Crew chief Waddell Wilson is being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s class of 2020 alongside the driver with whom he visited Victory Lane for the first time in his career: Buddy Baker. The two were victorious in the 1980 Daytona 500, the first of Wilson’s 22 wins atop the pit box.
Meanwhile, Baker’s first win came in 1967 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. By the time he joined forces with Wilson, Baker had amassed 16 wins at NASCAR’s highest level. He eventually totaled 19 overall.
1980 was the first full-time season for the Willson-Baker pairing, and they made quick work of the superspeedways that year. After their win in “The Great American Race,” they went to Talladega Superspeedway for the 10th race of the season and piloted their No. 28 Oldsmobile to another checkered flag.
Those two wins are the only victories shared by the duo, so take some time and enjoy the 1980 Daytona 500 that was mastered by two NASCAR Hall of Famers.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Listening to Waddell Wilson share cherished stories about his NASCAR career – his humble start and his most celebrated moments – it all sounds like pages from a NASCAR Hall of Fame novel or movie script. But this is real life from a bona fide legend. And he is now a NASCAR Hall of Famer.
Raised on a farm in rural Bakersville, North Carolina, Wilson started his career at the legendary Holman-Moody engine shop as a young man after working briefly as a diesel mechanic. He finished his career as one of the most acclaimed crew chief and mechanical minds in the sport – earning three Daytona 500 victories.
This week, Wilson, 83, will become only the fourth crew chief formalized into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He joins drivers Buddy Baker, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart and team owner Joe Gibbs in the esteemed 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame class.
“It never crossed my mind I would receive anything like this and I was okay with that,’’ Wilson said. “I never did things for the spotlight. But to get this, this is an unbelievable honor. It’s something I never thought about, but it is so big for my family and I. Just unreal.’’
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For Wilson and so many of the sport’s early crew chiefs, understanding race cars was a self-taught trade with a lot of hard knocks lessons. But word got around pretty quickly Wilson was an exceptional talent.
“I guess the main thing was I was a perfectionist and wanted everything as perfect as I could make it,’’ Wilson said. “I was raised on a farm and my grandfather was like that and he taught me to be like that.’
Wilson’s days at Holman-Moody were akin to racing’s version of a Harvard education back “in the day,” as they say.
Wilson’s first job as crew chief in NASCAR’s premier Cup Series was a one-race shot in 1979 with Harry Rainier’s team. Fittingly, Baker was the driver of that team’s No. 28 Chevrolet, winning the pole position in the high-profile Daytona International Speedway summer race that marked Wilson’s crew-chief debut.
The next year, Wilson got a second shot and was Baker’s crew chief at the 1980 Daytona 500. The two won that race from pole position and it remains, understandably, one of the greatest afternoons of Wilson’s life. His genuine love of the sport is evident when he retells stories like these. Asked if he had just one memory that stands out in his storied career and Wilson conceded, that would be impossible.
But winning his first race as crew chief – in the sport’s biggest race – seems certainly among Wilson’s most cherished times in the sport.
He remembers all the small details – like, for example, that there were only three people working in the team shop during the offseason leading into the Daytona 500. That means a lot of work for the small group, and Wilson’s first big project was getting the body of the car ready. He sent it off to a local body shop with some specific instructions on contouring it.
Waddell Wilson (L), Bobby Allison (C) and Harry Ranier (R) | Getty Images
“But, I picked it up from the shop and they sent me a bill for $10,000,’’ Wilson said. “I thought, now that will get me fired.
“And the thing about it was, they were not doing it right and I should have never paid the bill. You could have bought four or five race cars for that kind of money back then. So it really ruined my week when we went to Daytona.
“But, the car was as fast as I was hoping it would be.’’
The hood of that No. 28 was painted with bright Day-Glo colors, Wilson recalled.
“Because we’d be coming up so fast on drivers they wouldn’t see us coming,” he said.
Wilson remembers specifically, Baker coming into the pits during a caution in the waning laps. Wilson calmly leaned all the way in the window and told the veteran Baker to have patience – the team was going to do a quick fuel-only stop, but Baker, in position to score his first Daytona 500 victory, reminded his friend, “I’ve been patient for 19 years.’’
