Julian Edelman named honorary starter for 61st annual Daytona 500

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Track Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2019) – New England Patriots wide receiver and Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman has been named the Honorary Starter for the 61st annual DAYTONA 500 on Feb. 17 at Daytona International Speedway. Edelman will wave the green flag for “The Great American Race,” the season-opening event for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (TV – FOX, FOX Deportes; Radio – MRN, Sirius XM).

Edelman, a three-time Super Bowl champion, is fresh off of a MVP performance with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, where he had a total of 10 catches for 141 yards.

Edelman set the record for most Super Bowl first-half receptions with seven and Super Bowl punt returns with eight. Edelman finished the recent NFL postseason with a total of 26 receptions for 388 yards, placing him second behind only Jerry Rice in all-time playoff receptions and receiving yards.

“Julian Edelman is an incredible addition to the list of pre-race dignitaries for the DAYTONA 500,” Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. “We’re honored to have such a superb athlete, who recently won on NFL’s biggest stage and was the Super Bowl MVP, wave the green flag for NASCAR’s premier event.”

Recent DAYTONA 500 Honorary Starters include Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee LaDainian Tomlinson, actor Gary Sinise, actress Charlize Theron and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ken Griffey Jr.

Tickets for the 61st annual DAYTONA 500 and other DAYTONA Speedweeks Presented By AdventHealth events can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat, and by downloading Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.

Posted on February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by Staff Report

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano removes his FOX Sports headset after calling Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona, he’ll hand it off to seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson calls his first race for FOX Sports as a guest driver analyst on Saturday, Feb. 23 (2 PM ET on FS1) at Atlanta. Johnson, however, has a drafting partner in his maiden trip to the FOX NASCAR broadcast booth, as 2014 champion Kevin Harvick assumes the lead analyst role alongside play-by-play announcer Adam Alexander.

Harvick’s broadcast dance card expands this season with the addition of lead analyst duties for seven Xfinity Series races. For the races in which Harvick is lead analyst, he pairs with a rotation of Cup Series drivers moonlighting as guest analysts, while FOX NASCAR analyst Michael Waltrip helps anchor FOX Sports’ coverage from the Virtual Studio in Charlotte.

“I’ve enjoyed calling NASCAR Xfinity Series races for FOX Sports more than I ever imagined I would, so I am looking forward to adding even more this year,” Harvick said. “I’ve made no secret of the fact I can see broadcasting in my future after racing, so this is a cool opportunity to branch out as the lead analyst and perhaps even offer some pointers to other drivers calling the races with me.”

“I’m excited to come in and see the race from a different vantage point,” Johnson said. “I’ve been a big fan of Kevin’s work in the booth and feel like we’re going to have a great time and add a lot of detail to the race, so I’m excited to have that opportunity in Atlanta.”

Seven-time champion and crew chief for William Byron, Chad Knaus, makes his FOX Sports race broadcast debut at Talladega alongside Alexander and Harvick, while Bubba Wallace makes his inaugural analyst appearance at Michigan after making his pit road debut during last year’s FOX Sports “Drivers Only” broadcast.

In addition to Logano, Johnson and Wallace, 2012 champ Brad Keselowski, 2004 champion Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney and Regan Smith return to the booth this season. See complete schedule below for specifics.

“DRIVERS ONLY” BROADCAST:

The highly popular “Drivers Only” broadcast is back for the third consecutive year — this time with a twist. Knaus crashes the “Drivers Only” party, joining all eight returning drivers from last season. Charlotte Motor Speedway plays host to this year’s edition on Saturday, May 25 (1:00 PM ET on FS1).

For the third time, Harvick has the call alongside analysts Bowyer and Logano. Blaney, Jones and Wallace cover pit road, while Keselowski returns to host from FOX Sports’ virtual studio in Charlotte alongside Stenhouse Jr. and Knaus.

