Posted on by RJ Kraft

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular season comes to a close Saturday night with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway.

Thirteen playoff spots have officially been locked up, and Clint Bowyer needs three points (in the event of a new winner) to lock himself into the field. Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson are separated by nine points with two of the three likely to make the postseason if a previous 2020 winner makes his way to Victory Lane at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Past Daytona winners, such as Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth, are in win-or-go-home mode.

Anything can happen at “The World Center of Racing,” and with the back of the playoff picture far from settled, NASCAR.com’s Chase Wilhelm and RJ Kraft look at which driver outside the bubble is most likely to race his way into the playoffs when the checkered flag is waved at the high banks of Daytona.

RELATED: Schedule for Daytona | Odds, betting lines for Daytona 

Wilhelm: For Erik Jones, a win at Daytona on Saturday night would mean worlds more than just a postseason slot.

Jones will be a free agent at season’s end after it was announced Aug. 6 he would not return to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021. The 24-year-old’s will to prove something under the lights at the 2.5-mile superspeedway is two-fold. One, he wants to show potential car owners he has what it takes to win and make the NASCAR Playoffs under a high-pressure situation. Two, it could serve as a little self-gratification to show Toyota and JGR what they’re going to miss out on now.

Aside from his drive to make something happen in his final 11 races in the No. 20 car, Jones’ first career NASCAR Cup Series victory also came in the second race at Daytona back in July 2018. Along with that success, Jones also nabbed the checkered flag in the Busch Clash at Daytona to begin the 2020 season, while also finishing fifth at Talladega Superspeedway in June.

If you’re looking for a driver outside the bubble to sneak up on everyone and win, Jones is your guy.

Kraft: Jones certainly has done it here before — both at Daytona and grabbing a win late in the regular season (at Darlington last year). Ricky Stenhouse Jr. feels like the obvious choice given his 2017 win in the summer here (“America, 1776, we are the champs“), but his propensity to be all or nothing at this track has me looking elsewhere.

I’m taking Chris Buescher. Why Buescher, you ask? The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford — Stenhouse’s former car — finished third in the 2020 Daytona 500 and is one of four drivers — Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are the others — to finish in the top 10 in both superspeedway races so far in 2020. His 4.5 average finish at superspeedways this year is third-best among full-time drivers. Daytona has seen some strong runs out of him in recent years with three top fives and four top 10s in his last six starts. To dive into the loop data, he had the sixth-best average running position at Daytona in February.

Taking Buescher also aligns me with the Fords who have mastered the strength in numbers approach needed to succeed in this type of racing. The Roush Fenway superspeedway program showed its strength with Stenhouse in 2017 and recent superspeedway runs by Buescher and Newman — who was running top three in the closing laps of the 2020 Daytona 500 before a last-lap wreck have continued that solid performance.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

The No. 24 and 48 Hendrick Motorsports teams are tied together in multiple ways.

There’s Jimmie Johnson, who has driven the historic No. 48 Chevrolet to seven NASCAR Cup Series championships in 19 years. His crew chief during those title runs was Chad Knaus, and Knaus now sits atop the No. 24 pit box and works with William Byron. The young driver actually idolized the elder champion growing up.

And now the two competitors straddle the NASCAR Playoffs cutline with one regular-season race remaining.

DAYTONA: Schedule | Lineup | Paint schemes | Clinching scenarios

“I was really a 48 fan through and through,” Byron said Thursday on a Zoom teleconference. “I’ve got a lot of 48 stuff at my parents’ house and a lot of different die-cast cars.

“I really don’t look at it as me versus him. I know that’s what the bubble is right now, but it really is an opportunity for both of us to get in. Trying to look at it as that. That’s ultimately the goal — to get us both in.”

Byron sits in the final provisional NASCAR Playoffs spot — four points above the cutline. Johnson is the first driver on the outside looking in — four points below the cutline.

Another player in the mix is Matt DiBenedetto. The No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford pilot is safe by nine points. He’s the closest potential boot since Clint Bowyer is next but has a larger 57-point buffer (and could potentially lock himself into the playoffs by the end of Stage 1 on Saturday night).

There are technically three spots remaining in the 16-driver field, so Byron and Johnson can both still qualify. That’s really what the two Hendrick Motorsports teams want, and they’re willing to work together to make it happen.

“We’ve got a shot at it, right?” Knaus said. “And that’s what we need to try to do. I’m hoping Jimmie makes it. I hope to hell the man goes out there and wins the championship, honestly. That would just be spectacular to see him be able to do that and knowing that I was a part of that would be really awesome, right? But we’ll just have to see how the cards fall.”