The team’s biggest competition that afternoon, Bobby Allison, pitted at the same time to get two tires and fuel. The fast stop put Baker back out front. Then a caution came out with two laps to go and Baker leading. The race finished under yellow, and Baker and Wilson got to hoist their first Daytona 500 trophy.
The pair’s efforts resulted in Baker leading a race-best 143 of the 200 laps, and that engine Wilson fine-tuned provided an average race speed of 177.602 mph – a Daytona 500 record to this day.
“We get in Victory Lane and (team owner) Harry Rainier was in there with me,” Wilson said, “and one of the NASCAR officials walked over and said, ‘You guys set a record and you’ve won $103,000.’
Buddy Baker (L), Harry Ranier (C) and Waddell Wilson (R) | Getty Images
“I said, ‘No Harry, you’ve won $93,000 because we paid for that race car.'”
Wilson later led another NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Cale Yarborough to back-to-back Daytona 500 wins in 1983 and 1984.
In all, Wilson earned 22 wins as a crew chief spread over 14 seasons. In 1981, he set a personal season-high mark leading Allison to five race victories.
During his career, he served as crew chief on cars driven by Hall of Famers such as Baker, Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip (1987), and Ricky Rudd (1990-91). His last victory as crew chief came at the legendary Darlington Raceway with Rudd in 1991.
Wilson served as crew chief for Indy 500 champion Al Unser Jr.’s 1993 Daytona 500 start and closed out his crew-chief career working with Ricky Craven for the first five races of 1995.
Wilson’s drivers combined to win 32 pole positions – the first in Wilson’s Cup Series debut as crew chief in 1979 and the last with Rudd at Sonoma Raceway in 1991.
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“Waddell could do anything,’’ said Waltrip, a three-time Cup Series champion. “He was an engine builder first. He could be the crew chief, he could be the team manager, he just understood the sport.
“He and (fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer) Robert Yates and a bunch of those guys learned under Holman-Moody, so they learned how to do everything. They were generalists, not really specialists. Although they had areas they could specialize in, there were other things they could do just as well.
“I think when you have a racing mentality and a high IQ like a lot of those guys do, you know what it takes to be successful with people and equipment and also how to call a race. There’s not that many people like that around anymore, the people that can do it all.’’
Editor’s note: Today’s Richard Childress Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the NASCAR Cup Series season, ranked in order of best finish in last year’s owner standings.
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING Manufacturer: Chevrolet Engine: ECR Engines Drivers: Austin Dillon (No. 3), Tyler Reddick (No. 8) Crew chiefs: Justin Alexander (No. 3), Randall Burnett (No. 8)
What’s new: Tyler Reddick makes the move up to the Cup ranks, taking over Daniel Hemric’s previous ride. Reddick spent last season with RCR in the Xfinity Series, where he won the team its 13th championship across all NASCAR ranks. Reddick is bringing his championship-winning team with him to the top series. Hemric, meanwhile, moves back to the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports. Dillon is paired with Alexander, who was previously paired with the driver of the No. 3 in 2017-18.
Team strength: A fresh face in Tyler Reddick may be exactly what Richard Childress Racing needs in the Cup Series. Both of the team’s drivers missed the NASCAR Playoffs and finished outside the top 20 in 2019. They were outside the top 10 from 2015-18, too. This puts a lot of pressure on the new rookie, but for the team as a whole, he could be the spark it needs.
The Action Network’s Best Bet: Tyler Reddick, the two-time defending Xfinity Series champion, is Kyle Larson 2.0. Reddick excels at tracks with high-tire wear that require the use of multiple grooves, especially the high line. Early-season races at Auto Club Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway come to mind as good spots to back Reddick. – PJ Walsh
Racing Insights’ Number to Know: Four. Austin Dillon (Gander Trucks in 2011, Xfinity Series in 2013) and Tyler Reddick (Xfinity Series in 2018 and 2019) combined have four NASCAR championships. Also, Richard Childress Racing may have failed to win a 2019 Cup Series race, but the team had four poles after having only five total in the prior 11 seasons (2008-18).
