“Those who live up to their names, make one for themselves.”
That is the premise of Goodyear’s new commercial for 2018, which features Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he makes the move from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver’s seat to the NBC Sports television booth.
In the one-minute video, released Feb. 14, the tribute tells the story of Earnhardt’s rise up the NASCAR ranks with a mixture of clips dating back to his younger years through his triumphs in the sport.
From watching his father’s dominance in NASCAR to 20-plus years of success on his own path, Earnhardt has made a name for himself — both on and off the race track.
Editor’s note: This is the 11th in a series of 14 team previews on NASCAR.com. Next up: Stewart-Haas Racing on Feb. 15. A list of team previews already published is at the bottom of this story.
Crew chiefs: Jeremy Bullins (Blaney), Todd Gordon (Logano), Paul Wolfe (Keselowski)
2017 standings: Keselowski, 4th in final standings (reached Championship 4); Blaney, 9th (eliminated in the Round of 8 with Wood Brothers Racing); Logano, 17th (did not reach the Playoffs)
What’s new: Team Penske is a three-car team this season, although its makeup doesn’t change that much since newcomer Ryan Blaney’s 2017 campaign with Wood Brothers Racing included an alliance with Team Penske. Paul Menard’s presence in the Woods’ No. 21 Ford is the newest thing about the larger group of drivers in 2018, as Menard comes over from Richard Childress Racing.
“I think just bringing back the 12 car to the Penske group is really special,” Blaney said during the 2018 NASCAR Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway. The car hasn’t been around in a long time. I remember growing up watching Ryan Newman drive it and loving that car. Hopefully we can have the success he had in it and more.”
What to watch: After the driver-crew chief pair of Blaney and Jeremy Bullins led to the 24-year-old star’s first pole (and second), first victory and first season with double-digit top-10 finishes in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, expect Blaney to keep building on his breakout 2017. Count on Joey Logano being focused and hungry to get back into the Playoffs after statistically his worst season since 2012. And watch Keselowski’s ongoing rivalry with Kyle Busch, which seems to fuel both of them to push harder for wins.
Key question(s): The Camry got an update in 2017; Chevrolet is bringing out the Camaro ZL1 in 2018. How will the Fords keep up with the other manufacturers? The Clash at Daytona was a pretty powerful start with the Nos. 2, 12 and 22 running 1-2-3 for much of the race.
DRIVERS
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards Ford: Blaney had the textbook breakout season in 2017. Along with his first victory, he gained in top fives, top 10s, laps led, average starting position and average finish from his first full Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in 2016. One of those top fives was a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500.
Blaney is very comfortable heading into 2018 with his crew chief following him back to Team Penske and much of the team behind team remaining the same, as well. Expect him to improve on the number of races he finishes on the lead lap (21 in 2017), and therefore his average finishing position, as he builds on his first win and career-best 14 top-10 finishes.
Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford: A new primary sponsor is a big change for fans of the No. 2 team, though Miller Lite will return, as well. But most of what got Keselowski, crew chief Paul Wolfe and their crew to the Championship 4 remains intact for 2018. Wolfe enters his eighth season as crew chief for the team as Keselowski starts his ninth full season driving for Team Penske.
Keselowski is one of the best superspeedway racers, giving him a good chance to start 2018 in a big way – his first Daytona 500 win. He has one win at Daytona’s summer race in 2016, and five victories at Talladega. A victory in the non-points Clash at Daytona bodes well for his superspeedway program in 2018, as well.
But Keselowski’s no aero specialist. He is a threat at any kind of track, with intermediate and 1.5-mile tracks, as well as Pocono’s “Tricky Triangle” among the places he’s piled up 24 career wins and the championship in 2012. Even if Ford does struggle to keep up with the newer Camry and Chevrolet bodies at times, don’t expect Keselowski to fall off.
Sarah Crabill | Getty Images
Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Penzoil Ford: After missing the playoffs for the first time in his Team Penske career, Logano looks to find his footing again. An encumbered race win and other factors led to his worst season since 2012.
