Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The recurring theme of maximizing performance against long odds made a special Daytona encore for Kaz Grala and Fury Race Cars.

The underdog driver and team pairing, in just their sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series race together, squeezed out an inspiring fifth-place finish in Friday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250. It’s a result made even more amazing in that it came in a decommissioned chassis — built when Grala was in elementary school — that’s soon bound for the show car circuit. Furthermore, the team rallied from a distant 38th-place starting spot and recovered from a deflated tire in the waning laps to seal a top five.

RELATED: Larson wins Xfinity thriller | 17 cars collected in big wreck at Daytona

All those factors had the 19-year-old Grala beaming at the outcome, which he called “basically a win.”

“I mean, it’s not too often you can get a flat right-rear with seven (laps) to go and come back and have a top-five finish,” Grala said. “But that’s what’s special about Daytona. If you play your cards right, no matter what goes wrong around you, sometimes it’ll go right for you and that happened for us tonight. ”

Grala is familiar with Cinderella finishes at Daytona, winning the Camping World Truck Series season opener here in 2017. He also placed fourth at the 2.5-mile track in February as he made his Xfinity Series debut.

But it was also an improbable effort for the No. 61 Ford chassis that, according to a Fury spokesperson, began its life an estimated 10-plus years ago with Ray Evernham’s organization. From there, the car went from Richard Petty’s operation to Biagi-DenBeste Racing and ultimately Stewart-Haas Racing, which entered into a partnership with Biagi-DenBeste this season.

Fury took possession of it just before leaving for last weekend’s race at Chicagoland Speedway.

“Luckily, huge thanks to Biagi for giving us one of their backup cars that was going to be a show car,” Grala said. “We said, ‘well, can you just make it a show car after one more race? Let us run this one in it,’ and they so graciously lent it to us. Obviously it was pretty sporty out there. Great car and we have some good calls, good moves to make it up front.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway keeps getting bigger.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced tickets are now on sale for a star-studded concert that will take place Saturday, Sept. 8, the night before the final playoff spots are locked up in the next day’s annual Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard.

MORE: Buy tickets now!

The FGL Fest features headliners Florida George Line — this is the group’s inaugural FGL Fest — along with favorites Cole Swindell, Nelly, Raelynn, Jillian Jacqueline, Mason Ramsey, Riley Green and Stephanie Quayle. The show begins at 3 p.m. ET and lasts until 11 p.m. ET, setting the stage for the next day’s classic Brickyard race.

Add this concert to the list of many things to do at Indianapolis in September. In addition to the Monster Energy Series regular-season finale on Sept. 9, the NASCAR Xfinity Series stars race on Sept. 8.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials also are building a quarter-mile dirt track inside the oval and will host USAC Midget event on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6. Expect some of NASCAR’s own top dirt racers to be in the field.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Chase Elliott won the Busch Pole Qualifying Award and will start in the top position in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway. After one practice session and qualifying, we’ve dissected the numbers and restrictor-plate histories to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration as you go to make roster decisions for the 18th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of 2018. Remember that the garage locks at the end of Stage 2.

RJ Kraft’s revised Fantasy Live lineup following practices and the lineup being set:
1: Joey Logano
2: Aric Almirola
3: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
4: Ryan Blaney
5: Michael McDowell
Garage: Alex Bowman

PLAY NOW: Set your Fantasy Live lineup | How the new Fantasy Live works
MORE: Fantasy analysis for Daytona | Driver stats | Full lineup | 10-lap averages

Analysis: My roster decisions were influenced by two things. First, I’m trying to save uses with top drivers I’ve deemed more valuable elsewhere — specifically Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer. Secondly, prior to this race weekend, I mapped out a projected lineup for the final nine races of the regular season to evaluate if there were any drivers I was in danger of under using or that I was risking leaving uses on the table for.

From my original lineup, I’m keeping Logano, Almirola, Stenhouse Jr., Bowman and McDowell. I was pretty set on Almirola and McDowell all week. Stenhouse and Bowman are plays based on low usage thus far, how they have looked this weekend at Daytona and in recent restrictor-plate races. When evaluating my uses left for the final nine regular season races, I was afraid I might leave a Logano use on the table. For a driver currently third in the point standings, that is not acceptable to me. Given his strong history with plate racing and Penske’s success in this type of racing, I’m comfortable with the play knowing how I am positioned for the remainder of the season.

My one lineup change is Ryan Blaney slotting in for Paul Menard. This play is motivated by a few things with the concern of missing out on a use one of them. Blaney was THE dominant car here in the 2018 Daytona 500 and is a perfect 12-for-12 in scoring stage points in plate races in the stage points era. I want someone that puts themselves in position for stage points and that is something he has done all year as well. Menard has been strong of late at Daytona with three straight top-six finishes, but I just think the Blaney play could pay off bigger for me.

