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Tag: Daytona International Speedway

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 21st at Daytona and clinched the regular-season championship.

    “As regular-season champ,” Larson said, “I earned 15 playoff bonus points and a sweet trophy. I’m proud of winning that trophy. I’m going to display that trophy proudly, right inside a box in a storage facility.”

    2. Chase Elliott: Elliott was involved in the ‘Big One’ with three laps to go when his attempt to block Matt DiBenedetto triggered a massive crash that forced the race to be red-flagged.

    “My bad,” Elliott said. “If you could have read the readings of my fitness tracker, it most certainly would have said ‘Whoops!’”

    3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney avoided late carnage at Daytona and took the win in an overtime finish to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400. It was Blaney’s third win of the season and second in a row, and places him second in the playoff reset.

    “I feel good about playoff momentum,” Blaney said. “I’m looking forward to battling 15 drivers for the Cup, instead of avoiding 15 maniacs desperate for a win, which was the case at Daytona.”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin ran up front all night but was collected in the ‘Big One’ and limped home in 14th place.

    “There were a lot of drivers out there going for broke,” Hamlin said. “If ‘broke’ was what they were going for, they certainly achieved it.

    “With no wins this season, I had to qualify for the playoffs on points. As a result, I’ll start the playoffs in seventh, somewhat in a hole. And speaking of ‘a holes,’ Kyle Busch is my teammate.”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex was clipped by the No. 47 car on lap 146, which sent Truex into the outside wall and back into oncoming traffic. Truex finished 30th.

    “That’s par for the course at superspeedways,” Truex said. “When you have cars running nose-to-tail at speeds approaching 190 miles per hour, you’re bound to eventually have cars running nose-to-tail with a tow truck at speeds approaching 35 miles per hour.”

    6. William Byron: Byron was taken out in a Lap 146 crash triggered when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. hit Martin Truex Jr.

    “Several drivers were wearing Whoop straps,” Byron said, “which is a fitness tracker. So, if you were a viewer and wanted to see drivers’ heart rates, calories burned, and other metrics, well then ‘Whoop, there it is.’”

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was clipped after contact between Daniel Suarez and Kurt Busch triggered a multi-car crash.

    “With that final playoff spot on the line,” Harvick said, “you could feel the tension in the air. In fact, you could cut it with a knife, which is also what I’d like to do to Suarez and Busch.”

    8. Alex Bowman: Bowman scrapped his way back from a spin midway through the race to post an eighth-place finish.

    “Olympic medalist and 200-meter world champion Noah Lyles served as grand marshal,” Bowman said. “Here’s an interesting bit of information: when Lyles takes a drug test, he pees into a ‘Sprint Cup.’”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch was taken out in a big Lap 158 crash that involved several cars. Busch finished 35th.

    I’m blaming Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez for that wreck,” Busch said. “They were just racing stupid. They should be ashamed. Heck, they shouldn’t even be allowed to show their face in Daytona again, but by the orders of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, they have to.”

    10. Joey Logano: Logano suffered a late cut tire at Daytona, which forced him to pit under green. He eventually finished 24th, one lap down.

    “Daytona is known as the ‘World Center Of Speed,” Logano said. “There was once a time back in the late 2000s when the Mayfield clan out of Kentucky made a claim to make that nickname their own.”

  • Kyle Larson crowned NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion

    Kyle Larson crowned NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion

    Kyle Larson won the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night. The trophy was awarded at the conclusion of the Coke Zero 400, the final race before the post-season Playoffs.

    In his debut season with Hendrick Motorsports Larson has scored five wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s, led 1566 laps and earned 13 stage wins. He has led the championship points standings since claiming his fifth win at Watkins Glen International on August 8.

    The regular-season championship gives Larson an additional 15 points as he heads into the 10-race Playoffs.

    “We had a stretch there where we won like every stage and every race for a few weeks in a row,” Larson said. “I think we took huge chunks out then. I think I read somewhere where we overcame, I think, a 166-point gap to Denny (Hamlin). I didn’t think it was possible, but our team has worked so hard all of the regular season.

    “I couldn’t do it without Mr. Hendrick and Linda and all of their support. Everybody back at the shop, too. This is a long season and we still have 10 races to go. It’s a long point to get here and it’s just a big hats off to everybody at the shop, HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, Tarlton and Son, everybody who’s been on board to help us out this year.”

    Jim Campbell, GM U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports, congratulated Larson and the team, saying, “It was quite a battle right to the end, but the combination of the most wins, top-fives, top-10 finishes, stage wins and laps led made the difference to secure this Regular Season Championship. The team has momentum going into the Playoffs.”

    The Playoffs begin Sept. 5 at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and Larson is confident that his team will perform well.

    “I mean, I think there’s a lot of good tracks for us,” Larson said. “I don’t know which ones specifically. I feel like we have a shot to win anywhere right now. That’s encouraging.

    “I really just look forward to getting it started next week, kind of getting into the flow of that, racing in the playoffs against multiple other drivers chasing points and wins. Yeah, I feel good about it.”

    But Larson’s confidence is tempered with the knowledge that the completion will be tough.

    “I think everybody has had their moments of being really strong this year,” he said. “I think the three others, my teammates, are going to be really tough. I think I look at obviously Denny, Martin, Kyle Busch, as probably being the three others besides our team that stand out.

    “I feel like there’s always one or two guys that you don’t really notice that much during the regular season, maybe don’t even notice that much in the first round, but really start hitting their stride after that. There’s probably definitely a few wild cards out there. You won’t really know who they are until we get a few races in.”

    The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 5 and will be broadcast live on NBCSN.  

  • Blaney caps off regular-season stretch with a thrilling win at Daytona

    Blaney caps off regular-season stretch with a thrilling win at Daytona

    For a second consecutive week, Ryan Blaney stole the show after the High Point, North Carolina, native took the lead from Chris Buescher prior to the final lap and pulled away from the field wrecking behind to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway under caution on Saturday, August 28.

    The victory was Blaney’s third of the season as he will be one of 16 competitors who will compete for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship over a 10-week Playoff stretch. 

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. Kyle Larson, the regular-season points leader, was scheduled to start on pole position, but instead, he started at the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection multiple times. With that, teammate William Byron, winner of last year’s Daytona 400 event, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin.

    Along with Larson, Joey Gase, Corey LaJoie and Kaz Grala started at the rear of the field due to multiple pre-race inspection failures. Michael McDowell and rookie Anthony Alfredo, teammates at Front Row Motorsports, also dropped to the rear of the field after it was discovered that both cars did not conform to NASCAR rule specifications pinpointing the deck lid extensions. As a result, crew chiefs Drew Blickensderfer and Seth Barbour were ejected from the event. Car chief Jason Sheets served as McDowell’s interim crew chief while Derrick Finley, Front Row Motorsports’ competition director, served as Alfredo’s interim crew chief. To make matters worse, Alfredo was assessed a pass-through penalty on pit road following the start of the race for illegal body adjustments made to his car while on the grid.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron received an early advantage on the outside lane with drafting help from Kyle Busch to take the lead, where he went on to lead the first lap by a nose over Hamlin.

    The following lap, Byron broke away from the pack as he continued to lead ahead of Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr., all of whom were on the inside lane, while Kyle Busch settled as the lead car on the outside lane.

    By the fifth lap, a majority of the pack formed a single-file line on the outside lane as Byron led teammate Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Truex, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch. Leading the inside line was ninth-place Alex Bowman.

    Two laps later, Kevin Harvick, who had drafting help from Blaney, peaked ahead by nose to lead a lap over Byron. Another two laps later and while Byron moved back into the lead, Elliott got shuffled out of the top five as he dropped to the mid-pack. 

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Hamlin moved into the lead followed by Bubba Wallace while Byron, who had led seven laps, was back in third ahead of Austin Dillon and Harvick. Kyle Busch, Blaney, Ross Chastain, Bowman and Brad Keselowski were in the top 10. By then, Joey Logano was in 12th, Elliott was in 15th, Truex was in 20th in between teammate Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch was in 24th behind rookie Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece and Kyle Larson was mired in 26th behind Aric Almirola.

    Five laps later, the field fanned out to three tight lanes as Byron, who moved back into the lead the previous lap, was leading ahead of Hamlin, Chastain, Logano and Austin Dillon. Another three laps later, Chastain made a pit stop under green for two fresh tires and to have his fenders fixed. By then, Austin Dillon motored into the lead ahead of Elliott and Hamlin.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Elliott squeaked ahead of Austin Dillon to lead followed by Truex, Logano and Stenhouse. Byron, Hamlin, Cole Custer, Blaney and Briscoe were in the top 10. By then, five different competitors led at least a lap.

