Posted on by Staff Report

The Daytona 500 is one of the most unpredictable races on the entire NASCAR Cup Series schedule. But thanks to our friends at Racing Insights, we know there are a few recent trends that have become (mostly) reliable.

Here are five things to expect this year, if the trends continue:

1. There will be a last-lap pass.

Historically, only 12 of the 61 Daytona 500s ended with a last-lap pass for the win. But three of those instances happened in the last four years alone, and two of the last three race winners led only the final lap.

2. There will be wrecks. Big wrecks.

That goes without saying at a place as treacherous as Daytona International Speedway, but the volume of cars involved in these incidents has been staggering recently. According to Racing Insights, in the last three Daytona 500s, 80% of all the cars entered were involved in a spin or a wreck.

MORE: To block or not to block?

3. Joey Logano will be there at the end.

Here are Logano’s finishes in the last five Daytona 500s: first (2015), sixth, sixth, fourth, fourth. His streak of five consecutive top-10 finishes in the “Great American Race” is tied for the second longest streak behind Dale Earnhardt (10). His streak of five consecutive finishes of sixth or better in the Daytona 500 is tied with Bill Elliott for the longest.

4. A Busch brother will be passed late.

Sorry to say, Kyle and Kurt. But in the last five superspeedway races, a Busch brother has been passed for the win four instances.

DATE TRACK WINNER PASSED LATE LAPS TO GO
Oct. 13, 2019 Talladega Ryan Blaney Kyle Busch 7
July 7, 2019 Daytona Justin Haley Kurt Busch 1
April 28, 2019 Talladega Chase Elliott Joey Logano 4
Feb. 17, 2019 Daytona Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch 9
Oct. 14, 2018 Talladega Aric Almirola Kurt Busch 1

5. Youth will be served.

There are four superspeedway races per year in the NASCAR Cup Series — two at Daytona, two at Talladega. Over eight races in the last two years, six were won by drivers younger than 30. Additionally, the last three Superspeedway winners were 25 or younger.

Posted on by Track Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2020) – NASCAR today announced a record-setting purse for the 62nd annual DAYTONA 500, where 40 of the world’s best drivers will race for a total purse of $23.6 million. (race resuming Monday at 4 p.m. ET; TV – FOX, FOX Deportes; Radio – MRN, SiriusXM).

Since the very first edition of “The Great American Race” in 1959, NASCAR drivers have aimed for a career-defining victory in the DAYTONA 500 – and the fame, prestige and, now, largest purse in the history of American motorsports that come with it.

RELATED: See every winner of the Daytona 500 | 62nd annual Daytona 500 sold out

“The DAYTONA 500 is more than just the season-opening race,” said Chip Wile, President of Daytona International Speedway. “It’s a life-changing event for the winner, whose name will join the legends of this sport. Fans will pack the state-of-the-art motorsports venue, and millions will watch on television. And the reason is simple: The DAYTONA 500 is one of the premier events in all of sports, and now has the richest purse in history.”

With roots dating back more than a half century, the DAYTONA 500 has evolved incredibly since NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. introduced race fans to what has become a world-wide spectacle. Just fewer than 42,000 fans attended the inaugural event, won by Lee Petty, who took home just under $20,000 for the victory.

A sell-out crowd of more than 100,000 fans will pack the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday to watch the most prestigious – and richest – race on the NASCAR calendar.

Tickets for Daytona International Speedway events can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat, and by downloading Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Blaney has won one race per season the last three years.

A trip to Victory Lane is still a trip to Victory Lane — but the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford would surely love to get over that hump and win multiple races on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

He has an idea of how he can do that, too.

“I think just getting smarter as the race goes on,” Blaney said Wednesday at the Daytona 500 Media Day. “I think that is something that has hurt me and something that I have struggled with – maybe not thinking far enough ahead of how the track is going and changing things to be better at the end of the race. … A lot of races we fire off really well and then don’t end the race like we fired off. That is what I am talking about; the ability to pinpoint where you think things are going and get ahead of it.”