For the bonus picks, looking at Chase Elliott for a Stage 1 win, Clint Bowyer in Stage 2 with Brad Keselowski taking the checkered flag.


Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The ingredients were all present for a storybook finish for Justin Haley. The 19-year-old rookie was competing in only his second NASCAR Xfinity Series race, starting last and taking the checkered flag first with a slashing, three-wide move Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

But for a few inches of asphalt, Haley’s first Xfinity win seemed secure, but the left-side tires of his GMS Racing No. 24 Chevrolet dipped slightly left of the double-yellow line marking the out-of-bounds area at the apron. Haley’s apparent victory was handed to Kyle Larson, and the teenager was penalized to an 18th-place finish, last on the lead lap in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.

“In the moment, you really don’t think about it,” Haley said after his move was disallowed. “I wasn’t on the apron, so that’s how I always took it. Oh, well.”

MORE: Larson wins thrilling Xfinity race | Race results

Xfinity Series managing director Wayne Auton said that he met with GMS Racing officials after the race to explain the decision, saying they were unhappy but accepted the ruling.

“The 24 made a bold move to win the race, which is what you’re supposed to do,” Auton said. “And looking at all the video that we can, we saw as the rule states: we define it as the left-side tires left of the inside line that separates the apron and the race track. The 24 car’s left sides were clearly inside the line so we had to make the call. That’s clearly defined on the video at the drivers’ meeting, plus all the drivers have been informed of that for a long time here at Daytona and Talladega. Unfortunately, the 24 got caught up in it tonight.”

Haley is a regular competitor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, having scored his first victory in that tour just two weeks earlier. Friday night, he came within inches of another breakthrough.

As Larson battled hard-luck runner-up Elliott Sadler for the top spot, Haley dove below them both on the short chute heading to the start-finish line. “There was an opening for me to come and split the guys,” he said. “It just happened.”

But then came word of the ruling, shortly after he had started a celebratory burnout. The realization, Haley said, came when Larson began a burnout of his own.

“Definitely high to low,” Haley said of his emotions. “But like I said, this is just an opportunity to even come out here. Just extremely blessed.”

Posted on by Brad Norman

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — JR Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler finished runner-up in two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Daytona International Speedway this season by .005 seconds. Combined. 

Five months after finishing second to teammate Tyler Reddick by an official margin of .000 seconds in the season-opener, Sadler finished .005 seconds behind race winner Kyle Larson on Friday night in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.

MORE: Watch the wild final laps | 17 cars collected in ‘Big One’

Justin Haley hit the start/finish line first in the No. 24 Chevrolet, but NASCAR ruled that Haley’s bold, swooping move to the bottom of the track coming to the start/finish line was illegal as his car advanced its position by going below the double yellow line — which is against the rules.

That decision meant Larson — who was first to the line behind Haley — was the race winner, with Sadler an agonizingly close second.

“This one hurts” a dejected Sadler said. “I don’t know how many more restrictor-plate races I’ll have left in my career. To lose the one like we did in February, then to feel like we were in the right spot again … it just hurts.”

Sadler attributed Haley getting clear late to a breakdown in communication with his spotter. The two were locked in on monitoring Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet, which was in a virtual dead heat with the JRM veteran heading into the trioval on the final lap.

The final lap punctuated a breathtaking final stretch run, with the 43-year-old Sadler and 25-year-old Larson dueling in a door-to-door battle in NASCAR Overtime.

“I tried to do all I could to stay on (Sadler’s) quarter panel and stall him out,” Larson said. “I didn’t think I won until I got to the lug nut check and saw the replay on the big screen.”

Both Sadler and Larson also lauded the gutsy move by Haley, who was making just his second career Xfinity Series start, even if it was one that ultimately was against the rules. And even if it was one that made Sadler’s heartache all the more pronounced.

“I just didn’t know the 24 was coming,” Sadler said. “My guys … work way too hard for me to keep finishing second at Daytona. I should have capitalized on it. It felt like I was in a good spot there at the end, but just wasn’t meant to be.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race ended with a sweep, and overtime and two broken hearts.

Five laps later than the scheduled 100, Kyle Larson got the victory in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 by .005 seconds over Elliott Sadler, who finished second at Daytona for the third straight race. 

But Larson’s victory wasn’t official until NASCAR demoted Justin Haley, who made a dramatic pass for the lead coming to the finish line but dipped below the yellow line dividing the racing surface from the apron, a violation of NASCAR rules. 

