didn’t disappoint. Xfinity Series regular, Noah Gragson was finally able to pick up the first win of his Xfinity Series career, which more than likely will be the biggest of his young career. Though there were some other drivers who also had great runs. 

    Here is the first installment of this week’s Power Rankings for the NASCAR Xfinity Series following the NASCAR Racing Experience 300. 

    1. Noah Gragson – No surprise here as Gragson dominated the last 20 laps after the final pit stops. He lost the lead briefly to Chase Briscoe for five laps, but was able to take the lead back with two to go before a caution ended the race. The JR Motorsports driver started 12th, finished fourth and ninth in both stages respectively, en route to victory. He led just 15 laps but they were the most important 15 laps of his career.

    2. Chase Briscoe – Despite not having a teammate to work with, Briscoe was strong throughout the whole race, finishing 10th in both stages. The Indiana native only led five laps but remained consistent in the top five or 10. Briscoe had no issues and had a flawless race. Sure, he probably wished he could have finished second or won the race as he was in the lead but a top-five finish is still a solid day, especially at a place like Daytona where a big crash can take you out of a good finish late.

    3. Harrison Burton – While it’s not his first rodeo in the Xfinity Series, rookie Harrison Burton had a strong first outing at Daytona finishing second. There was a lot of hype with the Burton name having a presence Saturday afternoon and certainly, high expectations in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Burton was able to finish eighth in Stage 1 before missing out on some points in the second stage. He also led nine laps before the race ended. Had the race not ended under caution or if he had a teammate to work with, we most likely would have been talking about a different story right now. Still, not a bad finish for Burton in his first race at Daytona. It will be interesting to watch how Burton progresses throughout the year.

    4. Myatt Snider- New year, new ride for Myatt Snider who is racing part-time in the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Even though Snider is a rookie in the Xfinity Series, this was not his first Daytona race as he has had previous starts in the Truck Series. The Charlotte, North Carolina racer looked like a seasoned veteran in this race. Snider started on the pole, led the first 13 laps and laps 15 to 23 before Jeb Burton took the stage win. Unfortunately, it would be the only laps led of the day as Snider was caught up in a Lap 61 accident which took him out of contention. The Richard Childress Racing driver wound up a disappointing 33rd place finish after a strong run early on.
    5. Timmy Hill – The underdog Timmy Hill came out of nowhere on the last lap, similar to what Jordan Anderson did on Friday night in the Truck Series race. The Maryland native finished third, earning his best career finish with the Carl Long owned No. 66 Toyota. Hill didn’t place in the top-10 in either stage but had the caution not ended and tandem drafting was allowed, Hill could have been the upset winner and a story we could have been talking about for ages.

  • Four Takeaways from the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona

    Four Takeaways from the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona

    Daytona International Speedway hosted its 21st NASCAR Truck Series race Friday night on Valentine’s Day for its season opener. As always, the Truck Series does not disappoint wherever they race and one of those prime examples was Friday night. There were a lot of special stories in the field, while the normal front runners had their issues.

    Here are this week’s Four Takeaways from the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona. 

    1. Natalie Decker Is Highest Female Finisher in Series – One of the stories coming out of Friday’s Truck race was Natalie Decker, who finished fifth, the highest a female driver has finished in the Truck Series field since 2011. The previous top finish for a woman was accomplished by current series driver Jennifer Jo Cobb, who finished sixth in 2011. Decker patiently took her time and avoided most of the wrecks to end up with an outstanding finish. Despite running a part-time series schedule, this will certainly be a momentum booster for Decker after a rough 2019 season.

    2. Ty Majeski Flips – There hasn’t been a Truck that has flipped at Daytona since 2017 when, now Cup Series driver, Christopher Bell, flipped on another Friday night. Majeski, just 17 laps into the race, was the victim of a bump draft gone wrong when Todd Gilliland made contact with Austin Wayne Self and others. The incident collected Majeski who was sent flipping upside down going into Turn 1, eventually landing upside down on his Truck hood. Thankfully, the Wisconsin native was able to get out and walk away from the accident with no injuries. It was a frustrating finish for sure, but the flip will be a highlight for years to come.

    3. Stewart Friesen Has Rough Outing – The first race of the season was looking bright for Canada native Stewart Friesen. He finished sixth and seventh in both stages but was caught up in a couple of wrecks that eventually ended a good run. He was still able to finish the race but wound up 21st after running up front most of the night. The No. 52 team will hope for better circumstances at Las Vegas this Friday night.

