Posted on by NASCAR Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After a less-than-stellar rollout of last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Camaros, Chevrolet teams are optimistic that changes to the car will result in improved performance in 2020. 

So far, the results seem to bear that out. Chevrolet driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing won the pole for the Daytona 500 (set to resume on Monday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports grabbed the other locked-in position on the outside of the front row.

RELATED: Stenhouse wins pole for Daytona 500 | Byron wins Duel 2 | See the full field for Sunday

In Thursday night’s second Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150-mile qualifying race, Hendrick’s William Byron visited Victory Lane for the first time in NASCAR’s top series, leading a 1-2-3 sweep by Chevrolets.

“I feel like, last year, Chevy came — they just missed the ball,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, who fields the No. 43 Camaro driven by Bubba Wallace. “This year, they corrected a lot of those mistakes. We hope that they corrected it enough that we’re going to be competitive wherever we go.

“Right now, I think Chevrolet’s probably got the best overall program … I think they’re totally, totally committed to racing. We want to be right along in there with somebody that’s as dedicated to racing as we are.”

Saturday’s Chevrolet owners press conference in the Daytona International Speedway media center covered a broad range of topics, with the following highlights:

— Rick Hendrick expressed his commitment to making seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson’s final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series as successful as possible. “Jimmie is fired up,” Hendrick said. “I think they’re going to have a really good year with the new car … I’ve never seen Jimmie so energized. We going to give him everything we’ve got, leave nothing on the table.”

DAYTONA 500: Five key story lines to know

— The new Chevrolet engine block and headers are ready to go. “It’s done,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s U.S. vice president for performance vehicles and motorsports. “It’s rotated when it’s ready. Typically, on the engine side, we do that when the pool of current engines is at the point where you can rotate them out.”

— Chip Ganassi was predictably close-mouthed about the prospects of re-signing driver Kyle Larson, who is in the final year of his current contract. Larson has expressed interest in listening to offers from other owners.

“I think it’s always important to keep good people around, whether it’s a driver, crew chief, engineer, whatever,” said Ganassi, who didn’t elaborate. But as that question was asked, Hendrick reached for his wallet and eyed Ganassi with a knowing look.

— Richard Childress is happy with his 2020 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup, with two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick having moved up to the premier series.

“We feel good about it,” Childress said. “We moved Tyler up. He earned the right to move up. Excited about having him. He and Austin (Dillon) are going to make good teammates, work together so far as everything I’ve seen.”

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It was a first for Noah Gragson. It was more of the same for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

When a wreck on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway ended Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300, Gragson was in the lead, and when the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line under caution, he claimed his long-awaited first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

RELATED: Official Xfinity Series race results

What was a novel experience for Gragson was old hat to Earnhardt, who won at the 2.5-mile track for the seventh time as a car owner — with his seventh different driver. Five of Earnhardt’s victories have come in the season opener at the Birthplace of Speed, including the last three in a row.

Gragson recovered from an early pit road speeding penalty to take control of the race. His crew chief, Dave Elenz, won for the fourth time at Daytona with his fourth different driver.

“We were wide open all day and managed to control the group behind us really well,” said Gragson, who climbed the frontstretch fence to celebrate his maiden win. “My spotter, Earl Barban, did a great job. He led me to this victory. Very, very thankful to everybody at JR Motorsports, (engine supplier) Hendrick Motorsports for the great power and building this new chassis. Without everybody like that, it just wouldn’t be possible.

“Just trying to stay focused, stay positive when we threw it away on that speeding penalty after that first stage. But I’m so, so proud to be on this team. We stayed till 9:30 the night before we came down here working on the hauler. The team chemistry is better than it’s ever been. And I’m ready to go and do this deal some more.”

A strong push in the top lane from runner-up Harrison Burton propelled Gragson into the lead after the final restart on Lap 198 of 200. On the final lap, Gragson had pulled away from his pursuers by roughly two car lengths before Brandon Brown knocked Michael Annett’s Chevrolet sideways and started the wreck that ended the race under yellow.

The caution froze the finishing order, with Timmy Hill, Brandon Jones and Chase Briscoe running third, fourth and fifth, respectively. A 12-car wreck on Lap 114 that eliminated the contending cars of Jeb Burton and Austin Cindric set up the three-lap dash to the finish.

