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  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings – Daytona

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings – Daytona

    The first race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season kicked-off this past Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Of course, there were intense moments as always when racing at superspeedways with the possibility of an upset winner. However, it was a familiar foe back on top of the scoring pylon for his first win of the season. Here’s a look at the top five power rankings leaving Daytona.

    1. Johnny Sauter – The last time Sauter left Daytona as the winner was in 2016. Later on that year, he would clinch and collect his first ever NASCAR Truck Series championship. So could that be a sign for Sauter in 2018? Only time will tell, but expect him to run up front and be in contention for stage wins and race wins. Sauter started second, led for 39 laps and finished second, and first respectively in both stages. His season is off to the right start as he carries momentum to Atlanta this weekend. However, he will have to continue his strong runs for the next 22 races if he wants to be champion again.
    2. Justin Haley – Haley scored his career-best finish in the Truck Series since Kentucky of last year (third). This also carried a 1-2 finish for GMS Racing this past weekend. GMS Racing is off to a strong start in 2018 and will be tough to challenge for the championship as the season goes on.
    3. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes also earned a career-best at track finish of fourth. His best Daytona finish prior to the race was seventh in 2016. After starting 24th, he worked his way up and avoided all the melee to earn his first top-five finish of the year and his 10th of his career.
    4. Joe Nemechek – When in Daytona, you can expect a unique top five or top 10 finish. Nemechek did just that after the carnage was all said and done as he posted third on the scoring pylon. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, as he came in fifth in last year’s race. This was Nemechek’s fourth top-five finish of his career. Not bad for someone who doesn’t regularly compete.
    5. Spencer Davis – Davis competed in his first ever truck series race this past weekend at Daytona driving the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra. Stage 1 started off well for Davis as he would finish 11th. Just one spot outside the top 10 to earn playoff points. In Stage 2, he upped that position by finishing 10th. Davis was there at the end and if something had happened, he could have capitalized on it and possibly become the upset winner. However, he would end up sliding around across the finish line to earn a seventh-place finish.
  • Wallace Overcome With Emotion after Runner-up Finish at Daytona

    Wallace Overcome With Emotion after Runner-up Finish at Daytona

    While most of the Daytona 500 headlines will focus on Austin Dillon’s win in the iconic No. 3, runner-up Darrell Wallace Jr. quietly captured the hearts of NASCAR fans everywhere as his emotions overwhelmed him after the race.

    He’s been under a spotlight since it was announced on October 25 that he had signed to drive in the Monster Energy Cup Series for NASCAR’s undisputed King, Richard Petty. Add in the pressure of representing the African American community in the sport and you get a hint of what the 24-year-old has been dealing with as he prepared for his first Daytona 500.

    But don’t think for a minute that he has any regrets. It’s what Wallace has been working toward since he began racing and he’s determined to make the most of the opportunity. His drive to succeed is evident to anyone who has followed his career. His comments are often unfiltered, a welcome respite from the more polished veterans of the sport who have become masters of the public relations game.

    What you see is what you get, pure unfiltered emotion that reaches out and grabs your attention.

    Wallace sat down to speak to the media after Sunday’s race when he was interrupted by his mother, Desiree Wallace, who came in to congratulate him. He stood up and as they hugged, she said, “We’ve waited so long baby.” As they continued their embrace, Wallace laughed and said, “You act like we just won the race,” to which she replied, “We did, we did!”

    As he said down to answer questions, he fought through tears to gain his composure.

    “It’s a sensitive subject, but I’m just so emotional over where my family has been the last two years, and I don’t talk about it, but it’s just so hard,” Wallace said,  “and so having them here to support me is … pull it together, bud, pull it together. You just finished second. It’s awesome.

    “I just try so hard to be successful at everything I do, and my family pushes me each and every day, and they might not even know it, but I just want to make them proud.”

    It today was any indication; Wallace is on the right track.

    He started the Daytona 500 in seventh place and was able to remain in the top 10 as the race came to a close. Wallace avoided the Turn 1 chaos that brought out the caution on the next to last scheduled lap of completion and passed Denny Hamlin in the closing moments to finish second.

    Wallace made no apologies for his emotions, saying, “No matter what the circumstances are when you have family here and you run good and it’s been a while since you’ve been somewhat competitive, it pulls on the heartstrings. I’m competitive. I love to win. I hate to finish second.  Obviously, that shows for everybody. But I’m human. No matter if I race cars for a living and enjoy doing it, at the end of the day we all get emotional about something, so I’m just the same as you guys.”

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

  • Daytona 500 Report – More of the Same

    Daytona 500 Report – More of the Same

    The 60th edition of the Great American Race was run Sunday under sunny skies in Daytona Beach, Florida. From the start, shortly after 3:00 p.m.,  it was nearly four hours of chaos. At the end, there were only a few competitive cars left to race.