    4. Strong Field For Daytona – The last couple of years have been so-so for the Truck Series in terms of how many trucks come to the races. There have been times when there were only 28 trucks and other times 32 to 34 trucks. However, at Daytona this weekend, there were 39 trucks on the preliminary entry list which meant seven trucks were sent home. While it’s certainly not ideal for the ones who went home and did not qualify, it just goes to show how competitive the Truck Series can be when a full field comes to qualify. Just for reference, the first Truck Series race at Daytona saw 52 rucks entered and only 36 made the race. 
  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Daytona

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Daytona

    Friday night saw the opening season for the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series. It was no ordinary season opener as the series is celebrating its 25th anniversary dating back to 1995.

    Every time there is a Truck Series race, you can normally expect one of two things, an exciting action-packed race or one driver who dominates the entire event. That’s what Friday night’s season opener NextEra Energy Resources 250 featured on Valentine’s day. Race fans saw a photo-finish between underdog Jordan Anderson and veteran Grant Enfinger to the finish line. Enfinger was able to just beat Anderson for the win by 0.010 seconds for the closest Truck Series finish in Daytona history. 

    While those two drivers certainly stole the show in Daytona, there were others that flew under the radar and still wound up with a great finish. Here are this week’s power rankings. 

    1. Austin Hill – Hill continued his strong Daytona performance by finishing sixth in Friday night’s race. He led 11 laps and finished seventh and fourth in both stages respectively. It wasn’t the win Hill was hoping for, but the Georgia native did a nice job of avoiding all the chaos that broke out during the race. It will be interesting to watch this team in their second year together with Hill as the driver and see if they can rattle off more wins.

    2. Grant Enfinger – No doubt Enfinger was the story of the night when all was said and done. The Alabama native finally got Daytona crossed off his checklist but it didn’t come easy for him. Enfinger had to work his way up to the front several times including getting shuffled to the back from the lead with 24 to go. At that point, a victory seemed unlikely or even a top-10 finish. But a crash with three to go set up an overtime restart with Enfinger in the lead. He had to throw a couple of blocks, one to Ross Chastain and the other to Jordan Anderson, but Enfinger got it done by .010 seconds. It was certainly a nice way to start the season as he now has secured a spot in the Playoffs. Going forward the No. 98 ThorSport Racing team can be a lot more aggressive and take more risks on-track.

    3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter had an up and down night in the No. 13 Tenda Ford F-150. He was penalized after making a pit stop after Stage 2 concluded when an uncontrolled tire rolled out of his pit stall. The Wisconsin native also barely missed the big one when his teammate Ben Rhodes spun in front of him with three laps to go. Sauter was able to miss it and brought his truck home with a seventh-place finish. The ThorSport Racing driver finished fifth and eighth in both stages while leading no laps.

    4. Jordan Anderson – We would be remiss if we didn’t talk about Jordan Anderson’s best finish of his Truck Series career. Anderson tried all he could to get the first elusive win of his career in what would have been a popular victory for the fans. By mere inches, the team owner finished second to Enfinger beating and banging to the line. Anderson found himself in second on the backstretch on the last lap and came oh so close to for his first career win. This will no doubt be a momentum builder for the No. 3 team who is now in an alliance with AM Racing.

    5. Riley Herbst – It looks like the experience somewhat paid off for Herbst and the No. 51 team. The Las Vegas, Nevada native started out on the right foot by qualifying on the pole Friday afternoon. Herbst continued his strong performance by winning Stage 1 and finishing fifth in the second stage. After the first two stages, chaos erupted for Herbst. The No. 51 driver was caught up in two accidents, one on Lap 67 and one with three to go on Lap 99. Still, Herbst wound up with a 12th place finish after leading 21 laps.
  • 2020 Daytona 500 postponed to Monday

    2020 Daytona 500 postponed to Monday

    After a challenging day of fighting off and on rain showers, NASCAR officials were forced to postpone the 2020 Daytona 500 to Monday at 4:05 p.m. ET live on FOX. Just 20 laps of the Great American Race were completed with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leading all laps from the pole position.

    As soon as the completion of Lap 20 came, the sky opened up once again and soaked the track. NASCAR almost had the track dry and ready to go before the next shower arrived with heavy rains and NASCAR made the decision to postpone the race.

    Parking lots will open at 11 a.m. ET with the Gates and UNOH Fanzone to open at 1 p.m. ET, while hospitality opens at 2 p.m. ET. All tickets along with parking passes will be accepted.

