Posted on by Staff Report

What channels are NASCAR races on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App |  How to find FS1, FS2 | Get FOX Sports GO | How to find NBCSN

Monday, February 12
1:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, February 13
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, February 14
noon, Daytona 500 Media Day, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (2-hour show), FS1

Thursday, February 15
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub, (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., A Perfect Storm: The 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
5:30 a.m., Classic NASCAR: 1993 Daytona 500, FS1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1
1 p.m., Untold Stories: Daytona, FS1
2 p.m., Classic NASCAR: 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Can-Am Duels at Daytona, FS1 (Canada: TSN 1, 4)
10 p.m., Classic NASCAR: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
10:30 p.m., Classic NASCAR: 1993 Daytona 500, FS1

Friday, February 16
3:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Can-Am Duel at Daytona (re-air), FS1
noon: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
2 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 1)
4 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1
6 p.m., Beyond the Wheel 2018, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250, FS1
10 p.m., Classic NASCAR: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
10:30 p.m., Classic NASCAR: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
11 p.m., Beyond the Wheel 2018 (re-air), FS1

Saturday, February 17
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice (re-air), FS1
5:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice (re-air), FS1
6:30 a.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
7:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 (re-air), FS1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO)
11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
noon, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
1 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity, FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: PowerShares QQQ 300, FS1 (Canada: TSN 1, 3, 4)
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post Race, FS1
5:30 p.m., Beyond the Wheel, 2018 (re-air), FS1

Sunday, February 18
1 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: PowerShares QQQ 300 (re-air), FS1
3:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., 100,000 Cameras: Daytona 500, FS1
5 a.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
6 a.m., A Perfect Storm: The 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
7 a.m., Classic NASCAR: 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
7:30 a.m., Untold Stories, Daytona, FS1
8:30 a.m., Classic NASCAR: 1988 Daytona 500, FS1
9 a.m., Classic NASCAR: 1993 Daytona 500, FS1
9:30 a.m., Classic NASCAR: 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
10 a.m., Classic NASCAR: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
11 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX
1 p.m.. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pre Race, FOX
2:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Daytona 500, FOX (Canada; TSN 1, 3, 4, 5)

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full race results | Every winner of The Clash
SHOP: Keselowski gear

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For once, as he put it, Brad Keselowski didn’t “choke away” a chance at victory during Speedweeks at Daytona.

 

Just the opposite. Taking the lead on Lap 39 of the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, Keselowski held it the rest of the way to win the exhibition kick-off race to the 2018 season, leading Team Penske to a 1-2-4 finish.

 

And Keselowski, who led 43 of the 75 laps, took the checkered flag with a large piece of debris on the nose of his No. 2 Ford Fusion, with the water temperature in the engine rising to dangerous levels.

 

“I was worried about the run (of cars behind him), but the car was way overheating there at the end, and I was more worried about it blowing up than anything else,” Keselowski said. “(Engine builder) Doug Yates and his guys did a good job giving me something real durable to take all that and keep digging.

 

“I’m really proud of the whole effort here. What a way to start Speedweeks, putting the Miller Lite Ford in Victory Lane. I’m really proud of my team… I felt like we were due today.”

 

Keselowski has five victories at Talladega, but his only other superspeedway win came in the July 2016 race at Daytona. During February, the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion was batting .000, making Sunday’s start to Speedweeks a special occasion.

 

“It means a lot,” Keselowski said. “I’ve never won anything here during Speedweeks, and I feel like I’ve choked them away, to be quite honest. You need one to break through. Hopefully, this is our breakthrough.”

RELATED: Keselowski happy to come through with a win at Daytona

 

Last year’s Clash winner, Joey Logano, finished second to his teammate, with Kurt Busch running third and Team Penske newbie Ryan Blaney fourth—with Ford drivers sweeping the top four positions.

 

Austin Dillon, who started from the pole, came home fifth in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, avoiding a last-lap melee that started when contact from Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet turned Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 into the outside wall on the backstretch.

 

Johnson failed to finish the Clash for the seventh straight year.

 

After Keselowski grabbed the lead, the field gradually strung out to single file in the top lane, with smaller groups of cars unable to make significant runs on the bottom. On the final lap, however, Kurt Busch darted past Blaney, who had dropped to the inside in a last-ditch effort to win the race.