RELATED: Daytona 500 paint schemes | When blocking goes bad

Blaney’s three wins came at Pocono Raceway (2017), Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval (2018) and Talladega Superspeedway (2019).

The 2020 slate starts with Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway (race resumes Monday at 4 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where Blaney averages a 23.8 finish in nine starts. His best result was a runner-up showing in 2017.

A big difference in the No. 12 stable this season, however, is crew chief Todd Gordon coming over from Joey Logano’s No. 22 team.

“I am excited to work with Todd,” Blaney said. “It has been really great so far. Maybe you think of things that you didn’t before because it wasn’t normal to you. It opens your mind a little bit to other areas you need to improve on.”

RELATED: Blaney goes to backup car for Daytona 500

Blaney had only ever known Jeremy Bullins atop his pit box since he joined NASCAR’s premier series in 2015.

“When you get someone new, it changes things up and then you start thinking about things differently,” Blaney said. “We focus more on those things and also focus on what I know from the past.”

Bullins is now with Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 group. Keselowski’s old crew chief, Paul Wolfe, moved over to Logano. Team Penske made the switches back in early January.

RELATED: Team Penske trio believes change will do them good

Gordon helped command Logano to 21 victories and the 2018 championship. His history of success could be beneficial to Blaney and maybe teach him how to adapt during a race. That is where he wants to improve, anyway, in hopes of winning more races.

“You take what you learned from the previous experience, and you are learning new things,” Blaney said. “It just gives you a bigger bandwidth for knowledge, which is good.”

Posted on by Terrin Waack

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — They did what they had to do.

Reed Sorenson and Timmy Hill made it to the Daytona 500 after the Bluegreen Vacations Duel events Thursday. Sorenson finished 18th in Duel 1. Hill was 16th in Duel 2. And that was enough.

Both will now compete in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway (race resumes Monday at 4 p.m. ET, FOX/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“This might be your last Daytona 500, and there’s no guarantee on when you’re going to get that next opportunity,” Sorenson said. “Just to get the opportunity was very exciting for me, and then now that we’re in, I can enjoy the moment and the weekend.”

RELATED: Joey Logano, William Byron win Duel races | Projected Daytona 500 lineup

The way it works, drivers from teams without a Charter are considered Open and are not automatically given a spot in the Daytona 500. That must be earned in single-car qualifying or the Duel races.

The two fastest Open drivers in single-car qualifying advance. The others then have to duke it out in the Duel races, where the best Open finisher in each gets a bid into the Daytona 500. If the best Open finishers are also the fastest qualifiers from Sunday, then it goes back to best qualifying speeds from Sunday to fill the final two spots.

Open drivers whose speed from qualifying punched their ticket into the Daytona 500 were Brendan Gaughan and Justin Haley.

While Hill just had to finish better than JJ Yeley and Gaughan in Duel 2, Sorenson needed to beat out Justin Haley, Chad Finchum and Daniel Suarez in Duel 1. Hill accomplished that feat to make the 500 field while Sorenson advanced based on Sunday’s speed because Haley was the top Open finisher in Duel 1.

Suarez. meanwhile, was actually leading the mini race when he collided with Ryan Blaney on Lap 30 of 60 to take his No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota out of contention. Finchum was then two laps down in 20th.

“My spotter was high-pitched to say the least,” Sorenson said. “I didn’t really have much emotion about it because I was still trying to concentrate on what we might or might not have to do to get in. But yeah, he started screaming at me. Nobody was around, so I didn’t know what he was screaming about, and it was because the 96 was in it.”

Yeley also wrecked himself out of the competition on Lap 42 of 60 of his race.

“I don’t know if the smile is going to come off my face,” Hill said. “Look, as a kid, everybody who is a race car driver has a dream of driving this stuff. You want to run the Daytona 500. My car is very capable of running competitively in this race. I feel like we’re not just here to participate, we’re here to race.”

This will mark Hill’s first Daytona 500 and Sorenson’s seventh start. Hill has been in the Cup Series for eight years, all part time. Sorenson is at 15 years but with five full-time seasons.

Neither has any victories to their name.

