Daytona International Speedway Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer This time one year ago, Austin Dillon finished in seventh in the Coke-Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway after getting airborne and slamming into the catch fencing as the field came to the checkered flag. Dillon’s car was torn in half, flopped back onto the racetrack, where it was then hit by a spinning Brad Keselowski. Multiple pit crews including Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s and Casey Mears’ immediately ran out to check on the driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chervolet SS. Fast forwardRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona was an unusually mellow restrictor plate race, until it wasn’t. On lap 89, all hell broke loose when Jamie McMurray received a tap from Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet. McMurray broke loose and spun into an entire field of drivers going 200-miles-per-hour. In all, 19 drivers couldn’t avoid piling into what turned out to be ‘the big one.’ The big one in Daytona. #CokeZero400 https://t.co/L9ke8AOcEZ — NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 3, 2016 Among those involved were several driversRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega, there is always a chance that a driver might get caught up in a crash that ends their night prematurely and for the 2016 Sprint Cup Series rookie class, that is exactly what happened in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Throughout the first 89 laps of the race, three of the four rookies (Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Chris Buescher) had made their way through the field intoRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor If you would have told me at the beginning of the season, that Trevor Bayne would be the breakout driver of the year, I would have called your bluff. However 17 races into the 2016 season, Bayne is turning heads as he continues to bust out great finishes. That trend continued in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Bayne, who has had decent qualifying runs all season long, had another one this week when he nabbed the 13th-place starting spot for this race. BayneRead More

By David Westergreen, Fan Column The first NASCAR race I ever watched was the 2001 Daytona 500. While it is a race well remembered for its last lap, what is often forgotten is the 49 lead changes among 14 drivers and underdog winner. Performances by Ward Burton and Sterling Marlin bringing Dodge back to the forefront for the first time since 1979 at Daytona are lost to the memories of Dale Earnhardt. This was my first experience as a fan. I did not see any one of Dale’s 76 winsRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Another NASCAR Xfinity Series race at a restrictor plate track, and another controversial finish decided by a yellow flag. On the final lap of the Subway FireCracker 250, a melee ensued on the backstretch. However NASCAR officials opted to let the finish of the race play out. Aric Almirola and Justin Allgaier were locked into a drag race to the start finish line, until the epic finish was called off. Just a few hundred feet from the finish line the yellow flag was displayed andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aric Almirola won his second NASCAR XFINITY Series race by much less than a nose. But to the driver of the No. 98 Fred Biagi-owned Ford, that was a vast improvement over his first victory in the series—when he wasn’t even in the car when the race ended. In Friday night’s Subway Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Almirola was inches ahead of Justin Allgaier off the final corner in overtime when NASCAR called the eighth caution of the raceRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For Justin Allgaier, the superspeedways have been near misses this season. Allgaier started the weekend at Daytona International Speedway ninth fastest in the weather shortened practice, and then qualified seventh for the race. The JR Motorsports driver ran up front for the first run of the race, and was running well when the first caution flew. After the restart, the first big wreck of the race occurred directly in front of Allgaier, narrowly missing the spinning No.87 Toyota Camry of Joe Nemechek. Allgaier ended upRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to the two restrictor plate tracks on the schedule, Daytona and Talladega, those tracks serve as the great equalizer and allow some of the smaller, lower budget teams to have the same chance at a win or top-five finish as the powerhouse teams in the series. That very thing held true once more in Friday night’s Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona. Ryan Sieg, who drives for his own team, Ryan Sieg Racing, is most definitely an underdog among theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For the second time in as many races at restrictor plate tracks, the finish to Friday night’s Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona came down to NASCAR analyzing the video replay due to a last lap caution and by the time all was said and done, Aric Almirola was scored as the race winner for his second win in his home state of Florida. Almirola first visited victory lane at Daytona back in 2014 with a win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the rainRead More