Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full Daytona schedule | Daytona 500 Power Rankings

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the start of a new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season arrives, life is quite a bit better for Martin Truex Jr. — not to mention noticeably different.

Now that he’s returning to Daytona as the series champion, Truex feels that difference.

“I do a little bit, honestly,” Truex told the NASCAR Wire Service on Wednesday at Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway. “I feel like less pressure, more relaxed, more confident than I’ve ever been. Excited to start the season—absolutely. It’s been a crazy, busy off season. Been a lot going on. Haven’t had much time off.

“I think now that the season starts, it’s kind of set in even more what we did last year, how incredible it was, how much it means to us all. Just getting to talk about it in the questions, the congrats, I mean, it’s all just still coming. It’s been pretty amazing.”

Indeed, Truex can be forgiven for wanting to relive a remarkable year. He dominated NASCAR’s new stage racing format, won a series-best eight races, led a series-best 2,253 laps and capped off the season by winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway to secure the title.

The rest of the garage remembers clearly how dominant he was.

“I feel like the same person, but when I come to the track, I get a little more respect,” said Truex during the day-long media event in advance of Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX). “I definitely feel that. That’s always a good thing.”

Barely a week ago, Truex’s long-time girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, completed her second round of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.

RELATED: Martin Truex Jr. and Sherry Pollex through the years

“She’s doing good,” Truex said. “Feeling great. Happy for her she can start getting back to normal life. She’s starting to feel pretty good again already. It was Tuesday, so usually by Friday or Saturday she’s feeling a little under the weather.

“Feeling pretty good yesterday and last night. Just nice to see her get back to normal life, not having to think about in three weeks she’s going to have to take drugs again, feel like crap.”

Pollex was first diagnosed with cancer in 2014, Truex’s first season with Denver, Colorado-based Furniture Row Racing. Not until the end of the 2015 season, when he was paired with crew chief Cole Pearn, did Truex begin to realize the team’s potential — or his own.

In 2016, Truex led more than 100 laps in eight different races, including a record 392 of 400 laps in a dominating victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, but hard luck kept him out of Victory Lane more often than he would have liked. Yes, Truex won four times, then a career-best, but he failed to duplicate his 2015 advancement to the Championship 4 race at Homestead.

Still, Truex isn’t sure he needed the disappointments of 2016 to help prepare him for his title run a year later.

“I think any time you have to deal with disappointment — things don’t go the way you expected them to or thought they would or should — it’s a tough deal,” Truex said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have to go through those things, figure out how to come out on the other side of them stronger.

“I don’t know. I felt like we were a great team in ’16. Things didn’t go our way. I would say we were a better team in ’17. That’s probably the reason why.”

Though the 2017 championship is the pinnacle of Truex’s career so far, he feels his No. 78 Toyota team is capable of more — even with the stats he accumulated last year.

“It’s pretty crazy to look at the numbers, honestly,” Truex said. “It’s pretty ridiculous. It’s going to be tough to beat. It’s going to be tough to match that, for sure. I think we can do it. We’re up for that challenge. Really feel like we could have won 10 or 12 races if things would have gone a little different.

“I think our focus is starting the season off here, figure out where we’re at, go from there. I’ve got a lot of confidence in my team that we can still continue to do some great things. Certainly won’t be happy unless we do.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Hendrick Motorsports 2018 preview

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – William Byron’s face brightened and he laughed a bit talking about his new high-definition reality as a member of the championship Hendrick Motorsports team in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The 20-year old rookie got his first taste of stardom earlier this week and said he was a little taken aback when he unexpectedly got “recognized” having dinner at an Outback Steakhouse near Daytona International Speedway.

“That part has been different,’” Byron said, smiling. “I went out to eat last night and I got stopped by four or five people in the restaurant, and that was so different knowing that people were knowing what we were doing.

“That’s a cool feeling and makes you realize that there are people knowing what we’re doing. It was cool to have that fan interaction.”

It’s something Byron really should get used to. The driver of the famed No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet is following in the footsteps of retired driver Jeff Gordon who earned four championships in Hendrick’s No. 24 and more recently, the 2016 Rookie of the Year Chase Elliott who switched to the No. 9 for this season.