“You can win,” Sorenson said. “It can happen.”

Sorenson’s crew chief, Peter Sospenzo, led Haley to his first career victory in July at Daytona. Sospenzo has four wins atop the pit box overall.

Steve Idol, meanwhile, is Hill’s crew chief.

The 40-driver field for the Daytona 500 is now set.

“For us, people don’t really give us much of a shot,” Hill said. “To come into this race as an underdog nobody’s really counting on, it feels really great to prove a lot of people wrong.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The Bluegreen Vacation Duel races-winning cars of Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) and William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) passed post-race technical inspection Thursday at Daytona International Speedway with no issues.

Both machines were found to be compliant with the NASCAR Rule Book following the twin 60-lap qualifying races.

With post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

RESULTS: Duel 1 | Duel 2

This is the second year of a post-race process to bring a more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced last February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the Research & Development Center.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. Prior to the 2019 season, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

Posted on by Staff Report

After crashes in Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona International Speedway, the No. 12 team of Ryan Blaney and No. 32 team of Corey LaJoie have elected to use backup cars for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Update: The Daytona 500 was postponed due to inclement weather. The Great American Race will resume Monday, February 17th at 4 p.m. ET on FOX.

RELATED: Official Daytona 500 starting lineup

Blaney was involved in a Lap 30 crash due to contact with the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota of Daniel Suarez after attempting to duck onto pit road during a round of green-flag pit stops.

The No. 12 car received significant damage to the front bumper and left door panel. The team came to the conclusion that it would be too much to repair, pivoting to the spare vehicle as a result.

Blaney, who qualified 27th, will drop to the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s race.

LaJoie received front and right-side damage to his No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford after a Lap 40 incident with JJ Yeley on the backstretch during the second Duel race.

LaJoie, who qualified 36th, will also drop to the rear for the start of Sunday’s race.

Posted on by Staff Report

Heading into Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona, we already knew the front row for Sunday’s Daytona 500 main event — superspeedway ace Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is on the Busch Pole, and Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman will start second for the second consecutive year when the green flag drops Feb. 17 (4 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

We also knew that Thursday’s twin 60-lap races would set the remainder of the running order, as well as the final two spots in the field.

SHOP: 2020 Daytona 500 lineup T-shirt

As a refresher, Duel 1 results set the inside row of the Daytona 500 starting lineup. Duel 2 set the outside row. The 36 Charter teams are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500 field, and seven Open, non-charter teams competed for the final four spots.

Following the Bluegreen Vacations Duel races, here is the official Daytona 500 starting lineup.

RELATED: Ways to follow the race | MORE: We predict every 2020 race winner

* indicates one of the four open teams that made the field.

Starting Position Driver Team
1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing
2. Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports
3. Joey Logano Team Penske
4. William Byron Hendrick Motorsports
5. Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing
6. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
7. Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing
8. Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing
9. Brad Keselowski Team Penske
10. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
11. Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports
12. Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing
13 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing
14. Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing
15. Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing
16. Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing
17. Christopher Bell Leavine Family Racing
18. Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing
19. Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing
20. Ross Chastain Spire Motorsports
21. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
22. Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing
23. John Hunter Nemechek Front Row Motorsports
24. Ty Dillon Germain Racing
25. Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
26. Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports
27. Ryan Blaney Team Penske
28. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
29. Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing
30. David Ragan Rick Ware Racing
31. Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing
32. Timmy Hill* MBM Motorsports*
33. Justin Haley* Kaulig Racing*
34. Brennan Poole Premium Motorsports
35. Quin Houff StarCom Racing
36. Corey LaJoie GO FAS Racing
37. Joey Gase Petty Ware Racing
38. BJ McLeod Rick Ware Racing
39. Brendan Gaughan* Beard Motorsports*
40. Reed Sorenson* Premium Motorsports*

 

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Joey Logano grabbed the lead on the final lap of the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150-mile qualifying race Thursday at Daytona International Speedway and held on for the win, but a wreck at the halfway point dashed Daniel Suarez’s prospects of competing in his first Daytona 500 with his new team Gaunt Brothers Racing.

In the second Duel, William Byron made a late charge to edge Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for the victory by .117 seconds and will start fourth in Monday’s Daytona 500 (4 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The victory in the qualifier was Byron’s first win of any kind in the NASCAR Cup Series and his first after teaming with seven-time champion crew chief Chad Knaus last year. Logano won his Duel for the second straight year.

MORE: Joey Logano brings it home for Duel 1 victory

Logano led four times for 22 laps in the first Duel, but the real drama occurred on Lap 30, when Suarez’s No. 96 Toyota tangled with Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford as a contingent of Fords was trying to exit the banking onto pit road. Suarez tried to shoot a gap between Blaney in the outside lane and Brad Keselowski on the bottom, only to have Blaney turn down the track.

Contact between the two cars turned Suarez’s Camry sideways and launched him nose-first into the outside wall, destroying the car. With Suarez out of the race, 18th-place finisher Reed Sorenson transferred into the Monday’s Daytona 500 based on the speed he posted in last Sunday’s time trials.

RELATED: Projected Daytona 500 lineup | Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 results

“There was not communication,” said a disconsolate Suarez. “The 2 car (Keselowski) all of a sudden started to slow down, and obviously it was either wreck him or go to the right, and I thought the 12 (Blaney) was going to give me a little more room, but obviously he didn’t.

“The 2 car, he started getting his hand out of the window super, super late (to signal a pit stop), and I didn’t see him. When I started going out, the 12 was there.”

MORE: Crash dashes Daniel Suarez’s Daytona 500 hopes

After repairs on pit road, Blaney was able to continue and finished 14th.

“I guess, if you wound it, try not to kill it,” Blaney said. “We got lucky. We should have never been in that spot in the first place. It was just an error on my part and kind of a little lack of communication that didn’t end well.”

Daytona 500 pole winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the field to green and was out front four times for 27 laps. After leading laps 58 and 59 of 60, Stenhouse was shuffled back on the inside lane on the final circuit as second-place finisher Aric Almirola pushed Logano to the front.

RELATED: Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 results

“It feels so good,” said Logano, who will line up third behind in the Daytona 500 after winning the race that determines the starting order on the inside row. “Obviously, it’s the Duels, not the Daytona 500, but momentum is momentum. (Spotter) T.J. (Majors) does such a great job up on the roof understanding the draft.”

Logano got his first win with new crew chief Paul Wolfe after an offseason personnel shakeup at Team Penske.

“I’ve been working with this new group here,” Logano said. “They’ve been working together, but I’m new with them, and it’s been a good partnership so far. It’s been pretty seamless working out some of the kinks last week (in the Busch Clash) and being able to come to Victory Lane at Daytona.

“Winning anything at Daytona is such a big deal.”

Ryan Newman finished third in the first Duel, followed by Keselowski, as Fords swept the top four positions. Bubba Wallace completed the top five in a Chevrolet.

The first caution in the second Duel signaled the demise of another Daytona 500 hopeful. Contact from Corey LaJoie’s Ford turned JJ Yeley’s Mustang into the backstretch wall and ended his hopes of racing on Sunday.

MORE: JJ Yeley wrecks after contact with Corey LaJoie

Yeley’s hard wreck gave the transfer spot into the Great American Race to Timmy Hill, who will make his first start in NASCAR’s most prestigious race on Sunday.

A strong push from Kurt Busch propelled Byron to the lead with three laps left in the second Duel, and Byron stayed out front the rest of the way, with Johnson surging into second on the final circuit.

Kyle Larson took the third spot, as Chevrolets swept the podium positions. Kevin Harvick, who led three times for a race-high 34 laps, ran fourth, followed by his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Sunoco rookie Cole Custer.

In the closing laps, the Chevrolets ganged up on Harvick and Matt DiBenedetto, who pushed Harvick’s No. 4 Ford for much of the race. On Lap 57, Byron and Kurt Busch got a strong run to the outside that Harvick couldn’t block.

“No, there wasn’t any Chevy orders or anything like that,” Byron said. “We just did a good job of working together. Kurt was a great pusher and great helper. I really had a lot of trust in him. I was really trying to go with one (lap) to go, but I had enough momentum out of the tri-oval.

“Watching the old races, that’s where the momentum kind of lines up. I didn’t know if I would get that kind of same momentum once everybody started pushing with one to go. Made it there, got to second. I guess Kevin played really nice and didn’t pull a big block… Excited for the 500.”

To Harvick, discretion was the better part of valor.

“When they’re coming that fast, it’s putting a lot of risk out there to block,” Harvick said. “We have seen how that works out. We had a great car tonight. The guys did a great job. We were able to get onto pit road and had a great pit stop and put ourselves in position to have a chance there. Matt D was a heck of a pusher.

“It was kind of two against the rest of those Chevrolets, and we held our own tonight. We have some fast Ford Mustangs.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Looking frustrated and disappointed, Daniel Suarez emerged from the Daytona International Speedway’s infield care center Thursday after his early exit from the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 qualifying race — a fateful outcome that cost him a position in Monday’s Daytona 500 (4 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

While trying to avoid a pitting Brad Keselowski, Suarez’s No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota collided with Keselowski’s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney only 30 laps into the Daytona 500 qualifying race. Suarez’s car slid down into the track’s infield grass and sustained enough damage to end his bid to earn a position in the sport’s big race.

After a mandatory medical exam by doctors, Suarez paused briefly to speak to reporters. And he did not mince words.

RELATED: Full Daytona weekend schedule

“I don’t know if the 2 (Keselowski) was going to pit or everyone else was going to pit or what the deal was,” Suarez said. “The 2 put his hand out the window, and when I saw that he started slowing down, I moved to the right to avoid him but the 12 didn’t give me enough room.

“All those secret calls they don’t work.

“There’s a lot of frustration and a broken heart because I’ve been working my butt off to try to make this happen and it doesn’t work.”

Suarez moved to the No. 96 only a month ago after learning he would not be retained by Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of 2019. His new Gaunt Brothers team didn’t have an automatic berth in the Daytona 500, and Suarez entered Thursday night’s race needing to finish ahead of three others — Justin Haley, Reed Sorenson and Chad Finchum — to earn a starting position in the 500. For much of the early race he was on pace to do so — running 10th before the first round of pit stops — the top Toyota and well in front of the three drivers he needed to beat.

A series of green-flag pit stops just before his accident put Suarez behind the threesome he needed to better — but they still had to pit, meaning Suarez would likely have cycled back around. Unfortunately for the team, he never got the chance.

Suarez’s spotter Steve Barkdoll apologized to his team via radio communication insisting in the moments after the crash that the Penske team’s own spotters didn’t know their cars were going to pit at that point. He noted, and later so did Suarez, that the team was calling their pit stops on “secretive” radio channels and that the communication failed.

Ultimately, Team Penske’s Joey Logano won the race. Keselowski finished fourth and Blaney was 14th. Haley was best (17th) among the four drivers needing to still make the Daytona 500 field and Reed Sorenson, who finished 18th, got onto the starting grid via qualifying speed.

“My spotter was high-pitched to say the least,” Sorenson said when his spotter told him his competitor Suarez had been eliminated.

“Now I can enjoy the moment and the weekend,” he conceded.

PHOTOS: Best of the Daytona weekend

Posted on by Staff Report

Inclement weather in the Daytona Beach area has delayed the start of Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway (live coverage on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Duel at Daytona starting lineups

Light rain hit the 2.5-mile superspeedway around 6:30 p.m. ET with increasing intensity toward the official green-flag time of 7:20 p.m. ET, forcing teams to bring the cars back onto pit road.

A fleet of 18 Air Titans, 12 jet dryers, two vacuums and one sweeper are on deck for track-drying efforts.

Daytona 500 Busch Pole Award winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Elliott are set to start on the front row for Duel No. 1, while Daytona 500 second-place starter Alex Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson are on the front row for Duel No. 2.

NASCAR.com will continue to monitor the weather situation and provide further updates once they become available.