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AUSTIN DILLON: No. 3 Chevrolet
2019 stats: Six top 10s, three poles; 16.5 average start, 19.5 average finish 2020 championship odds: 300-1 Fantasy Live Five (five tracks to consider for Dillon in NASCAR Fantasy Live): Daytona, Auto Club, Darlington, Talladega, Michigan — RJ Kraft
Outlook: Last year was Austin Dillon’s first time in six full-time seasons without a single top-five finish. It also was the first time since 2016 he closed out a season without a trip to Victory Lane. With that said, Dillon did manage to snag a career-high three poles in 2019. Can he right the ship? It helps that Dillon has Justin Alexander back on top his pit box since it was Alexander who helped Dillon win the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 and then 2018 Daytona 500, his only victories in the Cup Series.
TYLER REDDICK: No. 8 Chevrolet
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2019 stats: (NCS) a top 10 in two starts; (NXS) champion with six wins, five poles, 24 top fives, 27 top 10s 2020 championship odds: 300-1 Fantasy Live Five (five tracks to consider for Reddick in NASCAR Fantasy Live): Miami, Kansas, Atlanta, Pocono, Talladega
Outlook: Tyler Reddick enters the Cup Series after back-to-back championships in the Xfinity Series. The 2020 Sunoco Rookie of the Year competition is stout, but Reddick’s name will certainly be in the mix throughout the season. He may even win his first race in the big leagues during his freshman year. Reddick’s sole top 10 in the Cup Series came at Kansas Speedway last year. It was one of his two starts in a top car for Richard Childress Racing. He also finished 27th due to a crash in the 2019 Daytona 500.
Sheryl Crow’s “A Change Would Do You Good” must be Team Penske’s unofficial theme song for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Earlier this month, Penske announced that the organization was shuffling its crew chiefs around to different drivers for 2020. Brad Keselowski will now have Jeremy Bullins atop the No. 2 pit box instead of Paul Wolfe, Ryan Blaney will now have Todd Gordon as the No. 12 team’s crew chief instead of Bullins and Joey Logano will have Wolfe calling the shots in place of Gordon. This comes after the organization totaled six wins and saw all three drivers finish in the top eight of the standings.
“Last year was a good year for us, but it wasn’t great,” Keselowski said on Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “Penske has made a number of changes to all the teams because good isn’t good enough I think I’ve heard my boss say. We want to win the championship. We didn’t have a car in the final four and that’s unacceptable to us.”
The shakeup broke up several long-time pairings: Logano had been with Gordon for seven seasons, Keselowski had been with Wolfe for 10 seasons (nine in Cup, one in Xfinity) and Blaney and Bullins had been linked in some capacity for eight seasons — including all of Blaney’s Cup career thus far.
Keselowski won the 2012 championship with Wolfe, while Logano won the 2018 championship with Gordon. Despite the changes, the teams themselves stayed together meaning that the engineers and pit crews that worked with a particular crew chief are moving over with that particular pit boss.
Keselowski is the lone driver that has some extensive experience with his new crew chief from racing in the Xfinity Series. The Keselowski-Bullins duo combined for 14 wins in that series and the 2012 champion compared working with Bullins in Xfinity and now in Cup as “the difference between dating and being married.”
“I feel pretty good about the opportunity to be successful with Jeremy,” Keselowski said. “Somebody pushed me on it and said ‘he’s the only crew chief in the Penske lineup that doesn’t have a Cup championship.’ And the way I look at it quite simply is that means it’s his turn. Hopefully, it’s our turn together.”
Adding additional intrigue to the changes is the fact that Blaney and Keselowski are both heading into contract years.
“At the end of the day, what’s in my best interest is to go out and kick some ass on the race track,” Keselowski said. “If you win races and kick some ass on the race track, the rest of that stuff is easy peasy.”
Blaney closed out 2019 strong en route to his best finish in the season standings – seventh – of his career to date. He noted that while it’s “nice to mix things up every now and then” Penske has work to do to catch Joe Gibbs Racing – which won 19 races in 2019.
“I think we need to get our cars better as a whole group,” Blaney said. “JGR was obviously kicking everyone’s butt especially towards the end of the year — second half of the year — they were pretty stout. I think we’ve got to improve on that to catch up and I thought we found some stuff at the end of the year that can carry over.”
