Daytona 500 Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When Danica Patrick wraps up her racing career with the Daytona 500/Indianapolis 500 double this year, she will be doing so in familiar colors. GoDaddy, which sponsored Patrick for her first six seasons in NASCAR and her last two in IndyCar, announced on Thursday that they would be returning to sponsor her again in her final two races. “This is definitely the way I want to finish my racing career — at these two iconic races, backed by my iconic, long-time sponsor,” said Patrick. “GoDaddyRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Note: This is the third in a five-part series of features detailing the careers of each of the five inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018. The inductees, who will be officially enshrined on Jan. 19 (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), are Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates. For tickets to the Induction Ceremony, visit nascarhall.com/inductees/induction-ceremony.  Ken Squier, the man who coined the phrase “The Great American Race” to describe theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Now that the 2017 NASCAR season is complete and the year is drawing to a close, we’ll take this opportunity to take a look back at the year that was. Today, we’ll tackle Part One of the 10 most memorable moments of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Calls it a Career After 18 seasons behind the wheel in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. hung up his helmet at the end of the 2017 season, retiring fromRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The contract negotiations between Kurt Busch and Stewart Haas Racing show that there can be a lot of variables. Most drivers talk about the amount of money, sponsorship, and other obligations. One of the variables for Busch is unlike the others, the 2017 Daytona 500 winning car. Busch piloted the No. 41 Haas Automation / Monster Energy Ford Fusion to victory in the Daytona 500, his first win in ‘The Great American Race.’ It was also the first victory for SHR in the historic raceRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In an effort to drive new life into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule, NASCAR announced a huge realignment to the 2018 schedule on Tuesday, with several key races undergoing changes for next year’s campaign. The new changes to the 2018 schedule start right off the bat with the Daytona 500 moving back to President’s Day weekend, with the race running on February 18, 2018. Jump ahead to April and Richmond’s spring date, which had been run on Sunday afternoon over the last fewRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – In the spirit of racing crossover, Marco Andretti has teased the concept of running the Daytona 500. The 30-year-old Nazareth, Pennsylvania native will have two-time Formula 1 champion, Fernando Alonso as a teammate at Andretti Autosport in this year’s 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500. The 35-year-old Spaniard shook the racing world when it was announced that he would skip the Monaco Grand Prix, F1’s crown jewel event, to compete in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” next month. In 2014, former NASCAR CupRead More

By Beth Lunkenheimer, NASCAR Contributor Dale Earnhardt Jr. just completed his 600th career start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series last weekend at Auto Club Speedway. During that time, the 42-year-old has 26 career victories, including two Daytona 500 wins. Oh, and that doesn’t include that he is also a 14-time Most Popular Driver. “I just wanted to drive. I wanted to race cars for a living. I wanted to do it well enough to be able to afford to make a living doing it,” Earnhardt said. “I didn’tRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor To say that Kurt Busch’s NASCAR career has been a rollercoaster of a ride would be an understatement. From the moment the Las Vegas native entered the sport, he has endured the highest of highs and the lowest of lows throughout his 18 year career, but after winning the Daytona 500 last Sunday, Busch is still riding the high of winning NASCAR’s biggest race. Following his win, Busch not only celebrated with his team into the wee hours of the morning, but also went onRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Michael Waltrip had a puncher’s chance and gave it his best shot on Sunday. The two-time Daytona 500 champion announced last month that the 59th edition of ‘The Great American Race’ would be his last in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition. However in his 30th appearance of the event, the 53-year-old Kentucky native made the most the moment and drove to an impressive 8th place finish at the same track that broke his 462-race winless streak. After starting the day in 30th,Waltrip avoided disaster in theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – His car damaged in a wreck on the backstretch and held together with tape, Kurt Busch grabbed the lead on the final lap of the 59th Daytona 500 on Sunday and took the checkered flag in the Great American Race as a capstone to a checkered career that has trended upward since Busch joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. In a race that featured the first test of a new three-stage race format in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series—and featuredRead More