Previous multi-car crashes had KO’d Justin Allgaier and first-time pole winner Myatt Snider. Jeb Burton (26 laps), Allgaier (23) and Snider (22) combined to lead 71 circuits, but none of the three was running at the finish of the race.

Harrison Burton thought he had an excellent shot at the victory before the wreck and caution on the final lap.

“Noah got out front about a car-and-a-half, and I thought ‘He might be in trouble here,’ but then the caution came out,” Burton said. “Just really proud of our guys. We had a tough day. I think that there were a couple times in the race that we were down and out, and our guys clawed it out. I was proud of that effort.”

Briscoe had grabbed the lead from Gragson before the wreck on Lap 114 but couldn’t hold it after the final restart.

“That one is going to sting for a while for sure,” Briscoe said. “I feel like we were making more moves than anybody and I thought I was going to have a really good shot there at the end. I don’t know what was up with the 19, he couldn’t give me any help on the bottom.

“It was just one of those where you wish you would have picked the top. We went on the bottom because at the time it felt like the right decision.”

Justin Haley, Brandon Brown, Ray Black Jr., Ryan Sieg and Alex Labbe completed the top 10.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is here and Fantasy Live is back in action! Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the field to green for the 62nd Daytona 500 (set to resume on Monday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Is the JTG Daugherty Racing newcomer worthy of a lineup spot? What about fellow front row starter Alex Bowman? RJ Kraft offers up his race-day lineup and bonus picks below.

RJ Kraft race-day lineup for Daytona 500:
1: Joey Logano
2: Matt DiBenedetto
3: Aric Almirola
4: Erik Jones
5: Austin Dillon
Garage: Ryan Newman
Just missing the cut for me: Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell and William Byron

To the rear: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole, Corey LaJoie, B.J. McLeod and Christopher Bell

RELATED: Lap averages, practice results and more | Fantasy preview coming into Daytona 

Analysis: The fantasy season is a marathon not a sprint and the 10-race use limit can loom large later in the year, so that as well as the unpredictability of superspeedway racing has me going with a set strategy. One anchor or star pick and then a host of mid-tier drivers that have solid superspeedway resumes. My only absolute here is I am completely avoiding Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. They are far too valuable at too many tracks in the regular season and I am not going to burn a use for them at Daytona. Hamlin was one play I did briefly consider but given that the rules package is by and large similar to the one that he, Busch and Truex dominated with at times for much of 2019. I want to save those usages.

Logano is my ace for this one and I realize the play here might cost me down the line. He’s been too strong in Speedweeks and is too good at superspeedway racing for me to pass on the use here. Almirola joins my lineup after an impressive Speedweeks and my desire to go heavier on the Fords in my lineup. DiBenedetto has a solid Daytona history (three top 10s and led the most laps in this race last year) as does his new team in the Wood Brothers. Jones is a bit of an under-the-radar play when it comes to superspeedways, but he won the Clash. I wanted to have a Toyota in my lineup and I was avoiding the aforementioned JGR trio. Dillon has had solid Daytona numbers his entire career and was extremely race-y in this package last year.

As I wrote earlier this week, Newman is the ideal garage pick. He’ll run in the back for much of the race, but with five laps to go, he’ll be in the top 10 and you be thanking his patience instead of cursing his lack of stage points. My main risk is a lack of Chevrolets outside of Dillon and that is something I will weigh on race-day morning one last time.

Bonus picks: Byron to win Stage 1, Hamlin to win Stage 2 with Logano and Ford for the race and manufacturer win.

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Even though he sees triple-digit speeds regularly as a full-time NASCAR driver, Michael McDowell says he often feels safer on the race track than on public roads. Joined by his team and some helpful partners, he’s trying to do something about the latter.

Front Row Motorsports announced last week that a collaborative “We Care” effort with ClassicCars.com and the National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF) will raise awareness for safe driving. The message came too close to home for McDowell earlier this week, when his wife, Jami, was involved in a crash Tuesday when another driver ran a red light at an intersection in Concord, North Carolina.

MORE: Daytona 500 starting lineup

She emerged sore but otherwise unhurt, but the “We Care” initiative became an even more personal campaign for McDowell.

