Monster Energy Cup Category

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kevin Harvick had the right idea. The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion believed the late-race pushing and shoving would get the outside lane moving for the first time in Sunday’s Daytona 500. That’s exactly what happened. But as Harvick was making a run to the front, Denny Hamlin slid his No. 11 Toyota in front of Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet and rode the momentum to the front of the field, ultimately winning the Great American Race by .010 seconds over Martin Truex Jr.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Most of the time, when an athlete talks about a “team victory,” it’s nothing more than a sports cliché. But Denny Hamlin’s win in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway—by the closest margin in the history of the Great American Race—was a testament to the strength and solidarity of the Toyota teams of Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing, a JGR affiliate. In a wild last lap at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Hamlin moved into the outside lane inRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Just a month after a controversial move to drop Alex Bowman for Regan Smith, Tommy Baldwin Racing’s decision paid off with an eighth place finish in the Daytona 500. Smith, 32, started 27th in ‘The Great American Race’, rebounding from an early spin and keeping the single-car team in the fight on the lead lap. Following green flag pitstops with 45 laps to go, the No. 7 Golden Corral/Nikko Chevrolet drew within reach of the frontrunners. As Denny Hamlin made his move to a race win,Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor All week long, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was pegged as everyone’s odds-on favorite to win the Daytona 500. Earnhardt’s car, dubbed Amelia, had shown so much speed and had shown incredible handling through qualifying, the Can-Am Duel qualifying race and every practice session. During Sunday’s Daytona 500, Earnhardt started off strong from the third position. Earnhardt knifed his way past his teammate, Chase Elliott for the lead on lap four. Earnhardt held the point to lead 15 circuits early on in the race, and it honestly looked likeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After starting on pole for the Daytona 500, rookie Chase Elliott saw his hopes of a good finish evaporate early. The 20-year-old from Dawsonville, Georgia led the opening few laps, but began to quickly slide backwards. The heralded replacement for retired four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon lost control on the exit of Turn 4 on lap 18, damaging the nose as the No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet hit the infield grass. “I’m not sure, just got turned around there off of four,” said Elliott.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The finish of Saturday’s Powershares QQQ 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway left winner Chase Elliott out of gas on the cool-down lap and runner-up Joey Logano pounding his steering wheel in frustration. But it was the high-speed chess game seconds before the first and second-place cars crossed the finish line that made all the difference. Fearing he wouldn’t get help from Kasey Kahne, Elliott’s JR Motorsports teammate, Logano pushed Elliott clear of the pack on theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In Saturday’s final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice for the Daytona 500 (on FOX at 1 p.m. ET), it was time for Greg Biffle to turn a few laps with his new race engine. Biffle and new crew chief Brian Pattie opted out of Friday’s two practice sessions, preferring to wait until Saturday for their final shakedown. “This is our first laps on our race engine and race gear and race driveshaft – all of our driveline components – soRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor It’s no secret that Dale Earnhardt Jr. likes his car for this weekend’s Daytona 500. Earnhardt raced this very car in all four restrictor plate events last season, and with it he recorded two wins, and an average finish of 1.8. Earnhardt’s great luck with the car that he has named ‘Amelia’ continued in Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel qualifying race. “I was so nervous today about tearing the car up because I know how good it is versus what we have,” Earnhardt said. “What weRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer After his career best points finish to end the 2015 season, Martin Truex, Jr. and his Furniture Row Racing team were in high spirits heading into Daytona for the 58th running of the Daytona 500. Thus far in Speedweeks, the single car operation based out of Colorado has had a rough go of things. The trouble for Truex began with last Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited, where he had his No. 78 car near the front of the field as the laps were winding down. As the fieldRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After encountering a vibration early on, Ryan Blaney raced his was back up to finish third in the opening Can-Am Duel race on Thursday night. Blaney, 22, stayed among the leaders in the opening 15 laps of the 60 lap event, lingering around the top 5. Moments later the rookie felt a strong vibration that eventually led to him falling a lap down, but a spin by Cole Whitt forced a caution to come out on lap 44, putting Blaney back on the lead lap. FollowingRead More