FOX NASCAR driver analyst schedule for 2019 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES:

Date	Location	Lead Analyst	Driver Analyst*	Race State (ET)/Network
2/16	Daytona International Speedway	Waltrip	Logano	2:30 PM/FS1
2/23	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Harvick	Johnson	2:00 PM/FS1
3/2	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Harvick	Keselowski	4:00 PM/FS1
3/9	ISM Raceway	Harvick	Jones	4:00 PM/FS1
3/16	Auto Club Speedway	Waltrip	Keselowski	5:00 PM/FS1
3/30	Texas Motor Speedway	Harvick	Dillon	1:00 PM/FS1
4/6	Bristol Motor Speedway	Harvick	Bowyer	1:00 PM/FS1
4/12	Richmond Raceway	Waltrip	Logano	7:00 PM/FS1
4/27	Talladega Superspeedway	Harvick	Knaus	1:00 PM/FS1
5/4	Dover International Speedway	Waltrip	Blaney	1:30 PM/FS1
5/25	Charlotte Motor Speedway (Drivers Only)	Harvick, Logano, Bowyer, Blaney, Jones, Keselowski Stenhouse Jr., Wallace, Knaus		1:00 PM/FS1
6/1	Pocono Raceway	Waltrip	Kurt Busch	1:00 PM/FS1
6/8	Michigan Int’l Speedway	Harvick	Wallace	1:30 PM/FS1
6/16	Iowa Speedway	Waltrip	Smith	5:30 PM/FS1

*Subject to change

In appreciation of the drivers’ participation, FOX Sports will make a donation to each driver’s individual foundation or charity of choice.

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Steve Luvender

With 36 races in a year and 40 available finishing positions on the track, it’s practically inevitable a driver ends up finishing in every possible place at some point — you win some, you lose some, as they say. Quoth Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

In fact, just last fall at Talladega, Kyle Busch famously (OK, maybe not famously) finished in 26th position for the first time in his career after 493 starts — completing what we’re now dubbing the “All 40 Challenge” — a driver scoring at least one finish in every position from first to 40th.

As you watch the 2019 season unfold, keep in mind some drivers might be chasing more than a championship trophy — a few are in position to complete the massive 40-row bingo board that is the list of possible finishing positions in NASCAR.

Which drivers have completed the All 40 Challenge?

A total of 11 full-time drivers completed in every position 1-40 at some point in their careers, completing the All 40 Challenge:

Clint Bowyer

Kurt Busch

Kyle Busch

Denny Hamlin

Kevin Harvick

Jimmie Johnson

Joey Logano

Paul Menard

Ryan Newman

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Martin Truex Jr.

One Position Remaining

Just because many veterans can proudly boast of their All 40 Challenge trophy (wait, there’s not a trophy?) doesn’t mean every racer has pulled it off.

Three drivers are one finish away.

Aric Almirola: 2nd

Somehow, despite finishing fifth in the 2018 standings, Aric Almirola has yet to score a second-place finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after 280 career races (and, curiously, the same is true for his 102-race Xfinity Series career). With momentum building at Stewart-Haas Racing, it seems likely Almirola will complete the sweep soon.

Ryan Blaney: 21st

With 126 races under his belt, Ryan Blaney has finished in every position but 21st — coincidentally, his former car number at Wood Brothers Racing, where he scored his first career victory. Notching a P21 in 2019 will complete the All 40 Challenge for YRB.

David Ragan: 9th

David Ragan has driven for plenty of teams in his 12 full-time seasons at NASCAR’s top level, but he’s somehow never finished in 9th place. We’ve noted in the past how underdogs seem to finish in precisely 9th place at Daytona — so, combined with Ragan’s superspeedway prowess, it doesn’t seem unlikely Ragan finishes his sweep sometime soon.

Two Positions Remaining

Austin Dillon: 2nd and 40th

Driver No. 3 has never finished in Position No. 2 in 193 Cup starts. Luckily for Austin Dillon, he’s never finished in last place out in a 40-car field, either.

Brad Keselowski: 28th and 40th

After 341 races, 27 wins, and a championship, perhaps the most astounding statistic of all is that Brad Keselowski can claim he’s never finished in 28th (or 40th).

Kyle Larson: 22nd and 32nd

Kyle Larson can do anything in a race car, they say. That is, except for finish in precisely 22nd or 32nd place — a feat that’s eluded the Californian in his 183-race career.

Four Positions Remaining

Alex Bowman is still chasing his first win — as well as his first 2nd-, 15th-, and 21st-place finishes after 117 starts.

