Posted on by PJ Walsh

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Sunday’s Go Bowling 235 (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the road course at Daytona International Speedway will be the first NASCAR Cup Series race on this layout, making it very difficult from a handicapping perspective.

We have no historical data to analyze and don’t truly know how closely this track compares to other road courses on the Cup Series schedule, like Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Because of this, it’s reasonable to assume this race will be more wide open than most, paving the way for longer shots down the odds board to outperform expectations.

After looking at general road-course performance, experience and a handful of other factors, here’s one driver worth betting for a top-10 finish at Daytona.

I will be on the road Sunday morning heading to the great sports betting state of Pennsylvania, so be sure to follow me on Twitter (@PJWalsh24) for any bets I add leading up to green flag.

NASCAR at Daytona Road Course Odds, Betting Pick

Michael McDowell (+340) for a Top-10 Finish

Randomness is the driving theme of my betting strategy this weekend. Will it result in a surprise winner? Who really knows. However, uncertainty surrounding what the racing will look like makes taking cracks at some long shots a reasonable approach, especially in top-10 props.

Yes, I am throwing a few bucks on Michael McDowell to win in case this race does really get sideways, but the No. 34 Ford sneaking into a top 10 is much more probable, yet still offers nice value.

McDowell comes from a road-racing background and actually has five previous starts in the Rolex 24, a 24-hour road-course race on the Daytona Road Course.

Additionally, McDowell has the 11th-best average finish over the two Cup Series races run on the Charlotte Roval, which is likely the best comp on the current Cup Series schedule.

In McDowell, we have a driver with extensive road-racing experience, including on the Daytona Road Course, and with a top-15 average finish on the road course at Charlotte.

He’ll be starting deep in 30th place, but that’s obviously built into this price, and for all the reasons above, I’m aggressively betting McDowell for a top-10 finish at +340.

[Bet now at BetMGM. CO, NJ, IN and WV only.]

Posted on by Staff Report

Austin Dillon self-reported a positive COVID-19 test to Richard Childress Racing on Saturday, a development that will keep him out of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet, is self-quarantining, the team said. RCR has named Kaz Grala as his replacement this weekend for Sunday’s Go Bowling 235 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM), the first Cup Series race on the 3.61-mile oval and road-course layout.

Dillon’s wife Whitney and son Ace remain healthy and symptom-free, according to a team statement.

RELATED: Schedule for Daytona Road Course | Lineup for Sunday’s race

Dillon may be eligible to return to competition if he receives two negative COVID-19 test results, from tests taken at least 24 hours apart. He must also receive written clearance to resume racing activity from his personal physician. If Dillon is unable to produce two negative tests within the 10-day period for his initial positive test, his return status may be reviewed by a NASCAR consulting physician.

Dillon qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs with a victory July 19 at Texas Motor Speedway. Once the team requests it, Dillon will receive a medical waiver to ease the requirement that he compete in every race to retain his postseason eligibility.

PHOTOS: Austin Dillon through the years

Dillon, the grandson of team owner Richard Childress, is currently in his seventh full season of Cup Series competition. The 30-year-old driver has three premier-series wins, including the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2018 Daytona 500 and has won championships in the Xfinity Series (2013) and Gander Trucks (2011).

“RCR takes the safety of our employees, fellow competitors, fans, partners and outside vendors seriously,” the team said in a statement. “Based upon recommendations outlined by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NASCAR and our health partners at Wake-Forest Baptist Health, RCR has enacted procedures and safety protocols designed to minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread. These guidelines were developed in close consultation with a panel of medical experts with broad experience in infectious diseases, many of whom have been on the front line in treating COVID-19 patients across the country. We will continue to adhere to these guidelines in order to protect the health and safety of our employees and their families, and our business partners.”

Grala will be making his Cup Series debut in Sunday’s 65-lap event. Since its a driver change, Grala will drop to the rear during pace laps instead of starting 10th as Dillon would have. The 21-year-old Grala has entered two Xfinity Series races for RCR this season, matching his career-best with a fourth-place finish last weekend at Road America. Grala also has experience on the Daytona Road Course layout, twice sharing driving duties in a Lamborghini for Change Racing in IMSA’s Rolex 24 (2016-17).