Byron comes into his big opportunity well-versed in success. He won seven races and had 16 top 10s in 23 races as an 18-year old rookie in the Camping World Truck Series. Last year he won four races and had 22 top-10 finishes in 33 starts en route to the Xfinity Series championship.

The spotlight is bright, the expectations substantial. And he handled his first Daytona 500 Media Day well, offering well-thought out answers to the large contingent of reporters – also showing both a good sense of humor and perspective.

“The fan support and the drivers who came before us at Hendrick Motorsports is something that we can build on,” said Byron, during the day-long media event in advance of Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX). “It’s a golden opportunity to go out and show what we can do. We have great race cars and great fan support. We’re already way ahead of what most rookies have to go through, and I feel like that’s an advantage for me and the fans will be eager to see what we can do on the race track in the 24 car.

“The bond that I have with my crew chief [Darian Grubb] will be the strongest thing that I can lean on, and as we continue to progress through the 500 and through the season we’re hopefully going to do just like we did at the Vegas test and use those first couple of races to feel the temperature, and then click off on all cylinders.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Danica Patrick through the years

The list of celebrities scheduled to appear at Sunday’s Daytona 500 has grown by one notable name:

NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Aaron Rodgers
Al Bello | Getty Images

That’s Rodgers, Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL MVP for the Green Bay Packers.

Oh, and the same Rodgers who happens to be dating driver Danica Patrick.

“He’s going to be here to support me and he’s excited,” Patrick told The Associated Press this week. “I’m excited to show him what I do.”

Patrick confirmed last month that she was dating Rodgers, who broke up with actress Olivia Munn last year.

Patrick and Rodgers have been low-key about their relationship, although TMZ has snapped a few photos of them together at dinner in Arizona and at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Patrick and Monster Energy Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ended their relationship in late 2017 after dating for nearly five years.

Stenhouse, for his part, said last month that he won’t race Patrick any differently than any other driver in Daytona.

RELATED: Stenhouse: ‘I don’t think I’ll race any differently’

“Heck, when we first started racing we got in crashes anyway,” Stenhouse said in January. “So it is what it is. I’ll just go compete as hard as I can. I plan on putting myself in position to win the race.”

Posted on by Track Release

Former Atlanta Braves great and new Baseball Hall of Fame member Chipper Jones will serve as an Honorary Race Official for the 60th annual DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18 (FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN Radio and SiriusXM Radio), the opening race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Jones, a native of nearby Pierson, Florida, was voted into the Hall on Jan. 24, in his first year of eligibility. Considering his credentials, that was not surprising. During his 19-year career (1993-2012) – all with Atlanta – he posted a .303 career batting average, 468 home runs and 1,623 RBI. He was an eight-time All-Star and the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1999. He led the Braves to three World Series appearances, winning in 1995. Jones rejoined the Braves’ organization in 2015 as special assistant to baseball operations.

As part of his Honorary Race Official duties, Jones will be introduced at the drivers’ meeting, participate in pre-race ceremonies, ride in one of the parade cars and take part in question-and-answer sessions in fan hospitality areas and the UNOH Fanzone.

“We’re going to have one of the legendary stars of the ‘National Pastime’ join us for ‘The Great American Race,’ ” said Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile. “Chipper Jones was an obvious choice for the Hall of Fame this year. He’s also a local hero. We’re thrilled to welcome him back home for the 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.

Posted on by Staff Report

For the fourth year in a row, Real Racing 3, one of Electronic Art’s most popular mobile games, is releasing its NASCAR update.

Since partnering with NASCAR in 2015, more than 600 million NASCAR races have been completed to date by people around the world.

The premise is simple: you are the new “young gun” driver breaking into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The game starts with a tutorial race and NASCAR Academy (driving school). Once learning the basics of stock car racing, like drafting and reading lines, players will graduate and move on to compete in a full pre-season. Here, drivers can earn currency and complete events to unlock the “hero car” of the game and the most prestigious event in motorsports: the Daytona 500.

