Posted on by Brad Norman

Thanks to IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden stalking — er, staying at the same hotel as — Ryan Blaney, we have the first glimpses of the newly minted Team Penske No. 12 Ford driver with his new look.

After the 2017 season in which Blaney adopted the full ‘stache and flowing locks look, the 24-year-old driver announced he would be getting a haircut and a shave. He self-revealed the haircut.

And the first driver/Paparazzi pic from Newgarden showed the short hair but with mustache still intact. (And ooking a little like Mario Kart might be a new sponsor.)


Both drivers are attending the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and Newgarden got the scoop on Blaney’s new look and published it for the masses Monday via Twitter.

A more aerodynamic look, for sure.

MORE: Blaney’s hairstyles through the years

Posted on by Zack Albert

Dan Gurney, one of America’s greatest racing talents on the international stage and a five-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series, died Sunday. He was 86.

Gurney was the first driver to win races in NASCAR, Formula One and IndyCar. Only Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya have done so since.

Gurney’s family issued a statement confirming his passing, due to complications from pneumonia.

“With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today, January 14, 2018,” read the statement, attributed to his wife, Evi, the Gurney family and his All-American Racers teammates. “In deepest sorrow, with gratitude in our hearts for the love and joy you have given us during your time on earth, we say ‘Godspeed.’ ”

Gurney scored five victories in what is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, all at the former Riverside International Raceway road course in California during the 1960s. Four of those Riverside wins came with Wood Brothers Racing, the other with the Holman-Moody Ford operation.

Gurney also made three starts in the Daytona 500, with a best finish of fifth place in 1963. He also won the three-hour Daytona Continental sports-car race in 1962, the inaugural event which was the predecessor to IMSA’s Rolex 24 endurance race.

“The word ‘legend’ can sometimes be overused, but in describing Daniel Sexton Gurney, it’s the only word that fits,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “Dan Gurney was an American racing legend who accomplished nearly all there was to accomplish as a driver in our sport, from sports cars to NASCAR, Indy cars to Formula 1. Dan was an innovative car builder and a lifelong steward of motorsports beyond his on-track performance.”

Gurney made numerous contributions in the areas of aerodynamics and safety, and he also made his mark as a car builder. He developed a rear-wing extension nicknamed the “Gurney Flap,” which improved downforce, and he was also widely credited as the first driver to wear a full-face helmet.

Ford Motor Co.

The last of Gurney’s four Formula One wins — in the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix — came in a car he constructed. The previous week, Gurney achieved another momentous victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, piloting a Ford GT40 with co-driver A.J. Foyt. That triumph led to a motorsports tradition that continues today.

Handed a bottle of champagne at Le Mans for the customary post-race sip, an excited Gurney instead drenched bystanders in Victory Lane with a spray from the large bottle.

“I was so stoked that when they handed me the magnum of Moet, I shook the bottle and began spraying at the photographers, drivers, Henry Ford II, Carroll Shelby and their wives,” Gurney told author Eoin Young in 2013. “It was a very special moment. What I did with the champagne was totally spontaneous. I had no idea it would start a tradition. I was beyond caring and just got caught up in the moment.

“It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime occasions where things turned out perfectly. … I thought this hard-fought victory needed something special.”

Gurney also won seven times in IndyCar competition. He also prevailed in the Trans Am Series, driving for NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore.

“Of course it was fun,” Gurney said of his racing career, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2000. “It was more than fun. It was something that consumed one’s whole life. I think you’re fortunate if you can end up doing something that you love to do, and that was it for me. I wasn’t sure I would sustain that feeling, but I did.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Christopher Bell has a penchant for the big ones. Coming off a career year in which he began 2017 with his first Chili Bowl win and ended it by clinching the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, Bell opened 2018 in similar fashion by again winning one of racing’s most prestigious dirt races.

Bell, 23, started second in Saturday night’s 24-driver A-Main Feature championship race, dueled with fellow NASCAR star Kyle Larson, 25, and then capitalized on Larson’s apparent engine misfortune to go back-to-back at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, besting two-time champion Rico Abreu at the finish.