Grala’s lone national-series win was a historic one, also at Daytona International Speedway. He prevailed from the pole position, driving a GMS Racing entry to victory in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series’ 2017 opener to become the 2.5-mile speedway’s youngest winner at 18 years, 1 month and 26 days old.

Rules for the weekend stipulate that no driver may compete in multiple national-series races on the Daytona Road Course.

Posted on by Press Release

CHARLOTTE, NC (Aug. 13, 2020) – With the first NASCAR Cup Series race at the all-new Daytona International Speedway Road Course set to unfold on Sunday, one of the many tools that Team Chevy drivers used to prepare is Chevrolet Racing’s Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) simulator, located just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Much more than just a game, Chevy’s DiL is a proven, high fidelity and very immersive system used by professional race teams, which gives a visual of a specific track and then replicates how that track feels to the driver.

In Team Chevy spirit, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman — driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE — and William Byron — driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, worked with Jordan Taylor, who campaigns the No. 3 Corvette C8.R with teammate Antonio Garcia for Corvette Racing, this week at the Chevy DiL to discuss the completely new challenge that awaits.

Although the upcoming 65-lap Go Bowling 235 will run on the same road course layout as the Rolex 24 At Daytona, North America’s premier race for sports cars, it will feature an added twist. The traditional ribbon of asphalt out of NASCAR Turn Four will sport a new chicane that transforms the design into a 14-turn, 3.61-mile, high-banked tri-oval/infield road course, which is unique to all motorsports. With NASCAR having curtailed practice sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic, preparation is key.

“Jordan really helped with entry to Turn 5,” Bowman said. “His entry in there was quite different than how I was approaching it. Some of the braking zones were a little bit different. Then some line stuff and some rain stuff as well. Having his knowledge is super helpful. He’s a really good guy and I really appreciate his help. The rain will be the biggest thing. I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing in the rain, so being able to have an idea of what to expect there is a big help.”

Bowman, with two career Cup Series wins to his credit and who formerly served as an integral part of the simulation and on-track testing programs for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet, collaborates with Taylor. He and Garcia lead the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with two victories in the new mid-engine Corvette C8.R. Among them was a win at the IMSA WeatherTech 240 at Daytona – the Corvette C8.R’s first win and Corvette Racing’s 100th in IMSA competition.

“When you look at it on a track map, it looks pretty basic but each corner has little tricks that can help you,” Taylor said. “They’re going into this race with zero practice and zero laps on this track, so they need as much preparation as they can get. From my side, I bring some experience from that track that I can give him – little tips that maybe would take them a session or two to figure out. Hopefully they can hit the ground running when they show up for race day.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano will pilot a Bobby Allison-inspired throwback paint scheme for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 6 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Logano’s No. 22 Ford was unveiled on Team Penske’s social media channels Friday morning. The design pays tribute to the No. 22 Buick that Allison drove during the 1985 NASCAR Cup Series season.

RELATED: Ryan Blaney’s Darlington throwback paint scheme

In 13 career starts at the 1.366-mile South Carolina oval, Logano has earned three top fives and six top-10 finishes.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

NASCAR Finish Line, a free-to-play gaming app from Penn National Gaming, is back with the resumption of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Each week, there will be six groups of five drivers for the upcoming race. Users will predict which driver will finish first among each of the six groups and then the overall race winner and second-place finisher for a chance to win $25,000 if all eight scenarios are correctly selected. Last weekend’s two races at Michigan International Speedway produced a jackpot winner in each race.

RELATED: Download NASCAR Finish Line

The second of six groups for this Sunday’s race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) consists of Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer. The third of six groups consists of Aric Almirola, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Jimmie Johnson and Matt DiBenedetto.

This will be the first Cup race on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile course, so we don’t have past races here to fall back on. Instead, for a stats look at each driver, NASCAR.com has compiled the career percentage of top 10s in road-course starts, the 2019 average finish on road courses, the average finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval — the closest comparison run so far — and the average finish in the last five races of 2020 to get a sense of who has been good of late this season.