Six Positions Remaining

Chris Buescher (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 31st)

Chase Elliott (17th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 35th, 40th)

Seven Positions Remaining

Erik Jones (20th, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 32nd, 34th, 37th)

Michael McDowell (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 11th)

Nine Positions Remaining

Daniel Suarez: 1st, 5th, 13th, 25th, 27th, 31st, 33rd, 39th, 40th

Bonus Data: Never Last

Since we were already analyzing the data anyway, and because it’s Fantasy Live season, you might want to keep these names in your back pocket: seven full-time drivers have never finished in exactly 40th place (also known as last place in a 40-car field):

William Byron

Austin Dillon*

Ty Dillon

Brad Keselowski*

Daniel Suarez

Bubba Wallace

*finished worse than 40th before field size rules were changed, but never finished exactly 40th

You’re welcome, fantasy players.

Here’s the complete list of non-rookie full-time drivers and their All 40 Challenge status up until now (the 2019 Daytona 500). If a driver hasn’t finished in a particular position, it’s highlighted in gold. Drivers with grayed-out names have completed the challenge.

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2019) – NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew members Brehanna Daniels and Breanna O’Leary will make their DAYTONA 500^® debut together as tire-changers on Cody Ware’s No. 52 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 during Sunday’s race at Daytona International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In doing so, Daniels and O’Leary will become the first female graduates of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program to go over the wall in the Great American Race^®.

The tire-changers will be joined by tire-carriers Brandon Banks and Phil Thomas – also NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew alums – on the No. 52 Rick Ware Racing team for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ race.

“The DAYTONA 500 is such a huge stage and getting to share the experience with Brehanna will make it that much sweeter,” said O’Leary, who made her debut in NASCAR’s top series at Michigan International Speedway in 2018. “We came in together, trained together and got better together – and now February 17 will be another milestone we get to share together.”

Daniels and O’Leary will return to the same iconic race track where they first pitted together for Rick Ware Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Coke Zero Sugar 400 last July.

“I’m really looking forward to pitting in the DAYTONA 500 and having my teammate alongside me,” said Daniels. “It’s incredible how far we’ve come in such a short time and I couldn’t be more excited to be back at Daytona International Speedway.”

In 2016, Daniels and O’Leary were recruited to the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program by Phil Horton, longtime pit crew coach for Rev Racing. O’Leary had been an outfielder on the Alcorn State University softball team and Daniels played Division I basketball at Norfolk State University.

The professional tire-changers now share an apartment in Concord, N.C., and have gone over the wall in more than 60 combined race events across NASCAR’s national series and the ARCA Menards Series.

None, however, is more prestigious than Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

“In NASCAR racing, the stage doesn’t get any bigger than this – it’s the DAYTONA 500,” said Jusan Hamilton, NASCAR director of racing operations and event management. “Brehanna, Breanna and their NASCAR Drive for Diversity teammates have trained diligently for this moment and have earned the opportunity to compete at this level. We’re excited to watch them perform on Sunday.”

“We are proud to have these remarkable women on our team and we look forward to having them join us more throughout the 2019 season,” said Rick Ware, owner of Rick Ware Racing. “Last July, Rick Ware Racing was the perfect fit for Brehanna and Breanna as the first female NASCAR Drive for Diversity tire-changers to pit on the same team at the Cup level. We have always stressed our family philosophy at RWR, so we welcomed them into our family and they performed very well.”

Daniels, O’Leary, Banks and Thomas are among more than 50 graduates of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program currently working in the NASCAR industry. In 2019, 28 alums will begin the season pitting on Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams.

Last February, Derrell Edwards became the first NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew member to be part of a DAYTONA 500-winning team when driver Austin Dillon raced to Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway.

The 61^st running of the DAYTONA 500 will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.

Posted on February 13, 2019February 13, 2019 by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 40th anniversary of the race that put NASCAR on the map is all but lost on William Byron.

When Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison wrecked in the closing laps of the 1979 Daytona 500—and tried to settle their differences with fisticuffs afterward—Byron wasn’t around.

