Daytona Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Six years ago, Michael Annett’s career drastically changed at Daytona International Speedway when a broken sternum sidelined him 6-8 weeks, ending his bid of contending for the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, where in the previous season, he finished fifth in points. Ever since that gloomy afternoon, Annett’s view of the sport didn’t change but his performances created a whirlwind of struggles in NASCAR. Scoring only two top-fives in 91 Xfinity Series starts, numbers that’s undesirable especially the equipment he runs for whichRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – “I felt like I was back in the ‘50’s running a convertible here on the beach. That was interesting,” said Brad Keselowski after failing to finish Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway due to a series of escape hatch issues that denied him of being a race contender. Keselowski was one of only two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points scorers and showed early pace on his No. 12 Fitzgerald USA Ford Mustang. That wouldn’t last as his roofRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When finances put a driver in a box where their career’s in jeopardy, race wins can bolster a season. That was the case for John Hunter Nemechek in 2016 when he scored back-to-back Truck Series victories when primary sponsor Fire Alarm Services jumped aboard. Nemechek has made the most out of the deal and have gone up the NASCAR ladder ever since and fast forward into 2019, he’s now a full-time driver at GMS Racing’s No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro in the XfinityRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was the race of a lifetime for Puyallup, Washington’s Angela Ruch, who dealt with an overheating truck and going down a cylinder throughout Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona, to finish eighth in just her second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start, becoming the second ever woman to score a top-10 in the series. Perhaps more special about Ruch’s performance was the support from NEMCO Motorsports and Kaulig Racing’s Chris Rice, who gave her the opportunity to run theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lap 54 was the moment an intense NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway turned into a nightmare for 11 drivers, including Jordan Anderson, who’s predicament is worse than most considering the circumstances of his own team. Coming off Turn 3, Anderson, who was running on the bottom, was drafting with Cory Roper and running inside the top-five until he began bottoming out and the rest of the draft caught up to him. As the field bunched up, Anderson was losingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Justin Haley returns to Daytona International Speedway with a chip on his shoulder and after topping the speed chart at 189.581 mph (47.473 seconds) during final practice before Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300, he’s eyeing for redemption. “Daytona has always been good to me. I finished second here in Trucks last year and I’ve been good on superspeedways my whole career,” Haley told Motorsports Tribune. “We had fast speed and we were up there in final practice and made some mock runsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Winning can provide the biggest opportunity for a driver, more so when a competitor is part-time. That’s been the case in the NASCAR Xfinity Series all of last season when drivers such as Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek won for Chip Ganassi. For one driver, it turned into a full-time gig at Stewart-Haas Racing and that driver was Chase Briscoe. At age 24, Briscoe has dreams of someday running the Knoxville Nationals, but for now, it’s making the most of anRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At the end of the 2018 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season, Grant Enfinger was one of the stronger drivers on the tour with a win at Las Vegas and fifth-place points finish, which was the highest among the Ford camp. Now entering Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, ThorSport Racing’s top points finisher hopes to build their stride they began building after losing out to Chase Briscoe at the Eldora Dirt Derby last August. Enfinger stated that from thatRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was a Valentine’s Day heartbreak for Ryan Truex and the entire Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 71 Chevrolet team, as they failed to beat Parker Kligerman in the first Gander RV Duel Race Thursday, which would’ve been Truex’s first Daytona 500, and was one of two cars that failed to make the race. “I mentally prepared to not make it, just so the letdown wasn’t so big,” Truex on how handling missing the show. “I’ve missed this race before, so I know howRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Heading into Speedweeks, one team that’s stirred some buzz in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series for making a crucial driver switch, which was the ultimate case for Hattori Racing Enterprises, as they released defending champion Brett Moffitt in favor of Austin Hill of Winston, Georgia, and already has hit his stride when he topped the speed chart during final practice. The 24-year-old clocked in at 46.646 seconds (192.943 mph), and while he’s satisfied of putting up an excellent lap, there’s still roomRead More