Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joey Logano confronted Michael McDowell on pit road after Sunday’s Daytona 500 after manufacturer solidarity went out the window and both drivers’ bids for victory faded in an overtime finish.

Logano finished fourth, just one spot ahead of McDowell, as Denny Hamlin led a top-three sweep of teammates to his second 500 victory. An agitated Logano quickly dismounted from his Team Penske No. 22, then made a beeline to McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports No. 34 for an animated discussion.

Logano, who established his car’s strength early by winning a Thursday qualifying race, said he was upset over their inability to team up in an aerodynamic draft with a show of automaker unity for Ford. Instead of mounting a charge to push Logano’s Team Penske No. 22 with half a lap to go, McDowell changed lanes and tried to gain ground behind Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota.

RELATED: Full Daytona 500 results

The Mustang challenge never materialized and the Speedweeks that was so dominated by Ford turned into a 1-2-3 sweep in the main event for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.

“I was just surprised by the situation and what happened,” said Logano, who was vying for his second Daytona 500 to match the win he scored in 2015. “I thought that was going to be the plan, I would’ve thought. It’s part of it. He’s racing, too, I guess. We can’t win these things alone.”

McDowell bristled at that suggestion, saying the final lap was every driver for himself.

Said McDowell: “I just told him that my team doesn’t pay me to push Joey Logano to a win. That’s not what I get paid to do. At 200 miles an hour I made a split-second decision on what was the fastest car and who had the best shot of winning the race and that’s where I went.”

McDowell survived the late-race chaos and emerged as a contender after an eventful final stretch, which trickled over the scheduled distance into overtime. Before the final restart, McDowell was chopped by Clint Bowyer’s No. 14, triggering a nine-car pileup the sent the race to a second OT.

“The Bowyer wreck’s all his fault,” said McDowell. “He flat-out tried to shift me out and then cleared himself, and he wasn’t clear. That’s what’s so frustrating. You’ve got guys that are like, ‘Hey, why didn’t you go with me?’ Well, because every time I’m in the front, you shook me out, and so what makes you think I’m going to push you to a win when you leave me high and dry the whole entire day?”

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joe Gibbs Racing not only won the 61st annual Daytona 500 with driver Denny Hamlin, but teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones also made it a 1-2-3 sweep of the top positions by finishing right behind Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota. It was the first time a team swept the top three positions in the Daytona 500 since Hendrick Motorsports accomplished the feat in 1997 with Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven.

They got there after a frenzied finish that saw multiple wrecks, two red flags and Hamlin and Busch swapping the lead in between a pair of late-race restarts.

RELATED: Hamlin wins Daytona 500 | Hamlin’s rise in NASCAR

The two Joe Gibbs Racing veterans communicated through their own personal teams via scanner to orchestrate the final laps. The result of that left Hamlin exuberant in Victory Lane and Busch looking devastated on pit road.

“It’s first and foremost to try to make sure that we at least get a JGR car to Victory Lane,” Busch said of the final few laps. “(The 11 car) didn’t want to do it the previous restart, but then since he got the lead, he wanted to do it again (at the end). 

“You know, it is what it is. At least we got a JGR car in Victory Lane. That’s the big picture. That’s what matters, and we move on.”

Hamlin explained that the No. 18 team asked his group to work together on the final restart, and the way the field was stacked, the Virginia native thought it made sense in that instance.

“Our original deal was inside 10 to go, after that you kind of race,” Hamlin said. “We kept going. I think we had a restart with seven or eight to go, we worked together, and … I think they asked and we said, ‘Let’s just race it out.’ So that put us in a good position.

“(For the last restart), I think they came to my spotter and said, ‘Hey, do you want to drop down in front of us, we’re open to do that,’ and when I saw him and the 22 (of Joey Logano) lined up, I was like, ‘Well, absolutely, sure. Definitely we’ll do that.’ I thought that was the best move for us, but it still gave him a great opportunity to win because he got a great run on us on the backstretch and we had to block it.”

For Hamlin, it was his second time winning the Daytona 500 — the first was in 2016 in a razor-close finish against Martin Truex Jr. — and it ended a winless drought that stretched back to the 2017 Southern 500. The Daytona 500 victory also came on the same day that Hamlin’s crew held up a sign in tribute to another No. 11, J.D. Gibbs, the beloved co-chairman of JGR who passed away a little more than a month ago.

RELATED: JGR pit crews, team honor J.D. Gibbs

Owner Joe Gibbs was overcome with emotion during his post-race interview with FOX as he tried to put in to words what the victory and 1-2-3 finish meant to him and the team.