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted with all utilizing a variety of strategies. Following the pit stops Elliott retained the lead. Prior to the restart, Michael McDowell fell off the pace and took his car to the garage due to an engine failure and dropping fluid on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 25, Elliott and Custer battled dead even for the lead before Elliott cleared the field when he and the field returned to the start/finish line. The following lap, Hamlin made a bold three-wide move on Logano and Austin Dillon in a bid for third place as Elliott and Custer battled for the lead ahead of a packed field.

    By Lap 30 and with the majority of the field settled in a single-file line, Elliott continued to lead followed by Logano, Custer, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Byron, Bell, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Chastain.

    Ten laps later, Elliott remained as the leader of a long single-file line followed by Logano, Custer, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Byron, Bell, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Chastain. Meanwhile, Truex was in 13th behind Blaney, Wallace was in 16th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Almirola and Tyler Reddick were in 19th and 20th, Harvick and Larson were in 22nd and 23rd behind Briscoe, Bowman was in 25th behind Daniel Suarez and DiBenedetto was mired in 28th.

    The following lap, Logano emerged as the new leader while Elliott got shuffled back to fourth in front of teammate Byron while trying to clean his grille. Two laps later, Elliott received a boost from teammate Byron to storm back into the lead while Logano had to defend the outside lane from a hard-charging Austin Dillon.

    Approaching Lap 46, Logano gained a draft on Elliott, moved to the inside lane and tried to slide in front of Elliott through Turns 3 and 4, but he was unable to as Elliott retained the lead on the outside lane while Logano settled in as the lead car on the inside lane.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 50 following an early competitive race, Elliott managed to retain the lead and claim his third stage victory of the season. Hamlin settled in second followed by Kyle Busch, who nearly wrecked approaching the start/finish line following contact with Ross Chastain. Chastain was fourth followed by Truex, Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Logano, Preece and Chris Buescher. By then, seven different competitors had led at least a lap within the pack racing and the draft.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for four fresh tires and to top off on fuel.

    The second stage started on Lap 55. At the start, Truex pulled ahead by a slight margin over Elliott on the outside lane through the first two turns before clearing Elliott entering Turn 3. By then, he had names like Corey LaJoie, Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch settled in behind him.

    Two laps later, LaJoie made a move beneath Truex to lead a lap before he got shuffled out of the draft and back in fourth.

    Through the first 60 laps of the event, Truex, who took the lead back on Lap 58, was leading followed by teammate Bell, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, LaJoie, Keselowski, Elliott, Chastain and Preece.

    Fifteen laps later, Bell, who took over the top spot on Lap 70, was leading followed by Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Logano, Truex, Elliott, LaJoie, Briscoe, Reddick and a steaming pack of cars.

    On Lap 77, the caution flew when Almirola and Bowman spun in the middle of Turn 4 while running near the rear of the field and in front of a handful of competitors. During the incident, Hamlin ran into the rear of Preece.

    Four laps later, the race restarted under green as Logano and Bell started on the front row. At the start, Logano launched ahead followed by Bell while LaJoie received a push from Reddick through the backstraightaway before being shuffled out by Reddick, who tucked in behind Logano.

    By Lap 90, Logano was leading followed by Reddick, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Truex, Hamlin, Preece and Larson.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 100, Logano, who took over the lead three laps earlier over teammate Blaney, was scored the leader as he claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Austin Dillon settled in second followed by Byron, Reddick, Larson, Blaney, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Bell. By then, 11 different competitors had led at least a lap.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for fresh tires and fuel.

    With 55 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Byron and Hamlin filled the front row. At the start, Hamlin received a push from Harvick to take over the lead. During the next four laps, Harvick led three before Elliott squeaked ahead to lead one for himself. 

    Five laps later, Harvick was back out in front followed by Hamlin, Byron, Wallace and Logano, who then mounted a charge on the inside lane while being pursued by Chastain, Elliott and others.

    Another 10 laps later and with the field, which had fanned out to three lanes earlier, settling in a long single-file line, Chastain was leading followed by Bowman, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Stenhouse, Wallace, Hamlin, Elliott and Briscoe.

    With 38 laps remaining, the Ford competitors peeled off the track to pit under green. Back on the track, Chastain and Wallace battled for the lead ahead of the field that had fanned out to two lanes.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Wallace was leading followed by Kyle Busch, Chastain, Bell, Stenhouse, Truex, Bowman, LaJoie, Elliott and Landon Cassill. The following lap, Chastain received a push from Stenhouse to snatch the lead back from Wallace.

    With 21 laps remaining, the caution flew for an accident involving Cody Ware, Joey Gase and Garrett Smithley, all of whom drive for Rick Ware Racing, in Turn 4. At the time of caution, Kyle Busch was the leader. Under caution, the front-runners pitted and the Fords moved up the pack, giving the lead to Logano. During the pit stops, Austin Dillon, who was battling battery issues to his car, was busted for speeding and was sent to the rear of the field. 

    Five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Logano jumped ahead on the inside lane followed by teammate Blaney, Almirola, Buescher and Custer while DiBenedetto got shuffled back to sixth ahead of Kyle Busch and Harvick.

    With 15 laps remaining, the caution flew when Truex got bumped by Stenhouse entering the backstretch and collided into Byron before spinning across the grass and proceeding with damage and firing rolling out of his car. Also involved were Briscoe, Cassill, Suare Alfredo, Keselowski and Tyler Reddick, the competitor occupying the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs as he had smoke trailing behind and damage on the front nose his car. The incident was enough for NASCAR to red-flag the event for nearly 15 minutes.

    Following the cleanup period concluded and the caution was drawn back, teammates Reddick and Austin Dillon pitted to have their respective Chevrolets repaired with enough adjustments to finish the race. 

    With 10 laps remaining, the race restarted as teammates Logano and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Logano jumped ahead, but the field narrowed the gap through the backstraightaway and back to the tri-oval from the draft as Almirola moved up the leaderboard.

    The following lap, Chris Buescher mounted a challenge on the inside lane to move up to third behind Logano and Blaney. He then received pushes from Kurt Busch and Elliott to move up to second as he challenged Logano for the lead. 

    With seven laps remaining, Buescher received a strong push from Elliott and Hamlin to take the lead, where he managed to slide in front of Logano through the backstraightaway.

    A lap later, though, Elliott stormed to the lead while Buescher got shuffled out in a three-wide battle against Logano and Elliott. With Buescher falling back, Elliott was leading followed by Hamlin, Logano and Blaney while Matt DiBenedetto mounted a challenge on the inside lane.

    Under the final five laps, Logano fell off the pace after he cut a tire in a shower of sparks. Despite the misfortune, Logano kept his car rolling on the outside lane as the field went by him and the race proceeded under green. At the front, DiBenedetto challenged Elliott on the outside lane for the lead as the field behind started to stack up and fan out multiple lanes with the finish within sight.

    Then in Turn 3, DiBenedetto, who continued to intimidate Elliott for the lead, ran into the rear bumper of Elliott as both along with Hamlin skidded across the outside wall. The contact of the wall got Elliott loose and he slid up and into DiBenedetto across the outside wall again. The ensuing contact ignited a chain reaction wreck that involved Hamlin, Keselowski, Bell, Kyle Busch, Preece, Chastain, Custer, Stenhouse and Kaz Grala, a wreck that sent the race into overtime.

    In the midst of the carnage, Buescher was back in the lead followed by Blaney, LaJoie, Austin Dillon and Harvick. Chastain was in sixth followed by Larson, Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch.

    When the race restarted in overtime, Buescher and Blaney battled dead even entering the first turn before Blaney received a strong push from LaJoie to take the lead on the inside lane. LaJoie, though, received a draft from Harvick to close back to Blaney’s rear bumper in Turn 3. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney was leading ahead of LaJoie and Buescher. Through Turn 1, Harvick made a bold move beneath LaJoie to move into second place, thus shuffling LaJoie out of the lead draft, as Suarez, Buescher, Kurt Busch and others mounted a final lap mount to the front.

    Through the backstraightaway, Blaney continued to lead followed by Harvick and Suarez. Then, Suarez got loose in front of Kurt Busch and turned into Harvick, which triggered a big accident in Turn 3 involving Austin Dillon, Larson, Chastain, LaJoie, Bowman and Erik Jones.

    With the field wrecking behind, Blaney pulled away unscathed and cruised to the finish line in first place as the caution flew due to the accident.

    The victory marked Blaney’s first at Daytona International Speedway, his second consecutive Cup victory in recent weeks after winning last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, his third of the season and the seventh of his career.

    “Man, that was a lot of fun,” Blaney said on NBC. “Gosh, we just barely missed that wreck. We got lined up on the front row and got a good push by [LaJoie]. You never know how the end of these days are gonna play out. Down the back, you don’t know what lane’s getting a bigger run. I guess somebody got tangled up over there. Hopefully, everyone’s okay. Man, this is so cool. Second win of the year with BodyArmor on the car. Winning at Daytona, this is so cool. It’s really special and man, it’s been a fun two weeks. Looking forward to next week! Got a good, enough momentum. It’d be nice to make it three [wins] in a row. We’ll see.”