Johnson is retiring from full-time competition at the end of the 2020 season. He hasn’t won a race since June 2017.

PHOTOS: See every Jimmie Johnson Cup Series win

Last season marked the first time Johnson did not advance into the playoffs since the format’s inception in 2004. On the other hand, Byron made the postseason for the first time in his career. They finished 18th and 11th in the final standings, respectively.

“We don’t feel — I don’t feel and Jimmie does not feel — like everything about his career is just riding on this moment,” said Cliff Daniels, the No. 48 crew chief. “His career is already established. It’s already defined. His success already speaks for itself.”

This year, Johnson has four top fives and nine top-10 showings. He’s averaging a 15.3 finish. Byron has just one top five and eight top 10s. He’s averaging a 16.7 finish. The difference — and the real reason Byron has a postseason advantage — is Byron has two stage wins and 110 stage points. Johnson has one stage win and 92 stage points.

RELATED: Totaling up the 2020 stage points

It’s a tight battle. No doubt there. But at a track like Daytona International Speedway, collaboration is key. So, being teammates in this less-than-deal situation may actually help the Hendrick Motorsports garages.

“We are going to work with them all night Saturday night and put ourselves both in a good spot,” Daniels said. “I would love to be side by side, door to door with them, with points in the bag, coming to the finish line for the final checkered flag.”

Posted on by Team Release

STATESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 27, 2020) — GMS Racing officials announced today that NASCAR champion and two-time Southern 500 winner, Greg Biffle, will pilot the No. 24 Chevrolet for the upcoming NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Darlington Speedway.

Biffle has accumulated an impressive resume throughout his NASCAR career with two championships and 56 wins across all three national series. The 50-year-old has six years of experience in the Gander Trucks and has collected one championship, 17 wins, 43 top fives, 55 top 10s and 12 pole awards in the series.

“I’m excited to get back behind the wheel of a Gander Truck,” said Biffle. “GMS Racing produces competitive trucks week in and week out. So needless to say when I got the chance to drive one of their Chevrolets, at one of my favorite tracks, I couldn’t turn it down. I’m thankful for this opportunity and I can’t wait to get to Darlington with this GMS Racing team.”

Biffle will take to the track in The South Carolina Education Lottery 200 at 2 p.m. ET on Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Biffle’s sponsorship and paint scheme will be announced at a later date.

Posted on by Staff Report

Noah Gragson will return to JR Motorsports and the No. 9 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2021 season.

RELATED: Key players in Silly Season

The news was conveyed via a video on Twitter starring Gragson and team co-owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller.

https://twitter.com/NoahGragson/status/1299056191377747968

 

Gragson stirred social media into a frenzy with an Instagram Live last night and tweet involving a pen emoji that hinted at big news for the 22-year-old.

https://twitter.com/NoahGragson/status/1298839338604789761

The 2020 season marks Gragson second with JRM. He has already won two races this season to qualify for the playoffs and ranks third in the standings.

“I’m so glad we were able to get this deal done,” Gragson said in a Friday news release from JR Motorsports. “This year has been great as we have a couple wins and are sitting third in the championship standings with a few races left before the playoffs. The No. 9 team along with everyone at the shop prepares fast cars every week and I can’t wait to drive their cars again next year. I’m so thankful for Kelley, Dale and everyone else at JRM. They treat everyone like family and they have become an extended family of mine.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Jeffrey Earnhardt revealed a Darlington throwback scheme that will not only honor seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt but also pay homage to Kerry Earnhardt, Jeffrey Earnhardt’s father. The sharp, golden look will be on Jeffrey Earnhardt’s No. 0 JD Motorsports Chevrolet for the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Sept. 5 at Darlington Raceway (12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The scheme is a replica of a Bass Pro Shops look that both the ‘Intimidator’ and Kerry Earnhardt used at different times in the NASCAR Cup Series. First, here’s Jeffrey’s scheme for this season:

Jdm Jeffrey Earnhardt Darlington

And here are the cars of Dale and Kerry that Jeffrey’s car is emulating:

Jdm Dale Kerry Earnhardt Scheme

Posted on by Staff Report

There is one NASCAR Cup Series regular-season race remaining before the start of the NASCAR Playoffs. Entering Saturday’s race at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), here’s who is locked into the field and who can clinch on points — and who must win their way into the postseason.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule

Already clinched

The following 13 drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.

Can clinch via points

If there is a new winner, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the sixth winless driver in the standings.

• Clint Bowyer: Would clinch with 3 points (so he could clinch as early as the end of Stage 1)
• Matt DiBenedetto: Would clinch with 51 points
• William Byron: Could only clinch with help
• Jimmie Johnson: Could only clinch with help

If there is a repeat winner, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the seventh winless driver in the standings. They would also clinch if there was a new winner among (Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto or William Byron) and being ahead of the sixth winless driver in the standings.