    This will be the first time since 2012 that the Daytona 500 was postponed to Monday.

    Running order as of Lap 20 of 200, Lap 20 of 65 in Stage 1.

    1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    2. Joey Logano
    3. Aric Almirola
    4. Ryan Newman
    5. Kevin Harvick
    6. Brad Keselowski
    7. William Byron
    8. Jimmie Johnson
    9. Ty Dillon
    10. Timmy Hill
    11. David Ragan
    12. Chris Buescher
    13. Matt DiBenedetto
    14. Chase Elliott
    15. Ross Chastain
    16. Alex Bowman
    17. Kyle Larson
    18. Kurt Busch
    19. Austin Dillon
    20. Cole Custer
    21. Michael McDowell
    22. Tyler Reddick
    23. Ryan Blaney
    24. Bubba Wallace
    25. Reed Sorenson
    26. B.J. McLeod
    27. Corey LaJoie
    28. Brendan Gaughan
    29. Ryan Preece
    30. Justin Haley
    31. Martin Truex Jr.
    32. Kyle Busch
    33. Erik Jones
    34. Christopher Bell
    35. Denny Hamlin
    36. Clint Bowyer
    37. John Hunter Nemechek
    38. Quin Houff
    39. Joey Gase
    40. Brennan Poole
  • Noah Gragson captures first Xfinity Series win at Daytona

    Noah Gragson captures first Xfinity Series win at Daytona

    Noah Gragson was in the right place at the right time and grabbed his first Xfinity Series win in the season-opening NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevy. He took the lead from Chase Briscoe on the final restart of the race and was scored as the winner when a caution came out on the last lap.

    The final restart came on Lap 118 of the 120-lap race as Gragson moved to the lead. A multi-car wreck in Turn 3 brought out the final race caution on Lap 120 and he was declared the winner, besting second-place Harrison Burton by 0.631 seconds.

    It was the 21-year-old’s first victory in the series in 37 starts but it was the seventh win at Daytona for car owner, JR Motorsports, who has now won three of the season-openers in a row.

    He thanked everyone who has helped him along the way, particularly team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    “Man, I’m speechless right now,” Gragson said. “I didn’t think this would come. But there’s so many people who made this possible for me, Dustin Ash back at home, the O’Hanley family, Jefferson Pitts Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports, everybody who’s helped me get to this point. 

    “I spent a lot of time with Dale Jr. this week, talked to him for about two hours, and wanted to be a better speedway racer. He told me, go have fun; wreckers or checkers; you’ve got to manage your gaps, be there at the end, and just go lead the damn thing. That’s what we did.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton finished second in his debut race for the team.

    Although he conceded it was a great finish, he had hoped for more and credited his fallen friend, John Andretti, whose presence he felt during the race.

    “Not as great as it could have been, which is unfortunate,” Burton said. “There was a couple times where we almost got wrecked, and we kind of barely squeaked out of it, so I know I had John Andretti kind of over my shoulder watching me for that. That was really cool. There was a couple times this weekend in general where I blew a tire in practice and somehow didn’t wreck. Had a lot of help there from him.”

    Timmy Hill, who qualified for the upcoming Daytona 500 in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2, finished third, saying, “I just feel like this year is kicking off on a great note. Making the Daytona 500 on Thursday was awesome. I didn’t think it could get any better. Third place was a nice finish. I thought we could’ve had a shot at the win.”

    Brandon Jones and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top five as Justin Haley, Brandon Brown, Ray Black Jr., Ryan Sieg and Alex Labbe completed the top 10 finishers.

    Unofficial Race Results
    NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 1
    Race Results for the 39th Annual NASCAR Racing Experience 300 – Saturday, February 15, 2020
    Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL – 2.5 – Mile Paved