“What happened right here, J.D.’s name is on that car,” Joe Gibbs said. “That’s his No. 11 with Denny, he found Denny. I’m just saying what happened here was emotional for all of us, the family. Denny racing like he did right there is unbelievable.”

Jones was almost the forgotten man of the podium sweep, having gotten swept up in an on-track incident previously. But Jones kept his car (mostly) clean when the “Big One” – and then others – erupted around him, then steered through the carnage late when Joey Logano and Michael McDowell didn’t quite get their Fords hooked up late.

“I couldn’t really tell how bad (the damage) was at the time, but it’s just such a ‑‑ it’s such a race here of just perseverance,” Jones said. “I mean, you get down to those last 20 laps, I knew there was probably going to be another wreck. 

“But getting down to the end, at one point I was like, well, there’s only 14 cars left, I might as well just go race now. You’ve just got to stick with it. I mean, this is the one track where you can have quite a bit of damage and still get up there and contend, and that’s what kept me going, knowing we were still going to be in it and be able to finish.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Five weeks after the death of Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs, the driver he discovered won the Daytona 500 for the second time.

In a two-lap dash in overtime Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, Denny Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch to win the 61st running of the Great American Race, an event that featured massive fireworks with five late cautions that left 14 cars on the lead lap at the finish.

RELATED: Full Daytona 500 results | SHOP: Race winner gear

The victory was Hamlin’s 32nd in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and it broke a 47-race drought for the 38-year-old from Chesterfield, Va., who had stickers on his No. 11 Toyota Camry commemorating J.D. Gibbs and Glen Wood, patriarch of the Wood Brothers Racing team who passed away on Jan. 18.

“It was just one of those days where I felt like it was meant to be,” said Hamlin, who was paired with new crew chief Chris Gabehart. “Hats off to Kyle as well. I know he was eagerly wanting his first victory in the Daytona 500, but today we just weren’t going to be denied.

“The whole (Gibbs) family — they did so much for me over the course of my career. This one is for J.D. We’re desperately going to miss him the rest of our lives. His legacy still lives on through Joe Gibbs Racing and I’m proud to do this for them.”

Understandably, team owner Joe Gibbs was overcome with emotion when talking about his late son after the race.

“J.D.’s name is on that car,” Gibbs said. “That’s his number. J.D. found him (Hamlin). What happened here is really unreal. I just thank the Lord for letting us be a part of this.”

Busch chose the bottom lane for a restart on Lap 199 of 200, but Hamlin surged ahead on the backstretch moments before contact between the Fords of Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell triggered a nine-car wreck that forced overtime. NASCAR stopped the race for the second time for the clean-up, and Hamlin chose the top lane for the final restart on Lap 206.

By design, Hamlin pulled down in front of Busch as the cars headed for Turn 1 and held the lead the rest of the way, as Busch, Joey Logano, McDowell and Erik Jones fought for position behind him. Hamlin crossed the stripe .138 seconds ahead of Busch, who was frustrated in his 14th unsuccessful attempt to win the 500.

“When he gave me the top (on the Lap 199 restart),” Hamlin said, “I was literally doing a little cheer in my mind, thinking my playbook said, ‘Always choose the top no matter who’s behind you — it doesn’t matter.’ I’ve been on the front row for so many restarts and lost ‘em because I’ve been on the bottom.

“Obviously, there were circumstances that happened behind us that allowed us to be in front at the caution.”

Busch didn’t regret his decision to let Hamlin drop down in front of him after the overtime restart.

“Strength in numbers,” Busch explained. “We were trying to protect at least one of our cars being able to get to Victory Lane, and I felt like we were able to do that with being able to do what we did on that last restart.

“But, overall, it’s certainly bittersweet. It’s awesome to see a JGR car in Victory Lane with Joe and J.D. and everything that’s gone on this offseason with all that. But it’s very, very bittersweet for all those that support us and all my team guys that work so hard to try to get to Victory Lane and get our Daytona 500 victory.

“He’s got two. I’ve got none. We just have to move on and go to the next time.”

What had been a relative calm race turned chaotic in the late going. After a restart with 10 laps left, all hell broke loose as the field approached Turn 3. Contact from Paul Menard’s No. 21 Ford sent Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 95 Toyota spinning into the outside wall and back across traffic. By the time cars finished wrecking, 21 cars had sustained damage ranging from minor to catastrophic.

DiBenedetto was eliminated from his maiden run in the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota Camry, leaving Menard to do a mea culpa when he exited the infield care center.

“I’m not really sure what happened,” Menard said. “I hooked the 95. I was trying to get to his outside, and he was kind of in the middle and he went to the outside and was going back and forth. The 12 (Ryan Blaney) had a big run, so I jumped up in front of him and hooked the 95.