• Clint Bowyer: Would clinch regardless of finish
• Matt DiBenedetto: Would clinch with 47 points
• William Byron: Would clinch with 52 points
• Jimmie Johnson: Could only clinch with help
• Erik Jones: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via a win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece.

The following driver could clinch with a win and some help clinching a Top 30 position: Daniel Suarez

Posted on by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr. revealed a Darlington throwback paint scheme Wednesday that harkens back to Hank Parker Jr. and Bass Pro Shops’ first full primary sponsorship. Parker ran the scheme for Chance2 Motorsports at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2003 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Darlington throwback paint schemes

Truex, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 19 Toyota, will sport the look for the NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway in the Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 26, 2020) — NASCAR announced today a multiyear Official Partnership with Oura Health, the technology company behind the smart ring that provides users with biometrics and analysis into their sleep and overall health to improve performance and monitor for potential illness. Through the partnership, Oura becomes an Official Health Technology Partner of NASCAR.

After rigorous vetting by NASCAR, Oura emerged as an accurate and efficient solution to advance the organization’s approach to health and wellness. As part of the agreement, NASCAR Cup Series drivers and key operational employees across the sanctioning body will be provided with an Oura Ring, which delivers personalized readiness, activity and sleep insights to provide a holistic picture of a person’s health.

By monitoring changes in an individual’s temperature, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and respiratory rate, Oura Rings can also potentially detect abnormal fluctuations in asymptomatic carriers as well as previously healthy individuals who are experiencing the onset of a disease. Oura Rings have been used in TemPredict, a study at University of California, San Francisco, and in a separate study at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) West Virginia University — contributing to a growing body of research on illness detection, symptom profiles, and recovery.

“In today’s challenging environment Oura Rings provide an edge to keep our athletes and employees safe,” said John Bobo, Vice President, Racing Operations. “Oura’s advanced technology will work glove in hand with NASCAR’s safety protocols. What impressed us was the quality of data that Oura collects, and how high performing athletes and individuals can use that to improve their performance. We also look forward to a long-term partnership and what we can learn from Oura in the years ahead.”

Building on significant advancements in research, and its long-standing Oura Teams product, Oura has developed the Health Risk Management (HRM) platform to help support NASCAR’s safety protocols. This platform assigns a unique Risk Score to participating athletes and staff members. The score indicates the likelihood that an individual is experiencing symptoms that correlate with illness. In the event someone is experiencing symptoms, Oura will send an alert directly to the individual and inform them of the recommended next steps, such as taking a COVID-19 test, seeking further medical attention or isolating themselves from others.

“We are thrilled to join NASCAR in its effort to provide employees and athletes with the most accurate data and insights to help improve their overall health and assist in detecting the early onset of illness,” said Harpreet Singh Rai, CEO, Oura Health. “Our goal is to help NASCAR and its industry make more informed decisions as they enter the Playoffs, with an eye towards the future and the performance benefits our technology can provide.”

To protect the privacy of participants, the HRM platform is designed to be 100% voluntary and opt-in only. Drivers and league personnel can ask to be removed from the program at any time. All biometric data collected will remain private. Additionally, the Oura Ring does not track user location.

Fittings for the initial phase of the Oura Ring deployment in NASCAR are scheduled to begin in the coming week, with the goal of all participating NASCAR Cup Series drivers and employees being outfitted by the first round of the Playoffs.

Posted on by Staff Report

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season has been an unusual one, and a pivotal moment arrives this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The historic 2.5-mile track hosts the regular-season finale for the first time with Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Daytona will also hold a race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series before the weekend culminates in the track’s annual 400-miler, moved from its usual Independence Day slot. The 16-driver field for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will be determined after the event. Three spots are still up for grabs.

Here’s all the info for taking in the Cup Series’ 26th points-paying race of the season:

RELATED: How to follow the races | Daytona weekend schedule

TRACK DETAILS

Daytona International Speedway, the “World Center of Racing,” is a 2.5-mile superspeedway that opened for racing in 1959. The 3,800-foot frontstretch has a tri-oval bend at the start-finish line that’s banked at 18 degrees. The backstretch measures 3,000 feet, and the turns are banked at a 31-degree tilt.

Bob Welborn is listed as the track’s first Cup Series winner on Feb. 20, 1959, claiming a 100-mile Daytona 500 qualifying race, which for years counted as an official event. The first Daytona 500 crown-jewel race was held two days later with NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty taking the laurels in a photo finish over Johnny Beauchamp.