Logano, who is set to make his 400th NASCAR Cup Series start at the 2020 Daytona 500 on Feb. 16 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX) believes the changes will bring fresh ideas into the fold.
“It’s huge,” Logano said. “I think for a lot of us we noticed that there can be a lot of gains from working with new people. New challenges for us, which I think is going to be healthy. It forces the teams to talk to each other even more than they already do because they are going to be talking that ‘my last driver had this and this driver has that.'”
The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion has already been at work getting to know his new crew with some team-building exercises that include a Habitat for Humanity build in Cabarrus County and an upcoming outing at a go-kart track.
“I believe that stuff really means a lot and goes a long way as far as being a team member,” Logano said. “I don’t think it’s about just showing up and driving the car and everyone living their own separate life. I don’t feel like that’s what being a team really is.”
Last November, on the eve of his team fielding an unprecedented three of the four cars eligible for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy, Joe Gibbs sat alongside his team’s former championship driver – now championship rival team owner – Tony Stewart and reminisced about their time together as they previewed the next day’s season finale.
Stewart won two of his three Cup titles driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and the two men smiled and patted one another on the back as they shared their fondest memories of working together with an audience of rapt media members. They laughed. They told tales. They spoke about the many triumphs and happy times and teased about overcoming the inevitable challenges of their large personalities.
And of course, each of these two great competitors wanted to beat the other.
The next day Gibbs raised his fifth NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy after Kyle Busch drove to his second Cup title with his JGR teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin finishing runner-up and fourth.
Next week all of NASCAR will be celebrating Gibbs again, this time as a new member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame during the Jan. 31 formal induction ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina. As it turns out, Gibbs will – perhaps fittingly – have the three-time Cup champ Stewart and Bobby Labonte, who won the 2000 Cup title driving for Gibbs, as Hall of Fame classmates. Waddell Wilson and the late Buddy Baker round out the Hall’s 2020 class of five.
“Well obviously, it’s a thrill for me and what you think about when something like this happens is, I get pushed out front, but I think about all the people that built the race team and are a part of it,” Gibbs said upon receiving his selection news last May – deferring as usual to those who work on his team.
“I think about the people and I am thankful.”
This year has been particularly challenging for Gibbs and his family. He lost his son J.D., 49, who served as the team president, last January after a lengthy illness. But Gibbs and the team have already been lifted by J.D. Gibbs’ legacy.
Busch’s championship is the organization’s fifth and it was a fitting conclusion to a season that featured a third Daytona 500 trophy to open the year and ultimately the most wins (19) earned by a single team in a single season in the Modern Era (1972-Present). Gibbs now has 341 national series wins – the most by any team in NASCAR history. And all four JGR Cup Series drivers – Busch, Truex, Hamlin and Erik Jones – hoisted trophies last year.
The 2019 season was certainly the exclamation point to a humble beginning in the sport. Dale Jarrett, a 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, was the first driver Gibbs hired in 1992 when the former Super Bowl-winning coach decided to launch a NASCAR career too. Jarrett earned the JGR team the first of its 176 Cup wins in the 1993 Daytona 500 – one of the most iconic moments in NASCAR.
It was a momentous afternoon providing the former Washington Redskins head coach the assurance that his racing venture was the right call.
“He might be the first person to come into the sport as a car owner and had a sponsor lined up before he had anything done,” Jarrett recalled. “Not many do that.
“That tells you just how good he is and how motivated he is once he gets to that point he wants to make something happen.
“You talk about humble beginnings. He sat [Jarrett’s crew chief] Jimmy Makar and I down and said, ‘Look, I’ve borrowed $800,000 and that’s all I’m borrowing. If we can’t make this thing get up and going … I’ll shut this down and chalk it up to a bad investment. But hopefully we make it happen.’
“And he has built this 500-plus employee business up from literally 18 people that first year and an $800,000 loan. It’s just incredible.”
Added Jarrett, “Once you get to know Joe Gibbs you realize he’s going to be successful at whatever he does but this was a venture he had no idea really how to go about things. So, he was relying on people – just as he did when he was coaching – he had good people around him to get the best players and put his plan in place.