 

Behind the lead cars, Larson tagged Johnson and turned him into the wall, collecting the cars of Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne and defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. in the wreck.

 

Kurt Busch, the defending Daytona 500 winner, was pleased with his third-place result and what it might portend for his defense in the “Great American Race.”

 

“Project number one was to do all the laps so that we could understand more about our tires and our setup and the way that the car was going to handle,” Busch said. “Then step number two was to have fun. I had a blast.

 

“I wanted to make another move on the last lap but ran out of steam because the guys behind me got too wide. I couldn’t jump in there and go after the Penske guys. It’s a good day for Ford and good day for us and Billy Scott, my new crew chief. Now we’ll go back and debrief about our car.”  

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Bowman wins Daytona 500 pole | Drivers of the No. 88

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not be driving this season, but the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet still took a familiar position on Sunday with newcomer Alex Bowman winning the Daytona 500 pole ahead of the Feb. 18 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) race.

This marks the second straight season with the No. 88 sitting on the front row for the “Great American Race.” And from the sidelines, Junior and wife Amy Earnhardt were cheering on their former team.

PHOTOS: Dale Jr. through the years

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full qualifying speeds | How the Duels work

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Junior Nation, you have a new standard bearer.

Alex Bowman, the successor to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, couldn’t have had a more auspicious start to the next phase of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career — namely, winning the pole position for next Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In his first official competition as the full-time driver of the vaunted No. 88, Bowman sped around 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 46.002 seconds in the second and final round of Sunday’s single-car qualifying, a time that translated to an average speed of 195.644 mph.

Bowman knew from the outset he had a car capable of winning the pole. The pressure was squarely on his shoulders to fulfill the potential of his equipment.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” said Bowman, who won his second career pole in his last three Monster Energy starts, dating back to November 2016 at Phoenix, where he was subbing for an injured Earnhardt. “Our Nationwide Camaro ZL1 has been great since we unloaded.

“All the guys back at the chassis shop, body shop, and the Hendrick engine shop have been top-notch. They’ve all worked so hard. And we knew we were going for the pole. That’s what we’re here to do.” 

MORE: Projected Duels lineups

Bowman was the 12th driver to take a lap in the first round of qualifying, and his speed of 194.885 mph stood up as fastest of the session. But that also meant Bowman had a long wait as the last to make a run in the final round.

“I thought we were at a little disadvantage, letting the car cool down as long as we did, since we went pretty early in the first round,” said Bowman, the 41st different driver to win a Daytona 500 pole. “I was a little nervous for that second round. But it took off well off pit road, and I did everything I could do.

“But it really comes down to the crew and all the guys back at the shop, whether it’s the aero group, the engine shop, the chassis shop. Everybody works so hard at these speedway cars, especially (for) the 500. It just means the world to have (sponsor) Nationwide support and to be able to put it on the pole.”

Under a format in which the only the two front-row qualifiers are locked into their starting positions for the Great American Race, Bowman topped second-place Denny Hamlin, the 2016 Daytona 500 winner, who covered the distance in 46.132 seconds (195.092 mph).

Though he was one spot short of the pole, Hamlin was elated to secure a front-row starting spot for the first time in his career. Make that elated and surprised.

“This was way out of the blue for us,” Hamlin said. “I literally am so ecstatic. It’s just so out of the blue, because, obviously, I thought that today was going to be a tough day qualifying. We focused so much on race trim yesterday (in Saturday’s practice).

“We stuck in a pack, and I think we did one real mock run which wasn’t really even a mock run and we were so far off that we just switched and made sure our car was going to handle real good on Thursday and obviously next Sunday.”

Jimmie Johnson was third fastest on Sunday at 194,734 mph, earning the second-place starting position in Thursday night’s first Can-Am Duel 150-mile qualifying race, one of the two events that sets the starting order for the Daytona 500.

Kyle Busch (194.704 mph) will start on the outside of the front row in the second Duel after qualifying fourth. Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender William Byron was fifth fastest in time trials, giving Hendrick Motorsports three of the top five cars in the competitive debut of the new Camaro ZL1 race car.