MORE: Recap Bell’s 2017

The Oklahoma native won the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based event, besting 344 other drivers over a long and ultimately fruitful week that had plenty of NASCAR flavor. In addition to Bell, Larson and Abreu (2015, 2016 winner), Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Justin Allgaier made deep runs.

Larson appeared to be the title favorite prior to his trouble. He started from the pole and traded the lead with Bell until having engine issues with less than 15 laps remaining while leading.

The Chili Bowl is an annual dirt midget race that has been held since 1987 and always draws interest from some of auto racing’s most talent drivers. The week-long event boasts five days of practice and qualifying events to set the 24-car field for the main event.

The winner of the Chili Bowl is presented with the Golden Driller trophy, which Bell kept close to his side even on the plane ride heading back.

 

Saturday started with two N-Feature races — the top four finishers from each N-Feature event advanced to the corresponding M-Feature races. Then the top four finishers from each M-Feature race then advanced into the L-Feature races. The format was used all the way up to the A-Main finale (six drivers advanced upward starting with D-Feature races), although drivers also could qualify for the A-Main throughout the week.

MORE: Larson photos through the years

Larson qualified for the A-Main early in the week, along with future brother-in-law Brad Sweet. On Thursday, Bell qualified for the A-Main as well, showing early speed that ultimately foretold of his second consecutive Golden Driller trophy.

Kahne, who enters 2018 driving for Leavine Family Racing after six seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, finished ninth in the first of two B-Main races, the final set of qualifiers before the title race, and did not advance to the championship. Justin Allgaier spun and didn’t complete his B-Main race, finishing 18th and missing the title race as well.

Roush Fenway Racing’s Stenhouse Jr., fresh of his first trip to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, didn’t repeat his 2017 trip to the A-Main. He flipped in the second B-Main Feature, but walked away from the incident and indicated in post-race interviews that he was OK.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Blaney’s ‘dos through the years | @nascarcasm’s NASCAR hair Hall of Fame

A new year, a new ride and now a new look for Ryan Blaney, who cut his long, flowing locks on Saturday prior to the ramping up of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Blaney, who hosted the Glass Case of Emotion podcast on NASCAR.com in 2017, is moving into Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford in 2018, joining Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano as Penske Cup drivers.

Blaney announced the big news via social media with a series of photos in the haircutting process.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Amy Earnhardt took husband Dale Earnhardt Jr. on quite the adventure Saturday.


Short answer: Mimosas. Or in Junior’s case, beer. But brunch wasn’t the end of the weekend escapades.

And that’s where it got really good. If you’ve never had a pedicure and you’re ticklish, you may find yourself in a similar state to Dale Jr. This is a video we simply can’t stop watching.

 

 

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that Noah Gragson will return to the No. 18 Tundra for the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season with primary sponsorship for all 23 races from Safelite AutoGlass®. The nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services will also serve as an associate sponsor on Harrison Burton’s No. 51 Tundra for his nine races at KBM this season.

Gragson finished 10th in the Truck Series championship standings after collecting one win, three poles, 187 laps led, four top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in his rookie campaign last year. The 19-year-old earned his first NCWTS victory last October at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway outdueling series veterans Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton in the closing laps. The Las Vegas native also competed in three events for KBM’s Super Late Model team in 2017, highlighted by his triumph in the prestigious ARCA/CRA Super Series Winchester 400 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in October.

The NASCAR Next alum cut his racing teeth on the same grounds as KBM owner Kyle Busch, getting his start at the age of 13 in the Bandoleros division at the Bullring – a 0.375-mile paved oval at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. After finding success in the Bandoleros, Gragson moved up to the Legends division in 2014 where he won the Young Lion Road Course championship and also began racing in the Super Late Model division at the Nevada track.

Gragson graduated to the K&N Pro Series West as a 16-year-old in 2015 and visited victory lane at Tucson (Ariz.) Speedway in just his third start. He went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors after producing two wins, one pole, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 13 starts, while finishing second in the championship standings. In 2016, he collected a combined four wins, 12 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes across 27 starts, while finishing in the top-five in the championship standings of both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Pro Series West divisions.

