Cup

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor NASCAR has a new set of rules for their green-white-checkered finishes in 2016 and one race into the much-hyped ‘overtime’ rules, we’re already seeing a continuation of a recurring theme – anticlimactic finishes. The Sprint Unlimited was a fiercely contested race. All night long drivers were weaving in and out of traffic, spectacular crashes ensued and all along the way the suspense built toward what seemed to be an epic battle for the win between Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and a whole host of others. This trulyRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway ended with a mere handful of cars undamaged—and race winner Denny Hamlin’s Toyota wasn’t one of them. But Hamlin got his wreck out of the way early in a two-car incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Ford on Lap 13 and won the race in overtime with a large swatch of silver tape on the right side of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry. Hamlin triumphed in the season-opening non-points event for theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Defending Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano saved his best for the last two minutes of the second and final practice session on Saturday afternoon. Drafting with teammate Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney of Wood Brothers Racing, a Team Penske affiliate, Logano topped the speed chart at 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway with a lap at 195.933 mph (45.934 seconds), the fastest of the day. Keselowski was a close second at 195.848 mph, followed by Blaney at 195.797 mph. Those three driversRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After battling his own health issues the past several years, Brian Vickers is set for a golden opportunity in replacement duty for an injured Tony Stewart. Stewart-Haas Racing announced on Friday that Vickers will run the Sprint Unlimited (a non-points event) Saturday night, and the 58th annual Daytona 500. Vickers, 32, has seen his promising career derailed with a series of health issues that date back to 2010. However, after missing all but opening two races last season, the battle-tested North Carolina native has overcome aRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Sometimes crew chiefs don’t get their full due in the sport of NASCAR. That wasnt the case Friday at Daytona International Speedway as crew chiefs were at the forefront of how the grid for Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited was decided. The exhibition event’s starting lineup was decided by a random draw from the crew chiefs of the teams eligible to compete. Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief, nabbed the pole position for the race. Johnson has won at Daytona three times in his NASCAR SprintRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Jeffrey Earnhardt is heading into his rookie campaign in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season. Earnhardt will share the No. 32 GO FAS Racing Ford Fusion with 2000 Sprint Cup champion, Bobby Labonte. Labonte will drive the car in all four restrictor plate events this season, including the season-opening Daytona 500. C&J Energy Services will sponsor the car for those four events. Earnhardt’s schedule is dependent on sponsorship. GO FAS Racing has already announced that Earnhardt is expected to race anywhere between 20 to 32Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – To say that Brian Vickers appreciates the opportunity to drive the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet in place of injured Tony Stewart would be nothing short of a colossal understatement. “If anything, I feel more rested than every single person in this garage,” Vickers said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway, as Stewart-Haas announced him as the interim driver for Stewart during Speedweeks. “I’m more hungry than every single person in this garage. “I’m happier to be here, more appreciative.”Read More

On Sunday, February 11, 1979 nine NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers, the pole sitters from the 1978 season took to the track at Daytona International Speedway for the inaugural Busch Clash. Created by Monty Roberts, the Busch Clash was originally run as a way of promoting Busch Beer. The race would only be a single segment, 50 miles, and 20-lap sprint with no caution laps counting. The nine drivers who took part in first Busch Clash were Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett, J.D. McDuffie, Benny Parsons, David Pearson, LennieRead More

Maximum Field Sizes / Corresponding New Points Systems NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Maximum 40-car field (36 Charter team cars, 4 Open team cars), race winner awarded 40 points, 40th place awarded one point. NASCAR XFINITY Series – Maximum 40-car field, race winner awarded 40 points, 40th place awarded one point. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Maximum 32-truck field, race winner awarded 32 points, 32nd place awarded one point New points systems apply to driver, owner, and manufacturer championships. Existing 2015 Bonus points remain in place for 2016. QualifyingRead More