NASCAR Category

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – On Sunday, Denny Hamlin will be going for his second-straight Daytona 500 victory and third in the last five years, but the driver of the No. 11 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing wasn’t always a favorite on the superspeedways. It took Hamlin getting schooled by restrictor plate masters like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart to turn him from an also-ran at Daytona and Talladega to becoming a perennial favorite at those types of tracks. “People think of us a lot ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was a first for Noah Gragson. It was more of the same for Dale Earnhardt Jr. When a wreck on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway ended Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300, Gragson was in the lead, and when the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line under caution, he claimed his long-awaited first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. What was a novel experience for Gragson was old hat to Earnhardt, who wonRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What started off as the absolute lowest of lows ended on an absolute high for Timmy Hill, who brought the No. 66 RoofClaim.com/VSI Racing Toyota Supra home in third during Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway. The 120-lap race was Hill’s 186th Xfinity Series race but he never finished better than seventh on three different occasions. That would all change as the chaotic contest boiled down to a three-lap shootout which saw him trying to push Harrison Burton andRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After coming within inches of scoring his first career win in the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Series, one would expect Jordan Anderson to be disappointed to have come so close only to have to settle for a runner-up finish instead. But it was exactly the opposite for the Forest Acres, South Carolina native after he climbed from his No. 3 Chevrolet following a photo finish Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. “You don’t get the opportunity to go for the winRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Niece Motorsport’s Natalie Decker was grinning widely before she even arrived at the many microphones and reporters ready to interview the Wisconsin driver following her historical run in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season-opener Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Decker, 22, of Eagle River, Wisc., finished fifth in Friday’s NextEra Energy 250 – the highest ever finish for a female driver in series history; a fact that even she wasn’t aware of when she first approachedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Grant Enfinger held off charging Jordan Anderson on the final lap of overtime Friday night at Daytona International Speedway to win the NextEra Energy 250 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race by .010 seconds. Enfinger got his shot at the win after a massive wreck on Lap 98 of a scheduled 100 took out his ThorSport Racing teammate, Ben Rhodes, and a baker’s dozen of other contenders. Enfinger had the lead for a restart on Lap 105, butRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – On paper, John Hunter Nemechek is listed as a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender in the NASCAR Cup Series. But in the eyes of his Front Row Motorsports teammates Michael McDowell and David Ragan, John Hunter has the advantage over the other rookies. This is due in most part of John Hunter spending years years in the garage with his father Joe Nemechek, which his teammates view as an absolute benefactor to his racing experience. McDowell said last Sunday at theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Joey Logano grabbed the lead on the final lap of the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150-mile qualifying race Thursday at Daytona International Speedway and held on for the win, but a wreck at the halfway point dashed Daniel Suarez’s prospects of competing in his first Daytona 500 with his new team Gaunt Brothers Racing. In the second Duel, William Byron made a late charge to edge Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for the victory by .117 seconds and will startRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The final two spots for Sunday’s 62nd Daytona 500 spot have been set as Reed Sorenson and Timmy Hill got themselves into the race after Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway while crashes eliminated Daniel Suarez and J.J. Yeley from making the 40-car grid. In Race No. 1, Suarez’s misfortune became Sorenson’s gain as the 16-year NASCAR Cup Series veteran locks his way into Sunday’s Daytona 500 via qualifying speed after Justin Haley (who was already in as the fastestRead More