Burton, the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Jeff Burton, made his Truck Series debut with KBM at Martinsville in October of 2016 and enters 2018 with seven NCWTS starts under his belt. In six NCWTS starts in 2017, he recorded an average finish of 12.3 and earned a career-best fourth-place finish at Martinsville last October in his final start of the season. The 17-year-old also collected five victories en route to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship last year.

Posted on by Holly Cain

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Robert Yates showed up at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that late afternoon last May genuinely not knowing if this would be the year – if that would be the day – he heard his name called as part of the official unveiling of the five-person 2017 Hall of Fame induction class.

Already months into his valiant fight against liver cancer, Yates walked into the Grand Hall and was immediately surrounded by longtime friends and greeted fondly by supporters and race fans, all who had gathered for the historical announcement.

MORE: Legends, star power highlight HOF weekend | Meet the 2018 Hall of Fame class 

Three times previously the NASCAR champion engine builder and team owner had been nominated for induction. So when his name was announced as part of the 2017 group of honorees, the room erupted in joy and tears.

“I believe that was the fourth year he was on the ballot so we weren’t sure how it would go, just praying he would get voted in to the Hall of Fame,’’ Yates’ son Doug recalled. “He was so happy. He gave up his life for this sport. That was his choice but that was what it takes to be great at something and he did that. And he wouldn’t tell you that, but I will.

“It was the most gratifying moment of his whole career.”

And that is saying a lot.

The man who had built so many strong engines, may have been weaker of body but the same spirit and contagious positive energy he brought to the race track permeated through the crowd that day – it was easy to see the special extra something that makes Yates a stock car legend.

Sadly, Yates died five months later on Oct. 2 at the age of 74. His family will take part in next Friday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony in honor of this very honorable man.

Yates contributions to NASCAR are diverse and significant. And lasting.

He started his career as an engine builder in the late 1960s under the tutelage of Waddell Wilson and ultimately fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.

He was the chief engine builder for Hall of Famer Bobby Allison’s 1983 Cup championship team and built the engines that Hall of Famer Richard Petty drove to his final two victories – record 199th and 200th wins.

Following his time under the hood, Yates moved into a team ownership role and fielded the iconic No. 28 Texaco/Havoline car driven by the late Davey Allison and also the No. 88 Ford that Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett drove to the 1999 Cup championship. Allison produced Yates’ first win as an owner in 1989 at Talladega Superspeedway and Jarrett secured the beloved owner his last Cup trophy in 2005, also at Talladega.

Ernie Irvan, Hall of Famer Ricky Rudd and Elliott Sadler also won premier series races driving for Yates, who collected 57 Cup trophies as an owner including three Daytona 500 wins earned by Davey Allison (1992) and Jarrett (1996 and 2000).

His inclusion in the Hall of Fame seems a proper and fitting way to wrap up and recognize decades of hard work and high expectation. What a career Robert Yates made.

“I’d say my dad felt very blessed to be involved in the sport of NASCAR and the time he was involved really left itself to opportunities,’’ Doug Yates reflected. “When he started at Holman-Moody in the late 1960s that was the best school for an engine builder — to be there working alongside Waddell Wilson and all the other greats, building engines for the Wood Brothers and Junior Johnson and the famed Ford drivers of the time.

“Then to go and work for Junior Johnson who was one of his heroes.”

Doug Yates, 50, who carried on the family’s engine business with high regard – he was named NASCAR’s 2011 Engine Builder of the Year — recalled those early days recognizing his dad’s work ethic was comprised of equal parts high expectation and devotion.

“Back then you just worked 24-7, you didn’t have a lot of resources,’’ Doug said. “During the day, my dad would do the machine work on the engines to get them ready to assemble at night, and he said one night he was in there working, and he was about out of energy, and Junior [Johnson] came through there, patted him on the back and gave him a pep talk and said, ‘We’re going to win this race this weekend.’

“And dad said it just felt like it gave him so much motivation to keep going. One of the great influences in his life was how Junior Johnson was a leader and a hero. That was a great experience for him.”

And Yates soon would be regarded a leader and hero to others — as it turned out not only for his work on race cars but for his strength away from the garage fighting cancer.

Those who worked closely with Yates recognized and fully appreciated his mechanical talent and that led to more opportunity for the Charlotte native.