“I’ll take the blame for that one, I guess. We had really fast Fords. I sped on pit road and got us behind. We had to play catch-up. We had a shot there at the end though. It was time to go. It’s frustrating that we have to put ourselves in that position to race this way. I tried backing off but wrecked a lot of cars.”

Two more cautions for multicar wrecks followed before Hamlin could make his decisive two-lap run to the finish and claim the Harley J. Earl trophy for the second time.

Posted on by Staff Report

The ‘Big One’ hit late in Sunday’s 61st running of the Daytona 500, collecting multiple cars in the melee with 10 laps to go.

The incident occurred on the backstretch when Paul Menard, driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, clipped the back of the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota, driven by Matt DiBenedetto. That set off a massive wreck with cars spinning in all directions.

Both drivers were running in the top five when the incident took place, spoiling a potentially big day for the upstart teams.

“I am not really sure what happened,” Menard, who finished 29th, said. “I hooked the 95. I was trying to get to his outside and he was kind of in the middle and he went to the outside and was going back and forth. The 12 had a big run so I jumped up in front of him and hooked the 95.”

DiBenedetto led 49 laps and had a competitive car and was naturally disappointed with the resulting wreck, which led to a 28th-place finish for him. However, he tried to stay positive in his post-race interview:

Stage 2 winner Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and Jimmie Johnson were among the drivers involved in the wreck.

Other drivers in the wreck were: Matt Tifft, David Ragan, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Daniel Hemric, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Ty Dillon, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson.

Here are looks from the in-car cameras for some of those drivers as they tried to navigate through the wreckage:

Posted on by Staff Report

NEW SMYRNA, Fla. — Add another accomplishment to the long list of accolades for Bubba Pollard.

The Senora, Georgia, driver finished second in the 100-lap Super Late Model Orange Blossom 100 at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday night, capturing the championship in dominating fashion after winning three races during the 53rd annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.

Pollard wasn’t planning to head to New Smyrna for the World Series until he received a phone call from track regular David Rogers, who couldn’t run the week of racing due to a minor surgical procedure. In the end, the decision to step behind the wheel was well worth it, as he won the title by 42 points over track regular Brad May.

“Just thankful for the opportunity, it’s been a great week,” Pollard said. “We could have pulled it off tonight, it’s hard to start that far back and not have more than one caution. I can’t thank these guys enough.”

As Pollard mentions, Saturday’s finale for the Super Late Models rolled along with minimal issue. A caution at the halfway point slowed the field, but once the race went back green, it was clear sailing for the competition.

Derek Griffith picked up the checkered flag in the finale of the week. Griffith was challenging Carson Kvapil in the final laps of the opening night main event when the two made contact and Griffith was black flagged. After an up and down week, Griffith was able to end the prestigious event in celebration.

“We had a fast car all week,” Griffith said. “We got tangled up the first night, but my guys just did an awesome job. They made it easy for me tonight.”

Jett Noland, who took the lead on lap 10, led the race until lap 77 when Griffith rolled on by. As Griffith pulled away in the final laps, Pollard made his way to the back bumper of Noland, but it took him multiple laps to get around, ultimately giving Griffith the win.

Noland finished third, followed by teammate Tate Fogelman and Logan Seavey.

Wayne Parker won the final Florida Modified feature of the week, but it was second-place finisher Travis Eddy who clinched the championship over Jerry Symons. Eddy tied with Symons at the top of the standings with 292 points each, but Eddy won the title after a tiebreaker was broken. Both drivers ended the World Series with one victory, but Eddy finished second three times, while Symons did only once.

All eight nights of NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing aired via a live stream on FansChoice.TV. Fans can also re-live all of the action from the week on NASCAR.com.

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RESULTS: World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Night 9:

Super Late Models: 1. Derek Griffith; 2. Bubba Pollard; 3. Jett Noland; 4. Tate Fogelman; 5. Logan Seavey; 6. Travis Brayden; 7. Carson Kvapil; 8. Jared Irvan; 9. Ryan Moore; 10. Derek Kraus; 11. Colin Garrett; 12. Alex Labbe; 13. Sam Mayer; 14. Gabe Sommers; 15. Nicholas Naugle; 16. Brad May; 17. Brad Kossaw; 18. Toby Grynewicz; 19. Clay Greenfield; 20. Anthony Sergi; 21. Spencer Davis; 22. Christian Rose

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports Go | How to find NBCSN

Monday, Feb. 18
Midnight, Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
3 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO
9 p.m., Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
3 p.m., MRN Outloud