A new father, Logano is also ready for a new team structure, saying he already worked closely with No. 12 driver Blaney last season. But his offseason focus has been on improving, saying he has been doing testing at the simulator and “spending time with each other, talking about races, talking about certain items on the car where we can be better to prepare for the first five or six races. Thinking about where we struggled last year and where we can be better in each department. We go from there. It is the same thing we would have done if we won the championship last year. It just seems like there is a little extra motivation this year because you don’t want to live it again.”
Editor’s note: This is the 10th in a series of 14 team previews on NASCAR.com. Next up: Team Penske on Feb. 14. A list of team previews already published is at the bottom of this story.
Hendrick Motorsports
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: Hendrick Motorsports
Drivers: Chase Elliott No. 9; William Byron No. 24; Jimmie Johnson No. 48; Alex Bowman No. 88
Crew chiefs: Alan Gustafson (Elliott), Darian Grubb (Byron), Chad Knaus (Johnson), Greg Ives (Bowman)
2017 standings: Elliott, 5th in final standings (eliminated in the Round of 8); Johnson, 10th (eliminated in the Round of 8); Byron won the Xfinity Series championship; Bowman did not compete in the Monster Energy Series; Kahne, 15th (eliminated in Round of 16, drove the No. 5 car); Earnhardt Jr., 21st (drove the No. 88 car)
What’s new: Half the team. Johnson assumes the sole veteran role as newcomers Byron and Bowman join the four-car team. Twenty-two-year-old Elliott moves to No. 9 from No. 24 and Byron slides into the No. 24. Bowman takes over driving the No. 88 for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“It’s so wild. I went from the young gun … and every time I saw my name written, it was ‘rookie Jimmie Johnson,’ ” Johnson said at the 2018 NASCAR Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway. “And I swear, in the blink of an eye, now I’m ‘Grandpa.’ It’s gone fast.”
What to watch: Chase Elliott showed he is the presumptive heir to the Most Popular Driver throne, and that he can do it with the feisty chip on his shoulder he showed in his Martinsville battle with Denny Hamlin. How far can the lineage, potential and talent take him in what should be his breakthrough season?
Key question(s): There are a lot of them: This season has to be the one where Chase Elliott earns his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, right? Can William Byron continue his upward trajectory at the sport’s highest level? Will Jimmie Johnson adjust after a frustrating 2017 and earn that “Eight-Time” nickname? How will Alex Bowman fill in for the sport’s most popular driver?
DRIVERS
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet: Here we are in Chase Elliott’s third full-time season in the Monster Energy Series, and somehow the young driver still is searching for his first win at the top level. Prognosticators say this is the season when it happens, and the trend in statistics seem to support that belief.
Elliott’s first two seasons saw verifiable improvement: He went from an average finish of 14.6 in 2016 to 12.0 in 2017. He had 17 top 10s in 2016, 21 top 10s in 2017; 10 top fives two seasons ago, and 12 top fives last season.
Still, the big “zero” remains under the win column. But he’s returning to his familiar No. 9 — the number his father, Bill, drove for the majority of his Hall of Fame career — and showed more of an edge in both his driving and personality in the final races of the 2017 season. His first trip to Victory Lane almost certainly comes this season.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet: A young hotshot with loads of potential in the No. 24? This sounds familiar.
William Byron takes the wheel in his first Monster Energy Series season on the heels of an Xfinity Series championship in 2017. Byron has been dominant at every level in which he’s competed the last two years: Four wins, 22 top 10s and a championship last season in Xfinity; seven wins, 16 top 10s and a heartbreak ousting in the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs in 2016.
Can he show the same flair at the sport’s highest level? Only time will tell, but it sure will be fun to watch.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet: By Seven-Time standards, 2017 was a subpar year for Johnson.
Granted, he still won three races, finished in the top 10 11 times and was only ousted from the NASCAR Playoffs in the Round of 8.
But those totals also were among the lowest in his career. Johnson has only had fewer wins once (two in 2011) and has never had fewer top 10s over 16 years of full-time driving in the Monster Energy Series.
He and crew chief Chad Knaus never quite figured out how to succeed in the new stage format — he had one stage win the entire season, and finished 10th in stage points in 2017 — and that will be a key to him succeeding as he strives for his record-setting eighth championship.