    FinStrNoDriverLapsS1PosS2PosS3PosPtsStatus
    1129Noah Gragson12049049Running
    2820Harrison Burton #12080038Running
    32666Timmy Hill1200000Running
    4619Brandon Jones12008036Running
    51098Chase Briscoe1201010034Running
    6311Justin Haley12052046Running
    71168Brandon Brown12006035Running
    8167Ray Black II12000029Running
    9939Ryan Sieg12004035Running
    101936Alex Labbe12090029Running
    1121Michael Annett11920035Accident
    123452JJ Yeley11900025Running
    13220BJ McLeod11900024Running
    142578Vinnie Miller11900023Running
    153647Joe Nemechek(i)1190000Running
    163574Mike Harmon11900021Running
    172015Robby Lyons II11900020Running
    18316David Starr11900019Running
    19184Jesse Little #11800018Accident
    203313Chad Finchum11800017Running
    213299Josh Bilicki11700016Running
    222338Ross Chastain11507019Running
    2348Jeb Burton11413032Accident
    24242Brett Moffitt(i)1140000Accident
    251522Austin Cindric11365023Accident
    261792Josh Williams11300011Accident
    272193CJ McLaughlin11300010Running
    282951Jeremy Clements1130009Running
    291490Caesar Bacarella1120008Accident
    30137Justin Allgaier10731025Accident
    31305Matt Mills1010006Electrical
    32718Riley Herbst #590005Accident
    33121Myatt Snider597008Accident
    342725Chris Cockrum590003Accident
    352861Austin Hill(i)370000Accident
    3658Joe Graf Jr #370001Accident
  • Decker, Kraus and Rohrbaugh earn career-best finishes at Daytona

    Decker, Kraus and Rohrbaugh earn career-best finishes at Daytona

    We’ve all heard the expression, “if you are in it, you can win it.” Although they did not get to victory lane, Natalie Decker, Derek Kraus and Codie Rohrbaugh all scored career-best finishes in the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series career Friday at Daytona International Speedway.

    Rohrbaugh competes for his family-owned team and accomplishes so much with few resources. Previously, his best finish was last year at Martinsville Speedway where the No. 9 team finished 10th. Tonight, however, the Petersburg, West Virginia native knew he had a chance to win and he came close to a victory.

    When Grant Enfinger and Jordan Anderson were battling at the line, it almost allowed Rohrbaugh the chance to sneak by for the win. But he had to settle for a third-place finish, falling 0.084 seconds short. It was a remarkable rebound after getting turned around coming to pit road on Lap 35.

    “It got really exciting,” Rohrbaugh said to MRN Radio. “First off, thank the good Lord for giving me the opportunity. Thanks to all my family, Pat, Grandma, the guys did an incredible job at the shop all winter to get us here. Just really, really thankful.”

    The third-place finish was Rohrbaugh’s first of his career.

    Stratford, Wisconsin native Derek Kraus also had an interesting night in Daytona beginning as early as Lap 9. Kraus had to come down to pit road while running inside the top-10 after a reported issue with the truck. As it turns out, there was a potential left front tire going down on the No. 19 Toyota. Pitting took the Wisconsin native out of a good stage finish for Stage 1 as he would finish 21st.

    As the event went on, Kraus had to rally from the back and avoid some major wrecks late in the going, especially the big one with three to go. When the race went into overtime, the Wisconsin native still had a shot to win but he had his work cut out for him as he did not have any teammates to work with. Even so, Kraus still had a solid day and earned the best finish of his Truck Series career with fourth place.

    “Just surviving really,” Kraus said to MRN Radio. “We survived all night and kind of rolled in the back there, and kind of had a strategy going at the end of the race. We executed the strategy and we ended up fourth.”

    Momentum means everything to the No. 19 team of Bill McAnally.

    “This is a really big start to the season, especially for my No. 19 Shockwave Toyota Tundra,” he added to MRN Radio. “Can’t thank Shockwave enough for coming on-board for this race and I look forward to the rest of the season.”

    Kraus’ previous best finish was eighth at Dover last year.

    As for Natalie Decker, she earned the best finish by a female driver at Daytona. The feat was last accomplished by Jennifer Jo Cobb who finished sixth in 2011. Decker started 30th and finished fifth to earn the best career finish of her career.

    “It’s amazing, I’m so thankful that N29 has been with me since the beginning,” Decker said to MRN Radio. “Thank you, Carl and happy birthday, and I’m just so happy I got to have my best finish here with Niece. I just think that’s so wonderful.”

    The run wasn’t all that easy for Decker as she had to dodge some melees throughout the race.

    “Yeah, there was a big wreck right in front of us and got some flat tires just to try, and stop from it,” she added to MRN Radio. “We rode around the back and that was our plan. I just had to ride, but it was so worth it, those last two laps being able to race up front there and get a good finish.”

  • Enfinger wins in photo-finish at Daytona over Anderson

    Enfinger wins in photo-finish at Daytona over Anderson

    After an overtime restart, Grant Enfinger narrowly won in a photo-finish against Jordan Anderson coming to the line. The two drivers beat and banged off one another until the checkered flag flew at Daytona International Speedway. However, in what was the closest Truck Series race in history, the Alabama native, Enfinger, broke a two-year drought dating back to Las Vegas.