A point system has been assigned, starting with one point for the best finisher and counting up to five points for the worst finisher. Those numbers were then added up. The lowest total signifies the strongest driver (green), and the highest total represents the weakest driver (red).

GROUP 2

Driver Percentage of top 10s in road course starts 2019 avg. finish on road courses Avg. finish at Charlotte Roval Avg. finish in last five 2020 races Total
Ryan Blaney 60 percent (6 in 10) (1) Avg. finish: 5.3 (1) Avg. finish: 4.5 (2) Avg. finish: 17.8 (5) 9
Joey Logano 46 percent (11 in 24) (4) Avg. finish: 18.7 (5) Avg. finish: 10.0 (3) Avg. finish: 11.0 (3) 15
Brad Keselowski 41 percent (9 in 22) (5) Avg. finish: 10.7 (2) Avg. finish: 18.0 (5) Avg. finish: 10.6 (1) 13
Kurt Busch 53 percent (21 in 40) (3) Avg. finish: 14.3 (4) Avg. finish: 12.5 (4) Avg. finish: 10.8 (2) 13
Clint Bowyer 57 percent (17 in 30) (2) Avg. finish: 11.7 (3) Avg. finish: 3.5 (1) Avg. finish: 15.2 (4) 10

GROUP 3

Driver Percentage of top 10s in road course starts 2019 avg. finish on road courses Avg. finish at Charlotte Roval Avg. finish in last five 2020 races Total
Aric Almirola 11 percent (2 in 19) (5) Avg. finish: 11.7 (3) Avg. finish: 16.5 (4) Avg. finish: 9.0 (1) 13
William Byron 33 percent (2 in 6) (2) Avg. finish: 15.3 (5) Avg. finish: 20.0 (5) Avg. finish: 16.8 (3) 15
Alex Bowman 30 percent (3 in 10) (3) Avg. finish: 10.0 (2) Avg. finish: 3.0 (1) Avg. finish: 22.0 (5) 11
Jimmie Johnson 50 percent (19 in 38) (1) Avg. finish: 13.3 (4) Avg. finish: 8.5 (2) Avg. finish: 18.6 (4) 11
Matt DiBenedetto 17 percent (2 in 12) (4) Avg. finish: 7.0 (1) Avg. finish: 12.0 (3) Avg. finish: 16.2 (2) 10

The stats say the Group 2 pick comes down to Blaney or Bowyer. Bowyer has been wildly inconsistent this year, but road courses have been a strength for him in his career. On the other hand, Blaney won the first race at the Charlotte Roval. In Group 3, it’s a tight battle among DiBenedetto, Johnson and Bowman. The numbers slightly favor DiBenedetto — he was the best in the group in 2019 on road courses and he has finished better of late than the Hendrick Motorsports duo.

Make sure to get your picks for all the groups as well as the first- and second-place finishers in the NASCAR Finish Line app before the race at the Daytona Road Course.

Posted on by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 13) – Today, NASCAR and Verizon, one of NASCAR’s newest Official Partners, paid tribute to frontline healthcare workers at AdventHealth Daytona Beach with a hauler parade and lunch before heading to the Daytona International Speedway for this weekend’s historic events at the DAYTONA Road Course where, for the first time, NASCAR’s top-tier series will compete.

Led by Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile in the Speedway’s Official Pace Car, the “NASCAR Hauler Salute to Healthcare Heroes Powered by Verizon” featured more than 10 NASCAR industry haulers. These haulers travel to each racetrack across the country, providing the needed supplies and resources that make this sport possible on a weekly basis.

Nascar Hauler Inset

Just ahead of the hauler salute, NASCAR, along with Verizon Business, provided a catered lunch from 4 Rivers Smokehouse Daytona and Jersey Mike’s for more than 750 AdventHealth Daytona Beach employees in the hospital’s Healing Garden.