“I’m a great believer that things happen for a reason and he was as well,’’ Doug Yates said. “That ultimately lent itself to the owners Harry [Rainier] and J.T. [Lundy] saying, ‘Robert, we’re done racing. We’d like for you to buy the race team and the No. 28 Davey Allison Ford.’

“My dad was really hesitant. He never got into the sport to be a car owner, he just really focused on doing his best job every day whatever the task was. That was how he operated.

“So he told Davey [Allison] about this opportunity and Davey said, ‘Robert, if you’ll do this I will never leave you. You’ve got my word.’ They shook on it and Davey instilled the confidence in my dad to buy Robert Yates Racing.”

The Robert Yates Racing team began officially in 1989, quickly establishing itself of championship caliber with Allison winning 15 times in the next five years and finishing third in the Cup championship twice (1991 and ’92).

But Allison died in a helicopter accident two weeks after winning at Richmond, Va. in 1993 and understandably, the tragedy had a profound effect on Yates.

“That was probably the hardest thing for him. … It was really a moment of do we carry on or not?’’ Doug Yates said. “I think he carried on for Davey and also the people that it put so much into getting him there. You don’t want to let them down. “Then what happened to Ernie [suffered life-threatening injuries in an accident during a race at Michigan International Speedway in 1994] and ultimately winning the championship with Dale Jarrett.

“It was not an easy road by any means but it was his platform.”

“NASCAR gets the credit, the France family, for giving us this platform to do that. Dad was such a humble person. Being a car owner was not his dream. Doing a great job at whatever he did was what he did.

“And just timing and the way things evolved and being good at what he did and being at the right place at the right time gave him a platform.’’

And Yates used that platform to its full historical potential – enjoying decades of hard-earned success in a life well-lived and much respected. He was one of those rare, rare people who could rest well, knowing he made a positive difference and that not a soul had a disparaging word or thought.

That he was adored by so many was never more evident than last spring at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

A big smile never left Yates’ face as received the congratulatory hugs and handshakes.

“I don’t even know if I’ll sleep tonight,” Yates said in the moments after finding out he was a new inductee.

“I’m so honored and I love this sport, and I want this sport to do the same thing it did for me, again and again and again.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

WATCH: Sargeant to honor Tim Richmond with No. 25

GMS Racing has added a key piece to its 2018 driver roster, tabbing Dalton Sargeant for full-time duty in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this season.

Sargeant, 19, will drive the organization’s new No. 25 Chevrolet as a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate. He’ll have direction from longtime crew chief Doug Randolph, who most recently called the shots for Austin Cindric during last year’s deep playoff run for Brad Keselowski Racing.

RELATED: Driver, team changes for 2018

“Really excited about being in the Truck Series this year,” Sargeant told NASCAR.com “Racing in one of the top three levels in NASCAR is going to be something that’s really special and it’s always been a dream of mine. Really looking forward to that and seeing what we can do.”

Sargeant has six career starts in the Camping World Truck Series — four with Wauters Motorsports in 2015, and the last two races of the year with MDM Motorsports last season. His full-time driving duties in 2017 were in the ARCA Series, where he collected three wins and finished as the tour’s runner-up in the season-long standings.

Other facets of his new deal with GMS — including sponsorship and teammates — are set to be announced at a later date. But some of the known quantities for Sargeant include working alongside 2016 series champ Johnny Sauter, joining an organization that has enjoyed a steady rise in performance since it joined the Truck Series full time four years ago.

“It’s something that’s pretty incredible to watch because GMS Racing is a pretty new team,” Sargeant says. “Just to only be racing for a couple of years and to already have a championship and multiple wins under their belt is something that’s really encouraging. The first time I went to the shop and saw all the things that these guys are doing and the amount of hard work and effort that they’re putting in is something that’s special to be able to see.

“They want to keep growing and getting better and better, and want to keep winning. So that’s encouraging as well.”

Sargeant, a product of the NASCAR Next youth initiative, has already had some say in how his new team will look in 2018. He’ll campaign the No. 25 as a tribute to Tim Richmond, one of the hardest chargers in stock-car racing history. To emphasize the connection, the numerals on his GMS trucks will feature a strikingly similar font.