    At Lap 61, nine cars were eliminated or damages. This included stars like Erik Jones, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Larson. At Lap 103, Chase Elliott, Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Kasey Kahne were eliminated. It wasn’t over. At Lap 200, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., William Byron, Ryan Newman, and Kyle Larson were eliminated or damaged. Then came the “overtime,” and that cost Aric Almirola, who was leading at the time, elimination. That’s a total of nearly half the field.

    Why, you may ask. The answer is restrictor plate (or tapered spacer) racing. It involves cars racing at fast speeds, so close together that there is no room for error. Then include the fashionable practice of blocking. It’s Daytona Roulette. The result is only a few cars lucky enough to have avoided all the earlier carnage can be around at the end. Unfortunately, on this day even the lessening of contenders did not stop the blocking, and a crash ended the race. You may have read my earlier comment on the so-called plate racing from about five years ago. This guy doesn’t like it. Many people do. Some like the fact that almost anyone can win and others like the crashes. With 80 percent of the field either having damage or eliminated from competition, it becomes little more than a demolition derby or as I called it, a train wreck, not racing.

    One proponent of this “racing” told me today that we run nearly 200 mph at several tracks, why is this a problem at Daytona, he asked. High banks and aggressive drivers is the answer. Those tracks don’t have the banking or the aggressive behavior that is required at Daytona because in order to keep up, you have to block, and when you get a push from behind, you are helpless to slow down.

    What’s the answer? I won’t pretend to even think I know. I do take one tidbit from the past. Back in the dark ages before Bobby Allison tore out the catchfence at Talladega when everyone was running seven-liter engines, NASCAR decided to inch away from the big blocks for a more reasonable cost. The late Bud Moore was the first to try it and his No. 15 Fords had a hard time keeping up until everyone changed. Speeds at Daytona were about 176 mph and the racing was great. Now they use these smaller blocks and go even faster with a restrictor plate. Much like the gun debate in society, no one has an answer and no one is even trying to do anything to change it. So, we’re stuck with crash fests. Sad.

    The lesson from all of this is never take anything from plate races that would mean there is a pattern to competitiveness that would ring true for the rest of the season (except for the three remaining plate races). Chevrolet won the 500, but only led 19 laps on the day. Ford drivers led 150 laps and Toyota drivers led 38. Chevrolet, which brought the new Camaro ZL1 to Daytona, led only 19 laps all day. When we get to Atlanta, we’ll have a better idea of the season ahead. No, we won’t anoint Bubba Wallace the most popular driver yet (though he’s got a head start on that), or declare the young kids as not as advertised. It’s back to reality next week and real racing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Several Truck Series Veterans Leave Daytona Disappointed; Hopeful For Turnaround At Atlanta

    Several Truck Series Veterans Leave Daytona Disappointed; Hopeful For Turnaround At Atlanta

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicked-off its 23rd year of competition and its eighth year racing at Daytona International Speedway. Some drivers left Daytona happy, but others like Matt Crafton (still searching for his first win at Daytona) left unhappy. Others included Noah Gragson, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snider, Stewart Friesen, Cody Coughlin and Brett Moffit.

    Thorsport Racing – Two of its entries were involved in multiple incidents at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. On Lap 74, Snider was collected in a six-truck crash. He barely made it through the crash but was caught at the last second by Nemechek. After finishing seventh in Stage 1, Snider’s night was done early and he was relegated to a 24th place finish after finishing in the top 10 last year.

    “I almost got through the wreck, but John (Hunter Nemechek) ended up coming down the track and we made contact,” Snider said.  “Then, I was in the grass and dug the splitter in and tore the nose off. We had a really good truck – the guys at ThorSport brought me a really good Liberty Tax Ford F-150, and I’m really proud of the work they’ve all done, especially for how quick we had to get things turned around before the season started. It’s a great group of guys, I just hate that all of their hard work ended up getting torn up like that.”

    Matt Crafton was involved in a five-truck crash late in the race on Lap 83. With the incident, Crafton is still searching for his first Daytona win and it will have to wait another year, as he wound up finishing 19th. Despite not getting the finish he wanted, Crafton is looking forward to Atlanta next weekend.

    “Tonight just wasn’t our night,” he said.  “We had the pit road issue early, and then we had an issue with something under the hood – never could quite figure that out. Then, there at the end, we got turned and had to make multiple trips down pit road to repair the damage on the rear. Overall though, this Menards Ford F-150 was good. Even after the pit road penalty, I knew we could make our way back to the front whenever we wanted, we just had to play it smart. Unfortunately, we just didn’t get to make that move. We will regroup and head to Atlanta next week – hands down one of my favorite tracks.”