Last season’s Monster Energy Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year, Erik Jones was sixth, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Suarez. Kevin Harvick was eighth quickest in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, as four Chevrolets, four Toyotas and four Fords transferred to the second round of qualifying.

Notes: For her last start in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car, Danica Patrick was 28th fastest in qualifying in the No. 7 GoDaddy Chevrolet… The Daytona 500 pole was the fourth straight for team owner Rick Hendrick, tying him with Harry Ranier (1979-1982) for most consecutive poles for the Great American Race… Former Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne was 18th fastest in his competitive debut in the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet… Darrell “Bubba” Wallace qualified 25th in his first outing as the full-time driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet… In his debut in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, Aric Almirola was 13th fastest, failing to transfer to the final round by .005 seconds.

Posted on by Staff Report

PHOTOS: The best of the weekend

Sunday’s Daytona 500 single-car qualifying set only the front row for the ‘Great American Race’ —  Alex Bowman is on the pole in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Denny Hamlin will start second in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota when the green flag drops Feb. 18 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The qualifying speeds also set the lineups for Thursday’s Can-Am Duels at Daytona (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the twin 60-lap races that determine the full starting lineup for the 60th running of the Daytona 500.

RELATED: How Daytona 500 qualifying works

Duel 1 is typically comprised from the odd-numbered drivers on the Daytona 500 qualifying speed chart — first, third, fifth, etc. Duel 2 is then the even-finishing drivers. The duel lineups could be minimally altered from that formula, though, to ensure an even number of Open, non-Charter teams in each duel race.

Below are the official lineups for each Duel race.

DUEL 1 LINEUP

 STARTING POSITION
  DRIVER  TEAM
 1. Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports
 2. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
 3. William Byron Hendrick Motorsports
 4. Daniel Suarez Joe Gibbs Racing
 5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing
 6. Joey Logano Team Penske
 7. Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing
 8. Ryan Blaney Team Penske
 9. Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing
 10. Brad Keselowski Team Penske
 11. Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing
 12. Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing
 13. Darrell Wallace Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports
 14. Ty Dillon Germain Racing
 15. Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing
 16. Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports
 17. Justin Marks Rick Ware Racing
 18. Jeffrey Earnhardt Starcom Racing
 19. David Gilliland RBR Enterprises
20. David Ragan Front Row Motorsports

DUEL 2 LINEUP

STARTING POSITION
 DRIVER TEAM
1. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
2. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
3. Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing
4. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
5. Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
6. Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing
7. Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing
8. Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing
9. Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing
10. Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing
11. Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing
12. Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports
13. Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing
14. Danica Patrick Premium Motorsports
15. AJ Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing
16. Matt DiBenedetto GO FAS Racing
17. DJ Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing
18. Mark Thompson Phoenix Air Racing
19. Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports
20. Gray Gaulding BK Racing

 

Posted on by Sponsored Content

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Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Austin Dillon landed the pole position for Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash with nary a show of speed nor skill. Instead, Saturday’s pole-winning move came courtesy of luck, from a fill-in representative of Richard Childress Racing.

 

Dillon’s RCR No. 3 Chevrolet will lead the 17-car field to the green flag Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) in the annual 75-lap exhibition. Lead engineer Seth Chavka, subbing for crew chief Justin Alexander, and a young participant from quarter-midget competition pulled the No. 1 starting position in a blind draw at Saturday evening’s Speedweeks Premiere at Daytona fan festival in the Daytona International Speedway infield.

RELATED: Starting lineup | See every car in the field | Pit stall assignments for ‘The Clash’

 

Chavka indicated that Alexander has been ailing from a case of the flu, and that his status for Sunday’s race was in limbo. No matter who’s atop the pit box for Dillon and the No. 3 bunch, Chavka said starting from the pole was a pleasant perk.

 

“I think it matters a little bit,” Chavka said. “I mean, if we can stay up front, we’re going to do that all night long. That’s the goal for every week.”

 

Denny Hamlin will start alongside Dillon on the front row after his crew chief, Mike Wheeler, drew the No. 2 spot. Joey Logano, Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson will round out the top five starting positions.

 

Clash participants completed their only practice Saturday morning, and Ryan Blaney — set for his first full season driving the Team Penske No. 12 — led that 80-minute session. Blaney will start 15th Sunday.