Saturday’s event will mark the 147th official Cup Series race at the 2.5-mile track, which replaced speed trials and a beach-road course on the shores of the Atlantic. The track has scheduled its summertime event to be held under the lights since 1998.

STAGE LENGTHS

Stage 1 is set to end at Lap 50, Stage 2 at Lap 100, with the full distance scheduled for 160 laps (400 miles).

STARTING LINEUP

For the third weekend this year, the starting lineup and pit-stall selection are determined by three weighted performance metrics. The competition-based formula replaces the grouped random-draw element that was used during the bulk of the 2020 regular season. Competition officials announced July 21 all three national series would continue to race without practice or qualifying through the end of the year.

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.

RELATED: Official lineup | Pit stall selections

RULES PACKAGE

A revised 2020 NASCAR rules package for superspeedways will be in effect, with engine restrictions designed for a target horsepower around 510 with a smaller throttle body. Changes were made to reduce the closing rate of cars making dramatic aerodynamic gains. The cars will not be equipped with aero ducts. Other aerodynamic measures — including a 9-inch rear spoiler plus wicker and a two-inch splitter overhang — will be used. Officials added other superspeedway safety measures May 1 before the series’ most recent race at sister track Talladega Superspeedway.

No choose rule will be in effect for restarts this weekend. The choose procedure — implemented for most national-series races in an Aug. 6 announcement — does not apply to superspeedways or road courses.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Teams in both the Cup and Xfinity Series will compete on the same Goodyear Eagle Superspeedway Radials that were used during Daytona’s Speedweeks in February. The tire setup first debuted in the Cup Series in July 2019, when the tire construction was last updated. The last refinement to the tread compound came in July 2017, when both left- and right-side tires were modified to increase grip.

“Having mechanical grip in the tires gives the cars the needed stability with the tight-style racing we see at Daytona,” said Greg Stucker, director of Goodyear’s racing operations. “We build in mechanical grip with the tread compounds we choose. We fine-tuned that choice for Daytona in 2017 and then followed up with a test the day after the 2019 Daytona 500, which led us to updating the constructions of the tires in this set-up as well.  Those constructions added a little more stagger to this set-up, which also enhances the handling of the cars through the corners.”

Cup Series teams will have seven sets of tires allotted for their Saturday night race. Xfinity Series teams will be allotted four sets of tires their 100-lap, 250-mile race Friday night.

STATS TO KNOW

— Three playoff berths remain for the claiming in the regular-season finale. Clint Bowyer sits 14th on the provisional playoff grid with enough of a points cushion to clinch, barring a catastrophe and other unlikely fates aligning for his pursuers. Matt DiBenedetto ranks 15th, just five points ahead of William Byron in 16th and nine points ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who lurks just outside the provisional field. The possibility also remains for an eligible driver well outside the playoff bubble to clinch a spot with a last-minute Daytona victory.

— Martin Truex Jr.’s consistency knows few bounds as his most recent finishes, dating to Kansas Speedway on July 23, read like this: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2. It’s the longest streak of top-three finishes without a win in Cup Series history. Truex aims to end another streak Saturday — 0-for-61 for his Cup Series career in superspeedway races,. the longest drought among active drivers.

— Toyota has won three of the last four Cup Series races at Daytona, including two consecutive Daytona 500 wins from Denny Hamlin. Chevrolet’s most recent Daytona win came as a rain-shortened upset in this race last year by Justin Haley and Spire Motorsports. Ford last won at Daytona with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2017, during his time with Roush Fenway Racing.

— Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney has the hot hand at the series’ big ovals, finishing first or second in the last three superspeedway events. That streak includes a pair of Talladega wins and a runner-up result in the season-opening Daytona 500.

— Starting position hasn’t had a huge impact on determining a Daytona winner in recent years. The starting positions of the last five Daytona victors: 14th, 29th, 10th, 34th, 21st. The last time a driver won from the pole position came in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s triumph in the summer of 2015.

— The last driver to sweep Daytona’s two annual events was Jimmie Johnson, who went 2-for-2 in 2013. Before that, the most recent driver to seal a Daytona season sweep was Bobby Allison in 1982.

Source: Racing Insights, NASCAR statistics

LIVE COVERAGE

Daytona’s weekend schedule begins with Friday night’s Xfinity Series race, the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

On Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series holds the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In other national-series events, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series visits World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for a Sunday start (noon ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The ARCA Menards Series also returns to the 1.25-mile Gateway track for a Saturday evening show (6:15 p.m. ET on NBC TrackPass Gold and MRN).

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 WINNERS

Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson (three wins); Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth (two wins); Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (one win).