    “It would have been a good story for Jordan to win, but it was a better story for us,” Enfinger said to MRN Radio. “He gave us some good shoves there and I knew he was going to try and make a move and he did. I wasn’t confident the bottom line was going to carry or not, but I was 100% confident in my spotter Chris Lambert as he talked me through there good. I gave some shoves and tried to block his momentum, and get off of him and I kind of stalled him to eventually beat him back to the line. Just an unbelievable Ford F-150 we had here, 100th win for Ford in the Truck Series, the 25th anniversary for Duke and Rhonda Thorson. God has blessed me with an incredible opportunity and maybe this season is the year for us.”

    Tonight’s race at Daytona was the season opener for the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series. Though race fans would have to wait a little while after the scheduled start time as a small rain shower moved through the area delaying the start of the race by more than half an hour.

    Stages were broken into 20/20/60 laps to make up the 100-lap race and rookie Riley Herbst was on the pole.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 20

    It appeared Stage 1 was going to be calm and collected with no incidents. However, a big incident occurred with five to go, as the No. 45 of Ty Majeski’s truck went upside down on its roof going into Turn 1 causing a red flag. Based on a replay, the No. 38 of Todd Gilliland made slight contact with the No. 12 of Tate Fogleman who then bumped into the No. 22 of Austin Wayne Self, while the two collected Majeski’s truck which made him flip. This incident would cause a seven-minute and 59 seconds red flag.

    A one-lap dash would set up a restart in Stage 1. Pole sitter Herbst took the stage win, while Tyler Ankrum, Christian Eckes, Brett Moffitt, Johnny Sauter, Stewart Friesen, Austin Hill, Grant Enfinger, Raphael Lessard and Todd Gilliland completed the top-10 for Stage 1.

    Stage 2: Lap 25- Lap 40

    There were no incidents in this stage as it went green the whole way. However, the No. 21 of Zane Smith had a window net down and was black flagged, and had to come down pit road to fix his issue. Then on Lap 35, the No. 9 of Codie Rohrbaugh got turned coming to pit road but saved the truck from crashing and no caution was thrown.

    Enfinger would wind up winning the second stage as Ben Rhodes, Ankrum, Hill, Herbst, Lessard, Friesen, Sauter and Sheldon Creed were the top-10 finishers in Stage 2.

    Stage 3: Lap 45- Lap 104

    There was a 20 lap green flag run taking place from Lap 45 to Lap 65. In fact, a few laps after lap 65, several drivers were thinking about making their last pit stop of the night in the coming laps. But a caution slowed the pace when the No. 00 of Angela Ruch spun in Turn 3 and caused a multi-vehicle wreck. Fogleman, Bryan Dauzat, Eckes, Smith and Brennan Poole were among the ones involved in the incident.

    A restart came with 25 to go and things were shaping up for another exciting finish at Daytona, especially in the Truck Series. The Trucks were racing hard all night and some drivers were making big risky moves in hopes of winning the race or pulling off the upset. In fact, in the first time around it looked like there was going to be a photo-finish as the trucks were three wide several rows back. As normally happens with Daytona late in the race, a caution came out for a big wreck in Turns 1 and 2.

    The No. 99 of Ben Rhodes got loose and almost took out race winner Enfinger in the process, but instead took out several other drivers including, Ankrum, Tanner Gray, Sauter, Herbst, Crafton, Gilliland, Friesen, Gus Dean, Jesse Little, Korbin Forrister and Eckes to name a few.

    Eventually, this put some drivers who had been riding around in the back the whole race up front at the end with a shot to win.

    The caution set up an overtime restart on Lap 104, just four laps past the advertised distance. On the white flag, the No. 40 of Ross Chastain had a huge run on Enfinger but Enfinger blocked and Chastain got shuffled out of the draft. The racing wasn’t done yet. This set up an unique opportunity for fan favorite and a potential upset, Jordan Anderson, who was running second with a head of momentum.

    Eagerly trying to find a way and time his moment to make the move, Anderson pulled out just a few feet from the finish line to try to pass Enfinger. Enfinger saw Anderson on the outside and the two bounced off one another, but in the end, it was the Alabama native Enfinger who took home the checkered flag just inches ahead of Anderson.