    Behind Blaney, Chris Buescher came home in second place while Bubba Wallace, who dodged the final lap carnage, recorded a strong third-place result. The best season results for both Buescher and Wallace, however, were not enough for either of them to make the Playoffs.

    “It hurts,” Buescher said. “That one stings a lot, but at the same time, [I] appreciate everybody at [Roush Fenway Racing]. Awesome weekend for Fifth Third Bank…[I] Wanted to get that [win] for so many different reasons. To miss that Playoff spot by one spot, that’s a tough ending to the day, but proud of this group. Proud of the car we brought…That hurts.”

    “The seas parted and when that wreck happened, I just stayed in it, came out third, but it’s not what we needed,” Wallace added. “Bummer, but solid day. We went up and led some laps. Unfortunate, we wanted to win. That was the most prepared I’ve ever been for this speedway stuff and [finished] third…It just stings.”

    Following the post-race inspection, however, Buescher was disqualified from his runner-up result due to an illegal track bar mounting assembly. As a result, Buescher was demoted to 40th place, dead last, while Wallace was promoted to the runner-up result, which tied his best result in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Ryan Newman was elevated to third place followed by Ryan Preece, both of whom also did not make the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick, who barely escaped the final lap multi-car wreck, finished fifth and claimed the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs over teammate Austin Dillon, who was unable to finish the race after being swept up in the wreck. With that, Reddick joins Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell as first-time members of the Cup Series Playoffs this season.

    “My emotions were shot as soon as we took the green on the last green-white-checkered [restart],” Reddick said. “I couldn’t even believe we finished seventh. Getting through that last crash coming to the line, it was a lot, I’m not gonna lie. Going to Homestead, running for Xfinity Series championships were a lot of fun. Really exciting, really nerve-racking, but what a roller coaster it is to be on the bubble going into Daytona, running into the back of somebody and have all the issues we did at the end there. Almost felt helpless there, but we didn’t give up and we fought through it.”

    “It was a little bit of a roller coaster ride,” Austin Dillon said. “We fought our butts off in the stages. We made some good moves to get points and found ourselves in fourth-place for a green-white-checkered here at Daytona. That’s where we were when we won the Daytona 500, so I was feeling pretty good about it…We fought hard. The Bass Pro Shop Chevy was very fast. Two weeks in a row we’ve had great cars out of the No. 3 team. Just haven’t gotten the finishes we’d like to have, but very thankful that the good Lord took care of us tonight and we get to race at Darlington next week. Unfortunate that we’re not in the Playoffs, but we gave it all we could and fought until the very end.”

    Justin Haley, Bowman, Elliott, BJ McLeod and Josh Bilicki finished in the top 10. 

    Despite being involved on the final lap accident, Kyle Larson, who was scored in 20th claimed the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship over Denny Hamlin, who ended up in 13th. The result made Larson the fourth different competitor to achieve the regular-season title in the Cup Series.

    “I think I read somewhere earlier this week where we had overcome a 166-point gap to Denny [Hamlin],” Larson said. “I didn’t think it was possible, but our team worked so hard all of the regular season and [I] couldn’t have done it without Mr. [Hendrick] and Linda, all of their support, everybody back at the shop, too. It’s a long season, and we still got 10 races to go, but it’s a long point to get to here…I’m just the lucky guy who gets to drive [the car] and get a lot of the credit, but it’s really credit to everybody back at the shop.”

    Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick have made the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and will contend for this year’s championship.

    Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, Anthony Alfredo and Quin Houff are among the remaining competitors who failed to make the Playoffs.

    There were 45 lead changes for 15 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 31 laps.

    Results.

    1. Ryan Blaney, seven laps led

    2. Bubba Wallace, eight laps led

    3. Ryan Newman, two laps led

    4. Ryan Preece

    5. Justin Haley

    6. Tyler Reddick

    7. Alex Bowman

    8. Chase Elliott, 36 laps led

    9. BJ McLeod

    10. Josh Bilicki

    11. Erik Jones

    12. Kurt Busch

    13. Denny Hamlin, seven laps led

    14. Aric Almirola

    15. Kevin Harvick, four laps led

    16. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    17. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    18. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident, 14 laps led

    19. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

    20. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident

    21. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    23. Joey Logano, one lap down, 37 laps led

    24. Cole Custer, one lap down

    25. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

    26. Anthony Alfredo, two laps down

    27. David Starr, two laps down

    28. Cody Ware, two laps down

    29. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down, 13 laps led

    30. Garrett Smithley, two laps down

    31. Joey Gase, three laps down

    32. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

    33. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

    34. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    35. Kaz Grala – OUT, Accident

    36. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    37. William Byron – OUT, Accident, 12 laps led

    38. Quin Houff, 29 laps down

    39. Michael McDowell – OUT

    40. Chris Buescher – Disqualified, eight laps led

    The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next weekend at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, September 5, which will start at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Haley wins a thrilling three-wide photo finish at Daytona

    Haley wins a thrilling three-wide photo finish at Daytona

    Saving their absolute best for the last, Kaulig Racing utilized teamwork to storm to another victory at Daytona International Speedway. On this occasion, Justin Haley edged teammate AJ Allmendinger by a nose and in a three-wide photo finish including their other teammate, Jeb Burton, to win the rain-postponed Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 28.

    The victory was Haley’s first of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, AJ Allmendinger, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Michigan International Speedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Noah Gragson.

    The race started on Friday evening, August 27, and Allmendinger received a push from Justin Allgaier on the outside lane to jump to an early lead and lead the first lap ahead of Noah Gragson and a steaming pack of cars. He went on to lead the following two laps before Gragson peaked ahead during the fourth lap. Allmendinger, however, quickly snatched the lead back the following lap.

    By the ninth lap, Brandon Jones, who was the lead car on the inside lane, encountered early issues when he made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to overheating issues as a result of a piece of debris.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 15, Gragson, who reassumed the lead on Lap 14, was scored the leader ahead of Allmendinger and the field. Under the competition caution, some led by Gragson pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. By then, Jones retired due to his mechanical issue.

    Just as the field was set to restart, rain fell on the track and the field was brought to pit road as the race was red-flagged for a weather delay on Lap 19. Over an hour later, NASCAR declared that the race would be postponed to Saturday afternoon and run prior to the Cup event due to inclement weather continuing throughout Friday evening. At the time of, Allmendinger was leading ahead of Christopher Bell, Myatt Snider, Austin Cindric, Brett Moffitt, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton, Daniel Hemric, Jeremy Clements and Caesar Bacarella.

    When the race resumed under green on Lap 21 and on Saturday afternoon, Allmendinger jumped ahead with another strong start on the outside lane followed by Cindric, Haley and Bell while Snider mounted a charge on the inside lane.

    By Lap 25, Allmendinger continued to lead followed by teammate Haley while Cindric challenged as the lead car on the outside lane. Snider and Jeb Burton were in the top five followed by Bell, Michael Annett, Hemric, Allgaier and Moffitt.

    A lap later, the caution flew when a bump from Snider sent Cindric making hard contact into the outside wall in the frontstretch. The incident ignited a chain reaction wreck that involved Snider, rookie Sam Mayer, Hemric and Annett. The wreck was enough to knock Cindric, who won the Xfinity opener at Daytona in February, out of contention.

    With the caution period and cleanup surpassing the first stage’s conclusion on Lap 30, the first stage concluded under caution as Haley, who overtook teammate Allmendinger at the moment of caution, claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammates Allmendinger and Jeb Burton settled in second and third followed by Bell and Allgaier. Scored in the top 10 were Moffitt, Gragson, Bacarella, Brandon Brown and Harrison Burton.

    Under the stage break, everyone pitted except for Brandon Brown, Herbst, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Sieg and Jason White.

    The second stage started on Lap 33 and Herbst jumped ahead with the lead on the outside lane followed by Briscoe as the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstraightaway.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Brown mounted a challenge on the inside lane against Herbst for the lead. As the field continued to battle through Turns 2 and 3, the caution returned due to debris from Michael Annett’s car coming out in Turn 2.

    When the race restarted on Lap 39, Herbst jumped ahead with the lead on the inside lane before he moved up to the outside lane in front of Briscoe and a bevy of cars.

    Two laps later, the inside lane led by Brown mounted a charge for the lead through the tri-oval and entering the first turn. Herbst, however, was able to fight back through the backstraightaway and when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    By Lap 45, Brown took the lead followed by Allmendinger, Allgaier, Gragson, Jeb Burton and Sam Mayer while Herbst fell back to eighth alongside Harrison Burton. A lap later, though, Allmendinger muscled his way back into the lead followed by Allgaier, Gragson and Mayer while Brown got shuffled back to fifth.