“It was kind of the same thing with this when he got into racing.”
The approach – Gibbs’ philosophy and his great faith – soon transitioned from new venture to championship caliber standard-setter. After Jarrett, who competed for the team’s first three seasons (1992-94), Gibbs hired the 1991 Busch Grand National [now Xfinity Series] champion Bobby Labonte in 1995.
Donald Miralle | Allsport
Labonte spent 11 years with Gibbs winning the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series championship and their fellow 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame classmate Stewart contributed another two titles to the Gibbs organization in 2002 and 2005.
With Labonte and Stewart, Gibbs’ team during those seasons from the mid-1990s to late 2000s were perennial championship favorites – claiming race trophy after race trophy. It was high-octane performance in some of the sport’s most celebrated days. And it remains so today.
It was also good preparation – a test for the coach who was enjoying great results but managing a team of big personalities.
“I used to try and get to the hauler as fast as I could if he [Stewart] had a bad night because he was going to tear up the inside of the hauler,” Gibbs joked with Stewart in that championship pre-race news conference at Homestead.
The two exchanged stories, long looks, laughter and pats on the back while sharing tales of their pairing. And then Stewart got serious.
“I learned a lot from this guy in the years I was there,” Stewart said, turning in his seat to speak directly to Gibbs. “I’ve said it a million times, if I didn’t work for him, I wouldn’t be where I’m at now.
“I wouldn’t be doing the things that I’m doing now. I wouldn’t be in debt like I am now,” he said allowing a smile. “And I blame it all on you Joe.
“But it’s great to have worked with somebody like him because he has worked with so many great people. It’s not something you always see at the race track.
“A lot of it pertains to everyday life, too and when you get a chance to sit with him long enough and when you shut your mouth and listen, spend more time listening than talking you can learn a lot from this guy and I promise you, it helps.”
Certainly with Gibbs’ upcoming NASCAR Hall of Fame induction and his 1996 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction, this 79-year-old natural born leader from tiny Mocksville, North Carolina – where Daniel Boone’s father Squire once served as Justice of the Peace – has proven the kind of leader that great drive, abundant faith can produce.
Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images
With Jarrett already in the great Hall, Labonte and Stewart joining Gibbs, next week’s honor will likely feel as comfortable as it is so deserved.
“You couldn’t write a book and have this happen,” Labonte said of this Hall of Fame class. “I just sit back and reflect on the times with Joe and it’s awesome we’re all three going in at the same time.
“You just couldn’t ask for anything better than that.”
For all the record number of trophies, major races won and championship celebrations, Gibbs’ most endearing legacy to the sport may well be his philosophy and leadership. His heart and mind – his ability to motivate and to embrace the joy in a job well done.
“He helped me as a driver and I’m pretty sure that Bobby [Labonte], Tony [Stewart], Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin would tell you he just makes you a better person,” Jarrett said. “He gives you the tools to be a better driver but just conversations with him – if you listen, pay attention and just watch his reactions – then you become a better person.”
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. (Jan. 27, 2020) – Brendan Gaughan will put a cap on his 23-year NASCAR driving career by running a four-race NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2020, beginning with the 62nd Daytona 500 on Feb. 16 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
The 44-year-old racer from Las Vegas will compete for Beard Motorsports, driving the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro. Gaughan’s City Lights Shine, a whiskey moonshine produced by his 17A Stillery – the first legal distillery in the history of Las Vegas – will serve as an associate sponsor.
After Daytona, Gaughan will return to the seat April 24-26 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Aug. 27-29 at Daytona and Oct. 2-4 at Talladega for what will be his final NASCAR Cup Series start. Gaughan has made 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts with Beard Motorsports, all coming at Daytona and Talladega.
“I love racing, and competing with Beard Motorsports these last few years have made for some of my most enjoyable moments in NASCAR,” said Gaughan, who currently has 62 NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to his rookie season in 2004. “We do a lot with a little, so when we run up front and lead laps, it’s very satisfying because you know all the work that went into it.
