Daytona 500 Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – More than an hour after Michael McDowell had officially claimed the most iconic winner’s trophy in NASCAR with a last lap push to the Daytona 500 checkered flag, the 36-year old Phoenix native was still insisting with a smile and a shake of his head that it was all “unbelievable”. It was a phrase he used over and over in the celebratory moments after his life-changing win. When he woke up Monday morning, he could more fully embrace the impactRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Another Daytona 500 is in the books and once again, the finish was capped off by a violent, multi-car crash. A year removed from Ryan Newman’s harrowing crash in the 2020 edition of the Great American Race, carnage reigned supreme in the waning moments of this year’s race at the World Center of Racing. With the Harley J. Earl trophy on the line, it was every man for himself on the final lap, as Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski ran 1-2 down theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 63rd Daytona 500 wasn’t the night Denny Hamlin made history. Instead, he finished a gut punching fifth after leading a race-high 98 of 200 laps. Entering the race, Hamlin looked to become the first driver to win three straight Daytona 500s and join Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty as the only guys to score at least four victories. For much of the race, it appeared that Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry was the car to beat once more. Only thisRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service In a stunning upset at the end of an action-filled, rain-interrupted Daytona 500, Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series victory after charging into the lead during a brutal multicar wreck in Turn 3 on the final lap. “I can’t believe it,” McDowell said. “I’ve got to thank God. So many years of just grinding it out, hoping for an opportunity like this. I’ve got to thank (team owner) Bob Jenkins for giving me this opportunity. I’m so thankful. Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a span of three laps, the 63rd Daytona 500 went from calm to chaos. One for the dreaded Big One and the other being lightning. Coming to the end of the Daytona Superstretch, Christopher Bell was running in fourth when he hooked Duel Race No. 1 winner Aric Almirola on Lap 13. The contact led Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang darting him towards the top lane and collected pole sitter Alex Bowman. Both made tremendous impact towards the outside wall,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was past midnight at the Daytona International Speedway when a late-race carnage beckoned the second race of the Bluegreen Duels. In the end, the greatest benefactor was Kaz Grala. Not only he got the free pass, but thanks to David Ragan finishing eighth, the 2017 Truck Series Daytona winner will make his first 500 appearance. Grala was already appreciative of Ragan because at around 2011, he got to experience a NASCAR race from the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing pit boxRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With a little help from Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric will officially make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in Sunday’s Daytona 500. Following a pit road speeding penalty, Cindric’s bid of bringing his No. 33 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang appeared to be over. Add insult to injury, he even lost a lap which ultimately left just Preece and Ty Dillon as the lone open entries on the lead lap. “I get the bonehead of the race award,” said Cindric. “Speeding in the lastRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Florida native Aric Almirola drove to a convincing victory in the opening Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona qualifying race Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway. Almirola’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford led a dominating 52 of the 60 laps and held off Christopher Bell’s No 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by a mere .041-seconds for the Tampa native’s first victory in the Daytona 500 field-setting race. Ryan Newman, who was involved in a frightening last lap crash in last year’sRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Before the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this weekend at Daytona, two rising stars in the sport had the opportunity to have some fun on Thursday, trading the cockpit of their stock cars for the cockpit of an F-16 piloted by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. The two drivers taking part in the yearly tradition was rookie Chase Briscoe, who will be driving the No. 14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, and Ross Chastain, who takes over the No. 42 Chevrolet at Chip GanassiRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Alex Bowman swapped car numbers for the 2021 season – from 88 to 48 – but has certainly retained his Daytona magic, earning the pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver a record fourth consecutive front row start in the NASCAR Cup Series season-opener. Bowman, 27, went out late in the qualifying order (38th of 44 drivers) Wednesday night – the first night-time pole qualifying session in race history –Read More