“It’s just a great reminder of how important it is, not only to drive safe but to remember that there’s other families out there,” said McDowell, who started 26th in the Daytona 500 (set to resume on Monday at 4 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM). “It’s easy to be distracted, especially in the era that we live in with people calling, texting and so much happening and you’re so accessible. Luckily my kids weren’t with her and everybody was able to walk away, but it definitely hits home.”

In hopes of offsetting some of the dangers of distracting driving, FRM is taking pledges from motorists to focus on safer travel. McDowell will carry a decal on the side of his No. 34 Ford to amplify the campaign, which has made the message to “leave speeding to the professionals.”

“I’m way more comfortable out on the race track than I am on the highway,” McDowell says. “I think that racing in general, we have 40 of the best drivers that there are, so everybody on the race track is doing the same thing, paying attention. Driving a car at 200 mph requires 110 percent focus, so when you get out on the road and people are not paying attention, it’s very frustrating.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano led final practice in the NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 winner, wheeled his No. 22 Team Penske Ford around the 2.5-mile superspeedway at a top speed of 200.517 mph.

Logano was the fastest of eight Fords at the top of the speed chart with Kevin Harvick, in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, coming in second at 200.512 mph. Brad Keselowski was third in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford at 200.499 mph.

Clint Bowyer, in the No. 14 SHR Ford, and Cole Custer, in the No. 41 SHR Ford, rounded out to the top five. Other Fords among that top group included Aric Almirola, David Ragan and Michael McDowell.

RELATED: Full Daytona Speedweeks schedule | Full final practice results

William Byron was the top Chevrolet in ninth place at 198.754 mph. Brendan Gaughan rounded out the top 10 in the No. 62 Chevrolet at 198.548 mph.

The Toyota group opted to bypass final practice as all of those manufacturer’s cars stayed in the garage.

This was the final time for cars on track before the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 (set to resume Monday at 4 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Steve Luvender

If there’s one thing true about the users of social media, it’s that they’re always right, no matter the subject. Post an opinion about anything at all, and somebody will tell you what’s actually correct.

With this foundational characteristic of Internet users in mind, I once again set out to put this rule to the test: Can people on Twitter guess the Championship 4 — the four drivers who will compete for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series title and Bill France Cup — before the 2020 season even begins?

This is the third year I posed the question to the larger Twitter populace. In 2018, nobody guessed correctly. Last year, things went a little better; we had two correct predictions.

For the most part, there have been plenty of predictions that are reasonable-sounding — at least right now. The Kyle Busches, the Denny Hamlins, the Joey Loganos (or is it Joeys Logano?) — the usual suspects. Basically, the drivers who NASCAR.com’s fantasy experts would pick.

Plus, we’ve got some bold predictions, like Daytona 500 polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the Championship 4.

Or Ryan Newman soaring into the championship round.

Or picks that could be interpreted in different ways.

Or picks that I suppose could end up technically accurate, though no driver names were provided.

It’s even possible to fan so hard for your driver you think they alone will occupy the entirety of the Championship 4.

And, of course, the examples of the Internet doing Internet things and making a mockery of this VERY SERIOUS contest, for which there is no prize.

Excellent use of Make My Driver!

Certainly don’t disagree with this one.

If you want in — because if somebody else doesn’t know it all, you do — reply to the original tweet with your Championship 4 picks. Be forewarned, though: if you miss all four picks, I’ll most definitely shame you on NASCAR.com later.

We’ll unearth this time capsule in November when the Championship 4 is decided the week between Martinsville and Phoenix, and see which — if any — pixel prognosticators proved prescient and picked perfectly.

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 66 NASCAR Xfinity Series team of MBM Motorsports was assessed an L2-level penalty before Saturday morning’s qualifying session for manipulating bodywork on the nose of the car.

The L2 penalty means crew chief Sebastian Laforge has been suspended for six races, and the team has been fined $50,000. The suspension is effective immediately; Laforge was ejected from the garage.

RELATED: Daytona Speedweeks schedule

The team will be docked 75 points in the Xfinity team owner standings as well. A penalty for Timmy Hill in the driver standings was not assessed as Hill is eligible for championship points in the Gander Trucks Series.