“I wouldn’t want my last races as a NASCAR driver to be with any other team. Mark Beard Sr., and his entire family are passionate about racing, and NASCAR in particular. We’re all competitive and want to perform, but we’re going to have fun doing it. That’s how we all got started in the sport – because it was fun. And as I wrap up my career, I’m going to make sure it stays fun.”
Beard Motorsports has proven to be the little team that could, a modern-day David competing against the Goliaths of the NASCAR Cup Series. Owned by Mark Beard Sr., president of Beard Motorsports and various family businesses, Beard Motorsports has taken a strategic approach to its racing endeavors, forming a technical partnership with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and running only the superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega. With cars constructed by RCR and powered by ECR-built engines, Beard Motorsports has scored two top-10 finishes, the most recent being an eighth-place drive last April at Talladega where Gaughan led five laps.
“Brendan brings a lot of experience to our race team and that has allowed us to be competitive despite not having all the resources of the bigger teams that compete week in and week out,” Beard said. “We have a lot of respect for what those teams do, and it’s an honor to be able to park in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, unload our race car and see where we stack up. We take a lot of pride in the effort we put forth, and the effort our partners put into Beard Motorsports.
“Richard Childress and the staff at RCR provide us with top-notch equipment. We’ve worked with them since 2017 and it’s easy to understand why they’ve been in the sport for 50 years. We’re proud to continue our technical partnership with RCR and we look forward to making Brendan’s last races as a NASCAR driver memorable.”
Beard Motorsports is part passion project and part corporate initiative, with the race team serving to market Beard Oil Distributing and TTS Logistics. Beard Oil Distributing is a third-generation, family-owned company that services the nation’s pipeline construction industry. TTS Logistics is an international freight company delivering an assortment of goods via ground, air and sea.
A brand new paint scheme was revealed Monday for Chase Elliott’s 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will sport a UniFirst look as its primary sponsor for three races: Phoenix Raceway in March, the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and the NASCAR Playoffs event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September. UniFirst will be an associate sponsor for Elliott in all other 2020 races.
This partnership continues a multi-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports. It’ll be the first season Elliott adorns the livery, though. Teammate William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet represented UniFirst in three races in 2019, with a highlighted fifth-place finish at Kansas Speedway in the postseason.
UniFirst supplies work clothing and uniforms to Hendrick Motorsports, along with Hendrick Automotive Group.
Editor’s note: Today’s Leavine Family Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the NASCAR Cup Series season, ranked in order of best finish in last year’s owner standings.
LEAVINE FAMILY RACING Manufacturer: Toyota Engine: Toyota Racing Development, technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing Driver: Christopher Bell Crew chief: Jason Ratcliff
What’s new: Driver Matt DiBenedetto and crew chief Mike Wheeler are out as Christopher Bell moves up from the Xfinity Series, bringing along with him crew chief Jason Ratcliff. Wheeler will stay on as the team’s competition director, allowing what has been a successful driver-crew chief combination for the past two seasons in Xfinity (15 wins, 38 top fives and 41 top 10s in 66 starts) stay together.
Team strength: The technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing paid big dividends for the No. 95 team as it enjoyed its best season to date with DiBenedetto behind the wheel after switching to Toyota before the 2019 campaign. And now with a driver like Bell taking over who is widely considered one of the best up-and-coming talents, it’s reasonable to think the team can take the next step, which may include finally getting into Victory Lane and the NASCAR Playoffs.
