Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — For the second consecutive week, Daytona International Speedway crowned a first-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell earned the honor Sunday on the track’s road course, taking the lead from Joey Logano with two laps to go and pulling away to a comfortable 2.119-second victory over the former series champion.

Bell, 26, is the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and this is his second season at the premier level — his first driving for the championship Gibbs organization. His work Sunday, however, was more reminiscent of a veteran. There were eight caution flags, eight race leaders and a whole lot of action in the waning laps.

RELATED: Official race results | At-track photos

Bell pulled around Logano in the chicane just yards before the white flag and easily stretched the lead to earn his first career NASCAR Cup Series trophy. Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin finished third, followed by Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski.

Kevin Harvick, AJ Allmendinger, last week’s Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell — also a first-time winner this season — Ryan Preece and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 10. This is just third time in NASCAR Cup Series history the season has started with two first-time winners — joining 1949 and 1950.

“This is definitely one of the highlights of my life so far,” a smiling Bell said after climbing off the roof of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, where he flashed the No. 1 sign to the grandstands.

“Just so incredibly thankful to be here with Joe Gibbs Racing and all our partners. This feels like I prepared my whole life for this moment to race in the Cup Series. Last year was a huge learning curve for me, and I’m very grateful I got the opportunity to run in Cup and it definitely prepared me to move to Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Bell’s pass for the win capped a suspenseful final dozen laps. Defending race winner and reigning series champion Chase Elliott led a race-best 44 laps but was caught up in heavy traffic after his final pit stop with 15 laps remaining. He won Stage 1 and was running fifth — rallying back to the front with six laps to go when he spun out in the infield — a victim of a chain-reaction collision in the fender-to-fender racing at the time. He ultimately came home 21st — snapping a four-race road-course victory streak.

“Man, we had those late-race cautions like that and a mixed bag of who stays and who goes,” said Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“It’s a bit of a gamble either way I felt like. I think (pitting for) tires was the right move. Tires won the race. So it was the right move. You get back in traffic and gets to be so chaotic.

“Who gets through and who doesn’t just kinda determines how it’s going to shake out.”

RELATED: Watch Chase Elliott’s great save | Contact from Hamlin derails Elliott’s run

For much of the 70-lap race Elliott paced the field, making up ground when needed and often putting on a road-course tutorial. Hamlin stayed close and kept him honest, ultimately coming home third. Logano ran among the top five for much of the race and took the lead on Lap 63 when other cars pitted for fresh tires.

“He’s the one that got through with tires,” Logano said of Bell. “One more caution lap would have been enough to have a door-to-door finish across the line maybe.

With his maiden win, Bell is now ranked fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. Hamlin, who won Stage 2, leads the series standings by 12 points over Logano heading to the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I just kept doing what I was doing all day long,” Bell said of the career milestone. “Whenever we took the green flag, I felt like I was really patient. Kyle (Busch) tried to go three-wide around me at the start. I knew that I was OK. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) kept asking what I needed in the car and I didn’t really need anything. Just took my time to get going, get up to speed and really proud to be here.”

Note: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed without major issue. NASCAR officials found one unsecured lug nut on each the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of race winner Bell and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford of Keselowski.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, Feb. 22
Midnight, NASAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS1
12:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: BestBrake Brake Pads 159 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
4:30 a.m., NASAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Superstart Batteries 188 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
9 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS2

Tuesday, Feb. 23
Midnight, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: BestBrake Brake Pads 159 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, Feb. 24
10 a.m., The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: BestBrake Brake Pads 159 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Superstart Batteries 188 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, Feb. 25
4 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Larry McReynolds (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Randy and Corey LaJoie (re-air), NBCSN
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, Feb. 26
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, Feb. 27
5 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS2
4 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity at Homestead-Miami, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
10 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami

Sunday, Feb. 28
Midnight, NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS2
1 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS2
4 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami, FOX (Canada: TSN 5)
11 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami

Posted on by Holly Cain

Ty Gibbs turned in a historic NASCAR Xfinity Series debut Saturday night as the 18-year-old won in his first series start, holding off reigning champion Austin Cindric on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Gibbs took the lead on a restart in double overtime and held off the field by a comfortable 1.726 seconds at the finish line, dropping to his knees to reflect after climbing out of his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – a car owned by his grandfather, NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Daytona

With his win in the Super Start Batteries 188 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly, Gibbs becomes only the sixth driver to win in his first series start – matching a feat achieved by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in 1982 and most recently, Kurt Busch, 15 years ago.