AdventHealth Daytona Beach is part of AdventHealth, one of the nation’s largest faith-based healthcare systems and the Official Healthcare Partner of Daytona International Speedway.

“This global pandemic has been such a stressful and emotionally difficult time for us all, but today’s parade has been a welcomed moment of joy and cheer,” said Ed Noseworthy, AdventHealth Daytona Beach CEO. “We are so thankful for our friends at NASCAR and the Daytona International Speedway for showing our teams some love and encouragement with this parade, and for Verizon Business for organizing today’s event and generously providing lunch to our entire team. We were thrilled to come together – albeit with masks and at a safe social distance – to celebrate the return to racing!”

“Throughout this pandemic, AdventHealth’s response and heroic efforts have been nothing short of amazing,” said Wile. “With our partners at Verizon, we’re proud to recognize those efforts and salute the heroes who go above and beyond caring for the wellness of our community.”

The schedule for the NASCAR weekend at “The World Center of Racing” will consist of the following:

Fri., Aug. 14 (5 p.m., MAVTV): ARCA Menards Series General Tire 100, at The DAYTONA Road Course

Sat., Aug. 15 (3 p.m., NBCSN): NASCAR Xfinity Series UNOH 188, at The DAYTONA Road Course

Sun., Aug. 16 (12 p.m., FS1): NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco 159, at The DAYTONA Road Course

Sun., Aug. 16 (3 p.m., NBC): NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling 235, at The DAYTONA Road Course

A limited number of fans will get the opportunity to see the Go Bowling 235 At The DAYTONA Road Course, along with the Sunoco 159 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race, on Sunday, Aug. 16. Fans can get tickets, which start at $49 (both races included) for adults and $10 for kids 12 years old and younger, by visiting www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or calling 1-800-PIT-SHOP.

Posted on by Staff Report

Bubba Wallace announced Friday that delivery service DoorDash would join him as a primary sponsor, appearing for seven races this season as a primary sponsor of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet.

RELATED: Wallace adds Columbia sponsorship | Silly Season’s key figures

Wallace termed the partnership as a multiyear deal. He broke the news during an appearance on NBC’s Today show.

Bubba Wallace Doordash Scheme

DoorDash will make its debut at NASCAR’s inaugural weekend on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile Daytona International Speedway Road Course, with Wallace driving the No. 43 DoorDash Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on Aug. 16 (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It will be the first of seven NASCAR Cup Series events where DoorDash serves as the team’s primary partner.

DoorDash’s iconic red and white colors will adorn the No. 43 DoorDash Chevrolet at Dover International Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.

“Biggest deal, one of the things I’ve been praying for for a really long time,” Wallace told NBC’s Today. “So these last couple weeks, we’ve announced a lot of new partnerships coming in — DoorDash, Columbia, Beats. I’m just a walking ambassador right now, but I love it. Very thankful for all these companies and organizations to want to be a part of this journey.

“DoorDash has been great to work with so far. We’ve had really good conversations, and they stand up for the same values that I share about unity, openness and wanting to be a part of the communities that are in need in these dying times right now in our nation, to make it a better place for everybody. We’re excited to brainstorm and get some things rolling in those communities and just to make real change.”

It’s the second sponsorship announcement for Wallace and the No. 43 team this week. On Wednesday, Columbia Sportswear signed the 26-year-old driver as a brand ambassador and added sponsorship of the RPM entry at Dover International Speedway next weekend.

Last month, Cash App also came on board as a primary sponsor for five events in the 2020 season.

“This partnership enables us to engage with the racing community through one of the most exciting and forward-thinking athletes in the sport,” said Tony Xu, DoorDash chief executive officer and co-founder. “We’re proud to support an ambassador like Bubba with on-track excellence and off-track commitments and values that are so well aligned with ours.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Perhaps the biggest wild card in its Daytona International Speedway Road Course debut may well be the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series field in Sunday afternoon’s Sunoco 159 (Aug. 16 at 12 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

With the exception of road course “ringer” Alex Tagliani, the vast make-up of the 39-car field of drivers has no experience on the 3.61-mile, 14-turn Daytona Road Course that incorporates the famous track’s vast superspeedway turns as well as a tight and challenging infield road course.

