Daytona International Speedway 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 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 There is a lot for Austin Wayne Self to be excited for as the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season draws closer. Self will be returning to full-time competition for the first time since the 2015 season. He will have Justin Fontaine as a teammate, and his team, Niece Motorsports, just announced a technical alliance with GMS Racing. Self has 40 starts in the Truck Series over the past two seasons. In those starts, he earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes. Self’s bestRead 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 Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona provided action and excitement from beginning to end, culminating in Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. scoring his second win of the season. Along with Stenhouse’s win, there were some other storylines leaving the World Center of Racing. Making Mississippi Proud With his second win of the season and second in as many restrictor plate races, Stenhouse becomes the fifth driver to obtain multiple wins this season, giving himself some added insurance for the playoffs. While some might have listed DaleRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For nearly 30 years, restrictor plates and both Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway have been viewed as the ‘great equalizers’ for all three of NASCAR’s National Series. Restrictor plates reduce horsepower, and in turn, keep speeds in check, but they also keep the field in a ‘draft-lock’ like situation. These ‘draft-lock’ packs are prone to massive wrecks that often involve 10 or more cars. In the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, less than half of the field avoided both of theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The major story of Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola – Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final run at his beloved Daytona International Speedway in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – turned out to be a footnote to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s masterful victory in a war of attrition that produced a race-record 14 cautions. The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, who got his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in his 158th career start twoRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Every year, the underdog teams of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circle the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega as their chances to finish in the top-10 or contend for a race win, and Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 was yet another example of those tracks serving as the great equalizer. Along with Michael McDowell finishing fourth, two other underdog teams, Front Row Motorsports (David Ragan) and Beard Motorsports (Brendan Gaughan), brought home top-10 finishes, with their respective sixth and seventh place finishesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For the first time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, Michael McDowell scores a top five finish in the Coke Zero 400. McDowell finished fourth after aggressively working his way up through the field in the No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet SS. In addition to scoring his career best finish in NASCAR’s Premier series, McDowell scored Championship Points in Stage 1. He finished the stage in the sixth position, netting five points. The biggest moment of the race for McDowell came whenRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway was filled with impressive runs for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All four of the ROTY contenders have had experience at the 2.5-mile restrictor plate track. Erik Jones finished in ninth in the No. 77 Sport Clips Toyota Camry after a late spin sent him outside the Top 20. In the short run after the spin, Jones somehow made his way through the chaos that isRead More