    Cody Coughlin found himself in a new team this season driving the No. 2 JEGS Chevy for GMS Racing. Things started off well as he started 10th and finished there in Stage 1 while finishing fourth in Stage 2. However, at Daytona, you have to some luck in order to be there at the end to capitalize on it. Unfortunately, Coughlin was collected in the first wreck of the night off Turn 4. At the end of the night, the scoring pylon showed the No. 2 in 17th.

    “Well, we had a good run going tonight and a really fast JEGS.com Chevrolet Silverado,” Coughlin said. “We just had terrible luck. It’s hard to overcome two flat left rear tires and having to start at the tail of the field a lot due to those issues. Hopefully, we can get this luck turned around for next weekend at Atlanta (Motor Speedway).”

    Noah Gragson who is now in his second year at Kyle Busch Motorsports also had unfortunate luck after having a strong run. Gragson posted a fifth place qualifying effort Friday afternoon giving him a good starting position. But at Daytona, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. The first two stages saw him finish ninth and 14th, respectively. On Lap 56, the No. 18 Safelite Tundra was involved in a multi-vehicle wreck which thus ended their night early with a 23rd place finish.

    “In Daytona, a lot of the luck is not in the drivers’ hands — it is what it is. We qualified really good — Rudy Fugle and the guys on this No. 18 team built a really fast Safelite AutoGlass/Switch Toyota Tundra during the offseason,” Gragson said.  “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be driving for this team. This is not the way we wanted to start our season, but we can go to Atlanta next week with our heads held high that we had a lot of speed and I’m confident that we’ll have speed again next weekend in our first mile-and-a-half race of the year.”

    Hunter Nemechek finished 25th after being taken out on Lap 74, Stewart Friesen (27th) on the same lap and Brett Moffit was shown 26th.

    While some teams are already ahead and look forward to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend, other teams are behind and will be playing catch up.

     

  • Austin Dillon Wins the Daytona 500

    Austin Dillon Wins the Daytona 500

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    RACE SUMMARY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    NUTS & BOLTS

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

    Blaney leaves with a six-point lead over Dillon.

     

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

     

  • Tyler Reddick Wins XFINITY Race by Inches at Daytona

    Tyler Reddick Wins XFINITY Race by Inches at Daytona

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

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

     

  • The View From My Recliner — Pre 500

    The View From My Recliner — Pre 500

    It’s been a while, but the recliner is set for another great season of NASCAR action.

    I hope there is more action in the Daytona 500 than the Advanced Auto Parts Duel at Daytona because riding around in single file and the big one happening on the final lap doesn’t mean action to me.

    It looks like the new ride height rule has crew chiefs and engineers scratching their heads about how to make the car handle at Daytona. Thankfully they have a couple of days to run simulations and get a plan together and hopefully bring us an action-packed Daytona 500.

    The idea behind this column is to share the perspective of a fan. If there is something you want to comment on, feel free to e-mail me jdhwood20@aol.com. I am here for you.

    Time for some Bold Predictions from the Recliner.

    • The five crew members over the pit wall will be a mess and before NASCAR gets to Charlotte for the All-Star Race, that rule will change.
    • Ryan Blaney will win the Daytona 500.
    • I will be the new owner of BK Racing. Well, not really, but Ron Devine won’t be soon.
    • When we hit the intermediate tracks, every Ford driver will be complaining that Chevy and Toyota will have an unfair advantage.
    • The Danica Double will end with wrecks at Daytona and Indy.
    • Chase Elliott will get his first win and they will keep coming after that.
    • Furniture Row Racing will have the Championship hangover and Martin Truex Jr. will not make the final four at Homestead.
    • The final four at Homestead will be: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney.
    • The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion will be Kyle Larson.

    There are a few things I will be watching for this year.

    I want to see how Aric Almirola performs in Stewart-Haas equipment. He was respectable at Richard Petty Motorsports, but he knew most weeks that a top-15 was what he could hope for. Now that he is in a top-notch ride, he needs to prove he is the driver who can handle the equipment.

    I hope Bubba Wallace gets enough funding and RPM has the patience to see him develop as a driver at the Cup level. I think he has the talent and I hope he gets the chance to prove it.

    I am looking forward to finding out how the Hawkeye inspection platform works and if we will have 20 cars late for qualifying.

    It truly is an honor to have this space to share my thoughts on a sport I love.

    Enjoy the Duels and the rest of Speedweek.

    We’ll talk soon when I share The View From My Recliner.

  • Five Cars Wreck in Final Lap of Clash

    Five Cars Wreck in Final Lap of Clash

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

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

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

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

    From that moment on, calamity ensued.

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

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

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

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

  • Keselowski Wins The Clash

    Keselowski Wins The Clash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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