In fact, when Jimmie Johnson won his first career pole at Daytona in 2002, Byron was more than nine months away from his fifth birthday. As he grew older, he paid attention to Johnson’s success with crew chief Chad Knaus.

“I mean, I’m so young, I wasn’t around for a lot of that,” Byron said of the 1979 race. “I guess, like, growing up watching, honestly, Jimmie and Chad win races at the 500, then watching Kevin Harvick win in 2007—those are the races that stick in my mind.

“I’m trying to make memories for myself. It’s cool to see some of that stuff come around full circle.”

Team owner Rick Hendrick closed the circle with a personnel shuffle that broke up the Johnson/Knaus pairing after 17 years and brought the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief to Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet.

That’s something Byron couldn’t have imagined when, as a driver for the Hendrick Motorsports-affiliated JR Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series team, he met Knaus for the first time.

“No, definitely not, definitely not,” Byron said on Wednesday during Daytona 500 media day at Daytona International Speedway. “That’s a crazy thought to think a couple of years ago, that I could have him as a crew chief.

“But a huge honor, and something that I’m looking forward to.”

Byron already has something he can look back on, too. On Sunday, with Knaus on his pit box, the 21-year-old driver won his first career Busch Pole, securing the top starting spot for Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hendrick Motorsports drivers had the four fastest laps in the final round, with Alex Bowman, Johnson and Chase Elliott trailing Byron.

Johnson and Knaus won the Daytona 500 pole in their first race together. Byron and Knaus did the same, a testament to how quickly the young driver and veteran crew chief have adapted to each other.

“He’s exciting to work with,” Byron said. “He’s super into anything racing-related, whether it’s car-related or driver-related. He’s helped me a lot with a lot of things I didn’t really expect him to really care about that much.

“He cares about me as a person. That builds a level of trust and respect between us. Still a lot… still very fresh and very new of a relationship. We’ve worked a lot in the offseason to make sure it’s the way it should be.”

Byron can look back on his first pole, but he’d prefer not to look much further, opting to put a rocky 2018 rookie season in the Cup series behind him. With an average finish of 22.1 and four top 10s in 36 points races, Byron finished the year 23rd in the standings.

With a new crew chief and a new competition package this season, he can discard much of last year without regret.

“Honestly, I don’t think about it that much right now,” Byron said. “I kind of blocked out most of that last year, other than the things I learned about myself mentally. But honestly, there’s not really a lot that’s similar to last year with us, besides the (car) number and the way the car looks.

“Don’t really think about it.”

MORE: Byron wins Sunoco Rookie of the Year | All Byron’s national series wins

With three days between his qualifying laps and his Gander RV Duel At Daytona 150-mile qualifying race on Thursday, Byron is eager to start racing.

“I’m ready to get in a car,” Byron said. “I’m tired of talking about it. I just want to go race. Can’t wait to get into the car.”

The nature of superspeedway racing tends to minimize the advantage a pole winner might have. It’s not particularly surprising that no Daytona pole sitter has won the 500 since Dale Jarrett took the checkered flag 19 years ago. Byron hopes to break that trend.

“That would be awesome,” Byron allowed. “Hopefully, if it’s in the plan, I guess meant to be, it will be. We’ll see what happens.”

Posted on February 13, 2019April 1, 2021 by Staff Report

Can he avoid the sophomore slump?

Time will tell, but Tommy Catalano is certainly hoping he can.

The Ontario, New York, native won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour last year on the strength of two top-10 finishes, and he is hoping to take his family-owned operation to the next level in 2019.

“That was pretty huge for us, especially going into it, we were the underdogs. We were just the small local guys,” Catalano said. “To have our moments that we ran with the big guys, it was really huge. At the end of the year, I was thinking to myself that my goal was to go to the races and finish inside the top-15 and make all the laps — and we did that 95% of the time.”

RACING-REFERENCE: Tommy Catalano’s Rookie of the Year Stats

He’s no stranger to success in racing. He won countless NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track championships before taking his talents to the Whelen Modified Tour, and in just his first Tour season, he won the Rookie of the Year in convincing fashion.

Now the goals are going to be even more difficult for him to complete going forward. He will be back on the Whelen Modified Tour for the entire 17-race slate in 2019, but now, he’s going after wins, and he has a veteran helping him chase the goal.