 

The field is primarily made up of last year’s pole winners, which account for 12 of the 17 drivers. The rest of the field includes last year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff participants (three) and former Daytona 500 pole winners (two).

Full lineup for The Clash:

1-Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2-Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3-Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

4-Erik Jones, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

5-Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

6-Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota

7-Kasey Kahne, No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet

8-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford

9-Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

10-Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet

11-Ryan Newman, No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

12-Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

13-Kyle Busch, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

14-Kurt Busch, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

15-Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

16-Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet

17-Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Kennedy named General Manager of Truck Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — France family scion Ben Kennedy brings a welcome point of view to his new role as general manager of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

As recently as last November, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kennedy competed in both the NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. The son of International Speedway Corporation CEO Lesa France Kennedy and the nephew of NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, Kennedy also fielded a team in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.

“I think, more than anything, I can kind of bring my own perspective into the series,” Kennedy said Saturday. “I think being on both the driver side as well as the team owner side, I see both lenses, kind of, on the competition side.”

All told, Kennedy ran 73 Camping World Truck Series events and 17 Xfinity races, posting a victory in the Truck Series last year at Bristol. Though he says he will miss the competition, Kennedy is ready for the excitement of a new challenge on the management side.

“I had been thinking about it for a long time, and it was certainly a long decision for me,” said Kennedy, 26. “But I was happy with what I’ve done in my career in the trucks as well as Xfinity, and had some opportunities to continue forward. 

“But I think more than anything, I’m so passionate about this sport and so passionate about the health of the sport, and this opportunity kind of came along, and really weighing out all my options, it made the most sense for me now and for the long run as well.

“I think it’s a good time for it, and the Camping World Truck Series is the best place for it.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Byron leads final practice before 500 qualifying | Full Speedweeks schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When is “worse” actually “better?”

When a driver talks about the way his race car handles.

“Worse” in racer parlance means tougher to drive, and to the elite drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, that’s a good thing. The stars of the sport would rather see races decided by the person behind the wheel, rather than the power under the hood.

Traditionally, Daytona International Speedway has been a handling track, but a repave in 2010 tipped the scale toward horsepower at the expense of chassis setup. Defending Daytona 500 champion Kurt Busch thinks the equation may change as a result of NASCAR’s elimination of the post-race ride-height requirement.

In other words, cars at the superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega no longer will have to meet a minimum height in post-race inspection, bringing those speedways in line with all other Cup tracks, where a ride-height rule was not in effect last year.

“The way the cars will be pinned to the ground, it’s the first time really that we’re looking at moving around nose weight and the balance of the car to adjust the handling,” Busch told the NASCAR Wire Service. “We haven’t done that really here in Daytona for eight years. They repaved it in (2010), so since then it has been no handling issues whatsoever.

“I’m really excited about this time around to hopefully see what the tire wear shows and how the balance of the car will shake out with the ride height rule.”

Goodyear is bringing the same tire combination the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ran at Daytona last July, and the tire maker doesn’t expect any issues with the low-slung cars. But that doesn’t mean Goodyear reps won’t be looking with watchful eyes when cars come off the track.

Alex Bowman tested the 2018 package last year. On Feb. 18, he’ll compete in the Daytona 500 for the second time — and the first time as the successor to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

During the test, Bowman noticed a difference in the way the car drove, but he conceded that other teams might achieve different results with varying approaches to their chassis setups.

“I thought it made the cars drive worse,” Bowman said. “I was looser on entry, but it was kind of split. Obviously, not everybody tackled it the same way, and not everybody had the same setup in their cars. I think there were only six or seven cars here.

“Some of the guys thought their cars drove better, and the other half of everybody thought their cars drove worse. We’ll just kind of have to see. I think cars, just walking around the garage, are more aggressive coming back here than they were in that test by far.

“I think everybody is going to be a little looser on entry and exit when the spoiler is not up in the air, but we’ll just have to wait and see. I think there is definitely going to be guys that can go faster — but their cars are going to drive worse — and guys that can be aggressive, but their cars are going to be slower. It will be interesting to see how everybody compromises that.”

And it will be interesting to see if “worse” is indeed “better” when it comes to the action on the track in the Great American Race.