“Tim Richmond used to run it in the past, so that’s something that’s pretty cool — one of the guys that I look up to,” Sargeant said. “We kind of stylized the number a little bit after the way it looked when he ran it. Looking forward to that, it’s going to be pretty cool. He’s one of the best guys that’s raced in NASCAR.”

Sargeant also will have a veteran crew chief in his corner. Randolph has served as a crew chief in all three NASCAR national series, and has come close to Truck Series titles in two of the last three seasons — leading Tyler Reddick to a runner-up result in 2015 and helping direct Cindric to a third-place effort in the championship hunt last season.

Randolph landed with GMS after Brad Keselowski Racing disbanded following the 2017 campaign. Sargeant already is considering him a crucial asset.

“Doug’s a great guy. He seems really smart to me, really logical, down to the point,” Sargeant said. “He really cares about this a lot still. He wants to go out there and win as many races as possible. He’s definitely a great leader for our team and really looking forward to working with him. He’s going to be able to teach me a lot this year and we’ll see if we can’t have some great success together.”

Sargeant has called his 2017 campaign one of his most memorable in the sport, the latest chapter in a career that began with go-kart racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway near his south Florida home. He says he hopes that momentum buoys him in his first full season at NASCAR’s national level, with aspirations that tiptoe up to the ultimate goal at Homestead-Miami in November.

“I think as a whole, we have a lot of goals that we want to try to reach as a team,” Sargeant says, “but for myself and our group at the 25 truck, I think we’re really looking forward to going out there and definitely trying to compete for Rookie of the Year as well as pop off a couple of wins. Hope for the best, try and make it to the final four and see if we can’t win a championship.”

Posted on by RJ Kraft

RELATED: Who are the early favorites for the 2018 title? | Driver tracker for the season

The calendar has turned to 2018 and drivers will be in Daytona for Speedweeks in less than a month meaning the new season is inching closer.

Looking back at 2017, Martin Truex Jr. set a blistering pace with more than 2,000 laps led, a host of stage wins, plenty of playoff points and eight wins, including a victory in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to earn the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Truex had his fair share of challengers over the course of 2017 from recent champions in Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick to breakout stars in Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. All that begs the question: Who is best positioned to serve as the biggest threat to unseat Truex heading into the 2018 season? NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert and RJ Kraft weigh in.

Albert: Looking for prospective candidates? Let’s start with the driver who came a whisker’s breadth away from derailing the Truex train last season — Kyle Busch. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has landed four or more victories in four of the last five seasons, and he’s been a Championship 4 participant in the Homestead-Miami finale for three years running.

Consider also that Busch is still just 32 — perhaps quote-unquote “old” as the age of the starting grid trends younger, but still well in the prime years of his career. The combination of talent with the backing of one of the sport’s most potent teams in JGR makes Busch a likely contender for a second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crown.

Kraft: I like trends, and I think Larson will follow the template laid out by Truex over the past three seasons of gradual growth that builds to a championship. In Truex’s case, he got back to Victory Lane in 2015 and followed it up with a four-win campaign in 2016 before last season’s championship. Larson scored his first Monster Energy Series win in 2016 followed by four victories in 2017. Given Larson’s repeated mishaps in the latter half of the playoffs, it’s easy to forget that he set new career highs in laps led, top fives and top 10s in his breakout season. Behind Truex, no driver gained more stage points than Larson as he took full advantage of the new format.

What is the key to the Chip Ganassi Racing driver taking the next step to a championship? Notching wins at 1.5-mile tracks, which he has yet to do. With four runner-ups at 1.5-milers in 2017, it seems like Larson is closing in on those victories — almost as fast as he gets around on the high line.

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Fernando Alonso took his seat in the Daytona International Speedway media center last Friday, smiled and looked up at the gathering crowd — competitors, news people, officials filled the room.

The two-time Formula One world champion was at the World Center of Racing over the weekend preparing for his inaugural start in the Rolex 24 At Daytona – the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener and a racer’s resume must-do.

Despite only a few laps in the United Autosports No. 23 Ligier LMP2 before initially speaking with the crowd of reporters, the 36-year old Spaniard seemed enthusiastic, optimistic and genuinely happy to be there.