Gibbs becomes the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series road course event. At 18 years, 4 months, 16 days, he breaks the record most recently held by Cindric (20 years old).

By most measures, it was an emotional victory after an intense, exciting race on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course. Cindric led the most laps (29 of the 56) but could not catch Gibbs in the end.

“I just cannot thank everybody right now, really this is like a dream come true for me, it’s just awesome,” said an emotional Gibbs, who turned his first-ever laps in the car and made his first career live pit stop Saturday evening.

“I really didn’t think I had it there,” he said of the intense racing at the end. “I fought back and we won.”

RELATED: Gibbs emotional after first career win

Gibbs teammates Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones finished third and fourth, followed by Jeb Burton and another member of the JGR family, Harrison Burton. Miguel Paludo, Brandon Brown, Justin Haley, and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10.

A victory for Cindric would have been his second in as many races in 2021 and he turned in an inspired drive back to the front to contend for the win. He and AJ Allmendinger – another road course racing star – collided while running first and second heading to the Stage 1 checkered flag. Allmendinger’s car was badly damaged and he ran laps down the remainder of the race.

Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford was damaged as well, but the team made repairs and Cindric went to work. He returned to the race after multiple pit stops in 33rd place, but still on the lead lap. His road racing skills and the team’s strategy calls ultimately put him in position to contend for the win.

“Obviously I don’t want to be racing to a stage that aggressively, I’d love to see a replay and hopefully we can avoid something like that because obviously AJ and I were going to be fighting for a win later,” Cindric said. “I hated having that much damage to our PPG Ford Mustang that early. Just seemed like he was trying to block there, don’t know if he knew I was there or not. Sucks it’s over with and we salvaged a good finish. Congratulations to Ty.”

MORE: Cindric, Allmendinger clash in Stage 1

Gibbs’ grandfather, who owns the team, climbed down from the pit box and stood behind it to watch the final moments of the race. During a late-race pit stop, the teenager Ty was asking his team for peanut butter crackers. An hour later, he was hoisting the biggest trophy of his young career.

“I don’t even know how to feel,” the younger Gibbs said. “This is really hard for me to explain. After my uncle [JGR President J.D. Gibbs] passed away, it’s been hard for me. It’s just a dream come true. I’m just rambling. I’m excited. Mixed emotions for sure. This is just awesome.”

Of his tight-knit family, Gibbs again wiped tears.

“The family is everything to me, they do so much for me,” said Gibbs, who also won Stage 2. “I just can’t thank them enough, this is just amazing; this is a dream come true. It’s all the man above, I’m sorry I’m a wreck. I didn’t think this was going to happen at all. This is awesome, I can’t thank everybody enough watching and last week I had a terrible interview. I want to apologize for everybody, I just can’t thank everybody enough. This is just amazing.”

Following the second race of the season, Cindric holds the points lead by 24 markers over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton in second.

The Xfinity Series’ next race is the Contender Boats 250, scheduled next Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Notes: There were no issues in post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage at Daytona. … Hemric was forced to drop to the rear of the field for the start after his No. 18 JGR Toyota failed pre-race inspection three times. He had been scheduled to start fifth in the 40-car field.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger stood atop the heap of pre-race favorites in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, given their road-racing prowess and familiarity with the 3.61-mile layout at Daytona International Speedway.

Both of their cars, though, nearly went from top of the heap to the scrap heap after a rapidly escalating tussle at the end of the Super Start Batteries 188’s first stage. Cindric charged back to net a runner-up finish to first-time winner Ty Gibbs, minus the right-front fender of his Team Penske No. 22 Ford. Allmendinger fared worse with an off-course ricochet that left his Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet in 35th place, 13 laps down.

Cindric had designs on opening his Xfinity Series title defense by going 2-for-2 in the victory column, following his triumph last Saturday in the season-opening event on Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval. Instead, he was left with the prospect of processing his on-track tangle with Allmendinger, who has moved to a full-time slate this year after three straight seasons on a partial schedule.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Daytona

“I doubt it,” Cindric said when asked if any resentment might linger. “I think he and I should talk about it, just to understand obviously we had two really great cars capable of winning the race. Definitely damaged mine, and I never saw him the rest of the afternoon, so I’m sure that obviously affected his chance of winning the race, so it’s frustrating but I think we can both learn from it and try not to do that again.