“Hopefully we can build on it,” he said of last year. “We will see exactly what we have and what we don’t have. We have Tommy (Baldwin) helping us, so hopefully between all that, we should be able to start the year off on a good note.”

Catalano purchased a brand new Troyer TA3 chassis over the offseason and is looking forward to letting it hit the track in Whelen Modified Tour competition. However, that car won’t hit the pavement for the opener at Myrtle Beach Speedway on March 16.

Instead, he will bring a car back to South Carolina that has already been to Victory Lane at the .538-mile oval last year — in November — as part of a Modified race at the Myrtle Beach 400.

“That’s going to be huge for us to go back there,” Catalano said. “The car that we won with at Myrtle Beach is shelved, up in the air, and sitting pretty, because we are going to take it back there just where we left with it.”

But, before the Whelen Modified Tour season gets underway, Catalano is competing in some Tour Type Modified action at New Smyrna Speedway as part of the 53rd annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.

He finished towards the back of the field on night one after a mechanical issue, but rebound to a fifth-place finish on Tuesday after starting from the outside pole and leading laps.

“We’ve been struggling a bit with mainly some gremlins, but I don’t think it’s the car, it’s just those gremlins you get. That’s why we come down here,” he said. “It’s a little family vacation and we can test and get all of the gremlins out of the cars. We don’t have to go to Myrtle Beach and be at that first race and waste it chasing gremlins. It’s about getting everything set and ready to go.”

Ask him what he feels like are realistic goals are for this year and the answer won’t surprise you. He is hoping to contend for wins and leave each race with more and more confidence.

“I think we are ready to go. We are going to hammer down hard. We have a lot of good guys behind us, with Tommy helping, between all of it, I’m sure we will have our moments where we will be hanging our heads, but the second year on the Tour, everyone is going to have those days. If we can just move past those days, there are going to be better days ahead,” Catalano said.

“At the end of last year I wasn’t sure we were ready for wins, but after the showing at Myrtle Beach, I am really hoping to go there and have a strong run. Everyone keeps saying the Whelen Modified Tour guys weren’t there (at Myrtle Beach) but we out-did Matt Hirschman the second night and he is one of the ones to beat when the Tour goes there. That was the biggest confidence booster out of all of it so far.”

Posted on February 13, 2019April 1, 2021 by Staff Report

NEW SMYRNA, Fla. — Just five days before beginning his first full-time season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Preece was in Victory Lane on Tuesday night.

The Berlin, Connecticut, driver took the lead just before the halfway point in the Tour Type Modified feature at New Smyrna Speedway and drove away in the final circuits. His victory came as part of the 53rd annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.

New Smyrna Speedway is just 20 minutes up the road from Daytona International Speedway, where Preece will run the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

“I used to be labeled as a guy who burned my stuff up quickly, but I’ve really done a lot with my setups to make them better in the long run,” Preece said. “I think it showed right there. This car is just so good right now.”

Preece qualified at the top of the field and the invert of eight put him on the outside of row four for the green flag. However, it wasn’t long before Preece was slicing through traffic and finding his way to the front — where he eventually stayed.

After a crash in turn two that collected multiple top contenders, Preece drove away from Jimmy Blewett to win the second Modified race of the week. Blewett was second and Doug Coby, who won on Monday night, third.

Even though he struggled to find speed on opening night, Bubba Pollard isn’t messing around this week.

The Super Late Model veteran dominated Tuesday’s 50-lap Super Late Model feature as part of the World Series, picking up his second straight victory. Pollard qualified seventh, but by luck of the draw, an invert of eight lined him up on the outside of the front row for the drop of the green flag.

Just as he did on Monday, Pollard found himself in second spot for the first half of the race, but didn’t hiccup when an opportunity to take the lead came in front of him. He passes Derek Kraus with just 17 laps remaining.

“Can’t thank this group of guys enough,” Pollard said. “It’s a great group. When you surround yourself with great people, they make my job easy, and they make me look good.”

Brad May finished second, grabbing his third straight podium to open the week. Dan Fredrickson, who led countless laps on Monday, finished third.