    Three laps later, the caution returned due to debris coming off of Caesar Bacarella’s car in the frontstretch following contact from Blaine Perkins. Under caution, some including Allmendinger, Allgaier, Gragson, Mayer, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Haley, Sieg and Bell pitted while the rest led by Brown and Herbst remained on the track.

    With eight laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted. At the start, Brown rocketed with the lead followed by Herbst. Through the backstraightaway, though, the field fanned out to multiple lanes and caught Brown through Turns 3 and 4 as Sam Mayer made his way into the lead with drafting help from teammate Gragson.

    By Lap 54, all three Kaulig Racing competitors lined up on the inside lane resulted with Jeb Burton taking the lead ahead of teammates Allmendinger and Haley. They were then quickly pursued by three JR Motorsports competitors featuring Mayer, Gragson and Allgaier, respectively.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, the battle for the lead intensified as Jeb Burton continued to lead by a narrow margin over his Kaulig Racing teammates, a trio of JR Motorsports competitors and the field. By then, Brown pitted as the hood of his car went up.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Jeb Burton, who was blocking all comers through both lanes, managed to claim his first stage victory of the season. Teammates Allmendinger and Haley settled in second and third followed by Herbst and Bell. Gragson, Hemric, Allgaier, Briscoe and Mayer settled in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Jeb Burton pitted while the rest led by Bell and Gragson remained on the track.

    With 36 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Bell and Gragson battled dead even for the lead as the field fanned out to double lanes and in a pack behind the two leaders.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, the field settled in a long single-file lane as Gragson was leading followed by Bell, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Snider, Allgaier, Mayer, Herbst, Briscoe and Moffitt while Allmendinger and Haley were in 11th and 15th. By then, Hemric was back in 14th.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Colin Garrett spun and wrecked in Turn 4 as he ended up getting his car stuck in the tri-oval muddy grass. Colby Howard also spun to avoid Garrett.

    With 23 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Bell and Gragson battled dead even for the lead through the backstraightaway as the field fanned out to three lanes. 

    Back to the start/finish line, Bell was leading followed by Jeb Burton while Gragson fell back to fourth while battling Snider. 

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the majority of the field settled in a single-file line as Bell was leading followed by Jeb Burton, Gragson, Allgaier, Herbst, Allmendinger, Snider, Harrison Burton, Hemric, Haley and Mayer while Chase Briscoe was in 13th.

    A few laps later, the caution flew when Caesar Bacarella made contact with Jordan Anderson and hit the outside wall in the backstretch. While trying to straighten his car, Jade Buford and Matt Mills also wrecked to avoid Bacarella.

    Under caution, some including Briscoe pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.

    With 14 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Jeb Burton had drafting help from Gragson to take a narrow lead before Bell fought back on the outside lane.

    The following lap, Bell cleared the field with the lead followed by Allgaier and Allmendinger while the Burton cousins battled for fourth.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Bell continued to lead followed by Allgaier, Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Haley, Hemric, Snider, JJ Yeley, Jason White and the field, all running in a single-file line. By then, Joe Graf Jr.’s car was smoking through the frontstretch, but the field continued to run under green as Graf took his car below the apron and out of the racing groove.

    With five laps remaining, Bell continued to lead, but a bevy of cars behind started to fan out to multiple lanes while challenging Bell for the lead. A lap later, Allmendinger stormed to the lead followed by teammates Jeb Burton and Haley while Allgaier also moved up, dropping Bell to fifth.

    A few laps later, all three Kaulig Racing competitors led by Jeb Burton were at the front followed by Bell, Harrison Burton, Allgaier and the field.

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger was leading by a narrow margin over teammate Jeb Burton, Bell and the field. Through the backstretch, Jeb Burton peeked to the inside of teammate Allmendinger, who tried to block Burton, for the lead while Bell got shuffled out on the inside lane with no drafting help. In addition, Haley made his move to the outside of Allmendinger, thus placing all three Kaulig Racing competitors in a dead three-wide heat for the win in Turns 3 and 4.

    Entering the tri-oval and with the field fanning out to three lanes, Allmendinger peaked ahead with a push from Allgaier, but Haley started to gain a run on the outside lane as he had Hemric behind him. At the finish line, Haley managed to edge teammate Allmendinger by 0.023 seconds to grab the checkered flag and the win.

    Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    The victory guaranteed Haley a spot in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as he also captured his fourth career victory in the series. All four of Haley’s Xfinity victory have occurred on superspeedway venues (Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway). In addition, Kaulig Racing captured its third win at Daytona.

    “It’s just not been the best season,” Haley said on NBCSN. “It’s been really, really hard on this No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection team all year. We’ve had a lot of bad luck. I was trying to formulate the plan there and obviously, team orders, saw it out of there, they were so good. Hats off to Kaulig Racing. I think we got the teammate thing down. It’s just so special to win here at Daytona. It’s absolutely incredible. That was a close one and getting it to just beat out AJ. It always means a lot, too.”

    Allmendinger settled in second place while Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Hemric finished in the top five.

    “I mean, that was like the perfect photo shoot right there coming across the [finish] line for all the Kaulig Racing Chevys,” Allmendinger said. “Proud of my son, Justin Haley. He might be one of the best we’ve ever seen on superspeedway. Jeb [Burton] did a fantastic job. I was hanging on in the middle [lane] there. I thought we might get it, but proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. The Hyper Ice Chevy was good. I think we led the most laps as well. Finished second, all day, it seemed like, but just proud. It was fantastic.”

    “We led some [laps] today and going down the back, I think I led for a second,” Jeb Burton said. “AJ kind of slid up in front of me. I checked up and gave him a shot and then, I had to take the run. I looked and we were one, two and three, and I was thinking we were gonna come across the line like that, but [Allgaier] got me at the line. Really proud of Kaulig Racing. Thanks to Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen for coming on board. We needed this and the Playoffs are coming, so we needed the momentum.”

    Bell settled in sixth followed by Gragson, Snider, Harrison Burton and Herbst.

    With their top-10 results, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Hemric and Harrison Burton have locked themselves into the 2021 Xfinity Series Playoffs based on points. Including six other competitors that are in based on winning throughout the regular-season stretch (Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider), there are four spots left vacant to the Playoffs with three regular-season races remaining to the schedule.

    There were 17 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 29 laps.

    With his runner-up result, AJ Allmendinger leads the regular-season standings by 17 points over Austin Cindric.

    Results.

    1. Justin Haley, five laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. AJ Allmendinger, 30 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Justin Allgaier

    4. Jeb Burton, eight laps led

    5. Daniel Hemric

    6. Christopher Bell, 23 laps led

    7. Noah Gragson, 16 laps led

    8. Myatt Snider

    9. Harrison Burton

    10. Riley Herbst, nine laps led

    11. Brett Moffitt

    12. Sam Mayer, one lap led

    13. JJ Yeley 

    14. David Starr

    15. Jason White

    16. Ryan Sieg

    17. Josh Williams

    18. Tommy Joe Martins

    19. Chase Briscoe

    20. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    21. Landon Cassill

    22. Jordan Anderson

    23. Blaine Perkins

    24. Jeremy Clements

    25. Mason Massey

    26. Colby Howard

    27. Ryan Vargas

    28. Jade Buford

    29. Tim Viens

    30. Michael Annett

    31. Alex Labbe

    32. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

    33. Matt Mills, two laps down

    34. Brandon Brown, three laps down, nine laps led

    35. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    36. Caesar Bacarella – OUT, Accident

    37. Colin Garrett – OUT, Accident

    38. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Engine

    39. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    40. Brandon Jones – OUT, Engine

    With the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch nearing its conclusion, the series will next travel to Darlington, South Carolina, and compete at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, September 4, during Labor Day weekend. The event will occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • NASCAR postpones Xfinity summer event at Daytona

    NASCAR postpones Xfinity summer event at Daytona

    The Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway has been postponed to Saturday, August 28, at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN due to persistent rain that halted and prevented its completion on Friday, August 27.

    The 250-mile event at Daytona, which serves as the 23rd event of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, had completed 19 of 100 scheduled laps and was under its competition caution scheduled on Lap 15 when persistent rain made its way to the superspeedway venue. After the field was brought down to pit road, the race was red-flagged for more than an hour before NASCAR made the decision to postpone the event by a day as the rain continued to fall and persist on Friday evening.

    At the time of the race’s postponement, AJ Allmendinger, who started on pole position and who won last weekend’s Xfinity event at Michigan International Speedway, was the leader followed by Christopher Bell, Myatt Snider, Austin Cindric and Brett Moffitt. Rounding out the top 10 were Justin Haley, Jeb Burton, Daniel Hemric, Jeremy Clements and Caesar Bacarella.

    In addition, Brandon Jones was the only competitor to be eliminated from the event due to early engine issues.