Hill will be allowed to qualify the No. 66 for Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300 (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hill placed 16th in first practice on Friday and did not run a lap in final practice.

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jordan Anderson gambled big for the opportunity to open the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season strong, investing in a new superspeedway truck for Friday night’s tilt at Daytona International Speedway. It’s nothing new for the scrappy South Carolinian who has driven his own hauler to races, maxed his bank accounts to compete and has cultivated support from sponsors and fans drawn to his winsome personality.

Anderson not only survived but flourished, just missing his first win by a matter of inches but salvaging a career-best second place in a fender-scraping clash with race winner Grant Enfinger. Not surprisingly, the jovial 28-year-old with the underdog ethos was beaming after the NextEra Energy 250, but with a twinge of bittersweet feeling after having a brush with Victory Lane slip away.

RELATED: Daytona Gander Truck Series results

“I’m excited. I’m excited, man,” Anderson said on pit road post-race. “I think I’m going to be disappointed when I’m laying in my bed at 2 a.m. tonight, watching the replay on Twitter and I’ll be like, Oh, it was so close! But I can’t be too disappointed. It’s Daytona and second place. Every kid dreams of coming here and competing at this level. The Truck Series has kind of been home for me the last couple of years and to get this finish is a huge blessing.”

Anderson threaded through a race of carnage, lining up for an overtime finish in sixth place with Enfinger out front. He was still fifth by the time the front-runners flashed under the white flag, then advanced to second when Ross Chastain bobbled after contact in Turn 1.

Anderson kept Enfinger in sight until he veered to the outside exiting Turn 4. As he raced alongside, Enfinger blocked his progress with a door-to-door slam to edge him out at the line. “I was able to chase him up, slow him down just enough and then get off of him after I had stalled his momentum,” Enfinger said. “I don’t know if I could do it again if we tried.”

For Anderson to come up just .010 seconds short, it was the next step in a life’s journey that’s he’s savored through the highs and lows.

“It means a lot, I’ll say that,” Anderson said. “This finish tonight hopefully is for every underdog in America, every kid that stays up late and works on his dirt Late Model or his Legends Car and dreams of coming here to Daytona. Hopefully this finish tonight encourages them to never give up on their dreams that you can come here and compete in NASCAR without having million-dollar sponsors, you can come here and fight and claw and dig and tell everybody that says you can’t do it, to prove them wrong and be here. This is for all those kids that are out there fighting for it. …

“I always talk about embracing the journey and I think embracing the journey is just believing that everything in life happens for a reason — good, bad, indifferent. Everything happens and we just try to learn from it, be better people and … this is cool. I’m usually a pretty happy guy, but this is huge.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Niece Motorsport’s Natalie Decker was grinning widely before she even arrived at the many microphones and reporters ready to interview the Wisconsin driver following her historic run in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season-opener Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

Decker, 22, of Eagle River, Wis., finished fifth in Friday’s NextEra Energy 250 — the highest ever finish for a female driver in series history; a fact that even she wasn’t aware of when she first approached the large crowd waiting to get her reaction.

It was Decker’s first top five, first top 10 and the best showing for her since a 13th-place finish at Las Vegas in March 2019 — her rookie season. And it was the polar opposite Daytona experience for Decker, who crashed on the opening lap of last year’s race.

RELATED: Daytona Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series results

“It was so amazing to be able to come here after last year when we were on fire on the first lap and come here and get a top five. I just think it’s incredible and I’m just so proud of my team and myself,” Decker said on pit road.

She was unaware of the historical significance.

“I didn’t even know that,” Decker said when informed that this was the best finish in series history for a female driver. “Wow. That is so cool. That makes me feel very proud. Thank you for telling me that.”

The finish was certainly encouraging but it was not easy, nor a forgone conclusion.

Decker started her No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado 30th in the 32-truck field and there were certainly moments of great pause. Literally. A dramatic accident on the front-stretch during the opening stage of racing brought out a brief red flag period to clean up the track. Two multi-truck accidents in the closing laps eliminated or damaged many of the pre-race favorites and forced a green-white-checkered flag situation.