“He’s a grown-up, he’s been around. I’m sure we can talk it out and figure out how to do better going forward.”

Cindric led the first 10 laps in the first stage before giving way to Allmendinger. Cindric chased Allmendinger through the final chicane, and then dove to the inside groove headed to the start/finish line as the green-checkered flag flew.

Allmendinger kept his car tight on Cindric’s and the two came together in their contest for the lead. Allmendinger’s No. 16 entry took the brunt of it with a spin into the infield grass, and Cindric sustained his front-end damage just before capturing the Stage 1 win.

Riley Herbst’s No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was sidelined after his own infield excursion to avoid Allmendinger’s car. Both Cindric and Allmendinger continued, with Cindric rallying for stage points in Stage 2 and Allmendinger losing several laps in the garage. Allmendinger had met the minimum speed before the team opted for repairs behind the pit wall.

Cindric, however, stayed in contention after his own team’s trusty repairs, jumping up to lead Laps 36-51 before pitting during a late caution period. That left him lined up 10th for the first overtime attempt and — after a chaotic Turn 3 jumble — sixth for the second OT. He picked his way up to second place, his eventual finishing spot, but didn’t have quite enough for rookie Gibbs.

“All in all, I’m not sure how avoidable any of tonight’s circumstances were,” Cindric said. “We still put ourselves in position to win the race at the end. Just wasn’t in the cards.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The following article is brought to you by BetMGM.

There will be a NASCAR Cup Series points race on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course for the second straight year. That had never happened before unless, of course, you count the pre-1959 beach and road-course races at Daytona Beach, Florida.

With the challenges of COVID-19, the traditional second race of the season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, had to be moved. A new venue had to be chosen. So all three NASCAR series will run on the Daytona Road Course this weekend, and Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) promises to be a wild NASCAR Cup Series points race.

So, who is good here? While restrictor-plate race finishes are tough to forecast, road-course racing can be a bit more predictable. There are several veteran drivers who are pretty darn good at it, and there are veterans who quietly would rather skip road courses. It’s an acquired taste, so to speak.

How are things sizing up for this weekend? BetMGM takes a look.

RELATED: NASCAR Bet Center | See the betting odds for Sunday’s race from BetMGM

THE FAVORITE

Chase Elliott +200

Like father, like son. Right? Back in 1983, a 28-year-old Bill Elliott won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Riverside International Speedway — a road-course track in Southern California that is no longer on the circuit. The elder Elliott went on to a 44-win career in NASCAR’s top division, and the driver is now in the sport’s Hall of Fame.

His son seems to have a similar skill set when it comes to his affinity for certain types of tracks. Chase Elliott has now won four straight road-course races at the top level, including both last year (the COVID-19 improvised races at the Daytona Road Course and Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, since Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International couldn’t host races). The younger Elliott also captured the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2020.

Summary? He’s pretty good at all kinds of NASCAR tracks, whereas some of his top competitors don’t enjoy road courses or superspeedways. But as any stock-car racing fan knows, you need to have Swiss Army knife talent if you want to conquer this level and win a Cup. Otherwise, it’s like you’re missing some chips, racing-wise.

Elliott isn’t missing any of those qualities. He’s the clear-cut favorite this weekend in Daytona at 2-1 odds.

OTHERS: Both Martin Truex, Jr. (+400) and Denny Hamlin (+1000) have had strong records at road courses. Since 2017, Truex has won three races at NASCAR’s typical road-course venues — Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Hamlin won at Watkins Glen in 2016 and has three top-five road-course finishes in the past two seasons.

RELATED: All-time road course winners in NASCAR

THE DARK-HORSE THREAT

AJ Allmendinger +1400

Who are we kidding? A.J. Allmendinger is in NASCAR Cup Series racing because of road courses. The man can just flat-out wheel a race car when it comes to turning left and right (not common in stock-car racing).

No, he won’t be a full-time racer in the series this year. Does that matter a lick? Absolutely not. His lone NASCAR Cup Series win came at Watkins Glen in 2014.