    The Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway will return to action on Saturday, August 28, at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Michigan apparently a not-so-friendly reminder to NASCAR teams that the regular season is about to end

    Michigan apparently a not-so-friendly reminder to NASCAR teams that the regular season is about to end

    Did anyone else find it fascinating concerning what all can happen in the space of a month?

    Here are a few examples:

    A. I personally went from “productive citizen” to “hooray, I’m stuck in my home because I get to wear an oxygen line leash!” thanks to Covid.

    B. The Allies went from storming the beaches at Normandy on June 6 to controlling a significant portion of France four weeks later.

    C. And finally, Harry Gant won all four September races in 1991. He didn’t equate this to a championship, but hey, I thought it would be neat to bring up Mr. September.

    What’s happened so far in August?

    1. Well, in case we have all forgotten, we had something of a snoozer of an event at Watkins Glen, where, on top of us being quietly reminded that the outgoing NASCAR machinery really doesn’t have much of any place on a flat-ish road course (hooray for the incoming Next-Gen cars!). Practically every driver on the track burst a rotator cuff in their attempts at being “gentlemen drivers” in how furiously and happily they waved Kyle Larson to the front.

    2. Do I dare bring up the Indy road course debacle from last week/Scene 24? On top of being reminded…again…concerning how poorly the old, paltry downforce Model T NASCAR machinery does on flat road courses or even flat tracks for that matter. We also had the completely unfamiliar specter to process that with a handful of laps to go. There was a mildly alarming realization that the Turn 6 curbing was now actively wrecking the drivers.

    Concerning the “amateur hour” that unfolded afterward, it definitely appeared that something had gone horribly awry with the Turn 6 curbing, but shouting at our TV’s only works 50% of the time in making people onscreen listen to what we’re telling them to do or not to do. In this case, it was readily apparent that something had gone “Exxon Valdez”-level of wrong with that curbing. This reminds me of another D-Day invasion story, where a Tiger tank got past an Allied artillery station because whoever was manning it was busily relieving himself, and the Tiger knocked out several American tanks.

    At any rate, we all saw the show that unfolded afterward, including the truly genius decision to leave the perpendicular secondary curbing/Robby Gordon Super Stadium Truck Series jump ramp in place for the remaining few laps. After the lethal primary curbing had been unceremoniously removed, a wee bit of vehicular carnage presented itself as entertainment.

    Side notes for Indy:

    • Chase Briscoe gets punted off of turn one by Denny Hamlin (who was previously punted into Briscoe by someone else), and Hamlin is then somewhat shocked to discover that Briscoe just might retaliate only against the person who was punting the No. 14? Uh, okay.
    • Concerning the No. 14 “non-retaliation,” and “Briscoe has never done anything like this ever before!” No, he’s probably done it, it’s just that he’s never been this blatant and caught. Kudos to his explanation concerning what happened afterward, almost as if someone else (space aliens?) took control of his car and forced him to run into the back of Hamlin.
    • Yes, Indy happened almost two weeks ago, but I thought it would be better if I took an extra week to write about that. As my inner misanthrope was dominating any conversation I had immediately after that event, especially taking into account that the race probably should have ended after the first big curbing wreck that took out many competitors. But then again, it was nice to see Allmendinger in victory lane, so my thoughts are mixed.

    3. Michigan, however, that was the turnaround. Oh, hey, NASCAR teams finally remembered that the end of this season was two weekends away, and then proceeded to try to make up for 20-something weekends of coasting through the 2021 regular season all in one race. As everyone was racing for the lead, to the point where it looked like even the pace car was beating and banging to try to stay ahead of everyone else.

    Okay, I might be exaggerating slightly.

    Michigan notes: Um, can someone remind me as to why Austin Dillon has a full-time ride in NASCAR? And why is he parked in a car that has the legendary No. 3 on the side?

    Asking for a friend.

    4. The regular-season finale is Saturday night, in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. This is NASCAR’s original crash fest track and what a way to close out the regular season, practically the rest of the entire field (you know, pretty every team out there not already locked into the NASCAR Championship). This event has a distinct flavor…hint…feeling of October 2011, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, another season-ending event with a huge potential payoff for the winner, a track that was hosting cars that were probably too fast for the venue. A monster crash occurred with that year’s Indy 500 winner taken from us far too early in one of Indycar’s most horrible incidents.

    Not that I’m suggesting that there are too many elements of potential panic being pushed into one five-pound bag, but judging by the race full of Hail Marys being thrown last weekend at Michigan, this weekend doesn’t suggest, in the slightest, that this won’t be toned down for this night time Daytona bookend to the 2021 regular season, which promises to be one for the highlight reels for all the wrong reasons.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stages 1 and 2 at Daytona and finished fifth after a wild finish.

    “We lost a lot of ground on our final pit stop,” Hamlin said. “We just didn’t have the drafting numbers that the Fords and Chevrolets enjoyed. You know, the great Tim Richmond was way ahead of his time, because he was known to extol the virtues of having multiple partners. Maybe he wasn’t necessarily talking about drafting partners, but I like to believe Tim’s messages could be applied universally. I won’t even broach the subject of Tim’s opinion of going ‘three wide.’”

    2. Michael McDowell: McDowell ran in third place on the final lap and pounced on the winning opening when Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked battling for the win.

    “People often say you need teamwork to win at Daytona,” McDowell said. “It’s true. So, I’d like to thank Logano and Keselowski for their teamwork. As they say, ‘Teamwork makes the dream work.’ If the case of Penske Racing, ‘their teamwork made my dream work, and made their team work, extra hard, to pick up the remains of two destroyed race cars.’”

    3. Chase Elliott: Eliott finished second at Daytona as Michael McDowell beat him to the line after a huge last-lap pileup.

    “Luke Combs performed before the race on Sunday,” Elliott said. “James Taylor would have been a perfect post-race artist, because there was ‘Fire And Rain.’”

    “Pit Bull gave the command to start the engines. If a driver is penalized for speeding on pit lane and doesn’t agree with it, he would call that ‘pit bull.’”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 17 laps and finished fourth in the Daytona 500.

    “It was a long day at Daytona,” Harvick said. “Heck, the race started on Valentine’s Day and finished the following day. Despite that, there was no ‘love lost’ between Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski’s move for the win on the final lap at Daytona was met by a block from Joey Logano. Contact sent the two spinning, resulting in a fiery collision involving multiple cars. Keselowski finished 13th.

    “I’m not one to point fingers,” Keselowski said, “because I don’t have enough to indicate the amount of blame Joey deserves. Let’s just say Joey earned quite a few ‘bonus points.’”

    6. Austin Dillon: Dillon finished third at Daytona, one of seven Chevrolets in the Top 10.

    “That six-hour weather delay was brutal,” Dillon said. “It actually felt longer. In other words, it felt like Fox’s pre-race coverage. And there was just as much ‘hot air.’”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano led on the final lap but his attempt to block Penske teammate Brad Keselowski took them both out and allowed Michael McDowell to capture an unlikely Daytona 500 win.

    “I’m sure Brad is mad at me,” Logano said. “But what really scares me is facing my boss Roger Penske. He’s gonna let me have it. Suffice it to say ‘Sliced Bread’ is ‘toast.’

    “Now, I don’t necessarily take responsibility for that final lap chaos. After all, we’re racing in Florida, where there are no income taxes, and, more importantly for me, no consequences for your actions.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 14th at Daytona after a wild finish that saw Busch slam hard into Brad Keselowski, causing a fiery aftermath.

    “It’s certainly not the first time Brad and I have had a ‘heated exchange,’” Busch said. “And I can certainly understand why Brad was so ‘hot’ after the race.

    “Now, is my brother Kurt retiring soon? I’d say any driver that posts a cryptic video featuring the likes of Vanilla Ice and Rob Gronkowski is likely in the middle of a mid-life crisis, or a fever dream.”

    9. Ryan Preece: Preece finished sixth at Daytona.

    “What an unlikely win for Michael McDowell,” Preece said. “And speaking of ‘unlikely Daytona 500 winners,’ 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrick Cope was the first driver out of the race. That wasn’t totally unexpected, because we’ve been saying for years, ‘Derrick Cope should be ‘retiring’ any minute now.’”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 10th in the Daytona 500 in his first race for Hendrick Motorsports.

    “Congratulations to Michael McDowell,” Larson said. “I can only imagine how I’d react if I was to become Daytona 500 champion. I’m pretty sure I’d be speechless, just to be safe.

    “It’s great to have Michael Jordan in NASCAR. It’s great for business. If you’re looking for a sport to take off in popularity, ‘bet on NASCAR.’ If you’re looking for a car owner to bet on NASCAR, bet on Michael Jordan.’”

  • Hamlin falls short in winning third consecutive Daytona 500 title

    Hamlin falls short in winning third consecutive Daytona 500 title

    For a moment, it appeared that Denny Hamlin was on his way in etching a new historical moment in NASCAR by becoming the first competitor to win the Daytona 500 for three consecutive seasons.