All eight nights of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action are airing live on FansChoice.TV. Racing continues on Wednesday night, where the Tour Type Modifieds will compete in the John Blewett III Memorial 76-lap feature.

Results: World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Night 5:

Tour Type Modifieds: 1. Ryan Preece; 2. Jimmy Blewett; 3. Doug Coby; 4. Chuck Hossfeld; 5. Tommy Catalano; 6. Amy Catalano; 7. Anthony Nocella; 8. Calvin Carroll; 9. Jeff Goodale; 10. Dave Sapienza; 11. Chris Risdale; 12. Nikki Carroll; 13. Andy Jankowiak; 14. Dillon Steuer; 15. Jeremy Gerstner; 16. Timmy Solomito; 17. Patrick Emerling; 18. Matt Hirschman; 19. Jeff Gallup; 20. Mike Willis Jr.; 21. Al Amarino; 22. Tom Tonn

Super Late Models: 1. Bubba Pollard; 2. Brad May; 3. Dan Fredrickson; 4. Derek Griffith; 5. Logan Seavey; 6. Derek Kraus; 7. Alex Labbe; 8. Travis Braden; 9. Gabe Sommers; 10. Nolan Pope; 11. Clay Greenfield; 12. Colin Garrett; 13. Spencer Davis; 14. Harold Crooms; 15. Jett Noland; 16. Carson Kvapil; 17. Anthony Sergi; 18. Sam Mayer; 19. Christian Rose; 20. Ryan Moore; 21. Jared Irvan; 22. Patrick Thomas; 23. Steve Weaver, Jr.

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Martin Truex Jr. showed up for Daytona 500 Media Day looking relaxed but speaking of high expectations for his debut season driving the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Truex moved to the Gibbs stable this year after spending five seasons with the Furniture Row Racing organization where he enjoyed the best year of his career – winning eight races (more than his previous entire career total of seven) en route to the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy.

Because of the working relationship between FRR and the Gibbs organizations, he said the transition to the championship Gibbs group has “fortunately” been relatively seamless. Now he and his crew chief Cole Pearn can join company competition meetings in person instead of via satellite.

The expectation is to win immediately. And often.

“I would say that it was a lot easier,” Truex, 38, said with a smile during Media Day to preview Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “A lot less unknowns. Less nervous about it just because I know things. I talk about simple things like I know what their brakes are like. I know what their throttle pedal feels like. I know what kind of steering they run.

RELATED: Truex joins JGR

“When I’ve switched teams before it’s like starting over a lot of times. When I went from DEI (Dale Earnhardt Incorporated) to MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) it was like completely starting over. All new people. All different parts and pieces. All new equipment. Everything felt different. The approach was different. That’s where you kind of have that anxiety of, ‘How’s this really going to be?’ I think it’s going to be good, but I don’t know.

“There’s so many questions when you switch teams like that. For this transition for me, it was a lot easier because we worked so closely together the past couple of years. We’ve essentially built our cars together. We used all the same stuff – parts and pieces, engines, you name it. I’m familiar with all that. I’m familiar with their process. The way they do things. The way they work together. The way their meetings are. You name it, it’s a comfortable change. For me, it’s been as easy as it’s ever been to switch teams like this year.”

Obviously the first big goal for Truex is a good showing in the Daytona 500. The closest he came to winning it was the closest anyone came to winning it – one-hundredth of a second. He finished alongside Denny Hamlin – now a teammate at JGR – in a 2016 finish so close officials had to review it.

PHOTOS: Closest finishes in Daytona 500 history

Ultimately Hamlin hoisted the trophy. Truex is still pursuing it – eager to add a Daytona 500 triumph to his championship career. He has three top-10 finishes in 14 races at the annual race and was 18th last year.

“I guess it can be frustrating, but anything that big is not easy to get,” Truex recalled, shaking his head. “It’s just the way it is. You look at Dale Earnhardt, it took him 17 tries or something – 20. He won the most races at Daytona of anyone ever and he hadn’t won the Daytona 500. That just shows how hard it is to win.

“I don’t think that’s changed over the years. You look at a guy like Trevor Bayne – he came out of nowhere and won the thing (in 2011) and never won any other races. It’s one of those races where crazy things tend to happen. Huge stories tend to come out of it and that’s part of the reason why it’s such a big deal.”