Even though he’s now 42 years old, you still can’t count out the talented, experienced and crafty Johnson.
“My desire to be competitive, my desire to be a champion, my desire to win races has never wavered,” he said. “That’s who I am. That’s what I am.”
Alex Bowman, No. 88 NationwideChevrolet: For a guy who team owner Rick Hendrick thought was named Alex Baldwin for a couple years, the 24-year-old Bowman is doing all right.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
First, he earned honor of taking over the No. 88 from Dale Earnhardt Jr. Then, he went out and earned the Daytona 500 pole.
Bowman doesn’t have a ton of experience — one full season in the Xfinity Series (2013) when he tallied six top 10s — but that also means he doesn’t have excessive expectations.
Still, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the talent to compete in his first full-time season at the Monster Energy Series level. In fill-in duty for the No. 88 in 2016, he won the pole in Phoenix and led 194 laps in that race before eventually finishing sixth.
Time will tell whether all those fans with No. 88 gear will switch over to being Bowman fans, too.
It’s been nearly three months since Martin Truex Jr. hoisted the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, so a checkered flag is a welcome sight. The Advance Auto Parts Clash is always the perfect time to ease back into your racing fix, catch up on Silly Season changes (even though we’ll still be referring to Erik Jones as Matt Kenseth until June), and, apparently, watch Jimmie Johnson crash.
Thumbs up: New pit stops
When somebody on your team doesn’t show up for work, the work still needs to get done — you just have to get creative. That’s the scenario NASCAR pit crews face in 2018, with new competition rules standardizing the number of over-the-wall crew members from six to five.
That means relearning how to pit a car in competition with one fewer person. The same job needs to get done, but with one fewer set of hands. (Sound familiar, workplace warriors?) The result has been slower pit stops as teams are forced to adapt.
Thumbs up for forcing teams to get creative.
Thumbs down: No drafting help
In the closing stages of the race, Team Penske ran 1-2-3 with Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano. Being a race car driver who wants to win races, new Team Penske teammate Blaney jumped out of line, running P2 at the time, hoping teammate Joey Logano and others would help him overtake eventual race winner Brad Keselowski.
Blaney’s efforts weren’t fruitful, however, as nobody helped him — he fell immediately out of his position. While he ended up finishing fourth, it’s not the result he wanted. I mean, assuming he wanted to finish first and not fourth. Who knows — maybe he really wanted his teammates to finish 1-2 without him. I don’t know.
Thumbs down for trying to get it done but getting no help.
NASCAR on FOX debuted a new graphics package for 2018, featuring a vertical pylon-style leaderboard displaying the top 20 positions, along with rotating data from time to time.
At least at Daytona where the running order changes more than Ryan Blaney’s haircut, it’s quite valuable to watch trends of drivers moving up through the pack on-screen (or back through the pack if you’re one of the drivers jumping out of line with no help).
Also, most screens today are widescreen — doesn’t it make more sense to show data on the wider axis of the screen? Logically, it works.
Thumbs up for more information on screen. Digging it, FOX.
Thumbs down: Seven in a row for seven-time
Jimmie Johnson is famous for his seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships, but he’s unfortunately reached another seven-time milestone: crashing in seven consecutive Clash races.
Johnson nearly made it out of this year’s running of The Clash without a scratch on his car, until contact with Kyle Larson sent the No. 48 around on the backstretch.
Larson apologized for the contact, but it didn’t unbruise Johnson’s ego.
Yes race fans I caused that one. I admitted it and apologized. Lots of learning about new package that race. 💩 happens. Got some work to do before 500.
Thumbs down for bad luck — but at least The Clash is a non-points race.
Biggest thumbs up of the week: Calling your shot
Confidence is a must when you’re competing at stock car racing’s highest level. Last-place starter Brad Keselowski had so much of it that he called his shot, predicting he’d win The Clash.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — It’s been a mostly cloudy week for Ryan Preece thus far in the Sunshine State. That’s because the Modified hotshot’s southbound venture has more excitement than hoped.
“The good way to look at it is I have a fast race car,” Preece said Monday night at New Smyrna Speedway. “The crappy way to look at it is I can’t get through a day without having a problem.”