Last year’s regular-season champion, Grant Enfinger, scored his first victory since 2018 in a photo finish alongside Jordan Anderson. Decker said she was eager to get into that mix and pushed through in the overtime period, holding her historic place under the checkered flag.

“From the beginning all the way up to the last two laps, my team just kept telling me to ride in the back, ride in the back and I was just so bored back there,” Decker said. “I was like, ‘Come on, I want to get up there and race and get a good finish.’

“And they were so right. Just missing all the wrecks in the last two laps and getting up there and finishing it out and getting ourselves a top five.

“It definitely was a rough year (last year) so to be able to come here to Daytona and get this finish makes me proud and makes me excited to go to the next one in Las Vegas.

“I know I was capable of doing this,” Decker added with a smile. “But it’s all about you needing to prove to other people and gain their respect and I hope I did that tonight.”

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Grant Enfinger held off charging Jordan Anderson on the final lap of overtime Friday night at Daytona International Speedway to win the NextEra Energy 250 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race by .010 seconds.

Enfinger got his shot at the win after a massive wreck on Lap 98 of a scheduled 100 took out his ThorSport Racing teammate, Ben Rhodes, and a baker’s dozen of other contenders. Enfinger had the lead for a restart on Lap 105, but on the final circuit, Anderson made a move to the outside and briefly took the top spot as the drivers sped into the tri-oval.

But Enfinger turned the wheel of his No. 98 Ford to the right, door-slamming Anderson’s No. 3 Chevrolet and breaking his momentum just enough to get to the finish line with two feet to spare. Codie Rohrbaugh charged into third place, .070 seconds back, followed by rookie Derek Kraus and Natalie Decker, whose fifth-place finish was the highest ever by a female driver in the Truck Series.

MORE: Daytona Truck Series results

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Enfinger, who broke a 28-race winless streak in the series. “It’s the 100th win for Ford in the series–unbelievable for them. God’s blessed us with a great opportunity to come out here and pull it off tonight.

“The biggest thing is we had a really good F-150 to do it with. I made a mistake there with about 20 to go and got hung up there in the sucker hole. I pulled up in front of Ben (Rhodes) too late, and it was either going to wreck me or put me in the middle, and that’s what happened.

“It got to be about four or five laps to go, and it was time to go. We were able to get up in the third groove and make some stuff happen and get the lead during that last big wreck.”

Enfinger, who led a race-high 41 laps, won both the second stage and the race, but it was Anderson who was perhaps most elated by his runner-up finish—the first top five of his 102-race Gander Trucks career. Anderson could barely contain his excitement as he watched the replay on pit road.

“Grant, Grant, what are you doing door-slamming me man?” Anderson said with a laugh as the video rolled. “I came here in 2015 and emptied my bank account to try to come down here and run. To be in a position to even go for a win at Daytona, man, I’m a kid that just wanted to go racing from South Carolina …

“I thought we set him up good. We tried to follow Ross (Chastain) there and push him. I know he got loose, and I got up on Grant’s bumper there in (Turn) 4 and got a good run. It was like NASCAR Thunder 2003 all over again. I’m like, ‘God, I can do this!’ And I pushed him out of the way, and I thought we had it.”

With five laps left in the first stage, contact from Todd Gilliland’s Ford sent the Chevrolet of Tate Fogleman sliding out of control as the field entered Turn 1. Fogleman’s Silverado slammed into the Chevrolet of Austin Wayne Self, collecting the No. 45 of Ty Majeski in the process.

Majeski’s Chevrolet tipped over, with help from Fogleman, and the truck slid on its roof through Turn 1, the contact between the sheet metal and asphalt sending a shower of sparks along its path. NASCAR red-flagged the race while the emergency crew righted the truck, enabling Majeski to climb out.

“It’s just unfortunate,” Majeski said after exiting the infield care center. “It’s just a product of this (superspeedway) racing… It wasn’t a good feeling (hanging upside-down). I’m not hurt, thankfully—just my pride. It’s all good. We’ll live to race another day and go get ‘em next weekend.”

The fiery action-filled race featured three wrecks of nine trucks or more, the last of which set up the overtime finish. Austin Hill, Johnny Sauter, Chastain, Sheldon Creed and Jason White completed the top 10.