Tuesday, Feb. 19
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
3 a.m., Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live with Mike Bagley

Wednesday, Feb. 20
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
3 p.m., MRN Crew Call

Thursday, Feb. 21
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports GO
6 p.m., NASCAR The Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR The Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Friday, Feb. 22
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN App)
4 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports GO
5 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN App)

Saturday, Feb. 23
6:30 a.m., The Adventures of Janet Guthrie (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
7 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series practice (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
8 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN App) CANCELED
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports GO CANCELED
Noon, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN5)
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Atlanta, FS1/FOX Sports GO
2 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta, FS1/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN5)
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Atlanta 200, FS1/FOX Sports GO
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Post-Race Show, FS1/FOX Sports GO

On MRN:
4 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Atlanta 200

Sunday, Feb. 24
6 a.m., The Adventures of Janet Guthrie (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
6:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
11:30 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports GO
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, FS1/FOX Sports GO
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, FOX/FOX Sports GO
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta, FOX/FOX Sports GO (Canada: TSN5)

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch won Stage 1 in the 61st annual Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Busch, who started the race in the 31st position, took the lead on Lap 35 and held onto the top spot as the green-white-checkered flag waved on Lap 60.

Busch, who has a hole in his trophy case reserved for the Harley J. Earl Trophy, was part of a pack of Toyotas and Chevrolets that took fresh tires on a pit stop after the first caution of the stage (for debris on Lap 21). That group assembled on the low line and gave each other a good push to overcome a group of Fords that had the early advantage.

RELATED: Stage 1 results | Fantasy

Alex Bowman, who started on the front row, came in second behind Busch after falling back in the field early on in the stage. A pack of Fords –Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five.

There were two cautions during the first stage, including one for a wreck involving Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace and Jamie McMurray.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Joey Logano Team Penske 8
4 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 6
6 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 4
8 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 1

STAGE 2

Ryan Blaney won Stage 2 of the Daytona 500 on Sunday to reassert Ford’s spot at the top of the leaderboard after Toyota driver Kyle Busch won Stage 1. Blaney took the lead following a late caution and reached the line just ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola was third, followed by Blaney’s Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski in fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Matt DiBenedetto, the new driver for the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota, finished sixth in Stage 2 and led the most laps through the first two stages with 49.

There was one caution during the stage for an incident in Turn 1 involving Casey Mears and Parker Kligerman on Lap 106.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 10
2 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 7
5 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing 6
6 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing 5
7 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 2
10 Joey Logano Team Penske 1
Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet for driver Kyle Larson will drop to the rear of the field for Sunday’s Daytona 500 because of a transmission change.

Larson was scheduled to start 26th in the 40-car field for the Great American Race (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM). Instead, the pre-race adjustment will force him from the 13th row to the back of the pack during pace laps.

RELATED: Lineup | Sunday schedule | Fantasy advice | Story lines

Larson will be appearing in his sixth Daytona 500. His best finish in the Monster Energy Series season opener was a seventh place in 2016.

Other drivers joining Larson at the rear are the No. 40 for driver Jamie McMurray (gear change) and the No. 27 for driver Casey Mears (transmission change).

McMurray had qualified 16th in what may be the final Daytona 500 of his career. He won the “Great American Race” in 2010. Mears was slated to start 40th.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Justin Allgaier knew the importance of timing a late move on leader Michael Annett for the win in Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Daytona International Speedway.

Too soon, and that “was going to allow some of those guys that were fourth, fifth, sixth to get that momentum and kind of go by the field,” he said.

As the laps dwindled in Saturday’s season opener, Allgaier attempted a maneuver on his JR Motorsports teammate on the final lap by backing up to the No. 19 of Brandon Jones to get a run, but ultimately wasn’t able to pass him for the victory.

RELATED: Full Xfinity race results | Dale Jr.: ‘Day of redemption’ for Annett

“We were trying to wait until ideally getting into 1 on the last lap was where we wanted to do it, and I backed up to the 19 and didn’t really get the run that I thought I was going to get,” Allgaier said. “So then you kind of go into panic mode, right, because now everything you think you’re going to do didn’t really work out the way you wanted it to. So down the back, I lifted off of 2, got as much of a gap as I could get, and we just generated enough of a run to push the 1 back out in front. …I thought for sure we had it all figured out, and then when we tried it, it just didn’t really work out the way we thought it was going to.”

“If Justin had the opportunity, he was going to take it,” said crew chief Jason Burdett, echoing Allgaier’s sentiment in the garage to NASCAR.com. “… For whatever reason today, you couldn’t generate that big run to the guy in front of you unless you were in a big pack of cars and then you could get a little run. …”

“Obviously we’d rather win, but if you have to finish second, your teammate is who you want to finish second to.”