The ledger of recent trouble is long: Two random flat tires in a three-day span. A broken head gasket in Monday’s practice that prompted an engine change. Then, after starting from the pole and leading the first 43 laps of the 50-lap feature in the opening tour-type Modified event in the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, Preece exited with a broken suspension part.
And all that was after Saturday’s big moment. A stuck throttle on the frontstretch at Bronson (Fla.) Speedway sent Preece’s No. 6 headlong into the Turn 1 wall. Momentum carried the low-slung car up and over the catch fencing. He emerged unscathed, his health — and sense of humor — intact, tweeting out a Dukes of Hazzard car-jumping GIF as an alternative to the grainy cell-phone footage of the crash circulating online.
The other thing Preece hasn’t lost: The racing mantra of getting back on the horse when bucked off.
“To be honest with you, as a racer, I don’t want to know what caused me not to get hurt or anything like that,” Preece said. “All I want to think about is my next race, so that’s the way I’m going to look at it. It is what it is. There’s nothing I can do, and nothing anybody else can do. There’s stuff I can do to prevent it in the future, which I’ve already made those changes and I’ll make damn sure it won’t happen again.
“As far as looking back and it making me think twice about sending it off into Turn 1 anywhere, that ain’t going to change anything I do.”
Preece will have opportunity to reverse the misfortune with four more nights of Modified racing this week during the World Series at New Smyrna. He shook off some of the adversity Tuesday night, winning the 35-lap event on Day 2 for the open-wheeled ground-pounders.
The 27-year-old Connecticut native also hasn’t lost sight of the promise that his 2018 schedule holds, with a beefed-up schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing and select Modified shows to keep him occupied.
Preece’s star was well-known in Northeast Mod circles when he cashed in last July on a sizable gamble, scraping together sponsorship funds for a two-race Xfinity Series effort with JGR. Preece’s bet on himself worked. He finished second at New Hampshire and prevailed for his first Xfinity win two weeks later at Iowa, proving his talent in top-notch equipment.
The impressive audition with Joe Gibbs Racing earned more starts at the end of the 2017 campaign and what Preece estimates is an 11-race Xfinity slate this season, with Rheem and Ruud jumping on board as sponsors. The show of support is plenty of incentive for inspiring confidence, but Preece seems to have a surplus in stock already.
“I believe in myself. I have people who know me that believe in me. I’ve always kind of felt like an underdog in a lot of ways,” Preece said. “Every race for me is another race, and I’m going to do everything I can to win, and that includes driving the piss out of it. I wouldn’t say I’m any more confident, but I’m sure as hell as confident as I felt going into New Hampshire and Iowa, Kentucky and Homestead.
“I’ve put a lot of work in and a lot of time into it. … I’ve put a lot into racing in the knowledge aspect, into undrstanding race cars because I want to make myself better. Sometimes holding a steering wheel and hitting a gas pedal is all well and good, but guess what: There’s little things you can do to make yourself better.”
There’s plenty to look forward to in 2018, but one storyline from last season still lingers — his late-race contest with Elliott Sadler in the Homestead-Miami Speedway finale. Sadler wound up second in the championship battle behind title winner William Byron, and he angrily confronted Preece post-race, arguing that their hard-edged battle for position cost him the Xfinity crown.
Three weeks ago — nearly two months removed from the incident — Sadler indicated that the events of Homestead still irked him, telling reporters on the NASCAR preseason media tour, “He better not get anywhere near me.” Monday night, Preece reiterated his stance from last November, adding that neither he nor Sadler had reached out to the other to clear the air.
“We wanted to win that owners’ championship. That’s what I wanted to do; that was my job,” Preece said. “I’m racing for a job. I’m racing for my life dream, so that’s what I’m going to continue on doing. I’m extremely excited to have Rheem and Ruud and Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing put me in that No. 18 and give a short-tracker who’s been around pulling motors, doing whatever we’ve got to do to get on the race track, just like everybody else who’s at a race track on a Friday night, Saturday night, whatever night it is.