RELATED: Daytona Road Course schedule | Starting lineup | What is the Triple Truck Challenge? 

And if the new stop didn’t make this weekend interesting enough, the Gander Trucks race includes the first of a three-part Triple Truck Challenge incentive. The winner of Sunday’s race earns a $50,000 bonus as part of the program. The next two races part of the program are at Dover International Speedway next weekend and then Aug. 30 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway. Should a driver win two of these races, he earns a $150,000 paycheck. Should he win all three, he would earn a $500,000 bonus

Certainly the Daytona Road Course portion of the incentive creates a wide-open field of favorites. Among NASCAR’s three premier series, the trucks annually race the least on road courses so this weekend’s challenge at a first-ever venue will surely be a wild card as the series has five races remaining to set its 10-driver 2020 Playoff field.

Brett Moffitt, the 2018 series champion, won last year’s truck series road course at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park leading a dominating 44 of the 64 laps. None of the other former Bowmanville winners are entered this week.

Young talent Zane Smith became the most recent full-time series driver to earn a victory, hoisting his first trophy last week in Michigan – an achievement that has guaranteed the 21-year old Californian playoff eligibility. Championship points leader Austin Hill, Smith, Sheldon Creed and Matt Crafton all have wins assuring their place in the playoff field as well. Grant Enfinger has two victories.

That leaves five playoff positions currently decided by points – unless a new driver wins in the next five races. Among those on the playoff bubble, ninth place Derek Kraus holds a 1-point edge on 10th place Todd Gilliland. Tyler Ankrum, ranked 11th, is only 29 points behind Gilliland.

A pair of typical championship contenders – 2016 series champion Johnny Sauter and last year’s Championship 4 contender Stewart Friesen – sit farther outside the cutoff in what has been an uncharacteristic season for them. Sauter is 13th in the standings, 72 behind 10th place Gilliland. Friesen is ranked 15th, 103 points behind the Playoff cutoff.

“I’m excited to run the road course,” said Austin Hill, whose No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota will feature a paint scheme honoring P.J. Jones’ famous No. 98 IMSA GTP car that won the Rolex 24 in 1993. “I know a lot of people might be nervous about it, but I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve always enjoyed road course racing. 

“It’ll be a big challenge to take the green flag with no practice and to learn your marks during the race. We need to stay out of trouble, inch up to it and be smart in the first stage and make sure we’re around in the final stage.

“Maybe we can put this TRD throwback scheme back in Victory Lane like P.J. Jones did in 1993 at the 24 Hours.”

Posted on by Staff Report

For the first time in NASCAR history, all three national series will compete on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

The Xfinity Series will go first Saturday (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Then, on Sunday, the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (noon ET on FS1) and Cup Series (3 p.m. ET on NBC) will hunker down.

Here’s all the tea for the 23rd race of the Cup Series season — the GoBowling 235. Just three regular-season events will remain after the weekend.

RELATED: How to follow the races | Daytona Road Course weekend schedule

TRACK DETAILS

Dis Road Course MapThe Daytona Road Course — originally called the International Horseshoe bend — has been around for 61 years now, with the annual Rolex 24 as a highlight event, but 2020 will mark NASCAR’s debut on winding track in Daytona Beach, Florida. It’s normally 3.56 miles long.A new chicane located off Turn 4 in the famed oval, though, was added and ultimately extended the course to 3.61 miles. NASCAR introduced the addition July 30.

“NASCAR and its OEMs ran several simulations to determine the course layout and engine/aero package for the inaugural NASCAR race on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course,” said John Probst, senior vice president of racing innovation. “Due to the predicted high speeds and loads on the braking system, NASCAR will add a chicane off oval Turn 4 at Daytona and move to a high downforce 750 hp aero/engine package for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Aug. 16. We believe this will combine vehicle performance and safety to provide the best possible road course race for our fans.”

The Daytona Road Course features 14 turns and includes part of the superspeedway’s high-banked turns and a tight, technical infield section. You can get a closer look at each turn here.