Far from the buttoned-up all-business F1 race weekend vibe, Alonso was clearly absorbing details of the busy, new setting and talking up the challenge he looks forward to undertaking in the Jan. 27-28 twice-around-the-clock race.

RELATED: Alonso announces he will compete in Rolex 24

“I did unfortunately a short time, only three laps this morning, but enough to have a feeling in the car,’’ Alonso shared with a smile. “I don’t know the speedway as well, the corners with the high banking were  … special.

“You feel the compression in the body, you feel the visibility change because when in a normal car on the circuit, your view in the car is longer ahead. When you are in the corner with banking you see only the next 200 meters of the track. But it was good fun, a good feeling after missing track time.

“So far, so good.’’

So good for all. Alonso’s presence in the race has garnered headlines and interest around the world. His impressive debut in the Indianapolis 500 last May – he led 27 laps early but retired with 21 laps remaining because of an engine problem – has already made Alonso a fan favorite in the United States. And his willingness to compete in yet another completely new form of racing in the Rolex 24 has only raised the level of intrigue and respect.

“I don’t remember a time in my tenure in sports car racing which goes back a long time that we’ve had an active F1 driver on the grid, and to have an active F1 driver of Alonso’s credentials. … is nothing short of remarkable,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton between testing sessions at the Roar Before the 24. “Of course, his debut at Indy last year cannot be overstated in terms of the impact it had.

“It created a groundswell of interest in the United States and overseas. … it will be significant and certainly with what this race represents and uniqueness of him competing in a multi-class race over 24 hours. The dynamics of that … We all saw remarkable embrace of his ability to compete in highest level at the Indy 500 and I think we will see the same here.’’ 

RELATED: AJ Allmendinger to race in Rolex 24 at Daytona

Alonso, who in 2005 was the youngest world champion in F1 history (age 24 years, 58 days), was as impressed with the atmosphere in Daytona Beach last week as with what awaits him in the world-renowned race. He spoke about the people who seemed to be following his every move from paddock to pit to race car. And far from being annoyed at the attention, he seemed genuinely impressed by the scene, enthused by the fanfare. And that was three weeks before the Rolex 24 green flag.

He wondered aloud also what the scene must be for NASCAR’s Feb. 18 season-opening Daytona 500 on the track’s high banks. This particular race track, he understood, elicits great emotion and excitement hosting stock car’s highest profile event.

“Two days here, but you smell motor racing here,’’ Alonso noted of his first impression. “That’s a good feeling for any driver. The speedway is amazing. The size of everything is just huge. I imagine this grandstand full of people for the NASCAR race would be an amazing thing to experience.”

He reiterated that – for now – his Daytona 500 experience would be as a spectator, but the question of whether he might one day consider competing in NASCAR’s biggest race was inevitable.

“My thoughts at the moment are that NASCAR driving technique is very unique to those types of cars,’’ Alonso said. “I would need a lot of practice, a lot of testing before making that adventure. At the moment, I have enough weekends free for what I’m doing. No plans yet, but definitely after being here for the 24 hours, definitely I will watch the [Daytona 500] race on television at least and enjoy the race.’’ 

MORE: Scott Pruett will retire following Rolex 24 at Daytona

Alonso said he was hopeful to run more endurance races in the future, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and perhaps make another Indy 500 start – all timing based on his busy schedule with F1. And race fans across the globe couldn’t be more thrilled with the news of his career expansion.

First, however, will be this month’s Rolex 24 and judging the crowd reaction and Alonso’s own demeanor so far, it’s a toss-up who will be more excited to have him back in Daytona for the race.

“It’s more of the same goal as Indianapolis,’’ Alonso said of gauging his expectations in the Rolex 24. “I have the whole track to learn and different driving techniques. I try to learn from the specialists of endurance races and try to be a better driver when the 24 hours finishes. That’s the first thing.

“This is first time for me in an endurance race. First time for me in a prototype car. First time driving at night. First time driving with GTs around. Many new things will come. Step by step.

“That’s quite a big challenge but I’m ready to join and as it happened in Indianapolis if you feel great opportunity and you feel competitive, you go for it.”