Kyle Larson’s No. 42 CreditOne Bank Chevrolet Camaro is this year’s featured car.

“It’s cool to have our Credit One Bank Chevy Camaro ZL1 be featured as the ‘hero car’ in the latest update to the game,” Larson said. “I know the game has a really big following, especially outside of the United States, so it’s a neat opportunity for me to hopefully gain some new fans. Hopefully showcasing me and some of the other drivers to a different audience is also an opportunity to get more people who aren’t that aware of NASCAR interested in the sport, and introduce a younger audience to the sport.”

The update gives players the chance to race at Daytona International Speedway with the same drivers and cars that will be competing there on Sunday, Feb. 18.

“As Real Racing 3 returns to the Daytona 500 for an incredible fourth year, we could not be more excited to be part of the rich history of NASCAR,” said Louis Gigliotti, RR3’s senior producer. “Four years into this partnership, we feel Real Racing 3 and has brought an experience that truly captures the thrill and authenticity of NASCAR at the Daytona International Speedway that fans and players demand.”

Real Racing 3 prides itself on giving players a premier racing experience. Powered by the “remarkable Mint™ 3 Engine,” the game features detailed car damage, fully functioning rear view mirrors and dynamic reflections for truly HD racing. You can swap paint and nudge other cars off the road, but since the game has the best mechanics, you can always keep driving after an incident.

Fans will access to the latest cars and paint schemes of some of the most popular drivers in NASCAR. As players progress through the game, they’ll be able to unlock the following drivers: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Kyle Busch.

Play versus friends as well as strangers synchronously in races lasting anywhere from one to 10 minutes. The more you win, the more you earn. As players progress through the game and earn currency, they can upgrade their car to give it an edge over the competition. This includes: engine tuning, drivetrain overhauls and brake upgrades.

Real Racing 3’s 2018 NASCAR update hit app stores on Feb. 13. It’s compatible with Apple and Android devices, but it can also be played on tablets and Android TV with the use of a controller. An added bonus, it’s free to download and free to play.

The NASCAR update is available on Real Racing 3 for a limited time, so download and play before it’s too late.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Earnhardt high on Daytona 500 moments list | Dale Jr. gives kudos to Bowman

“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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MkFzZtSz3A&feature=youtu.be

Posted on by Kathy Sheldon

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.

Team Penske 

Manufacturer: Ford 

Engine: Roush-Yates

Drivers:  Brad Keselowski, No. 2; Ryan Blaney, No. 12; Joey Logano, No. 22

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 BlaneyRyan 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.”

PREVIOUS TEAM PREVIEWS

Feb. 1: Front Row Motorsports
Feb. 2: Richard Petty Motorsports
Feb. 3: Leavine Family Racing
Feb. 5: JTG Daugherty Racing
Feb. 6: Germain Racing
Feb. 7: Roush Fenway Racing
Feb. 8: Richard Childress Racing

Feb. 9: Wood Brothers Racing

Feb 12: Chip Ganassi Racing
Feb. 13: Hendrick Motorsports

Posted on by Staff Report

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 

Chase Elliott
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.

William Byron
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.

Jimmie Johnson
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.

Alex Bowman
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.

PREVIOUS TEAM PREVIEWS

Feb. 1: Front Row Motorsports
Feb. 2: Richard Petty Motorsports
Feb. 3: Leavine Family Racing
Feb. 5: JTG Daugherty Racing
Feb. 6: Germain Racing
Feb. 7: Roush Fenway Racing
Feb. 8: Richard Childress Racing
Feb. 9: Wood Brothers Racing
Feb 12: Chip Ganassi Racing

Posted on by Steve Luvender

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.

Thumbs up: The new FOX Sports leaderboard

https://twitter.com/steveluvender/status/962352357618192384

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.

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.

Sure enough, Keselowski pulled it off, claiming the first checkered flag of 2018.

Two thumbs up for No. 2. If you’re going to predict you’ll win, you’d better come through — he did.

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour news

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.

RELATED: Preece earns first Xfinity win

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.

RELATED: Sadler, Preece separated by officials

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.”