    Then, everything evaporated with approximately 30 laps remaining.

    During a cycle of green flag stops, Hamlin pitted along with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and his driver from 23XI Racing Bubba Wallace. By then, the Ford and Chevrolet competitors had completed their final services under green a few laps earlier. By the time Hamlin returned on the track, he was unable to remain with Busch and Wallace in the draft and in a pack formation, though he had a huge advantage.

    With less speed than the oncoming pack, Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry was quickly overtaken from the lead by a bevy of competitors led by Joey Logano. Without the draft needed to remain at the front, he fell back to 12th place with approximately 25 laps remaining.

    “We were too far out front,” Hamlin said on FOX. “We just got on and off pit road too good. I was just too far ahead of the pack. I figured the Chevys would make a move with two or three [laps] to go, because they’re not going to win on the last lap from fifth or sixth.”

    Though he remained within the lead pack in the final laps, even working his way up to ninth place with 10 laps remaining, Hamlin was unable to produce a run with other competitors to work his way back to the front and challenge for the win. By the time the checkered flag flew, which the race finished under caution following a vicious accident on the final lap, the veteran could only work his way as high as fifth place, four spots behind race winner Michael McDowell.

    “I was able to gain some positions there,” Hamlin added. “I was 12th, everybody was running single file, so it handcuffed me. I couldn’t really do anything. Once I got to eighth, I was like, ‘OK, as long as they make a move with two to go, I’m in the energy area where I can make something happen.’ All we could get to was a top five.”

    The fifth-place result marked Hamlin’s eighth top-five career finish in the Daytona 500 as he was also the highest-finishing Toyota competitor in the event. The result, however, produced a disappointing outcome to his dominating run under the lights and dark skies, where he won both stages, led a race-high 98 of the 200-scheduled laps and had a competitive car running towards the front since the start.

    In addition to pursuing his record third consecutive Daytona 500 title, Hamlin was also aiming to join NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough as a four-time 500 champion and deliver the fifth 500 title for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “Dominant car,” Hamlin noted. “Just a dominant car. It’s one of those things where you execute too good and just got freight-trained at the end.”

    With a new season of NASCAR competition underway, Hamlin will return for the next event on the schedule, which is at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Sunday, February 21. The event will occur at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • McDowell upsets the competition, scores first Cup triumph in the Daytona 500

    McDowell upsets the competition, scores first Cup triumph in the Daytona 500

    The ultimate upset was made under the lights at Daytona International Speedway after Michael McDowell avoided a multi-car pileup on the final lap to win the 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 14, and claim his first NASCAR Cup Series triumph. McDowell’s first Cup career victory came in his 358th start in NASCAR’s premier series, which marked the second-most starts in the series prior to a first Cup win.

    The front row for this year’s Daytona 500 was determined on Wednesday, February 10, following a qualifying session, with the rest of the lineup determined on Thursday, February 11, following two Bluegreen Vacations Duel events at Daytona. With that, Alex Bowman started on pole position. William Byron, the outside pole-sitter, was due to start on the front row with teammate Bowman, but he dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. The move allowed Austin Dillon, winner of the second Daytona Duel event, to move up to the front row to start alongside Bowman.

    Along with Byron, the following competitors that include Brad Keselowski, rookie Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain also dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars. Martin Truex Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to an oil cooler change along with Erik Jones, who did so following an engine change. Bubba Wallace also dropped to the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice, thus resulting with his car chief being ejected for the event. 

    When the green flag waved and the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced, Bowman, who started on the outside lane, crossed over the bottom lane to jump to an early lead in front of Austin Dillon. Shortly after, he moved back to the outside lane in front of Kevin Harvick, who gave him a clear bump ahead of the field through the backstretch and entering Turn 3. 

    Bowman was able to lead the first lap before Harvick made a move to the bottom lane. Bowman, however, was able to retain the lead with his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE receiving drafting help from Kyle Busch through the backstretch until Harvick made a charge on the inside lane entering the tri-oval. Harvick was able to lead the following lap by a nose over Bowman.

    During the third lap, the crew members and the fans saluted the three fingers to pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion, Hall of Famer and the 1998 Daytona 500 champion who died 20 years ago following an accident on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. 

    Shortly after, the first caution of the race flew when Derrike Cope, the 1990 Daytona 500 champion, blew a right-front tire and made contact against the outside wall in Turn 3. By then, Harvick was the leader followed by teammate Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, Ryan Newman and Bowman.

    Under caution, names like Michael McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto, Byron, Truex, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Alfredo, Cody Ware, Briscoe, Grala, B.J. McLeod, Denny Hamlin, Josh Bilicki, Quin Houff and Wallace pitted while the rest led by Harvick remained on the track.

    The race restarted on the seventh lap with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Harvick and Almirola at the top of the field. At the start, Harvick quickly transitioned to the bottom lane to move in front of teammate Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang. The top lane, however, prevailed through Turns 1, 2 and the backstretch as Ryan Newman rocketed to the lead followed by Joey Logano. Nonetheless, Harvick was able to retain the lead by a nose over Newman when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    By Lap 10 and with the field starting to fan out from double lanes to triple lanes, Harvick was still out in front followed by teammate Almirola, Bell, Bowman and Kyle Busch. A few laps later, Bowman became the first car to lead the outside lane as he challenged for the lead followed by Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson. Meanwhile, Harvick continued to lead followed by teammate Almirola.

    Three laps later, trouble ensued at the front when a bump from Bell, who was being pushed by teammate Kyle Busch, got Almirola loose, where he made contact with Bowman as both wrecked against the outside wall and in the middle of the straightaway with a multitude of competitors approaching them. What then followed was a multi-car wreck that involved Newman, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, Tyler Reddick, Truex and Byron, who nearly flipped on his side before spinning and coming to rest on the muddy grass in Turn 3.

    In the midst of the on-track work for the safety workers to remove the wrecked cars, the race was red-flagged due to reports of lightning within eight miles of the superspeedway, which was followed by rain and on-track precipitation. At the time of the rain, Harvick was still the leader followed by Bell, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. Larson, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were in the top 10.

    Five hours and 40 minutes later, the red flag was lifted and the majority of competitors returned to the track under caution, beginning on Lap 15, and under the lights as the skies darkened. By then, names like Alfredo, Almirola, Blaney, Bowman, Buescher, DiBenedetto, Jones, Newman, Ragan and Suarez were ruled out of the remainder of the race.

    Under caution, everyone pitted, except for Kaz Grala and B.J. McLeod. After leading 10 laps under caution, Grala pitted along with McLeod. Bell, Kyle Busch and a few others also pitted to top off on fuel for the end of the first stage.

    When the green flag waved and the race resumed on Lap 29, Elliott was the leader while Austin Dillon started along him. Through the backstretch, Dillon received a push from Ryan Preece to take the lead. The following lap, Cole Custer battled on the outside lane to lead a lap for himself. 

    Shortly after, Hamlin shoved Custer out of the draft in Turn 1 and became the lead car on the outside lane. He went on to assume command of the field. 

    By Lap 35, Hamlin was leading Keselowski, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Logano with the field settling in a single-file line. Meanwhile, Byron, who was three laps behind the leaders and still competing in a damaged No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, was black-flagged for a loose rear bumper cover.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Quin Houff cut a tire after running over the bumper cover from Byron’s car and made contact with the outside wall in the frontstretch. His incident also involved Chase Briscoe as both sustained damage and slid down to the apron near Turn 1. Briscoe continued despite the incident while Houff was knocked out of the race.

    The race resumed under green on Lap 43. At the start, Hamlin received a push from teammate Kyle Busch on the outside lane while Keselowski received a push from Bubba Wallace on the inside lane. 

    Through the backstretch and after briefly shoving Keselowski to the lead, Wallace made a three-wide move on Keselowski and Hamlin, which sent Keselowski back into the top 10. At the front, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Preece, Austin Cindric, Wallace, Austin Dillon and Logano. 

    By Lap 50 and with the field settling in a single-file lane on the outside lane, Hamlin continued to lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Preece, Cindric and Austin Dillon while Larson, Wallace, Harvick, Keselowski and Bell were in the top 10. By then, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott were in 13th and 14th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Custer. In addition, 22 of the 40-car field were competing on the lead lap, with 12 out of the race.

    Ten laps later and with five laps remaining in the first stage, Hamlin was still out in front followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Preece, Cindric and Austin Dillon. Larson, Wallace, Harvick, Keselowski and Bell were in the top 10 while Custer, Logano, Stenhouse, Elliott and LaJoie were in the top 15.

    At the start of the final lap of the first stage, Austin Dillon made his move to the inside lane along with Larson. In addition, Preece also moved in front of Dillon, but teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch blocked the move on the inside lane. Through the backstretch, Kyle Busch got shuffled out of the lead draft when Preece and a multitude of cars moved to the outside lane and right behind Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry.