Annett’s win – his first in the Xfinity Series – marked JR Motorsports’ third win at Daytona in four races. And while Allgaier didn’t pace any laps around the World Center of Racing, the 32-year-old driver did notch his best finish since 2016 at Daytona. He recalled his season-opening run at Daytona in 2018, when he was sitting in the infield care center as teammates Tyler Reddick and Elliott Sadler crossed the start-finish line for the 1-2 finish.

To go into Atlanta with a runner-up result bodes well for the rest of the year.

“Oh, it’s huge,” said Allgaier, who visited Annett in Victory Lane Saturday to congratulate his teammate. “First and foremost, to have one‑two today, to have four cars finish this race, I don’t know that we got any damage today to any of the four cars. You know, that’s incredible. When you leave Daytona just to not have to go home and cut that thing apart and fix it, that in itself is a really strong boost of confidence.

“We go into a stretch here where we go to Atlanta, then we do the West Coast Swing, so all the parts and all the pieces that we can have at our disposal, the better,” Allgaier added. “So that’s big part of it.”

Allgaier is thankful he won’t have a huge points deficit to overcome to start the year, in comparison to last year’s 31st-place Daytona result that left him mired back in the standings.

“You don’t realize how much that puts a strain on you until you get to like race 2, 3, 4, and then you start looking, like, ‘man, I’m 20th in points leaving Daytona, even though I did everything right and I got stage points and I was running up front at the end of the race,'” Allgaier said. “So you put yourself into a hole. I think this really allows us to go into Atlanta, focus on our mile‑and‑a‑half program, what we’ve got to do come 2019 to be better, and really just gives us that confidence that we did what we needed to do today.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jeffrey Earnhardt didn’t win Saturday’s season opening NASCAR Xfinity Series race, but his 15th-place finish tied for his third-best finish in the series ever — behind a pair of 12th-place results. His 29 laps led was a personal best, too.

He allowed a slight smile when told of his statistical achievements, but quickly reminded, “We didn’t lead enough.’’

“We didn’t lead the last one and that’s the most important one,’’ he said. “We made adjustments because I feel like I was complaining it was too free and we ended up getting it too tight and just struggled after that.

“I was getting my butt kicked side-drafting, just lack of experience and I’ll get better at it. That’s the first time I got to go racing up front like that.’’

Earnhardt – grandson of the late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt – started the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 iK9 Toyota on the outside of the front row – his best career starting position. His 29 laps out front was the most he’s led in his career – not only for a one race total but eclipsing the seven laps out front total in his previous 66 series starts. Only race winner Michael Annett (45) led more.

RELATED: Annett wins at Daytona | Full race results

Saturday’s race represented the best opportunity the 29-year old Earnhardt had ever had in the series. He’s competed full time in the Xfinity Series only one full season (2014) as he found his way in a sport that his family has established an amazing legacy in.

He is scheduled to make eight more 2019 starts for the Gibbs team – a two-time Xfinity Series championship organization.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team won Saturday’s race with driver Michael Annett, but Earnhardt  also spoke about how proud he was of his nephew.

“Jeffrey’s worked really hard to get where he is today,’’ Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “He’s sort of reinvented himself and really applied himself. So it’s built into what you see today. And he’s done that on his own. It’s who he is and authentic and I’m glad he’s in a good race car to go out there and run well.

“It will be exciting to see him at the other race tracks throughout the year.’’


Jeffrey Earnhardt  smiled widely standing on pit road after the race and asked about the huge reception he received from the fans at Daytona International Speedway, a place his grandfather is the all-time winningest driver and a place where his Uncle Dale won two Daytona 500s as well.

Many of the fans in the grandstands rose to their feet Saturday afternoon as Earnhardt led the field around – cheering loudly.

“I hope they were, I hope they were cheering,’’ Earnhardt said. “It’s cool to get out there and lead laps and have the opportunity I got. I’ve been very thankful for every opportunity, but man this one is pretty special.

His team owner Gibbs was cognizant of the warm reception too. And equally as encouraged by the job Earnhardt did behind the wheel.

“We’re just so excited to give him a chance, we’re thrilled to have him in our stuff,’’ Gibbs said on pit road after the race. “I think it’s going to be real interesting, I think there’s a lot of fan attention on him. Today we just got trapped in the wrong lane. But it’s going to be interesting as we go forward.

“I really think he’s got a chance to do a great job, a chance to win a race. We’re thrilled to have him. We love all the Earnhardts.”