NASCAR Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat was the storybook ending in Sunday’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. For Aric Almirola, he drew the short straw, losing the lead on the last lap after being turned by Austin Dillon, who won the Great American Race for the first time in his career. “It was the last lap and we’re all trying to win the Daytona 500.  It’s the biggest race of the year and it’s a career-changing race, so we were justRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer While the Daytona 500 looms large, Brad Keselowski has already practiced showering in Gatorade and Miller Lite in victory lane since the calendar turned to 2018. The Roster Hills, Michigan native won last weekend in the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the exhibition race to start the 2018 season at Daytona International Speedway. Returning teammate Joey Logano was second and Team Penske newcomer Ryan Blaney was fourth as Fords swept the top four positions. Keselowski enters his ninth full-time season driving for one of the topRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The JD Motorsports quartet stayed with the lead pack all afternoon and after five overtime attempts, two of their entries finished inside the top-10 in Saturday’s PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway for the second consecutive year. Leading the way was 25-year-old Garrett Smithley, bringing the No. 0 Flex Seal Chevrolet Camaro home in fifth after overcoming a spin in the tri-oval grass on Lap 106. Ryan Truex had a strong run and tried to pass Smithley at the entrance of Turn 4, butRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Failing to finish before reaching halfway of stage one wasn’t the way NASCAR Xfinity Series rookies Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric wanted to start out their season. The high-profile drivers competing for Rookie of the Year honors were both involved in a Lap 10 crash in Saturday’s Powershares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway. Battling for seventh, Cindric’s No. 60 Pirtek Ford was sandwiched between Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez exiting Turn 3 as he fought an ill-handling car the moment the green flag dropped.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Restrictor plate racing requires teamwork. Whether it’s a driver’s teammate or partnering with a driver who runs the same manufacturer. For Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Suarez, not only he was the lone Gibbs driver, he ran the first Can-Am Duel without another Toyota driver in the field. Despite an alliance disadvantage, Suarez overcame a Lap 9 spin to finish eighth Thursday. Suarez scored three championship points and will start 17th for Sunday’s 60th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. “It was okay. We haveRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer BK Racing arrived at Daytona International Speedway last Saturday morning, unloading a white unsponsored No. 23 Toyota. Gray Gaulding also arrived as a spectator without a secured ride in Sunday’s 60th Daytona 500. Rumors ran like wildfire on who’s driving the car but hours later, the 20-year-old Colonial Heights, Virginia native was confirmed as the driver. Now entering Thursday’s Can-Am Duels, Gaulding, with Earthwater as his primary sponsor, will enter the weekend with a positive attitude despite the ongoing off-track drama involving his race team. TheRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NAPA Auto Parts announced on Tuesday that it will extend its sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott from 24 to 26 races this season and continue sponsoring the No. 9 Chevrolet through 2020. NAPA will also be the exclusive primary sponsor for Elliott in the Daytona 500 each year and will be Elliott’s associate sponsor in all non-primary events. “The relationship with NAPA has been a major part of my career starting in 2014,” Elliott said. “Their support has been huge for me,Read More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the top-30 drivers in the series leading into this weekend’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. Age: 24 Years in Cup: 2 Career Wins: 1 With the retirement of NASCAR’s most popular driver, many fans that cheered for the No. 88 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be seeking a new favorite to root for in 2018. Ryan Blaney could very well be the answer, as the 24-year-old goes above and beyondRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the top-30 drivers in the series leading into this week’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. Age: 39 Years in Cup: 17 Career Wins: 29 The return of Kurt Busch to Stewart-Haas Racing wasn’t officially announced until December, becoming one of the final pieces of what has become well-known as “Silly Season.” Busch returns behind the wheel of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford, marking his fifth season with theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The Toyota camp of Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing were unable to amount a serious threat to Ford’s restrictor plate dominance in Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, won by Brad Keselowski. No Toyota driver finished in the top-five as the new package caused handling issues and risky pass attempts in the draft for much of the afternoon. Two-time Clash winner Denny Hamlin was the highest finisher in sixth, leading all eight laps for Toyota. “Our car definitely was aRead More