Daytona 500 Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – If the Toyota teams had any doubts about its new NASCAR Cup Series body for the 2024 season, those fears appear to have been put to rest over the past two days at Daytona International Speedway. After an abysmal showing in qualifying Wednesday night that Toyota officials described as “disturbing,” things turned around in a big way once its teams got into the draft on Thursday night, sweeping both of the Bluegreen Duels qualifying races and then claiming the top eight spotsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –The start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series is officially here and with it comes the biggest race of the season – the Daytona 500. For 66 years, drivers have 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. Many have attempted it, but only a select few have been able to hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy in victory lane at the end ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — With a deft move to the inside in the final corner of the first of two Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150-mile qualifying races on Thursday night, 19th-place starter Tyler Reddick took the checkered flag and earned the inside second-row starting position for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). And by the skin of his teeth, in that same Duel, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Jimmie Johnson edgedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Throughout the majority of the first Duel race Thursday night at Daytona, it appeared everything was going the way of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in his bid to make it into the field for the 66th running of the Daytona 500. Barring something unfortunate, it seemed Johnson was on easy street, running near the front of the field in the early going and playing it safe near the back after a round of green flag pit stops, but withRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.  – Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona mark one of the most nerve-wracking nights of the NASCAR Cup Series season, with a place in the starting field for the Daytona 500 up for grabs or a ticket home for those less fortunate. For the 66th running of the Great American Race, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over four drivers not yet locked into the 40-car field. By the end of the night, two drivers will punch their ticket into Sunday’s main event,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Ford has struck the first blow of Speedweeks. Despite rolling into Daytona with the unknown of its new Mustang Dark Horse body for 2024, the Blue Oval brigade will have the best seat in the house to start Sunday’s 66th running of the Daytona 500 after Joey Logano and Michael McDowell locked out the front row in pole qualifying on Wednesday night. Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, powered his No. 22 Team Penske Ford around the 2.5-mile superspeedway inRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As Denny Hamlin sat at the dais in the Daytona International Speedway media center, a photo recalling the history he hopes to achieve hung on the wall to his immediate left. It was a Victory Lane shot of NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough, holding the Harley J. Earl Award the earned by winning the 1977 DAYTONA 500. Yarborough, who died in December at age 84, won the Great American Race four times, second only to the seven victories achievedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Winning the Daytona 500 brings its perks, especially for a single-car organization like JTG-Daugherty Racing. Although most of the praise goes to Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who won his first NASCAR Cup Series race since July 2017, history was also made in the 65th renewal of “The Great American Race.” Daugherty became the first African-American owner to win NASCAR’s most prestigious event, but wasn’t around to see Stenhouse win big. Due to recently having eye surgery 10 days before, the Florida sunlight bothered Daugherty, so in theRead More

The finish that could have been sticks with me more than what wasRead More

By Matt Weaver, Special Contributor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Brad Keselowski was released from the infield care center at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday night and proceeded to walk directly to his waiting golf cart and set sail into the distance. The disappointment was palpable. Keselowski led six times for a race high 42 laps in the Daytona 500. It is the only remaining omission from his NASCAR Cup Series resume. The No. 6 he co-owns at RFK Racing was the dominant force of the afternoon. It was quickest in finalRead More