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Snapshot: Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola
By | Published: July 2, 2016 7
Photo Illustration by Cindy Gonzalez/NASCAR Digital Media
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Photo Illustration by Cindy Gonzalez/NASCAR Digital Media
By Kenny Bruce
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With 10 races remaining before the start of this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup Series teams return to Daytona International Speedway to begin the 'big push' that will carry them through the remainder of the regular season.
The season-opening Daytona 500 featured a razor-thin win for Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, with Martin Truex Jr. playing the role of the bridesmaid. Will a similarly close finish be in the cards Saturday night? Stay tuned.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With 10 races remaining before the start of this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup Series teams return to Daytona International Speedway to begin the 'big push' that will carry them through the remainder of the regular season.
The season-opening Daytona 500 featured a razor-thin win for Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, with Martin Truex Jr. playing the role of the bridesmaid. Will a similarly close finish be in the cards Saturday night? Stay tuned.
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At A Glance
Where: Daytona International Speedway
Green flag: 8:08 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Forecast: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. (NOAA.gov)
National anthem: The U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band from Fort Benning, Georgia
Grand marshals: Victor Irland (Daytona Beach Fire Dept.), David Aiken (Volusia Co. EMS); Brett Whitson (Volusia Co. Sheriff's Office); Ryan Forrest (Daytona Beach Police Dept.)Honorary starter: John Venuti, Dir. Of Marketing, Circle K
Race Distance: 160 laps, 400 miles
Pit road speed: 55 mph
Caution car speed: 70 mph
Where: Daytona International Speedway
Green flag: 8:08 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Forecast: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. (NOAA.gov)
National anthem: The U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band from Fort Benning, Georgia
Grand marshals: Victor Irland (Daytona Beach Fire Dept.), David Aiken (Volusia Co. EMS); Brett Whitson (Volusia Co. Sheriff's Office); Ryan Forrest (Daytona Beach Police Dept.)Honorary starter: John Venuti, Dir. Of Marketing, Circle K
Race Distance: 160 laps, 400 miles
Pit road speed: 55 mph
Caution car speed: 70 mph
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No. 1 for No. 16
NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle earned his first pole since 2012 and the 13th of his career when he captured the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday with his lap of 192.955 mph. It is only the second top-10 starting spot for the 46-year-old this season.
'The cars are technically in race trim right now so that tells you how fast of a car we have lining up tomorrow night,' Biffle said.
A champion in the Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series, Biffle scored the first pole of his career at Daytona as well, starting first in the 2004 Daytona 500.
NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle earned his first pole since 2012 and the 13th of his career when he captured the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday with his lap of 192.955 mph. It is only the second top-10 starting spot for the 46-year-old this season.
'The cars are technically in race trim right now so that tells you how fast of a car we have lining up tomorrow night,' Biffle said.
A champion in the Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series, Biffle scored the first pole of his career at Daytona as well, starting first in the 2004 Daytona 500.
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Down, But Not Out
A wreck in the final Sprint Cup Series practice sent the No. 18 team of Kyle Busch rushing to prep the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota backup entry.
Busch was not injured when his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crashed hard into the outside wall in the single-car incident.
In spite of the setback, Busch managed to qualify his team's backup entry third in the 40-car field.
'Everything about this (car) felt just like the primary car so I'm real excited about that and the preparation and the skill that these guys have here in preparing great race cars for me,' Busch said.
A wreck in the final Sprint Cup Series practice sent the No. 18 team of Kyle Busch rushing to prep the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota backup entry.
Busch was not injured when his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crashed hard into the outside wall in the single-car incident.
In spite of the setback, Busch managed to qualify his team's backup entry third in the 40-car field.
'Everything about this (car) felt just like the primary car so I'm real excited about that and the preparation and the skill that these guys have here in preparing great race cars for me,' Busch said.
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What's Not to Like?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he can understand why some drivers don't like competing in restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. He has a similar distaste, he said, for road course racing which requires a different style of driving.
'I think that some drivers feel the way I do about road course racing about plate racing,' he said. 'They just don't want to do it, don't like it.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he can understand why some drivers don't like competing in restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. He has a similar distaste, he said, for road course racing which requires a different style of driving.
'I think that some drivers feel the way I do about road course racing about plate racing,' he said. 'They just don't want to do it, don't like it.
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Toyota Teamwork
Toyota teams swept four of the top five finishing positions in the season-opening Daytona 500, and one reason for the fast and furious finish was teamwork. JGR drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, along with Furniture Row Racing's Martin Truex Jr., led 156 of 200 laps.
'I knew that if we could stay in a line and commit to each other, it would be tough for others to pass us,' Hamlin said here Thursday. 'It worked out well. Legitimately there were five Toyotas out to win on the final lap and that's really all we could have asked for.'
Toyota teams swept four of the top five finishing positions in the season-opening Daytona 500, and one reason for the fast and furious finish was teamwork. JGR drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, along with Furniture Row Racing's Martin Truex Jr., led 156 of 200 laps.
'I knew that if we could stay in a line and commit to each other, it would be tough for others to pass us,' Hamlin said here Thursday. 'It worked out well. Legitimately there were five Toyotas out to win on the final lap and that's really all we could have asked for.'
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Hot Fun in the Summertime
The Coke Zero 400 is 100 miles and 40 laps shorter than the Daytona 500, but in some ways it's a more difficult race, according to Aric Almirola. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver earned his lone Sprint Cup win in the summer stop at DIS in 2014.
'I think the obvious challenge is that it is a lot hotter this time of year than it is in February,' Almirola said. 'That poses a challenge on its own. The cars typically don't handle as good when we come down here in July. When they don't handle as good you have to play with the throttle a little more inside the race car and when that happens it is a lot harder to keep up in the draft. …
'Being 100 miles shorter I don't think really matters. It could be 300 miles shorter and get the same results at the end. We will be three-wide running into each other trying to figure out how to win the race.'
The Coke Zero 400 is 100 miles and 40 laps shorter than the Daytona 500, but in some ways it's a more difficult race, according to Aric Almirola. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver earned his lone Sprint Cup win in the summer stop at DIS in 2014.
'I think the obvious challenge is that it is a lot hotter this time of year than it is in February,' Almirola said. 'That poses a challenge on its own. The cars typically don't handle as good when we come down here in July. When they don't handle as good you have to play with the throttle a little more inside the race car and when that happens it is a lot harder to keep up in the draft. …
'Being 100 miles shorter I don't think really matters. It could be 300 miles shorter and get the same results at the end. We will be three-wide running into each other trying to figure out how to win the race.'