This will be NASCAR’s 147th Cup Series race at the Daytona venue overall, thanks to its history on the oval dating back to 1959. It’ll also mark the series’ 130th road-course race.

STAGE LENGTHS

Stage 1 is set to end at Lap 15, Stage 2 at Lap 30, with the final stage slated to conclude on Lap 65.

STARTING LINEUP

Fore the first time, the starting lineup and pit-stall selection was determined by a competition-based formula, eliminating the random-draw element from all three national series through the end of the 2020 season.

The formula uses three performance metrics, which will be weighted and averaged to determine the lineup and pit selection order:

  • Finishing position from the previous race (weighted 50%)
  • Ranking in team owner points standings (35%)
  • Fastest lap from the previous race (15%)

The competition-based formula also brings back the awarding of the Busch Pole Award in the NASCAR Cup Series. Kevin Harvick will lead Sunday’s Cup Series field to green.

RELATED: Official lineup | Pit stall selections

RULES PACKAGE

The developed rules package for the GoBowling 235 combines elements of both the 2020 rules packages currently in use. The high downforce aero package, which is also high in drag, will be combined with the 750 horsepower engine used at short tracks and road courses. This package is only scheduled to be used at the Daytona Road Course.

GOODYEAR TIRES

The Daytona Road Course is expected to be a fast course that incorporates much of the 2.5-mile superspeedway oval. Therefore, with speeds expected to be close to what cars run at Watkins Glen International – as compared to a slower, more technical course like Sonoma Raceway – the Watkins Glen tire was determined to be the best fit.

“Our history in other series at Daytona, plus our extensive experience with these cars on the oval, helped us come up with our decision,” Goodyear director of racing Greg Stucker said. “We are very familiar with the requirements of running the banking as a part of this road course, and that helped us with choosing a tire with the correct compounds. While we were not able to run a test with the Cup cars on the course, we did confirm our recommendation using the simulation data that NASCAR and the OEM’s generated. The Watkins Glen tire is a good choice for this high speed course from a technical standpoint, and it is also a known quantity for the teams.”

NASCAR’s three national series will all run the same tire. Goodyear will also bring its wet weather radials for use in the event that rain occurs during a race.

The Cup Series will be given seven tire sets. The Xfinity Series will receive six. And the Gander Truck Series will have five. All three will be allotted two sets of “wets.”

STATS TO KNOW

— Two drivers won six of the last seven road-course races. Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. split the wins at three victories apiece.

— Ford has only one win in the last seven road-course races. Ryan Blaney took the 2018 checkered flag at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval after the leaders wrecked on the final corner.

— Six of the last seven road-course winners started in the top 10 when the initial green flag dropped.

— Six (again) of the last seven-road course races were won by the driver who led the most laps.

— There has not been an overtime finish in the last 17 road-course races.

— The Stage 2 winner has gone on to win the race in the last three races of 2020, and Ford drivers have won Stage 2 in the last nine races.

Source: Racing Insights, NASCAR statistics

LIVE COVERAGE

Tune in to television coverage Sunday for the Cup Series on NBC or on the NBC Sports App at 3 p.m. ET. For full radio coverage from the Daytona Road Course, dial in to MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.

RELATED: Ways to follow the races

For a more interactive experience, steer over to NASCAR.com or the NASCAR app to check out an enhanced Race Center, live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the customizable live leaderboard with Scanner and the return of Drive (featuring in-car cameras).

Be sure to set your lineup in Fantasy Live and make your picks in the NASCAR Finish Line App.

ACTIVE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE WINNERS

None. Whoever wins Sunday will be the first.

Posted on by Staff Report

Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson will have a different look as he attempts to make a run at the playoffs in his final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Hendrick Motorsports team is changing the paint scheme for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, tabbing it as their rAlly scheme.

RELATED: See Jimmie Johnson’s scheme from all angles

Johnson is 26 points below the playoff cutline entering this weekend’s GoBowling 235 at the Daytona Road Course (3 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Perhaps the new look will give his team a spark to get over the playoff hump.

Check it out: