Jimmie Johnson starts final season in defense of Clash win

Posted on February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson’s return to Daytona International Speedway has been understandably bittersweet.

Though he’s excited to get back into the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to start a new NASCAR Cup season, Johnson must process the realization that the 2020 season will be his last as a full-time driver and his last chance to win a record eighth championship.

“Coming down here, I obviously know this is my last full-time season,” Johnson said on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. “So there were mixed emotions. But I’m excited to start my final year. To know that (sponsor) Ally is on board, Hendrick Motorsports getting the team where it is, I really feel like we have an opportunity to have a strong year on track and go out in style, with the goal of the ultimate prize.

“I’m really excited about that. Once I got in the car and on track, that stuff is all out the window and it’s really about working on the race car and trying to make it go. I’m excited to be here. I know the year is going to evolve and change for me from start to finish and my emotions with what goes on. But I’m in a very good place right now—just ready to go.”

Johnson is the defending winner of the Busch Clash at Daytona (3 p.m. Sunday on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Little did he know, however, that when he took the checkered flag under caution in that exhibition race that the 2019 season would bring a change of crew chiefs—from Kevin Meendering to Cliff Daniels—and extend his career-worst drought in Cup points races from 59 to 95 races.

Johnson is eager to race in the Clash, not just for the trophy, but for the experience it will bring.

“We don’t have a chance to test, so a lot of us haven’t been in a Cup car, except for the guys that did the 2021 (test) stuff,” Johnson said. “So two drivers of the 40 have been in a race car since Homestead. Now more than ever (the Clash) is very useful.”

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With few holes left on his racing resume, reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch eyes the Daytona 500 as the top item on his bucket list.

With 56 victories and two championships in NASCAR’s premier series, Busch is second among active drivers to seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in both categories. But winning “The Great American Race” is a feat still to be accomplished for the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry.

PHOTOS: Every Kyle Busch win across all three national series

“It’s always kind of been up there near or at the top,” Busch said. “It certainly still is. It would be nice to get that box checked, and hopefully, one of these days we can figure that out. It would be nice if it’s a week from (Sunday).”

Busch came close last year, finishing second to teammate Denny Hamlin, as JGR swept the podium.

“I don’t really remember how the late restarts went, but I know Denny was leading on a late restart and then I beat him on a restart and got the lead,” Busch said. “I sustained the lead on another restart and then the final restart, Denny was able to beat me on that one.

“It just – obviously it hurt not being able to bring home that trophy and for Denny to be able to bring home two, but that’s just a part of racing. Hopefully we can get it done this year or whenever, sometime or another, before it’s all said and done, for myself to be able to at least have one.”

Another title would suit Busch, too. When Johnson retires from full-time Cup racing, Busch will be the only active driver with multiple championships, unless another duplicate winner emerges this season.

“It’s kind of odd that there’s only a two-time guy out there,” Busch said. “Everybody else is zero or one. It just kind of shows you the influx of newer, younger drivers and just how many of those guys that have won championships are now gone.

“The Tonys (Stewart), the Jeffs (Gordon), the Jimmies (Johnson) that no longer are here. Hopefully, it’s three (championships). I might, could be the only one.”

Posted on February 8, 2020June 18, 2021 by Staff Report

Bubba Wallace steered his No. 43 Chevrolet to the top spot on the second Daytona 500 practice leaderboard Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver maxed out at 196.172 mph in five laps.

Two rookies followed Wallace on the board. Cole Custer was a close second at 196.108 mph in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. John Hunter Nemechek was then third at 196.040 mph in his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

Hendrick Motorsports then occupied the next four spots. Alex Bowman was fourth at 195.088 mph. Jimmie Johnson, making his last full-time run this season, closed out the top five at 194.835 mph. Chase Elliott and William Byron were next in sixth (194.317 mph) and seventh (194.25 mph), respectively.

Denny Hamlin (194.15 mph), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (194.124 mph) and Clint Bowyer (193.836 mph) made up the rest of the top 10.

Unlike in this first practice, no one broke 200 mph this time around.

Before even getting on track, Brad Keselowski damaged the bottom ride side of his No. 2 Team Penske Ford in the garage. His team chose to fix the car rather than go to a backup. Keselowski did not turn any laps after finishing 21st in the first practice at 197.247 mph.

The NASCAR Cup Series will return to the track Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET for the Daytona 500 Busch Pole Qualifying on FOX.

FIRST PRACTICE

Ty Dillon clocked the fastest lap time in the first of two Daytona 500 practices Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 15 Germain Racing Chevrolet circled the 2.5-mile Florida track in 44.809 seconds at 203.592 mph.

As the only other driver to break the 203-mph mark, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was second fastest at 203.192 mph in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet.

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin (202.684 mph), Erik Jones (202.525 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (202.379 mph) then rounded out the top five in order with their Toyotas.

The bottom half of the top 10 featured a variety of competitors. Rookie Christopher Bell was sixth at 202.293 mph. Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was seventh at 202.188 mph. Daniel Suarez and Matt DiBenedetto, who are both in new rides this season, were eighth (202.152 mph) and 10th (201.902 mph), respectively. The retired David Ragan was then ninth at 202.097 mph.

Posted on February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick confirmed to media members Saturday at Daytona International Speedway he has signed a two-year contract extension with Stewart-Haas Racing.

Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, said his new deal with SHR lasts through the 2023 season. It was initially slated to end after 2021, but now the 44-year-old has a deal to race in NASCAR’s top series for four more years.

The veteran’s future was subject of much speculation, given his contract status, age and the manner in which he capably joined the FOX broadcast booth for select events as an analyst. Harvick said Saturday that he was dialing back his TV and radio commitments this year, in part to spend more time with his family, but that making a transition to media after 2023 would coincide with the expected arrival of a new TV broadcast contract.

“I’m intrigued by that and for me, that’ll keep me in the car a few more years as we go through 2023 and see where we’re at,” Harvick said. “Really, that timing works well for me from a media standpoint, just because of the fact that you have a TV contract that’s coming up, you’ll know who the players are and I think at that particular point, you’ll have a fair amount of experience in the new car. You’ll hopefully have been through the engine change, the vehicle change. So there were a number of things that go along with that. I really like racing with the group of guys in the organization where I’m at and I worked my whole career and feel like I got here with a group of guys and people that I want to have had success with. For me, going through a few more years in the car just made sense.”

Harvick continues to stay busy with Kevin Harvick Inc., his sports marketing agency, in addition to his full-time role with SHR. But even with the side projects, Harvick said his drive to excel at the sport’s top level still sustained him.

“KHI’s definitely bigger than I thought it was going to be at this particular point, but the TV and radio stuff is definitely something that I’m extremely interested in,” Harvick said. “But I talked with some of my friends over the offseason just about where I was at with things, and everybody told me the same thing: If you’re not done with that competitive side of it, just keep chasing that side and I’ve got everything around me that I need to be competitive, so I’m just going to continue doing that.”

TEAM PREVIEW: 2020 outlook for Stewart-Haas Racing

After a career-long stint with Richard Childress Racing, Harvick signed with the Tony Stewart co-owned team prior to the 2014 season. Paired with crew chief Rodney Childers, he delivered his best-ever season — five wins, more than 2,000 laps led and, most importantly, the series championship — in the first year of the elimination-style playoff format.

Harvick and Childers have posted 26 wins together in the No. 4 Ford over six years, averaging more than four wins per year together. Harvick has qualified for the Championship 4 five times in six years and blossomed into one of the most feared — and respected — drivers in the garage.

With 49 career Cup Series wins, Harvick is set to join just 13 other drivers in NASCAR history with 50 career victories at the sport’s highest level. He ranks second among active drivers in all-time wins, behind only Kyle Busch.

RELATED: Every Harvick win

With Jimmie Johnson entering his last year of full-time racing, a Next Gen car slated to debut in 2021 and various other big-name drivers reportedly nearing the end of their contracts, the next two years of Silly Season is expected to produce plenty of turnover throughout the garage.

Count the SHR No. 4 Ford, though, as a ride that is taken.

Posted on February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing dominated Saturday’s sole practice for the 2020 Busch Clash at Daytona International Speedway, claiming the top four spots on the leaderboard.

Erik Jones held the No. 1 spot at 199.756 mph. Denny Hamlin was then runner-up at 199.734 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was the last in the top three at 199.703 mph, while reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was then fourth at 199.645 mph.

The four JGR Toyotas were the only cars to break 199 mph.

Six Fords then followed, starting with Ryan Blaney in fifth (198.667 mph). Brad Keselowski (198.544 mph), Joey Logano (198.509 mph), Kevin Harvick (198.439 mph), Clint Bowyer (198.199 mph) and Aric Almirola (197.624 mph) round out the top 10.

Chase Elliott had the best-performing Chevrolet in 11th at 197.347 mph.

Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who will retire from full-time racing at the end of the 2020 season, came in 17th at 191.910 mph.

Five factors determine Busch Clash eligibility: 2019 Busch Pole Award winners, former Clash winners who competed full time the previous season, former Daytona 500 winners who competed full time the previous season, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full time the previous season or drivers who qualified for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

The starting lineup will be determined via random drawing at 6:30 p.m. ET in the Fan Zone. The 75-lap exhibition is then Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (FS1/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 by Staff Report

Check out the order that cars will head out for single-car qualifying on Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway to set the front row for the Daytona 500. View the order here or by clicking the printer icon above.

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Team Release

PLYMOUTH, MI (February 7, 2020) — When Jordan Anderson began driving in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2014, the teams he raced for didn’t have the budget to lease a top-of-the-line engine. So they started each race with 25 to 30 horsepower less than the competitors who were going for a victory. Then, when NASCAR allowed the Ilmor NT1 engine into the series in 2018, Anderson knew his dream of owning a NASCAR truck team could be achieved.

“It was always a goal of mine – my dream – to start my own team,” said Anderson. “When NASCAR announced the new engine program [allowing the teams to purchase the NT1 engines], that was the biggest deciding factor for me to jump in feet-first as a team owner. For a small team like mine, it was huge step forward. It finally made sense financially and we could also be more competitive. It makes me excited for the future of the series and my team.”

The NT1, which is an updated version of the 396 cubic-inch engine that has appeared in the ARCA Series since 2015, was brought in by NASCAR to help curb expenses for the race teams. As fewer teams could afford expensive engine lease programs, starting fields had been dwindling and the disparity between the haves and have-nots continued to grow. While there are some upfront costs to the teams to mount the NT1, the team owns the engine outright, and sends it to Ilmor for rebuilds every 1,500 miles. This vastly reduced the overall budgets for teams.

“Before the Ilmor engine, we would always finish three to five laps down,” said Anderson, who is entering his third full season as owner/driver. “Now, we’re looking for top-fives. We even battled for the lead at Michigan [International Speedway] in 2019. It represents a huge step forward for us and one less worry for a small team. We’re racers, and now we can concentrate on other things to make our trucks better.”

Record-Setting Results

According to NASCAR statistics, the engine has made a big difference in the competition. There were a record numbers of lead changes during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The truck series also had a record number of race leaders and an all-time number of green-flag passes throughout the field.

“We had 10 different winners in 2019,” said Brad Moran, managing director of the NASCAR Truck Series. “Some of those wins were by new teams that are helping the series thrive. By making a reliable and powerful engine, the NT1 has allowed the series to get stronger and more competitive. It’s an absolute positive for the fans: they see more winners and much more balanced and competitive fields.”

Ilmor Engineering has been designing and building championship-winning engines in Formula One and IndyCar since its creation in 1983 by engineers Mario Illien and Paul Morgan. Going into the 2020 season, Ilmor-designed or built engines have powered 21 Indianapolis 500 wins and 334 overall victories in the IndyCar series.

Using their expertise from decades of racing across the globe, Ilmor’s NT1 engines produce equal power and have been very reliable. In 2018, teams had engine-related issues which resulted in a DNF (did not finish) in only one percent of the race starts. That number was 1.2 percent in 2019, while covering more than 156,000 miles on-track.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Engines

In the Las Vegas race in September of last year, four competitors suffered engine failures due to extreme heat. Ilmor reacted immediately by going to the shops of the two teams impacted, ThorSport and Young Motorsports, to diagnose what had happened. All issues were corrected at Ilmor’s expense. Young Motorsports and driver Spencer Boyd won the following race at Talladega Superspeedway with Ilmor power.

“It’s stressful when something like that happens,” described Ilmor’s Andrew Richards, Program Manager for the NT1. “But Ilmor has been built on strong relationships and we did everything we could do to make sure each team was taken care of on an individual basis. We stand by our product and always do our best to do the right thing.”

“Racing engines take a lot of abuse,” said NASCAR’s Moran. “But Ilmor resolved the issue swiftly and transparently. I think all of the teams felt good about things by the next race.”

The 23-race NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season kicks-off on Friday evening, February 14 at the Daytona International Speedway.

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Jonathan Merryman

The 1997 season was the final year of the Busch-branded Clash at Daytona International Speedway before the official beer of NASCAR jumped back onboard for the 2020 season. That ’97 season would pan out to be one of the best of NASCAR young gun Jeff Gordon’s Hall of Fame career.

The format for the Busch Clash that year was two 10-lap segments for a prize purse worth $370,000. The field consisted of 14 cars, all pole winners from the previous year, entered with one goal: lead Lap 20.

The race was dominated by Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Terry Labonte, but the end result saw Gordon come out on top. Speedweeks would turn out to be great for Gordon and the No. 24 team. One week after the Busch Clash victory, Gordon went on to win his first of three Daytona 500 trophies, and later that year, he brought home his second of four NASCAR Cup Series championships.

Relive Gordon’s hot start to 1997 Daytona Speedweeks in this NASCAR Full Race Replay of the ’97 Busch Clash.

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Hailie Deegan continues to inch toward her superspeedway debut in the ARCA Menards Series, but she’s kept her aspirations mostly in check. But even a measured, moderate approach has its limits.

“If you’re any type of driver, you want to win — end of story,” Deegan said just before opening practice for Saturday’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway. “That’s my goal. That’s everyone else’s goal, but I think we have to have realistic expectations, kind of see where we balance out in practice before we get ahead of ourselves, see where our single-run speed is, where we run in the draft.”

Deegan’s No. 4 DGR-Crosley Ford wound up on top of the speed chart in first practice for Saturday’s Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1), the first race of her rookie ARCA Menards Series campaign. While mentioning a potential win in one breath, the 18-year-old driver also expressed her hopes for a clean race and steering clear of the chaos that often follows the series on its biggest tracks.

RELATED: Daytona Speedweeks schedule

While she still has to wait out the outcome of Saturday afternoon qualifying (12:30 p.m. ET), her No. 4 Ford already has proven credentials. Todd Gilliland drove the same DGR-Crosley chassis — skinned last year as a Toyota — to second place in the Daytona event last season and a victory at sister track Talladega Superspeedway in 2019.

Besides the change in manufacturers, the car has a different look from the moment it was unveiled at the Ford Performance Center to signal her jump to the Dearborn automaker. An aggressive set of teeth around the grille were borrowed — with sponsor Monster Energy’s sign-off — from the rally car graphics formerly used by her father, X Games standout Brian Deegan.

“I was like, we need to spice this up a little bit,” she said, “and plus my spotter couldn’t tell which car was mine.”

Deegan’s competition come Saturday should be stout, including teammates Tanner Gray and Thad Moffitt in two more Fords from veteran David Gilliland’s organization.

Deegan is actually one of three women scheduled to start Saturday’s 200-miler. Dominique Van Wieringen, who topped preseason testing last month, will pilot the Rette Jones Racing No. 30 Ford; Natalie Decker, the ARCA Daytona pole winner in 2018, is set to drive Ken Schrader’s No. 52 Ford.

MORE: ARCA Menards Series news

Michael Self, last year’s ARCA Menards Series runner-up, will vie for his second Daytona victory in the last three years in a return to Venturini Motorsports. He’ll team with Drew Dollar and Ryan Repko, two drivers with four ARCA starts between them.

Riley Herbst — like Deegan, a former NASCAR Next class member — will bring a Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota to the fray. He’s finished 10th in the ARCA opener the last two seasons.

Posted on February 7, 2020February 11, 2020 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2020) – NASCAR^® and Penn Interactive, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: NASDAQ) (“Penn National” or the “Company”), announced today a new multi-year partnership that will make Penn National an authorized gaming operator of NASCAR in the United States. The partnership is Penn National’s first with a professional sports league and will center around a brand new, free-to-play, mobile game named NASCAR Finish Line, which offers users the chance to win a $50,000 jackpot every race.

In addition, NASCAR and Penn National have extended their long-standing race title sponsorship for the “Hollywood Casino 400” at Kansas Speedway through 2026, deepening the connection between the two entertainment companies. The partnership furthers Hollywood Casino’s position as the Official Casino Partner of Kansas Speedway and the race title sponsor of the NASCAR Cup Series^TM race that is scheduled for October 18, 2020.

MORE: Download the app now!

“We’re thrilled to have Penn National on board as our first authorized gaming operator to strengthen our effort to increase fan engagement with a platform perfect for in-play experience,” said Craig Neeb, Executive Vice President, Innovation, NASCAR. “Coupled with our landmark deal with Genius Sports in 2019, this partnership also positions NASCAR to take advantage of the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting across the country.”

“We are very excited to enter this long-term, strategic partnership with NASCAR,” said Jennifer Weissman, Chief Marketing Officer for Penn National. “We look forward to the opportunity to provide NASCAR fans multiple outlets for their fandom, including online on a new free-to-play mobile game and at our destination casinos and sportsbooks.”

The free-to-play NASCAR Finish Line mobile game is available ahead of the DAYTONA 500 across iOS and Android phones and tablets and can be downloaded on the App Store and Google Play store. Players can win the $50,000 jackpot by accurately predicting the race winner and the highest finishers across six different groupings of six drivers.

RELATED: More on $50K jackpot

“I’m excited that we have extended our title race sponsorship agreement with Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway and as a company, that we are expanding our relationship with Penn National,” said Kansas Speedway President Patrick Warren. “Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway has been able to entertain thousands of their customers, not only from the Kansas City area, but also from around the country during the ‘Hollywood Casino 400’ the last several years. I look forward to continuing to help them entertain and reward their patrons for the next few years.”

Penn National is the nation’s largest regional gaming operator with 41 facilities in 19 states, including the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway that overlooks Turn 2 of the Speedway, which opened in 2012. The partnership with NASCAR reflects the Company’s strategy to continue evolving its business, with a focus on becoming a best-in-class omni-channel provider of retail and online gaming and sports betting entertainment. As part of that strategy, Penn National recently announced an exclusive gaming partnership with Barstool Sports to utilize its brand for all of the Company’s online and retail sports betting and iCasino products, subject to the closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur within the First Quarter.

As an authorized gaming operator of NASCAR, Penn National will take an active role in promoting NASCAR across its properties and on its soon-to-launch sports betting app. Genius Sports, NASCAR’s exclusive provider of NASCAR data to licensed sportsbooks, rolled out several new in-race bet types in 2019 and is set to expand upon that with an additional eight in time for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Last year, NASCAR announced a series of partnerships to prepare the industry and its fans for the rapidly growing sports betting landscape in the U.S., including an integrity deal with Sportradar, an exclusive data distribution deal with Genius Sports, and content deals with Action Network and VSiN. Additionally, the sanctioning body granted all teams and tracks the ability to sell marketing sponsorships to sports betting companies and licensed sportsbooks.