Daytona 500 Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ryan Preece’s road to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is extraordinary as he came from the Whelen Modified Tour, a series he believes he can open a lot of avenues in the future as he’ll be the first former champion to compete for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors since Jeff Fuller in 2000. “To be the first Modified driver in 20 years basically in a way, hopefully it’s going to open a lot of avenues for people to look atRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After the checkered flag waved at the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead, veteran driver Casey Mears would have to wait until this Sunday’s Daytona 500 to take the green flag at the sport’s highest level after Germain Racing replaced him with Ty Dillon in 2017. During that span of absence, Mears felt that he was far from being finish in the racing world, but also made sure that he wasn’t going to be a guy that simply rides around to getRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After winning his first Cup Series championship last season, Joey Logano is counting his blessings heading into Sunday’s season opener at Daytona as he looks to not only win his second Daytona 500, but also get his title defense off on the right foot. “I tell everyone every day that I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Logano said Wednesday morning at Daytona 500 Media Day as he recounted the path his career has taken. “I started too young. I made aRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The offseason is over and Stewart-Haas Racing is at the ready for the Monster Energy Cup season. With the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola and newcomer Daniel Suarez preview their hopes for the upcoming campaign with the incoming Ford Mustang. Our friends from Mobil 1 The Grid bring the latest from one of NASCAR’s elite teams.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Tyler Reddick locked himself into the 61st running of the Daytona 500 after placing 16th on the speed charts. His No. 31 Symbicort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 joins Casey Mears’ No. 27 Germain Racing Chevrolet as the two Open teams to lock into ‘The Great American Race’ via qualifying on Sunday. Reddick, who is in a third Richard Childress Racing car, is one of six cars without a charter that had to either qualify on time or race their way through the GanderRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Paired for the first time with crew chief Chad Knaus, sophomore driver William Byron put his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the pole for the Feb. 17 Daytona 500 on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), leading a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four spots and extending that organization’s dominance in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. Byron edged last year’s pole winner, Alex Bowman, by .036 seconds for theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the first time since 2016, Casey Mears will attempt to run a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Not only that, Germain Racing will enter two cars in a Cup race for the first time since 2011 as the former tenured duo will attempt to make the 61st Daytona 500. Owner Bob Germain announced Tuesday that Mears, who drove for his team from 2010-16, will drive the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This program was built and staffed by Jay Robinson from Premium Motorsports toRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Jamie McMurray started his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career driving the No. 40, and he’ll now likely end it with the same car number as Spire Motorsports have partnered up with Chip Ganassi Racing and announced Friday that McMurray will pilot the No. 40 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the 61st Daytona 500 Feb. 17. The 2010 Daytona 500 champion will have McDonald’s, Cessna and Bass Pro Shops as his sponsors and is also eligible to compete in the Advanced Auto Parts Clash Feb. 10 dueRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Returning to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the first time since 2014, Ryan Truex will team up with Tommy Baldwin Racing in an attempt to make the field for the 61st running of the Daytona 500. The 26-year old Mayetta, New Jersey native will pilot the team’s No. 71 entry in its first race back in NASCAR’s top division since the end of the 2017 season. “I’m excited to have Ryan back in a Tommy Baldwin Racing car,” team owner Tommy Baldwin said. “WeRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s running of the Daytona 500. Age: 34 Years in Cup: 11 years Career Wins: Zero Cup wins, one Xfinity Series win In his first season with Front Row Motorsports, Michael McDowell kicked the 2018 season off with a bang, finishing the Daytona 500 with a ninth-place finish and setting the tempo for the remainder of the season to come. Though he andRead More