The Action Network Best Bet: I truly don’t know what to expect from Christopher Bell heading into the season. He’s an uber-talented driver and should be getting plenty of assistance from Joe Gibbs Racing as well, but my fear is that the betting market will overvalue him early in the season. If this is the case, I’ll look to fade him in head-to-head matchups if the No. 95 underperforms oddsmaker expectations over the first few races. – PJ Walsh
CHRISTOPHER BELL: No. 95 Toyota 2019 Stats: Eight wins, 20 top fives, 21 top 10s, 9.1 average finish and 2,005 laps led in the Xfinity Series (finished third overall in final standings). 2020 Championship Odds: 80-1
Racing Insights Number to Know: DiBenedetto had more top fives (three) and laps led (152) in 36 races in the No. 95 in 2019 than the team had in its previous 184 starts combined; his seven top-10 finishes matched the team’s previous total. Bell becomes the fourth different full-time driver in the No. 95 in four straight seasons by joining the team in 2020. – Racing Insights
Fantasy Live Five: New Hampshire, Richmond, Kentucky, Dover, Las Vegas — RJ Kraft
Outlook: Bell did everything but win the championship during his two full-time seasons in Xfinity and he did win the title in 2017 in his second full-time season in the NASCAR Gander & RV Outdoors Truck Series. Bell has built a reputation as a winner and a fast learner, but now he makes what many consider the toughest of leaps to the NASCAR Cup Series. At the very least, expect Bell to contend for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award, but more could be achieved, including a chance to sneak into the playoffs either by points or via LFR’s first premier series win.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Wayne Taylor was noticeably emotional atop the pit box Sunday as Kamui Kobayashi guided his No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R across the start-finish line to win the overall Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway – the second straight for Wayne Taylor Racing and the fourth total for the team.
And the first without one of Taylor’s sons in the driver rotation.
Kobayashi, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon and Renger van der Zande filled out the Cadillac’s lineup with Ricky Taylor racing for class rival Acura Team Penske and Jordan Taylor making the move to the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class with Corvette Racing this season.
“I can’t explain it,” Wayne Taylor exclaimed when asked what the win meant to him.
The team became the first to repeat as overall Rolex 24 winners since Chip Ganassi Racing won three straight Rolex 24s between 2006 and 2008. Dixon was part of the winning lineup for that 2006 victory, which was his first in the twice-around-the-clock.
“When they come into this little team of ours, they are just so focused, and so passionate about winning,” Taylor said. “And unfortunately, we are really bad losers. So, when we win like this… I have got to talk about Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, van der Zande. Kobayashi – I mean, the guy is a superstar.”
Only van der Zande and Kobayashi returned from the race-winning effort the year before, which also included two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso and Jordan Taylor.
Kobayashi was as effusive as Taylor in his praise for the team.
“We worked together to build the car,” he said. “We focused in the race, we came back from the Roar, we found something good so we bring it back for race weekend. And once we rolled out, it was fast. This win is all about people helping each other, bringing the speed, bringing the car together. I think the team really felt like family.”
Following the midway point in the race, it appeared to be clear sailing for the reigning race winners as they led at the hour mark for the next six hours. But Briscoe’s final turn in the car proved to be a true test for the team.
“That was a roller coaster,” he said.
After taking over for van der Zande in the 18th hour, Briscoe faced mechanical issues that caused a loss in power steering as he navigated the bus stop. He was able to pull to the apron, recycle the electronics and avoid pitting to stay in the lead.
But while pitting from the lead under caution at just over 18 and a half hours into the race, Briscoe missed the red light on pit road upon exiting his pit box, landing the team a stop plus 60 seconds penalty.
That put the No. 10 a lap down when Loic Duval in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi overtook Briscoe as he was leaving pit road after serving the penalty. Briscoe was relegated fourth place overall with a little more than five hours remaining in the race.
Briscoe said the proximity of the team’s pit box to the red light on pit road contributed to the miscue.
“I actually left the pit box and we’re right down at the end there, so the red light is over to the left as soon as I pull out of my pit box,” he said after finishing his final stint. “And when I pulled out, I was actually checking my mirrors to see where the competition was. It’s my bad, I just didn’t see it.
“Thankfully, we had a couple yellows fall our way, we were able to get back on the lead lap and just go to work.”
It was Briscoe who regained the lead from Mustang Sampling, with Joao Barbosa behind the wheel, just minutes after the clock turned to 20 hours completed. And other than a brief trading of the lead during final pit stops, the team never looked back as it drove to a dominating win.
Although the pole-sitting team of Oliver Jarvis, Tristan Nunez and Olivier Pla in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest Mazda DPi held the lead after the opening two hours of the race, they didn’t lead at an hour mark after the eighth. And, ultimately, they couldn’t break the streak of Rolex 24 wins by the Cadillacs since the start of the DPi era (2017) as they finished second.
Barbosa, Duval and Sebastian Bourdais were the other main challengers in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac, finishing third in the race.