Of his 57 top-10 finishes in the top NASCAR series, nine have come at road-course tracks, and there is not an abundance of road-course tracks to collect top 10s from. His other strength is racing on superspeedways. That accounts for another nine of his career top 10s. When it comes to non-vanilla, quirky tracks? Allmendinger is one of the best. Superspeedways and road courses don’t scare him.

Keep an eye on the ‘Dinger this weekend. He may not be driving a big-name team’s equipment, but that has never hurt him before.

OTHERS: More established veterans like Kevin Harvick (+1200) and Joey Logano (+1400) are known commodities in the road-course racing universe. They’ve both proven they can win races in this format. William Byron (+2000) has three straight top 10s, too.

THE INTRIGUING LONG SHOT

Erik Jones +6600

Don’t be fooled by the odds. This kid can race. He’s especially effective when he’s away from the cookie-cutter oval tracks and can improvise. He finished 11th last year on the Daytona Road Course and had top-10 finishes in five road-course races before that. He’s in new equipment this year with Richard Petty Motorsports, but he’s good in whatever equipment he’s in.

While Petty’s equipment is new for Jones, it is not a bad ride to be in. Just ask former road-course ringer, Marcos Ambrose. He won two Cup road-course races in the past 10 years in Petty cars. If a driver has the talent, he or she can win a road-course race with Petty. Ambrose and Allmendinger know it well.

If you like long shots who have a track record (pun intended), how about 66-1 for a guy who has done some things on these tricky tracks?

OTHERS: Nobody expected Michael McDowell to win the Daytona 500, but it happened. Well, this weekend’s race is at Daytona, so maybe it could happen again. Alex Bowman (+2500) hasn’t been too shabby the past two years on road courses, averaging a 10th-place finish in five tries. Matt DiBenedetto (+5000) had two top 10s in 2019. And hey, don’t forget Chris Buescher (+12500) was fifth last year on the Daytona Road Course.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Sheldon Creed won the Camping World Truck Series’ first crack at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course last August, calling his Triple Truck Challenge bonus cash-in “rad.” The second go-round on the 3.61-mile circuit was gnarly in its own mixed-fortune way, but the defending series champion still contended for victory Friday night in the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159.

RELATED: Official race results | At-track photos: Daytona

Creed led a race-high 17 of 51 laps, finishing second in his GMS Racing No. 2 Chevrolet. The only driver placing in front of him was Ben Rhodes, who claimed his second straight victory to open the season. In doing so, he stoked the flames of a developing rivalry after their late-race contact and Rhodes’ clinching pass on Lap 45 prompted testy post-race remarks between the two.

“I was actually not very happy with that,” said Creed, who finished sixth in the Daytona season opener last weekend. “I feel like I passed him for the lead really cleanly and left him room and gave him room, and he just drove into me in (Turn) 1 on the restart. I don’t know. I’ll remember that down the road when we’re racing hard again, and he might be on the other end of that deal. I don’t know. Frustrated to run second, I guess.”

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

Rhodes was frustrated in his own right, and his radio communications to his ThorSport Racing No. 99 team sizzled for much of the night. Rhodes chalked some of the angst to a temper he inherited from his family, but he was also irked by what he perceived as Creed’s unwillingness to share the road and some history of confrontation between their camps.

“I’m going to choose my words carefully here for Sheldon because I’m not exactly sure what he meant by that because the guy did try to run me on the straightaway off of the race track, so I don’t know exactly what he means by that,” Rhodes said. “We’re all slipping and sliding out of control in Turn 1. I mean, two times down the chute from (Turns) 3 to 4, he tried to run me off the track and then did it from (Turns) 5 to 6. And let’s not forget that at Eldora (Speedway) in 2019, the guy did door-slam me into the wall and total a truck at Eldora for seventh place.

“So, this is a win, and I didn’t total his truck out, nor did I wreck him, so I don’t know what his problem is, but he can get over it.”

Creed experienced pitfalls before the conflict with Rhodes ever materialized. His lead was threatened by a significant bump as he placed Bobby Reuse’s No. 3 Chevy a lap down on Lap 16. He also made the unusual error of dropping from first to fifth during a Stage 3 yellow flag, failing to maintain proper pace in an effort to save fuel down the stretch.