“I feel like I’m living the dream and I’m going to continue doing that and work my butt off to keep doing that.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. prepares to make history in the 2018 DAYTONA 500, fans can follow his inspirational journey to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in “Behind the Wall: Bubba Wallace,” a new docu-series coming soon to Facebook Watch.
The first episode in the original series will post on Thursday, February 15, NASCAR Digital Media and Facebook announced today. Fans can view the trailer and add the show to their Watchlists by following the Behind the Wall: Bubba Wallace show Page.
On Sunday, Feb. 18, Wallace will become the first African-American since 1969 to drive in NASCAR’s most iconic race, the DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, FOX Sports Go, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
The eight-part series was produced by NASCAR Productions and will chronicle Wallace’s road to Daytona International Speedway – from his earliest racing days to his debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as the new full-time driver of the No. 43 Click n’ Close Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Petty Motorsports.
“It’s been wild to have this entire journey documented leading into the DAYTONA 500,” Wallace said. “It’s cool to finally see it all come together. I’ve watched a few episodes and it’s awesome.
“It really shows how much preparation is going into my first year racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with Richard Petty Motorsports and the famed ’43.’ This is something a little out of the box that’s great for fans.”
The series follows Wallace in the months and weeks leading up to the 2018 season, including encounters with team owner and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Richard Petty, Charlotte Hornets rookie Malik Monk and close friend and fellow NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney.
Two episodes will air per day from Thursday through Saturday in the lead-up to the 60th running of the DAYTONA 500, while the series’ final two episodes will be available next week. One of the more popular drivers on social media, Wallace will interact with his fans live on Facebook as the series unfolds.
“Bubba Wallace is a burgeoning superstar in NASCAR, and his story is one that brings inspiration to so many people,” said Evan Parker, NASCAR managing director, content strategy. “With Facebook Watch, we’re thrilled to present Bubba’s journey to the DAYTONA 500 and the highest echelon of our sport in a completely new and innovative way.”
Prior to graduating to NASCAR’s top series, Wallace competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In October 2013, he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway to become the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race since NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Wendell Scott in 1963.
Facebook Watch is a video platform created to bring episodic content, community and conversation together on Facebook. The platform is home to a wide variety of sports shows, including reality, documentary and live sports.
The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off with the 60th annual DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Great American Race will be broadcast live on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90), with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.
An enlarged photo hangs on the wall of No. 4 crew chief Rodney Childers’ upstairs office at Stewart-Haas Racing.
The photo hanging in Rodney Childers’ office
It is inconspicuous in nature — so much so that one might pass it and pay no notice. The image is Kevin Harvick with Childers at ISM Raceway in Phoenix after winning their first race together in 2014. A public relations representative took the photo after victory celebrations.
The meaning, though, is much bigger.
The 2018 season will be the fifth since Harvick and Childers joined forces as driver and crew chief. That race in the desert was one of the initial sparks that ignited the dynamic Harvick-Childers pairing.
“Your first win with somebody is always special, but I remember as soon as we turned that corner out of Victory Lane, he put his arm around me and he said, ‘I told you this was going to happen,’ ” Childers recalled to NASCAR.com on Jan. 25.
The championship-winning pair came together toward the end of the 2013 season. Childers was serving as crew chief for the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, piloted by Mark Martin, Brian Vickers and Waltrip. Harvick was driving the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
After 13 years with RCR, Harvick was looking at the next step in his career with Stewart-Haas Racing – and he wanted Childers to be a part of it.
“Kevin had been after me (for) …. 9-10 months at the time, and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do,” Childers said. “I felt like everybody at Michael Waltrip Racing was family to me. We had grown that place into something that I thought was pretty competitive at the time compared to where it started when I got there in 2009. And also the relationship I had with the people at Toyota – they treated me great and I didn’t know if I wanted to give all that up.”
Childers visited Harvick’s house on July 11, 2013, to discuss their possible future together. He left with the intention of leaving Michael Waltrip Racing to crew chief the No. 4 in 2014.
Three days later, Vickers won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Childers atop the pit box.
“I remember sending my wife a message leaving Victory Lane, saying ‘I can’t leave this, I can’t do this to these people,’ ” Childers said.