The race was a record-breaker. The previous lap record of 808 (set in 2018) was bettered by 25 laps for a total of 833 laps and 2,965.48 miles.
SAME TEAM, NEW LOOK FOR LMP2 WINNERS DRAGONSPEED USA
The saying “change is good” rang true for the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) winners of the Rolex 24 at Daytona as DragonSpeed USA won the season opener for the second consecutive season – but with a very different look from 2019.
IMSA
A year ago, DragonSpeed held the prestigious watches aloft with the No. 18 driven by Roberto Gonzalez, Pastor Maldonado, Sebastian Saavedra and Ryan Cullen. Two of the drivers from this year’s winning team – Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman – joined them on the podium but watched the celebration from a bit of a distance as they finished third in the race.
This time, it was their turn to shine.
The No. 81 ORECA LMP2 07 entry piloted by Hanley, Hedman, Colin Braun and Harrison Newey led the final 212 laps of the race to take the victory. It was the first IMSA victory of any kind for Hanley, Hedman and Newey and – alongside Chaz Mostert (GTLM) and Andrea Caldarelli (GTD) – helped IMSA reach the 1,000-driver mark regarding number of drivers who have recorded at least one win in the highest level of racing sanctioned by the governing body. Prior to the start of the Rolex 24, 997 different drivers had stood atop the podium in the top-tier series. The mark now stands at 1,002 drivers.
The battle was intense atop the LMP2 leaderboard for most of the race, and only two teams ever holding the lead – the race-winning DragonSpeed entry and the pole-sitting No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 piloted by Ben Keating, Simon Trummer, Nick Boulle and Gabriel Aubry.
BMW OUTLASTS PORSCHE ONSLAUGHT FOR BACK-TO-BACK GTLM CLASS WINS
It took every hour of the Rolex 24 at Daytona to determine who would be declared the victor in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) class.
IMSA
From the start, the strongest contenders appeared to be the two Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19 entries – the car’s official IMSA debut – versus the two BMW M8 GTEs for BMW Team RLL. However, Corvette Racing and Risi Competizione took turns in the top three as well.
In the final hours of the race, a blanket could have been thrown over the Porsches and the No. 24 BMW of Jesse Krohn, John Edwards, Augusto Farfus and Chaz Mostert. Edwards handed the car over to Krohn in the lead with two hours remaining, but Nick Tandy in the No. 911 Porsche was able to pass the BMW fairly quickly after the stop.
Krohn lost ground but valiantly fought back to get bumper to bumper with Tandy with less than an hour remaining. The Finn pulled his BMW on the outside of the Porsche down the front stretch heading into Turn 1 but was initially unable to complete the “over-under” pass.
However, if you don’t succeed, try and try again.
Just a few minutes later, Krohn pulled the same move on the front stretch and, with momentum, swung from the outside to the inside of Tandy’s Porsche heading towards the International Horseshoe. He stuck the BMW to complete the pass and didn’t relinquish the lead for the remaining 45 minutes.
NO. 48 PAUL MILLER LAMBORGHINI TEAM CELEBRATES FIRST ROLEX WIN
After one of the most intensely competitive battles in the Rolex 24 at Daytona field, the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini edged the No. 44 GRT Magnus Lamborghini by a mere 21 seconds to earn the GT Daytona (GTD) Class victory in the classic endurance twice-around-the-clock race on Daytona’s infield road course.
From green flag to checkered flag the two Lamborghinis fought each other for the storied race victory. After taking the lead for the last time during a pit stop only 50 minutes before the checkered flag flew, Italian Andrea Caldarelli held off the field and brought the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 to the checkered flag – best in class.
Americans Madison Snow, Corey Lewis and Bryan Sellers rounded out the driving lineup. It’s the first win for all four drivers and for Miller, the long-time team owner and former IMSA driver. The victory was the third consecutive GTD Rolex 24 At Daytona victory for the Italian manufacturer.
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch closed out the race ninth in the GTD class and 26th overall with the No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC-F GT3. His teammates were Jack Hawksworth, Michael De Quesada and Parker Chase. This was Busch’s first Rolex 24.