    Though Hamlin had a steaming pack of cars behind him, he was able to retain the lead and win the first stage on Lap 65. Preece settled in second place followed by Austin Dillon, Larson and Cindric. Bell, Wallace, Logano, Ross Chastain and Custer settled in the top 10, all of whom earned stage points. Kyle Busch fell back to 12th in front of Keselowski and Elliott. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead. Meanwhile, Jamie McMurray received the free pass and returned to the lead lap.

    The second stage commenced on Lap 71 with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Bell on the front row followed by Cindric, Austin Dillon, Logano and Larson. At the start, Hamlin received a push from Cindric to retain the lead. Shortly after, Hamlin moved in front of teammate Bell on the inside lane, but Cindric, winner of the Xfinity Series season-opening event at Daytona a day ago, mounted a charge on the outside lane in his No. 33 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang as he had Penske teammates Logano and Keselowski pushing him to the lead.

    After leading two laps, Hamlin stormed back to the lead while Cindric fell back to seventh. A lap later, Bell made his way to the front followed by teammate Kyle Busch while Hamlin fell back to third. Austin Dillon, Cindric and Harvick moved up the leaderboard while Harvick was in seventh place and the lone car on the bottom lane.

    Another two laps later, the field settled in a long single-file line as Bell was out in front followed by teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Austin Dillon was in fourth followed by Cindric, Logano, Larson, Elliott, Wallace and Chastain. Harvick, meanwhile, was shuffled back to 11th in front of Preece, Keselowski, Stenhouse and McMurray.

    Not long after, the leader Bell reported debris on the grille of his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry. Nonetheless, he continued to lead teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin while Austin Dillon, Cindric and Logano remained in pursuit.

    By Lap 90, Bell continued to lead followed by teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Austin Dillon and Cindric continued to run in the top five followed by Logano, Larson, Elliott, Wallace and Chastain, all of whom were locked in a single-file lane. Harvick was in 11th followed by Stenhouse, teammate Preece, Keselowski and McMurray while Michael McDowell, Custer, LaJoie, Kaz Grala and Joey Gase were in the top 20.

    When the field reached the halfway mark on Lap 100, three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas led by Bell and followed by Kyle Busch and Hamlin were all still at the front. Austin Dillon and Cindric remained in the top five followed by Logano, Larson, Elliott, Chastain and Preece. Behind, Wallace, who attempted to make a move to the front on the inside lane, was shuffled back to 13th in between Keselowski and Harvick.

    Four laps later, pit stops under green commenced as a number of Ford drivers pitted, including Cindric, Logano, Keselowski, Harvick, Briscoe and Custer. McDowell, racing in his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang, also pitted. Another three laps later, the Toyota drivers pitted, including Bell, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Wallace. Not long after, a bevy of Chevrolet drivers led by Austin Dillon, Larson and Elliott pitted. Prior to the Chevrolets pitting, Preece pitted alone.

    When the field cycled back with 20 laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin was back in front followed by Wallace. Shortly after, Wallace got shuffled out of the draft from Kyle Busch. Not long after, Bell got loose in Turn 1 after sustaining a left-rear tire and made contact with Stenhouse, who went on to make contact with Larson, before spinning entering the backstretch. Grala, LaJoie and McMurray, who spun, were also sustained damage while the rest of the field managed to avoid the incident and a spinning Bell. 

    Under caution, a handful of competitors led by Hamlin remained on the track while the rest pitted. In addition, Grala came to his pit stall with the right rear of his No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on fire. Though he tried to continue, Grala’s Daytona 500 debut came to an end as fire continued to burst out of his car.

    When the race resumed under green on Lap 117, Hamlin and Harvick led the field on the front row. At the front, Hamlin retained the lead and he moved in front of Harvick on the outside lane entering the backstretch. Shortly after, Logano received a draft from Kyle Busch on the bottom lane to lead the following lap. Entering the tri-oval, Harvick and Logano pulled a three-wide move on Hamlin with Harvick returning to the lead entering the backstretch. 

    The following lap, Wallace drafted his owner Hamlin to the front while Keselowski mounted a challenge beneath Hamlin. The outside lane, however, prevailed with a bevy of competitors opting to move up on the outside lane and Hamlin retaining the lead. Wallace was in second followed by Harvick, Elliott and Austin Dillon. McDowell was in sixth followed by Keselowski, Preece, Logano and Kyle Busch. By then, the field settled in a long single-file lane on the outside lane.

    At the start of the final lap of the second stage, Wallace made his move beneath Hamlin to take the lead followed by a bevy of competitors, including McDowell and Keselowski. Through the backstretch, Logano, receiving drafting help from Kyle Busch, formed a third lane as the pack started to battle intently and tight against one another. 

    With the field entering Turn 3 and the tri-oval, Hamlin received a push from Harvick on the outside lane to reassume the lead over Wallace’s No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry and claim the second stage on Lap 130. Harvick settled in second followed by Wallace, Elliott and Austin Dillon. Logano, McDowell, Larson, Kyle Busch and Keselowski were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Austin Dillon exited in first place. Hamlin exited in second place followed by McDowell, Harvick, Wallace and Logano. Following the pit stops, Larson was penalized for a safety violation.

    With 64 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Austin Dillon moved his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in front of Hamlin to retain the lead. His lead, however, did not last long was Hamlin retuned to the top point with drafting help from Harvick, though he got squirrelly while being drafted by Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang. Dillon settled in third place, the first car on the bottom lane, as he battled Logano and Kyle Busch. 

    With 60 laps remaining, Hamlin was leading Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric while Custer, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray were in the top 10. Larson was in 12th while Wallace was back in 14th in front of Keselowski, McDowell and Bell. By then, 18 cars were scored on the lead lap. 

    Ten laps later and with 50 laps remaining, Hamlin was still out in front followed by Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric. Custer, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray were still in the top 10. Larson was in 12th, Keselowski was in 14th and Wallace was in 16th. By then, the field returned to a long single-file lane on the outside lane. 

    Another 10 laps later and with the next round of pit stops under green lurking, the field remained in a long single-file lane on the outside lane as Hamlin was still leading Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric. Custer was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the race, Hamlin continued to lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Preece. 

    Shortly after, pit stops under green commenced when Ford names like Logano, Harvick, Cindric, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell pitted. Not long after, a bevy of Chevrolet competitors pitted. Shortly after, the Toyota drivers led by Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Wallace pitted.

    When the field cycled back on the track, Logano was able to assume command of the race followed by Harvick as Kyle Busch and Hamlin, both of whom exited pit road ahead of the field, were unable to blend in front of the lead pack with enough speed and retain the top spots.

    With 24 laps remaining, Logano, racing in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, was leading Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell. Ross Chastain was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott, Kyle Busch and Preece. Wallace was in 11th while Hamlin fell back to 13th behind Larson.

    Four laps later and with the laps winding down, Logano was still at the top of the field followed by Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell as Fords comprised the top-five spots on the track. Chastain was the leading Chevrolet competitor in sixth while Kyle Busch was the leading Toyota competitor in ninth. By then, Wallace, who made another pit stop to address a vibration concern, was in 17th and a lap behind. In addition, the top-12 competitors, all within more than a second of one another, were locked in a single-file lane as Hamlin was back in 12th.

    Down to the final 15 laps of the race and with 15 competitors on the lead lap, the field remained in a single-file lane as Logano continued to lead followed by Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell. By then, Bell was pinned a lap behind along with Wallace. In addition, Hamlin remained in 12th place, three spots behind teammate Kyle Busch. 

    With 10 laps remaining, Logano remained at the front as the first of four Ford competitors leading the way followed by Harvick, Keselowski and McDowell. Behind, Austin Dillon was the leading Chevrolet competitor in fifth as he worked his way to the front followed by Elliott. Kyle Busch was in seventh followed by Larson, Hamlin and Chastain.

    Down to the final five laps of the race, the field remained in a long single-file lane with Logano still leading Harvick, Keselowski, McDowell and Austin Dillon.

    Logano continued to lead with three laps remaining while the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon, currently scored in fifth, was preparing his move as Elliott was in sixth. 

    With two laps remaining, however, Keselowski, racing in his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, gained a run and was able to move behind teammate Logano as McDowell also moved up while Harvick was shuffled out. When the final lap of the race started, Logano was still out in front followed by teammate Keselowski. 

    Through the backstretch, Keselowski received a push from McDowell and closed in on Logano as he prepared to execute his move for the win. Entering Turn 3, however, the two Penske teammates made contact and a multi-car wreck ensued. In the midst of the carnage, Keselowski made head-on contact against the outside wall before being slammed hard by Kyle Busch as Keselowski’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang went up against the outside wall and shredded against the catchfence amid a shower of flames and sparks. In addition, Logano slid up and clipped Chastain, who also made contact with Preece, before being hit by Wallace. Cindric and Custer were also involved in the midst of the fiery accident.