That was the downside. On the positive part of the equation, his prospects for sponsorship were looking up once Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis left word for Creed to reach out to talk about backing for his No. 2 GMS entry.

“That’s good to hear,” Creed said. “I’m gonna have to give him a call on Monday morning.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Ben Rhodes wrapped up a perfect pair of race outings at Daytona International Speedway, answering his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory on the oval last week with a dramatic win Friday night on the infield road course.

It took three overtime starts to secure the victory over 2020 series champion Sheldon Creed, but Rhodes’ work in the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota marked only the third time in series history a driver had opened the season with back-to-back wins. And it marked the 200th victory for Toyota in the series.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: Daytona

Rhodes, 23, of Louisville, Kentucky, crossed the finish line .320-seconds ahead of Creed — the running order froze, however, when a caution (one of 10 on the night) came out with a half-lap remaining in overtime.

John Hunter Nemechek, who won Stage 1 and led 14 laps on the night, finished third. Todd Gilliland, who started 31st, rallied to a fourth-place finish and Riley Herbst rounded out the top five.

Matt Crafton, Derek Kraus, Kaz Grala, Timmy Hill and Christian Eckes completed the top 10. Rookie Hailie Deegan was running in the top 10 until a spin on the final lap of overtime. She finished 28th.

“Unbelievable, I don’t even have words for it,” Rhodes said after climbing out of this truck just below the flagstand on the frontstretch. “I don’t even know what to say, this is so cool.

“I just have to thank my team. The Bombardier Tundra was fast all day. ThorSport Racing gave me a truck that handled this year and we were fast. Rich (Lushes) is a really good crew chief. It’s good to be paired up with him and all of the guys on my team. I’m just thrilled. I don’t know what to say. I’ve been on cloud nine all week, so it’s above that. I’m just so happy.”

Certainly, Rhodes was in a celebratory mood following the race, but it was a tense finish. He was about 50 yards shy of the flagstand on the first overtime period when a caution came out, extending the race instead of earning him the trophy then.

He and Creed — who led a race-best 17 laps — dueled for the lead multiple times in the closing laps, often exchanging the point during the infield series of turns of the road course.

“Never fun being the first loser,” Creed said. “But my guys brought a fast truck and I felt like we were on top of the strategy there going to slicks early. Man, got hit by a lapper there leading and I don’t think that did us any favors — and got to the lead, saving fuel and then worked my way back to the lead and got pushed out the way on the restart, just doing everything I could there. Wished it could have stayed green.”

The race started under wet conditions with teams having to decide when the track was dry enough to switch from rain tires to slicks or “dry” tires. Nemechek was the early leader — pacing the field for the opening 14 laps until his No. 4 Toyota suffered an oil-pressure and fuel-pickup problem, leaving the Tundra on track and necessitating a caution. Later he ran out of gas and at one point was a lap down to the leaders before racing back to the front in the closing laps.

Rhodes had to deal with Creed and then ultimately Nemechek’s comeback in order to earn his fifth career victory.

“It was the most stressful race of my life for sure,” Rhodes said. “There’s been stressful races, but this was really stressful. I thought it was going to be taken away from us for sure.

“I’m not sure if they showed me throwing my hands up, I hope they didn’t. Hope they didn’t listen to the radio either. I was a little frustrated. Gosh, it all worked out now. So stressful, so stressful. I don’t think I’ve had one that stressful before.”

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next race is March 5 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (9 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Inspection in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage revealed no issues, verifying Ben Rhodes’ victory.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

Alvin Kamara hesitated.

The 5-foot-10, 215-pound NFL running back wasn’t sure whether he belonged at a NASCAR race. His interest in stock-car racing only recently piqued due to the COVID-19 shutdown, as it was the first professional sport to return to action. But old reservations kicked in when he arrived at Homestead-Miami Speedway as an invited guest.

“I was kind of like, let me stay on my side, I’ll introduce myself,” Kamara said Friday on his first NASCAR teleconference. “But everyone was so welcoming. They’re like, ‘Man, we love that you’re here. Are you really interested?’ I’m like yeah, and we had conversations going and flowing. I’m meeting fans and interacting with people. I’m like oh, this is a safe space. It’s not what I thought it was. I was pleasantly surprised.”