This year, in this circumstance, it would also be a statement.

Truex is driving for the fourth team in his 13-year full-time career. He won races for the previous three and would love to land Gibbs a fifth Cup title.

Last year he made a run at back-to-back championships – unofficially a part of the 2018 “Big Three” of eight-time race winners Kevin Harvick and Truex’s new teammate at JGR, Kyle Busch. Truex was a four-time winner and the threesome were the year’s winningest.

“Everybody in the garage wants to be one of those guys that are looked at as, ‘Here’s the guys to beat every week,'” Truex said. “We all want to be there.

“It’s been fun to be in that position for a couple years. No guarantee that we’ll be there again. You never know who’s going to figure it out quick and come out – some guy could come out of nowhere this season, you never know because it’s going to be so different. I don’t know.

“There’s a lot to learn. I really don’t worry about all that stuff. I worry about results. I want to win races and if we do our jobs and if I’m happy with the job I’m doing then yeah, I’ll probably be one of those Big Three.”

Posted on February 13, 2019February 15, 2019 by Staff Report

Johnny Sauter will return to ThorSport Racing for the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series as part of the Sandusky, Ohio-based organization’s full-time, four-truck lineup.

Sauter ran for ThorSport from 2009 to 2015 before spending the past three seasons — including a 2016 championship campaign — with GMS Racing. In January, GMS and Sauter parted ways following a three-year stint together. The Wisconsin native will run ThorSport’s No. 13 entry — the same entry he drove for the team from 2009 to 2012. The 23-time winner in the series has finished in the top four in the final standings in each of the past six seasons.

Two-time champion Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes are all returning to the organization for full seasons. The trio of drivers all made the 2018 playoffs in the series. Crafton, a 14-time winner in the series, will be back to pilot the No. 88 truck. Enfinger, a two-time winner in the series coming off a career-best fifth-place finish in the standings, will be in the No. 98 truck.

Rhodes returns for his fourth season with the team but will sport a new number — No. 99. This marks the two-time winner’s third different number in four seasons with ThorSport. He previously drove the Nos. 41 and 27 trucks.

Myatt Snider, last year’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner in the series, will return in a part-time capacity and drive the No, 27 truck.

The season begins this weekend at Daytona for Friday’s NextEra Energy 250 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on February 13, 2019February 13, 2019 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Paul Menard came close last weekend but did not win the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona. He still went to Disney World.

Three days after the late-race run-in with Jimmie Johnson that derailed his chances, Menard said he was trying to turn the page on Sunday’s incident at Daytona International Speedway. He said that he spoke with Johnson on Wednesday morning, before his appearance later that afternoon at Daytona 500 Media Day.

“It is what it is, right? I felt like I was holding a wheel as good as I could,” said Menard, who led 51 of the exhibition race’s 59 laps in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford. “I thought up front would be a pretty safe place, too, but Jimmie did what he did to try to win. It was not intentional. Maybe I moved down a little bit, I don’t know if there was no room for error, and two cars collided. So that’s what it is. I spent the last two days at Disney World with my two little kids and had a good time.”

Menard will aim to regroup ahead of Sunday’s main event, the 61st Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Though he had pointed comments for Johnson — the race’s eventual winner — in post-race interviews, Menard indicated that he was trying to let the heated moments pass.

“We’re moving on,” Menard said. “What’s done is done. We’re not looking in the rear-view mirror on that one, just moving on.”

Johnson appeared in a later media session and said that after his discussion with Menard, there’s a better understanding between the two. Johnson’s stance that their late-race contact was not initiated on purpose hasn’t changed since Sunday.

“I don’t know if there’s really anything different,” Johnson said. “I mean, it’s great to have that conversation and talk to him. He knew then and he knows again after today, our phone call, that it wasn’t intentional. Looking back, I could’ve given him a few more inches, that way when he came down, there was a bit more margin for error between us. There’s always lessons to learn going back and looking at the tape and talking to someone about those things, but I think where he and I stand, I’m sure he wasn’t happy after the race, but he knew it wasn’t intentional, and it was more of racing thing than anything.”