    “We had a good Ford F-150 last year,” Enfinger added to MRN Radio. “We could push pretty good, but we couldn’t lead. We tried to make improvements for Talladega, but we were terrible there. The guys at ThorSport Racing cut everything off of here. The roof, the chassis, everything in sight and we came back with a really good piece, and that was the difference. I fell into the sucker hole with 20 laps to go and I thought I lost my opportunity. Then I thought they were going to wreck, so I tried to get to an escape root to the bottom and they didn’t wreck. When it was time to go, I shot to the outside and was able to avoid that mayhem.”

    The win was Enfinger’s third win of his career and his first since Las Vegas in 2018, breaking a two-year win drought. He led four times for 41 laps and picked up six playoff points en route to victory.

    As Anderson watched the replay on pit road and his excitement was evident.

    “Grant, Grant, what are you doing door-slamming me man? I came here in 2015 and emptied my bank account to try to come down here and run. To be in a position to even go for a win at Daytona, man, I’m a kid that just wanted to go racing from South Carolina.

    “I thought we set him up good. We tried to follow Ross (Chastain) there and push him. I know he got loose, and I got up on Grant’s bumper there in (Turn) 4 and got a good run. It was like NASCAR Thunder 2003 all over again. I’m like, ‘God, I can do this!’ And I pushed him out of the way, and I thought we had it.”

    There were five cautions for 26 laps including one red flag along with 15 lead changes among seven different drivers.

    Official Results

    1. Grant Enfinger, led 41 laps, won Stage 2
    2. Jordan Anderson
    3. Codie Rohrbaugh
    4. Derek Kraus
    5. Natalie Decker
    6. Austin Hill, led 11 laps
    7. Johnny Sauter
    8. Ross Chastain
    9. Sheldon Creed, led two laps
    10. Jason White
    11. Zane Smith
    12. Riley Herbst, led 21 laps
    13. Brett Moffitt
    14. Cory Roper
    15. Matt Crafton
    16. Todd Gilliland
    17. Brennan Poole
    18. Korbin Forrister
    19. Spencer Boyd, one lap down
    20. Raphael Lessard, one lap down
    21. Stewart Friesen, one lap down, led 13 laps
    22. Christian Eckes, one lap down, Stage 1 winner
    23. Tanner Gray, OUT, Accident
    24. Jesse Little, OUT, Accident
    25. Ben Rhodes, OUT, Accident, led 17 laps
    26. Gus Dean, OUT, Accident
    27. Tyler Ankrum, OUT, Accident
    28. Angela Ruch, OUT, Accident
    29. Bryan Dauzat, OUT, Accident
    30. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Accident
    31. Austin Wayne Self, OUT, Accident
    32. Ty Majeski, OUT, Accident
  • Weekend Schedule for Daytona

    Weekend Schedule for Daytona

    This weekend the season officially begins as all three series head to Daytona International Speedway. The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series races Friday evening and the Xfinity Series takes the stage Saturday afternoon. Sunday features the main event with the 62nd annual Daytona 500.

    Thursday, Feb. 13

    4:05-4:55 p.m.: Truck Series first practice – FS2

    5:30-5:55 p.m.:  Final Truck Series practice – FS1

    7 p.m.:  First Daytona 500 qualifying race – Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 (60 laps,150 miles) – FS1/MRN

    8:45 p.m.:  Second Daytona 500 qualifying race – Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 (60 laps/150 miles) – FS1/MRN

    Friday, Feb. 14

    2:05-2:55 p.m.:  Xfinity Series first practice – FS1

    3:10 p.m.:  Truck Series qualifying – FS1

    4:32-4:57 p.m.:  Xfinity Series final practice – FS1

    5:05-5:55 p.m.:  Cup Series third practice – FS1/MRN/TSN

    7:30 p.m.:  NASCAR Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 race (Stages 20/40/100 Laps = 250 Miles) FS1/MRN /SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, Feb. 15

    11 a.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying – FS1

    12:30-1:20 p.m.: Cup Series final practice – FS1/MRN/TSN

    2:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series NASCAR Racing Experience 300 race (Stages 30/60/120 Laps = 300 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, Feb. 16

    2:30 p.m.: Daytona 500 – (Stages 65/130/200 Laps = 500 Miles) FOX/MRN/TSN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Starting Lineup for the Daytona 500:

