Daytona International Speedway Tag

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 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

By David Morgan, Associate Editor If there is anything we have learned in recent years, it’s that NASCAR road course racing is always unpredictable and Tuesday night’s Busch Clash at Daytona was no exception. Reminiscent of the 2018 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, the two leaders on the last lap looked to settle the race amongst themselves, but took each other out in the final chicane, handing the win to the third-place driver. This time around it was longtime friends Ryan Blaney and reigning Cup Series champion ChaseRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch may carry the nickname “Rowdy” but it was a couple of his competitors acting that way that allowed him to move into the lead out of the final turn and earn his second career Busch Clash victory Tuesday night. Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led only the length of a football field en route to the checkered flag – the only time he was out front all night at the excitingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Storming toward the finish line in last year’s running of the Daytona 500, it was anyone’s guess on who would be hoisting the Harley J. Earl trophy as the victor. Suddenly, that was the least of worries for all those in attendance at the World Center of Racing when a violent crash broke out, sending Ryan Newman to the hospital and leaving fellow drivers worried about the fate of their comrade. Thankfully, Newman was released from the hospital a couple of days later, walking out handRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Brad Keselowski’s NASCAR Cup Series resume is full of accolades, from a championship in 2012 to victories in nearly all of the marquee races on the circuit, but despite all that, one race has eluded him over the years – the Daytona 500. Heading into the 2021 season and preparing to make his 12th start in the Great American Race, Keselowski is more than ready to finally get his chance to hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy. “It’s definitely the one big box I don’t haveRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kaulig Racing announced Wednesday that Kaz Grala will attempt to make the 63rd Daytona 500 next month, piloting the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It’ll mark Grala’s second-ever Cup appearance as he filled in for Austin Dillon at the Daytona International Speedway road course race last August, finishing an astonishing seventh. Dillon had tested positive for COVID-19, ultimately leading Richard Childress Racing on giving the 22-year-old an opportunity to compete in the sport’s highest level. Grala will have to make the race however, hopingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Coming into Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, a nerve-wracking night was ahead for those drivers that had yet to lock themselves into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Now that the checkered flag has fallen on the regular season, Matt DiBenedetto can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he will be one of the 16 drivers battling it out for a championship over the next 10 weeks. DiBenedetto had a slim nine-point advantage when the night began, so it was key for the driverRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Two multi-car crashes became the end of the road for Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones and Tyler Reddick making the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. During Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway, all three had different implications. Those being Jones looking to wrap-up his final year with Joe Gibbs Racing with another playoff berth, Reddick trying to keep the Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle alive and Johnson aiming for one last shot at an eighth Cup title. Due to those accidents, noneRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service With his NASCAR Cup Series Playoff hopes on the line, Hendrick Motorsports’ driver William Byron earned his first career victory Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 regular season finale. The victory was an automatic berth into the Playoffs for the 22-year old Byron – a hard-fought trophy in a typically full-contact, high-emotion contest on NASCAR’s famed Daytona high-banks to settle the Playoff field. The only two Playoff positions still up for grabs on the night were filled byRead More