    The wreck ended the race under caution and at the moment of caution, McDowell was ahead of the field and declared the winner as he recorded his first career victory in NASCAR’s biggest event of the season.

    With his victory, McDowell became the 40th driver to win the Daytona 500, the eighth competitor to record a first Cup career victory in the 500 and the 196th competitor overall to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. The victory was the first for Front Row Motorsports since August 2016 (third overall), the second for crew chief Drew Blickensderfer and the 16th Daytona 500 victory for the Ford nameplate. In addition, McDowell became the third competitor to win the 500 after leading only the final lap.

    “I just can’t believe it,” McDowell said on FOX. “I’ve just got to thank God. So many years just grinding it out, hoping for an opportunity like this. I’ve got to thank Love’s Travel Stops, Speedco, [team owner] Bob Jenkins for giving me this opportunity. I’m so thankful. Such a great way to get a first victory. Daytona 500, are you kidding me?! We’re the Daytona 500 champions! We had our Ford partners at the end and they all crashed, but luckily I was able to make it through. I’m just so thankful. God is good.”

    Elliott, the reigning series champion, came home in second place as he achieved his best result in the 500 in his sixth attempt to win it.

    “I felt like we had a fast car,” Elliott said. “We weren’t as good as I thought we were on Thursday. I felt like we did a really good job executing today. Staying out of trouble, that’s not something I’ve done a very good job of here in this race, so I’m glad we could at least finish this one and have something to build on for when we come back and try to do better.”

    Austin Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 champion, finished in third place followed by Harvick and Hamlin, who came up short in his bid to win three consecutive Daytona 500 titles.

    “Yeah, you know you’ve just got to be thankful to be around at those moments at the end,” Dillon said. “I pulled out to see if the bottom would work and just didn’t get enough of a run. It was close. I’ve got to thank all my sponsors like Bass Pro Shops and everybody that helps this program. We were here all weekend scoring points and that’s all I can ask for…What can I say? Chevy was really close. I had fun working with my guys tonight in the Chevy camp.”

    Preece came home in sixth place with a wrecked car followed by Chastain and McMurray. LaJoie and Larson rounded out the top 10.

    Logano, Keselowski and Kyle Busch ended their nights in 12th, 13th and 14th following their vicious wreck. The wreck evaporated Keselowski’s hopes of winning his first 500 title in his 12th attempt along with Kyle Busch, who made his 17th attempt to win it.

    “[I] Had a big run down the backstretch, went to make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and it ended up really bad,” Keselowski said following his release from the infield care center. “[I] Don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everyone else’s car. Frustrating, the Discount Tire Ford was not the fastest, but [crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the whole team did a great job of keeping us in position and right then, we were in position. That’s exactly where I want to be running second on the last lap at Daytona with this package. Had the run, made the move. Then it didn’t work out.”

    “Pandemonium, I guess,” Logano said. “Chaos struck. [Keselowski] kept trying to back up, trying to get a run. I was trying to back up to him and try to keep the runs from being too big. I guess he got to the back of [McDowell] and it ended up being a really big run coming at me, and it seemed we all just collided in one spot. Real bummer. None of the Penske cars won, but at least a Ford won…I hate that we didn’t win with our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. I feel like we had a great shot, being where we were and leading on the last lap, but if we couldn’t win, I’m really happy to see McDowell win this thing.”

    “It’s to be expected,” Kyle Busch said. “Just a matter of time before it all breaks loose and whatever happens happens. I saw a window to the outside and all of a sudden, I had [Keselowski] on my hood…Got clobbered a few good times and just fortunate that I’m all good. Our M&M’s Camry, that one won’t live to see another day. Hopefully, we’ll be back here next week and have a better go around on the [Daytona] road course and get back after it.”

    Cindric was scored in 15th place in his Cup debut while Briscoe was the highest-finishing Rookie-of-the-Year contender in 19th place. Wallace finished in 17th place in his first run with 23XI Racing.

    There were 22 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.

    Following the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Austin Dillon leads the regular-season standings by six points over Hamlin, eight over Harvick, 10 over Elliott and 12 over McDowell and Preece.

    Results.

    1. Michael McDowell, one lap led

    2. Chase Elliott, three laps led

    3. Austin Dillon, seven laps led

    4. Kevin Harvick, 17 laps led

    5. Denny Hamlin, 98 laps led, Stage 1 and 2 winner

    6. Ryan Preece

    7. Ross Chastain

    8. Jamie McMurray

    9. Corey LaJoie

    10. Kyle Larson, one lap led

    11. Cole Custer, one lap led

    12. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 26 laps led

    13. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

    14. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

    15. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    16. Christopher Bell, one lap down, 32 laps led

    17. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down

    19. Chase Briscoe, three laps down

    20. Joey Gase, four laps down

    21. Cody Ware, four laps down

    22. Kurt Busch, five laps down

    23. B.J. McLeod, five laps down

    24. Josh Bilicki, six laps down

    25. Martin Truex Jr., seven laps down

    26. William Byron, nine laps down

    27. Tyler Reddick, 12 laps down

    28. Kaz Grala – OUT, dvp, 10 laps led

    29. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    30. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident

    31. Chris Buescher – OUT, dvp

    32. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, dvp

    33. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, dvp

    34. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    35. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    36. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

    37. David Ragan – OUT, Accident

    38. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident

    39. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    40. Derrike Cope – OUT, Accident

    With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season underway, the next event on the schedule is the series’ return to Daytona International Speedway for the series’ second points-paying event on the road course layout. The event will occur on Sunday, February 21, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Austin Cindric wins the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 at Daytona

    Austin Cindric wins the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 at Daytona

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series held their season opener at Daytona International Speedway Saturday evening and if you wanted excitement it did not disappoint. Neither did Austin Cindric, reigning Xfinity Series Champion. He drove his No. 22 Penske Ford into Victory Lane. Not only did he win the race but he did it from the pole position but it was also his first-ever superspeedway win.

    “Oh my goodness what an awesome race!” he exclaimed, “ What a really fast ride, the 5G Mustang. Unbelievable effort by team Penske,” he smiled and said, “ I’m gonna try to do it again tomorrow!”

    Brett Moffitt tried his best to catch Cindric, but in the end, he just wasn’t able to get there. He brought his No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevy home in second place.

    “Once the 22 got up front, anytime I got within a car’s length, it just pushed him further forward,” said Moffitt, “Everyone on this team has worked very hard to make a small team into a successful team in a short amount of time.”

    Driving home in third place was Harrison Burton in his No.20 Joe Gibbs Toyota. Jeb Burton and A.J. Allmendinger would round out the top five. Brandon Brown, Myatt Snider, Brandon Gdovic, Daniel Hemric, and Jason White finished sixth through 10, respectively.

    Stage 1 only had a handful of cautions and most were single-car incidents. When it came down to the end of the stage Brandon Jones beat everyone to the line, winning the stage.

    Stage 2 had no caution laps and they pretty much all stayed in their line until it was the last lap of the stage which Moffitt would win. On the last lap a couple of cars got together as the stage was ending.

    Stage 3 is where you got your money’s worth.

    A few laps after the start Ty Dillon spun and caught Justin Allgaier. Lap 75 saw several cars get tangled together. Justin Currey, Noah Gragson, Michael Annett, along with a few others, were caught up in it with 14 cars in total either wrecked or with some damage. ‘The Big One’ didn’t happen until 11 laps to go and that net tangled a lot of fish. Allgaier, J. Burton, Brandon Jones, Chad Finchum, Daniel Hemric, included, just to name a few. The stage went into overtime and Cindric took the checkered flag to win the race.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to the Daytona Road Course, on Saturday, Feb. 20, for the second race of the season.

    Official Results:

    1. Austin Cindric
    2. Brett Moffitt
    3. Harrison Burton
    4. Jeb Burton
    5. AJ Allmendinger
    6. Brandon Brown
    7. Myatt Snider
    8. Brandon Gdovic
    9. Daniel Hemric
    10. Jason White
    11. Joe Graf Jr.
    12. Caesar Bacarella
    13. Stefan Parsons
    14. Ty Dillon
    15. Kyle Weatherman
    16. Matt Mills
    17. Jesse Little
    18. Ryan Vargas
    19. Danny Bohn
    20. Timmy Hill
    21. Josh Williams
    22. Jeremy Clements
    23. Landon Cassill
    24. Tommy Joe Martins
    25. Robby Lyons
    26. Riley Herbst
    27. Josh Berry
    28. Justin Allgaier
    29. Justin Haley
    30. Chad Finchum
    31. Ryan Sieg
    32. Noah Gragson
    33. Bayley Currey
    34. Gray Gaulding
    35. Colby Howard
    36. Michael Annett
    37. Jeffrey Earnhardt
    38. Brandon Jones
    39. Cody Ware
    40. Alex Labbe