    1 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    2 88 Alex Bowman
    3 22 Joey Logano
    4 24 William Byron
    5 10 Aric Almirola
    6 48 Jimmie Johnson
    7 6 Ryan Newman
    8 42 Kyle Larson
    9 2 Brad Keselowski
    10 4 Kevin Harvick
    11 43 Bubba Wallace
    12 41 Cole Custer #
    13 3 Austin Dillon
    14 20 Erik Jones
    15 19 Martin Truex Jr.
    16 21 Matt DiBenedetto
    17 95 Christopher Bell #
    18 1 Kurt Busch
    19 17 Chris Buescher
    20 77 Ross Chastain(i)
    21 11 Denny Hamlin
    22 8 Tyler Reddick #
    23 38 John Hunter Nemechek #
    24 13 Ty Dillon
    25 9 Chase Elliott
    26 34 Michael McDowell
    27 12 Ryan Blaney
    28 18 Kyle Busch
    29 14 Clint Bowyer
    30 36 David Ragan
    31 37 Ryan Preece
    32 66 Timmy Hill(i)
    33 16 Justin Haley(i)
    34 15 Brennan Poole #
    35 0 Quin Houff #
    36 32 Corey LaJoie
    37 51 Joey Gase(i)
    38 52 BJ McLeod(i)
    39 62 Brendan Gaughan(i)
    40 27 Reed Sorenson

    Did not qualify: Chad Finchum (No. 49) JJ Yeley (No. 54) Daniel Suarez (No. 96)

    To the rear: Blaney No. 12 (backup car), LaJoie No. 32 (backup car)

  • William Bryon wins Duel 2 at Daytona in dramatic fashion

    William Bryon wins Duel 2 at Daytona in dramatic fashion

    William Byron got the very first win of his Cup Series career Thursday night and while it was just an exhibition race, the victory was still a huge statement heading into The Daytona 500. Byron ended up winning the Duel 2 race after making a gutsy move to the outside lane on Lap 57, which allowed him to hook up with Jimmie Johnson and take the lead from Kevin Harvick.

    “Yeah, we’re going to use this momentum as it should be,” Byron said. “I feel like we didn’t luck into this.  We’ve built something over the last year working with Chad. He’s allowed me to grow up a lot. I think he’s held me accountable for a lot of things that are really good.”

    “I just feel comfortable walking into the shop,” he continued. “I think that took me really till this year, this off-season, to walk in and just feel like a racecar driver and comfortable. That’s a lot of credit to him and Tyler, Brandon, all the guys on the team.”

    Jimmie Johnson came home in second place after pushing his teammate out front, Kyle Larson worked his way to third, Harvick shuffled back to fourth and rookie Cole Custer rounded out the top-five. Other notable finishers include Matt DiBenedetto, who finished seventh, Ross Chastain in ninth and Tyler Reddick, who came home 10th.

    While Bryon’s win was impressive, especially considering the questions that were hanging over The Chevrolet camp, it was also very surprising. The reason for this is that if Chevrolet didn’t get a lucky caution on Lap 43 when JJ Yeley hit the wall, they would have most likely remained five or six seconds behind the Toyota and Ford camps due to pit stops.

    The Chevrolets pitted on Lap 24, which was a full 10 laps before The Toyota and Ford cars came in to get serviced. This gave Toyota and Ford a huge advantage with track position and left little chance of the Chevrolets catching up. This was ultimately remedied by the JJ Yeley incident and bunched the field back up for one last shootout.

    Due to Yeley’s incident on Lap 43, he did not qualify for The Daytona 500, which opened the door for Timmy Hill to make The Great American race. Hill joins Reed Sorenson who qualified for the field in the first duel race of the evening and beat out Daniel Saurez and Chad Finchum to do so.

    Coverage for The Daytona 500 will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. on FOX. Prerace festivities including predictions, driver introductions and more can be seen at 11 a.m.

    Starting Lineup for the Daytona 500:

    Starting Lineup for the Daytona 500:

