Daytona 500 Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The future is indeed now in the NASCAR Cup Series. Not because it’s the first-ever regular season race with the current car (known as NextGen), but it also saw another first-time winner in the Daytona 500. In just his eighth career Cup start, Austin Cindric brought Team Penske its third win in “The Great American Race.” While the No. 2 team celebrated, other drivers were either heartbroken or collected in wrecks that’ll prove costly to team’s due to the supply shortage of the current car. DespiteRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Austin Cindric once asked Mario Andretti if he had any advice for the Team Penske rookie and the legendary driver had just six words for him. “Whatever you do, stand on it.” If Cindric’s performance in the 2022 running of the Daytona 500 is any indication, the newest driver to climb behind the wheel of the No. 2 Ford took those words to heart, streaking across the finish line first Sunday night to claim not only his first NASCAR Cup Series win,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. For the second time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Bubba Wallace came agonizingly close to winning the biggest prize in stock car racing, finishing second to Austin Cindric in Sunday’s 64th running of the Daytona 500. With proven equipment from 23XI Racing underneath him and a Cup win under his belt, having won at Talladega last fall, Wallace came into the season looking to build on last season’s performance in his secondRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Briscoe had an adventurous second crack at the Daytona 500 where he ultimately finished third. At one point towards Stage 1, a shot of being towards the front went south after being involved in the opening caution on Lap 42. Kaz Grala had lost a wheel on the backstretch with Briscoe trying to avoid the carnage. Suddenly, Briscoe was hit from behind by eventual Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric sendng him for a spin. Over the radio, Briscoe asked “who ARCA-brakedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Days before the 64th running of the Daytona 500, rookie Harrison Burton was put through the paces during a flight with the Air Force Thunderbirds. On Sunday afternoon, he was airborne again. This time it wasn’t an Air Force F-16 that was taking flight, it was his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang. As the field powered its way through Turn 2 on lap 64, a bump from Brad Keselowski turned Burton’s car sideways, causing him to slide down the bankingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Elliott has been a fixture at Hendrick Motorsports for the duration of his NASCAR career and now will be sticking around for the foreseeable future. On Sunday morning, ahead of the 64th running of the Daytona 500, the team announced that Elliott had signed a five-year contract extension, keeping him behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevrolet through the 2027 season. “Chase is a champion on and off the track,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “His talent insideRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Hendrick Motorsports has it figured out when it comes to starting on the front row for the Daytona 500. For the eighth year in a row, it will be a Hendrick driver will start on the front row for the Daytona 500, as the 2022 edition of the Great American Race features two of its drivers starting up front. Kyle Larson starts on the pole for the first time in the 500, with Alex Bowman alongside for his fifth straight front rowRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael McDowell achieved a lifelong dream last season by winning the 2021 Daytona 500, his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series. A year later, he returns to the World Center of Racing proudly carrying the banner as the Daytona 500 champion, ready to defend his title in the first race of the Next Gen era. “It is awesome. It really is,” McDowell said of making his return as the defending winner. “The last few weeks with getting ready for the 500Read More

By Reid Spencer and Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service New Next Gen race car means radically different approach to pit stops DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Pit stops in the Daytona 500 will be fundamentally different this year—just ask Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It’s not just because the new NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars have gone to a single center lug instead of five lug nuts to secure each tire. And it’s not just because the fuel cell capacity has increased roughly eight percent to 20 gallons, increasing the time necessaryRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There’s something about Denny Hamlin and Daytona. With three wins in the last six years, Hamlin has found a knack for making it happen at the World Center of Racing, especially in the biggest race of the NASCAR Cup Series season – the Daytona 500. Though Hamlin’s wins in the Great American Race came in the Gen 6 car, this year’s running of the race is a whole new ballgame. With the debut of the Next Gen car, Hamlin and every otherRead More