Kamara’s first in-person race happened in June 2020. On Wednesday, Kamara announced his Louisiana-based juice bar, The Big Squeezy, will sponsor Ryan Vargas’ No. 6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: Alvin Kamara partners with JD Motorsports

The three-time Pro Bowler went from brand-new fan to financially invested partner in less than a year.

“It means the world to me,” said Vargas, one of NASCAR’s few Hispanic drivers. “This is one of those opportunities that doesn’t come along often, and that’s kind of been my whole career. I was a part of the Drive for Diversity program in 2018, and they opened the door for me to get into the sport. One thing I will always say is this sport has welcomed me with open arms. I’ve always had great experiences.”

In the past, certain stereotypes surrounded NASCAR. That’s why both Kamara and Vargas clarify that the league does feel more welcoming now.

Last year the sanctioning body prohibited Confederate flags from all NASCAR venues, and as Kamara acknowledged: better late than never. In that same year, the industry backed Bubba Wallace — the only Black driver at the Cup Series level — as he spoke out about social-injustice issues the nation continues to battle. Conversations on how to further improve were brought into 2021, too.

Steps have clearly been made toward a better, more inclusive future.

“There are people in the African American community that are obviously interested,” Kamara said. “I think it’s more so on our radar now because of what’s been happening over the past, I guess, nine or 10 months. Bubba, the news of him has been everywhere. Obviously with NASCAR making the move to ban the flag from their events and from basically their culture and their footprint, that was one huge thing. I probably couldn’t bring myself to a race if that was something I felt like they were supporting. With that being gone, I think that there will be more African American fans and people that are interested.”

Kamara isn’t the only big name outside of the NASCAR realm seeing and supporting its push for change. NBA legend Michael Jordan and Grammy-winning superstar Armando Perez, a.k.a. Pitbull, are both team co-owners at the top level. Jordan helps field 23XI Racing with Wallace as its driver. Pitbull is with the Trackhouse Racing Team and its pilot, Daniel Suarez, the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national-series event.

This goes beyond brand promotion.

“We’ve been hitting it on the head: It’s about diversity,” Kamara said. “Just opening the gates to welcome in new fans and new people that may have had interest but didn’t feel comfortable or people that don’t even understand the sport and may be indifferent about it but willing to give it a chance. I think there’s a whole new set of possibilities that can come with what’s going on right now.”

Posted on by Jason Christley

The world of Super Late Models is undoubtedly centered in the South, with drivers like Bubba Pollard and Stephen Nasse gobbling up the big prizes.

But for the last two years, it’s been New Englander Derek Griffith who’s been on top of the division at the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna.

After locking up his second straight SLM title at the World Series, Griffith joined a very select group of drivers to win at least two straight championships at New Smyrna in that division since New Smyrna began hosting the event in 1968 (Pete Hamilton, Junior Hanley, Dick Trickle, Pete Orr).

The week was a dominant one for Griffith. He picked up three wins and finished no worse than ninth in seven races, winning the title by 28 points over Ryan Moore.

From racing at Hudson Speedway in his hometown of Hudson, New Hampshire, Griffith has made it to the top over some of the best Late Model competition in the country.

“If you told me when I was 12 years old, when I was first starting off, that I even would be racing a Super Late Model, I’d have been like ‘Yeah, right. Whatever. Get out of here…’ I would never have projected myself to be in this position when I first started,” Griffith said.

In fact, Griffith’s career has gone nowhere but up the last couple of years. Driving the ARCA Menards Series in a part-time role with Chad Bryant Racing in 2020, Griffith picked up a pair of top fives and seven top-10 finishes in eight starts.

RELATED: Derek Griffith Career Stats | Watch: All 9 Nights of 2021 New Smyrna World Series

Only 24, Griffith’s stock has risen to the point where he’s one of the most sought-after Super Late Model drivers in the country. This past week, Griffith was being asked for advice on finding speed by young local drivers.

“It’s funny. I’m considered, like, an old guy now,” he said. “I’ve had some of the kids [in Florida] asking me questions, talking to me about stuff.”

Something Griffith has always been proud of has been that he’s very much a part of doing work on his cars. “The hard way,” as he calls it, began when he was a teenager, racing at his hometown track and it adds a bit more satisfaction each time he gets to Victory Lane.