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings

“I didn’t even think I’d won until I got to the lug nut check, and they had a big screen down there,” Larson said. “And I saw a little bit of the replay and saw that he went a clipped the yellow line, so I asked about it, and they said NASCAR was talking about it, and about 10 seconds later we were declared the winner…

“I saw him (Haley) go up the track, and I thought I was screwed at that point, because I wasn’t going to have anybody behind me to propel me or at least keep me side-by-side with Elliott. The we got to the straightaway, and I could see in my mirror that he was getting a huge run… 

“The I saw him hang a left, and I knew with the run he had, if he had a hole, he was going to come out the leader, and he shot right by us.”

Sadler, who has never won at Daytona, had run second to JR Motorsports teammate Tyler Reddick by .0004 seconds in February, the closest recorded margin in NASCAR history. 

“This one hurts,” said the 43-year-old Sadler, whose status with JRM for 2019 remains uncertain because of sponsorship issues. “I don’t know how many restrictor-plate races I have left in my career. To lose the one like we did in February, so close, I feel like we were in the right spot again.

“We were really paying attention to Kyle and trying to figure out what he was doing off of (Turn) 4, and he was really running into my door a lot and trying to slow me down. And I was trying to leave myself room to get away from him. And it was just a miscommunication that the 24 (Haley) was coming on the bottom. I could have definitely made a block there and got some momentum.”

WATCH: The wreck that brought the race to overtime

Haley, who earned his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory earlier this season was tantalizingly close to victory in just his second Xfinity start. 

“Not how we wanted it to end,” Haley said. “I’m running trucks full-season, and this is just an opportunity part-time, and I’m extremely blessed just to get the opportunity.”

A nine-car wreck on Lap 97 knocked out series leader Cole Custer and forced the overtime. Sadler’s lone consolation was retaking the points lead by 12 over Daniel Hemric, who moved into second place.

A violent multicar wreck on Lap 82 eliminated the contending cars of Austin Cindric, Matt Tifft and Reddick and damaged the vehicles of Custer and Hemric. 

Heading through Turn 1, Tifft, with a strong push from Reddick, made a move toward a hole to the inside of Cindric, but the hole closed, and contact between Tifft’s and Cindric’s cars ignited the chain-reaction wreck.

Cindric’s No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford turned sideways and barrel-rolled back down the track after contact with Reddick’s No. 9 Chevrolet on the steep banking in the corner. Cindric was unhurt in the accident, but his race was over.

RELATED: See the incident unfold | In-car wreck footage | All the action in photos

“I’m fine,” Cindric said after exiting the care center. “It’s just unfortunate. We have such a strong run like that, and it comes to an end early. There are plenty of things I can complain about, but I have to be thankful that Roush and NASCAR and everybody else who puts safety first really comes to fruition in situations like that.  

“It’s definitely the biggest wreck I’ve ever had. It’s unfortunate I keep having those at Daytona. I’ve got to quit going to this infield care center here. I know all the people and all the faces. They’re very nice, but it’s just a shame.”

WATCH: Cindric barrel-rolls

Racing in the series for the fourth this season, Ryan Preece started from the pole in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing as the owner points leader, after qualifying was rained out on Friday afternoon. But JGR’s quest for the owners’ championship took a serious hit when Preece retired from the race in 39th place after 51 laps because of a mechanical failure.

“We must have got a piece of debris go through the radiator, and we lost all of the water,” Preece explained after climbing from the car. “It cooked the motor down. Unfortunate. I felt like we were starting to make our way forward and start to work the draft.

“Just started to figure out what we needed to move forward and ended our night early. I hate it for these guys because of the owner points. They will drop some points in there today but hopefully we can make it up in New Hampshire.”

The Nos. 15 and 52 of BJ McLeod and David Starr, respectively, were disqualified for failing to obey the red flag.

Cars take the track again Saturday at 7 p.m. for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC). The Xfinity Series is back on track on July 14 at Kentucky Speedway (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A sense of relative early calm in Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race evaporated with a multicar wreck that sent Austin Cindric’s car barrel-rolling at Daytona International Speedway.

Contact between Cindric’s No. 60 Ford and Matt Tifft’s No. 2 Chevrolet triggered a 17-car pile-up at Lap 81 of the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250. Tifft pressured Cindrick entering Turn 1 at the 2.5-mile track, snaring a host of cars behind their initial collision.

Cindric’s No. 60 Ford flipped several moments after initial contact, tumbling over twice before landing on its wheels in the middle of the track. He emerged under his own power, unhurt after what he said was his first airborne crash in a stock car.