Ultimately his decision came down to winning races and, more importantly, championships. For Childers, that meant moving to Stewart-Haas Racing with Harvick. The move was delayed, however, as Childers was locked into a contract at Michael Waltrip Racing and unable to officially work for either team for about two months.
“The biggest thing was, I got rested up,” Childers said. “And I spent a lot time with family and I’d sit at home and on Sundays, I would listen to (RaceView) on NASCAR.com and listen to Kevin and his communication with his team. I had a notebook of his last 10 races of the year of everything he said during the race, everything his team said back to him, everything I thought his spotter should have done better, everything I thought his crew chief should have said differently, and by the end of that season I felt comfortable.
“I think letting me stay at home was probably a bad thing for the competition because when I finally got the chance to come here, I was ready to go.”
• • •
Childers began building his race team when he finally arrived at the Stewart-Haas Racing shop.
“Rodney was able to go out and really interview every position on the race team and build a race team that had a lot of the characteristics of his personality,” Harvick said. “I’m a little bit more high-strung than Rodney, so we’re a good balance for each other. But the one thing about the way that our race team is built, it was built from the ground up. It had new cars, new trucks new trailers. Everything about it was built around how we wanted to build (it).”
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Right away, the pair just seemed to click. Their personalities differed in many ways, but they held one common trait; both competitive and driven, they wanted to win more than anything.
“It didn’t take long after we got Rodney and seeing Kevin and Rodney together, it was very evident why Kevin was adamant about him,” team owner Tony Stewart said. “The way that they interact with each other, the way that they communicate, the trust that Rodney has in Kevin and Kevin has in Rodney.
“When you find pairings like this, you guard ’em with your life because it’s kind of like Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Fennig and Mark Martin.”
Harvick and Childers hit the track together for the first time at a test at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Dec. 8, 2013. It was there when they began to see the potential for the No. 4 team.
“It was just eye opening for everybody, ‘Holy cow, we’re fast,’ ” Childers recalled. “Like, way fast. We used to look at the 48 that way, it’s like, ‘Man everywhere they went they were just crazy fast.’ We unloaded off the truck and communication went good and the car handled good and I think that day we realized we had something that we could work with, that we could win races with.
The second race on the 2014 schedule was Phoenix. A four-time winner and the track’s most recent winner, Harvick’s prowess in the desert pinned him as a favorite — even with a new team and crew chief.
Jeff Zelevansky | Getty Images
“When we went to Phoenix, we knew we were going to win, from the time we got there to the time we left,” Childers said. “That thought process never wavered the whole weekend.”
Harvick dominated the race with Childers atop the pit box, leading 224 laps and bringing the No. 4 to victory.
“(It was) a relief,” Harvick said with a chuckle as he recalled the duo’s first win. “Because so many people took such a big chance to …. start the team and sponsors changing organizations … To have that out of the way so early with a victory was a huge relief.”
Harvick and Childers won three more races as the year progressed. On Nov. 16, 2014 — nearly one year after their first test at Charlotte together — Harvick was crowned the 2014 Monster Energy Series champion with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
For Childers and Harvick, their pairing had come full circle; the championship was the reason for their collaboration from the beginning.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
“It was all about winning races. It was all about winning the championship and I could see the determination in his eyes,” Childers said. “He was willing to give up everything he had ever done at RCR just to go try to win a championship.
“For somebody like him to basically put all his chips on me and want me to be the guy to win a championship with, that meant the world to me. You always want somebody that has that belief in you.”
• • •
Heading into the pair’s fifth season together, the scene looks different for Harvick and Childers these days. Now veterans at Stewart-Haas Racing, they’ve won 14 races and 15 pole awards, leading 6,658 laps.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
But in terms of fundamentals, not much has changed. They dial in with the same focused mindset every weekend, remaining in constant communication even when they’re away from the race track — so much so that Childers says they seem to talk more to each other than to their wives.
That’s what it takes to win.
“I think a lot of those off-the-clock conversations lead to a lot of answers and a lot of questions and a lot of conversations that we probably wouldn’t have,” Harvick said. “But we talk every day – there’s not a day that goes by where there’s not a text or a phone call or something had happened. So, I feel like that communication is what has kept the 4 car competitive.”