    1 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    2 88 Alex Bowman
    3 22 Joey Logano
    4 24 William Byron
    5 10 Aric Almirola
    6 48 Jimmie Johnson
    7 6 Ryan Newman
    8 42 Kyle Larson
    9 2 Brad Keselowski
    10 4 Kevin Harvick
    11 43 Bubba Wallace
    12 41 Cole Custer #
    13 3 Austin Dillon
    14 20 Erik Jones
    15 19 Martin Truex Jr.
    16 21 Matt DiBenedetto
    17 95 Christopher Bell #
    18 1 Kurt Busch
    19 17 Chris Buescher
    20 77 Ross Chastain(i)
    21 11 Denny Hamlin
    22 8 Tyler Reddick #
    23 38 John Hunter Nemechek #
    24 13 Ty Dillon
    25 9 Chase Elliott
    26 34 Michael McDowell
    27 12 Ryan Blaney
    28 18 Kyle Busch
    29 14 Clint Bowyer
    30 36 David Ragan
    31 37 Ryan Preece
    32 66 Timmy Hill(i)
    33 16 Justin Haley(i)
    34 15 Brennan Poole #
    35 0 Quin Houff #
    36 32 Corey LaJoie
    37 51 Joey Gase(i)
    38 52 BJ McLeod(i)
    39 62 Brendan Gaughan(i)
    40 27 Reed Sorenson

    Did not qualify: Chad Finchum (No. 49) JJ Yeley (No. 54) Daniel Suarez (No. 96)

    To the rear: Blaney No. 12 (backup car), LaJoie No. 32 (backup car)

  • Joey Logano fends off the field to win Duel 1 at Daytona

    Joey Logano fends off the field to win Duel 1 at Daytona

    Rain seemed to be a minor setback for the first Bluegreens Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway but the drivers did not hold anything back as it became a massive dogfight at the end between the leaders. Joey Logano held off pole-sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win Duel 1. As a result, it gives him 10 points and a starting position of third for this weekend’s Daytona 500.

    “It feels so good,” Logano stated. “I mean, obviously it’s the Duels, not the Daytona 500, but momentum is momentum.”

    “This is awesome, he added. “What great teamwork by the Ford’s, especially Aric Almirola, my goodness. He was a great pusher at the right time and we were able to hold off the bottom when we needed and hold off the Chevy’s and showed the speed that the Ford’s have here. That is something I am proud to be a part of. I am proud to be driving that Blue Oval and these Roush Yates motors. We are ready to rock and roll. I can’t wait for the 500.”

    Stenhouse led the way early on until he and the other Chevys pitted on Lap 23, beginning the cycle of green-flag pit stops.

    A lap later the Toyotas would enter pit lane, but not all were free of trouble.

    Martin Truex Jr. and rookie Christopher Bell made contact, causing the No. 19 to miss his pit stall. Daniel Suarez, who was racing his way in, would lose the draft of the Toyotas.

    While the Chevys and Toyotas pitted, the Fords stayed out on track, with Clint Bowyer leading the group. However, as they entered pit lane, a caution would come out when Suarez and Ryan Blaney collided off of Turn 4.

    Suarez, who had just finished his pit stop, was on the inside line. Trying to check up for Brad Keselowski’s car, Suarez’s No. 96 slid up, while Ryan Blaney was trying to pit from the outside line, causing a crash.

    Blaney accepted the blame for the contact, saying, “It was just an error on my part and kind of a little lack of communication that didn’t end well.”

    The wreck resulted in massive front end damage to Suarez’s Toyota. Blaney received right-side damage to his No.12 Ford Mustang. Suarez’s chances of making the 500 came to an end, while Blaney kept on going.

    Many of the Fords that had committed to pit lane did not take service due to the caution, but Bowyer and Chris Buescher took service and both received an end of the longest line penalty.

    Stenhouse would lead on the restart, but things would get heated up as Logano would challenge the No. 47 for the lead with help from Almirola. With Logano taking over, the field calmed down and stayed mostly single file until the 10 lap to go mark, guarding the inside line. It became a Ford top six consisting of Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing and Roush Fenway cars.

    At first, Keselowski formed an outside line, but the leaders migrated upward to block the outside line. Stenhouse was thinking otherwise. The No. 47 went down to the bottom and made huge runs on the leaders with help from the inside line. Stenhouse would steal some laps from Logano and it became a drag race between him and the No. 22.

    Stenhouse’s momentum would stall out as Almirola would shove Logano, creating a massive gap ahead of the main pack. With runs coming left and right, Logano blocked both lanes to win. Logano, who led 19 laps in the event, will get 10 points, giving him a head start in the standings.

    Almirola would finish second, with Newman, Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace Jr. rounding out the top five. Pole sitter Stenhouse finished eighth.

    Rookie Bell would finish ninth in his first-ever Duel.

    Due to Suarez’s crash, Reed Sorenson would make it into the Daytona 500 with an 18th place finish. Chad Finchum would not qualify for the main event, as he finished 20th in the Duel.

    There were 11 lead changes and only one caution for seven laps.