RELATED: Cindric barrel rolls | In-car view of wreck

“Any time you wreck at one of these tracks you’re usually wrecking in front of somebody and it’s collecting a lot of good cars,” said Cindric, who took 33rd place in the 40-car field. “It’s a shame we had to do that with 20-some-odd laps to go, just trying to figure out which lane was gonna move forward. It’s unfortunate you have that kind of impatience, but that’s what you expect. Everyone is racing for spots on track and you can’t blame someone for being aggressive, I guess, in that scenario.”

Tifft said that he was taking advantage of an opening to the low side, that his car had handled best in the bottom lane for the bulk of the race.

“Unfortunately during the final stage, the 60 car kept going high to the middle and leaving a gap,” Tifft said, “so I started to move around him when he came down on me and spun us around.”

The crumpled vehicles of Ryan Truex, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Reed, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones were among the 17 cars in the smoky thicket. The melee red-flagged the race for just over 12 minutes for clean-up, setting the stage for a frantic dash to the finish.

Reddick, who prevailed in the Xfinity season opener at Daytona in the closest finish in national-series history, said he had already impacted the outside retaining wall when he looked over his left shoulder to see Cindric’s car on its roof.

“With that many laps left, there’s not a lot of give left to be had out there. Everyone’s trying to take,” said Reddick, who was credited with 31st place. “It’s just wrong place, wrong time. Almost squeaked through it.”

Said Cindric: “That was a first for me, and I didn’t know what to expect. When I knew I was going over, you just accept it, and I pulled my legs and pulled my arms in and just kind of held tight and closed my eyes. You open your eyes and everything is happy, happy days. It’s unfortunate I had to go through that experience, but just gotta move on.”

Posted on by Brad Norman

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Surprises minutes before the start of a race typically aren’t welcome for NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell. Friday night at Daytona International Speedway was a welcome exception.

O’Donnell got to embrace the role of “dad” as the NASCAR Xfinity Series race neared the green flag, thanks to the addition of a surprise national anthem singer — his daughter Shannon Rose O’Donnell, a talented musician.

You can see O’Donnell’s demeanor in the press box change immediately as the track public announcer calls out her name.

Shannon O’Donnell then delivered a stirring anthem rendition on Independence Day weekend, drawing praise on the grid and on social media. 

Steve O’Donnell’s Twitter followers are familiar with her talents, given that her dad can’t help but brag on her.

Shannon O’Donnell, who recently graduated high school, will attend Belmont University this fall. 

https://twitter.com/odsteve/status/1015380771090128909

https://twitter.com/odsteve/status/1015381573825425408

The moment no doubt was made all the more special with Steve O’Donnell’s “son-in-law” Noah Gragson chiming in as well.

 

 

 

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A sprained ankle didn’t prevent Chase Elliott from putting his foot to the floorboard Friday at Daytona International Speedway. 

Elliott powered around the 2.5-mile track in 46.381 seconds (194.045 mph) to win the pole position for Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) by a whopping .24 seconds over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman (193.046 mph).

The Busch Pole Award was Elliott’s first of the season and the fourth of his career, all of which have come at restrictor-plate superspeedways — three of them at Daytona. 

RELATED: Full qualifying results| Starting lineup in photos

With Jimmie Johnson qualifying fourth at 192.361 mph, Hendrick Chevrolets took three of the top four starting positions for the 18th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Third-place qualifier Brad Keselowski broke up the monopoly with a lap at 192.802 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

Earlier in the week, Elliott sprained his right ankle — the one that mashes the accelerator — while “horsing around at the pool.” He had the ankle X-rayed at the infield care center at the track.

“I didn’t really want to do that, so I’ve been trying to draw as least amount of attention as possible to that,” Elliott said. “But it’s all good. Yeah, had a little ankle sprain, but we are good and ready to go.”

Saturday’s race will mark Elliott’s 95th start in NASCAR’s top series. Those 94 events have produced 26 top five’s — including eight runner-up results — but no wins.

“I think it gives everybody confidence,” Elliott said of the pole-winning effort. “Having a good pit stall is certainly nice. That can matter at the end of these races. Sharing the front row with your teammate is also nice, too. 

“So we’ll just have to see. The race is a whole different ballgame, but to have speed in our Chevrolet is nice, and to have (sponsor) Hooters for their first race of the season on the pole is cool, too. Looking forward to (Saturday) night.”

Kevin Harvick qualified fifth, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell and Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon. Seven Fords and five Chevrolets made the final round. Reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. will start 13th in the top-qualifying Toyota.

With rain wiping out Thursday’s second Cup practice, Friday’s time trials were more of a question mark than they otherwise would have been.

“It was OK, I think — you never know what you’re going to get here,” Truex said of his starting position. “Not much practice yesterday, and we didn’t do any qualifying runs, so we just kind of winged it. I think 13th will be an OK starting spot.”

Series leader Kyle Busch earned the 15th spot on the grid.