Childers noted it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the No. 4 pairing connect.
“When I try to answer that question of why it has worked, I don’t know how to answer it,” he said. “It’s like when you find the perfect somebody and it just happens, you know? It seems like we think alike and we both want to win, both want to work hard, we both want to push each other to be better. I don’t know how to describe it other than that.”
• • •
With all that they’ve accomplished since those early days, Harvick and Childers’ first win at Phoenix seems like a small part in the No. 4 journey.
The image of it hangs in Childers’ office. For the crew chief, that picture is more than a fond memory.
“The biggest reason for the picture is to look up there and remember what kind of relationship we have and remember how much it means, and that I better be working hard,” he said. “You don’t ever want to lose that. It’s cool to have that relationship and be remembered by that every day.”
Peyton Manning, the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and Nationwide member/spokesperson, will serve as the Honorary Pace Car Driver for the 60th annual DAYTONA 500 on Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway.
The DAYTONA 500, first held in 1959 at the famed 2.5-mile high-banked tri-oval, is the season-opening race (TV – FOX, FOX Deportes; Radio – MRN, Sirius XM) for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Manning will be behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry XSE pacing the 40-car field prior to taking the green flag.
“Serving as the Honorary Pace Car Driver will be a truly unique and exciting experience,” Manning said. “I want to thank NASCAR, Daytona International Speedway and Nationwide for making this possible. I’m really looking forward to race day.”
Manning retired from the NFL following the 2015 season, which he capped by leading the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers. Manning also led the Indianapolis Colts to the 2006 Super Bowl title, beating the Chicago Bears. In an 18-year NFL career, Manning passed for 71,940 yards and 539 touchdowns, both all-time records. He was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player five times and was Super Bowl MVP in the Colts’ victory.
Manning’s first year of eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be 2021, when he will be considered a lock for induction.
As a collegiate player at the University of Tennessee, Manning led the Volunteers to the 1997 Southeastern Conference championship and was a consensus All-American as a senior. He became Tennessee’s all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards and 89 touchdowns and won 39 of 45 games as a starter, breaking the SEC record for career victories. Manning was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
“We’re talking true star power with this announcement, as Peyton Manning is one of the legends of both college football and the NFL,” said Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile. “He also has the persona and popularity to match his achievements. He’ll be an awesome Honorary Pace Car Driver and a great addition to our lineup of high-profile guests for the 60th DAYTONA 500.”
Tickets for the 60th annual DAYTONA 500 and other Speedweeks 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.
One of NASCAR’s fastest rising young guns is getting additional sponsorship for both the present and the future.
Hendrick Motorsports and NAPA Auto Parts have agreed to a two-year extension through 2020 in a deal that also increases NAPA’s number of races as a primary sponsor in 2018 for the No. 9 Chevrolet of Chase Elliott.
NAPA will now sponsor 26 races for Elliott from 2018-20, including all three Daytona 500s during that span.
“The relationship with NAPA has been a major part of my career starting in 2014,” Elliott said in a team release. “Their support has been huge for me, and I’m very thankful for what they’ve done for our whole team at Hendrick Motorsports. … I’m proud to represent all of those folks and look forward to having them part of our No. 9 team for many more years.”
Tuesday’s news comes on the heels of Elliott finishing fifth in the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings last year, his second full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports. Driving the No. 24 from 2016-17, Elliott logged 22 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes, to go along with three poles.
He transitioned into the No. 9 in the offseason as homage to his father, Bill Elliott.
NAPA first sponsored Elliott in the Xfinity Series in 2014, when the then-teenager drove to a series championship for JR Motorsports.
“NAPA made an incredible commitment early on in Chase’s career, and that has only grown over the years,” team owner Rick Hendrick said in a release. ” … The No. 9 team and all of us at Hendrick Motorsports are dedicated to NAPA’s success, and we look forward to working together and continuing to deliver in every aspect of our program.”
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards Ford: Blaney had the textbook breakout season in 2017. Along with his first victory, he gained in top fives, top 10s, laps led, average starting position and average finish from his first full Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in 2016. One of those top fives was a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500.