“It’s a fulfillment level I can’t put into words,” Griffith says. “We’re just some little team from New Hampshire. It’s crazy to think that just because we’ve hustled, and put our time in, that it’s earned us the spot that we’re at right now.”

This year, Griffith has plans to run more ARCA races, along with short track events across the Northeast. Despite all the success and all the accolades that have gone his way to this point in his career, Griffith makes sure not to let the winning go to his head.

“I like to try to stay as humble as I possibly can,” Griffith says. “It’s so important for me to kind of keep my head in check and make sure I’m not overstepping where I think I need to be.”

“I’m always going to remember myself as that kid at Hudson Speedway that ran a Volkswagen Golf GTI for some fun on the weekends.”

With that in mind, Griffith continues winning—hopefully, with plenty more to come in 2021.

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Derek Griffith won three times en route to the Super Late Model championship at New Smyrna’s World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. (Jim Dupont/NASCAR)
Posted on by Terrin Waack

As of Friday morning, Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have not discussed the last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 that ended both of their chances at winning the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season opener.

But they’re going to talk before Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). And Logano expects everything is going to be OK.

“The analogy I used on Sirius a minute ago: It’s a marriage,” Logano said Friday on a Zoom teleconference. “When you’re married to somebody, you have to figure it out. You’re married. You don’t just leave. You get married, it’s supposed to be forever. So when you have conflict or you have a difference of opinion or whatever, you have to talk about it. You’re forced to. You can’t just roll it up under the rug, right? It’s just not going to work. It’s not healthy. People do that, it’s just not healthy to do.

“So that’s kind of the situation here, where I will be forced and he will be forced to work with me. We’re still teammates. We will have to figure this out. We may not have to agree on everything, but we at least have to find a way to move forward. And that is going to be the approach for me to do because going back to the 400 men and women that work at Team Penske, we owe it o them to figure this out. And we will fix it.”

RELATED: Joey Logano-Brad Keselowski crash ends Team Penske’s Daytona 500 bid

Keselowski has not made a public comment since the incident, other than his post-race interview.

Logano took the white flag last Sunday night at the World Center of Racing. Keselowski ran right behind him, followed by Michael McDowell in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. With less than half a lap left to go around the 2.5-mile oval, Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford bumped the left rear of Logano’s No. 22 Ford after a push from behind by McDowell. Logano and Keselowski both went spinning and collected multiple cars in the process, all while McDowell went on to win his first career Cup race in 358 starts.

“Honestly, I’m happy for McDowell,” Logano said. “The guy’s a grinder, man. He’s been grinding his whole career, and he finally won one and it’s the biggest race ever. I’m ecstatic for him, and he should be over the moon. And yes, we’ve talked to each other quite a bit here in the last few days, texting back and forth. He brought it up. He was concerned, like, ‘Did I do something wrong? Is everything OK?’ Yeah, go for the win, I get it.”

RELATED: Where do Team Penske’s odds stack up for Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX)?

Logano was hoping to score his second win in The Great American Race. Keselowski was looking for his first. Instead, Logano finished 12th and Keselowski was 13th.

“The goal is to move on and not say, ‘You raced me hard, so I’m going to race you hard,’ and now we’re beating the doors off each other every week, and it grows and grows and grows and grows,” Logano said. “That’s the goal, that you can’t seek revenge or seek, well, you made my life hard so I’m going to make your life hard. That’s childish. We’re adults. We’re not doing that. I’m not going to do that for multiple reasons. For one, like I’ve been saying over and over again, if you do this, that’s the most selfish thing you can do because you’re not just hurting yourself or hurting him, you’re hurting all the people that work on that car. What’d they do to you? And they’re the same people that work on my car, by the way.”

Logano and Keselowski – both former champions – are just one race into the 36-race 2021 season, their ninth as teammates. Logano joined Team Penske in 2013. Keselowski has been with the organization since his full-time Cup Series career began in 2010.

This isn’t their first on-track-turned-off-track feud – see last year’s Busch Clash – and everything turned out just fine.

“To me, the biggest heartbreak of this whole thing is that there are 400 people at Team Penske asking where their Daytona 500 bonus is,” Logano said, “and it’s up in a ball of flames up in Turn 3 right now.”