Cup Category

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Hendrick Motorsports has it figured out when it comes to starting on the front row for the Daytona 500. For the eighth year in a row, it will be a Hendrick driver will start on the front row for the Daytona 500, as the 2022 edition of the Great American Race features two of its drivers starting up front. Kyle Larson starts on the pole for the first time in the 500, with Alex Bowman alongside for his fifth straight front rowRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael McDowell achieved a lifelong dream last season by winning the 2021 Daytona 500, his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series. A year later, he returns to the World Center of Racing proudly carrying the banner as the Daytona 500 champion, ready to defend his title in the first race of the Next Gen era. “It is awesome. It really is,” McDowell said of making his return as the defending winner. “The last few weeks with getting ready for the 500Read More

By Reid Spencer and Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service New Next Gen race car means radically different approach to pit stops DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Pit stops in the Daytona 500 will be fundamentally different this year—just ask Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It’s not just because the new NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars have gone to a single center lug instead of five lug nuts to secure each tire. And it’s not just because the fuel cell capacity has increased roughly eight percent to 20 gallons, increasing the time necessaryRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There’s something about Denny Hamlin and Daytona. With three wins in the last six years, Hamlin has found a knack for making it happen at the World Center of Racing, especially in the biggest race of the NASCAR Cup Series season – the Daytona 500. Though Hamlin’s wins in the Great American Race came in the Gen 6 car, this year’s running of the race is a whole new ballgame. With the debut of the Next Gen car, Hamlin and every otherRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Fresh off its sweep of the Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing may have found itself in some hot water with NASCAR less than 24 hours later. On Friday afternoon, NASCAR announced that it had “taken possession” of wheels from both RFK Racing and Team Penske, noting that they would be taking the confiscated items back to its R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina for further inspection. One of many redesigned parts on the NASCAR Next Gen car inRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona International Speedway dealt a great hand for Greg Biffle during Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel Race No. 2. On a race that was intense from start to finish, Biffle had to race his way into the Daytona 500 — something he hasn’t dealt with in nearly two decades. Fortunately, Jacques Villeneuve’s woes throughout the night gave the 2000 Truck Series champion a one-way ticket to leading the open cars. The only way for Biffle to make the race was stay in frontRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Joey Logano has always had an aggressive style of racing on the superspeedways and heading into Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150 at Daytona, he made it known that this year would be no different, even with the hesitancy that has become commonplace as the Next Gen car rolls out in the Cup Series. Now that aggressive style of racing has put him and his No. 22 Team Penske team behind the eight-ball with the Daytona 500 less than 72 hours away.Read More

By Reid Spencer and Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Roush Fenway Keselowski teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher swept Thursday nights Bluegreen Vacation Duels, but a last-lap collision in the second race wiped out then-frontrunner Joey Logano and spoiled a perfect night for the Ford Performance entries. Running second to Logano, Buescher made a move to the inside on the backstretch on Lap 60. Logano moved down to block, and contact between the cars sent Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford into the outside wall, cripplingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the first of two Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150s at Daytona played out on Thursday night, things weren’t looking good for Kaz Grala and The Money Team to make it into the Daytona 500 in their debut race, but at the World Center of Racing, it’s not over until it’s over. Grala, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet owned by world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, started the race off on the right foot by pulling away from his main competitor in the race,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When the green flag flies on Sunday to kick off the 2022 Daytona 500, the NASCAR Cup Series will be venturing into unknown territory. For more than six decades, the sport has been making the pilgrimage to the Daytona high banks to win the sport’s most prestigious race and write themselves into the record book as Daytona 500 champion, but this year it’s a whole new ballgame. With the introduction of the Next Gen car for the 2022 season, drivers and teamsRead More