Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: 2018 NASCAR schedule

The voice of Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus brimmed with some excitement Monday, stemming from the promise of both a new racing season and a rejuvenating approach adopted by his driver, seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

Even the headiest New Year’s resolutions tend to fade by the time the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series begins its annual prep for the season-opening Daytona 500 next month. Knaus, for one, is betting Johnson’s self-improvement measures carry far into the season.

“He’s completely re-dedicated himself to this — and I’m not saying that he wasn’t dedicated last year, because the man was,” Knaus said Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I think that anybody that goes out there and drives a race car for 40 weeks in a row basically has got to be dedicated to his craft. There’s just no ifs, ands or buts about that. But he’s got a new emphasis put on it. He wants to go out there and do well. He’s excited obviously. Last year we were able to get that contract extension with him and push that further forward, so there’s a lot of positives from that standpoint in his eyes. …

“You know Jimmie, man, he’s tenacious. And if he can get what he feels what he wants underneath him, I don’t think he can be beaten out there, so it’s good stuff forward.”

Johnson won three times last season, but the No. 48 Chevrolet team endured a sharp drop-off in performance over the latter half of the year. The organization underwent several changes ahead of the 2018 campaign, including new car chief Jesse Saunders taking the place of veteran Ron Malec with the No. 48, and a restructuring of the Hendrick race shops to better integrate their four-car effort. And Johnson indicated after the season-ending awards banquet that he’d be spending more time at the shop and dialing back some of his recreational travel in the offseason.

The group has also been hard at work sorting out the 2018 Camaro ZL1, Chevrolet’s new model for NASCAR’s premier series. Though Knaus said plenty of variables still remain before the car undergoes real-world testing, he indicated that initial tests in the wind tunnel and other simulations were encouraging.

Those changes are all part of what Knaus called “a different environment” at Hendrick Motorsports, with new faces Alex Bowman and William Byron joining the full-time driver roster alongside Johnson and the returning Chase Elliott.

“We’re in a pretty good spot, frankly. We did not have the season that we wanted last year. It’s not the season we wanted for our fans, it’s not the season we wanted for Lowe’s, for anybody at Hendrick Motorsports and especially for Jimmie and I. It’s something that we’ve worked hard on during the offseason to try to just turn around. I don’t want to say we’ve put it in the past and we’ve forgotten 2017 because I think if you don’t learn from what you’ve experienced in life, you can never improve upon it, but we are definitely eyes forward to 2018.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams will officially bring in the sport’s New Year during a two-day closed Goodyear tire test at Texas Motor Speedway this week.

Newly crowned Monster Energy Series champion Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) joins Ryan Blaney (Ford), Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) and Aric Almirola (Ford) on the 1.5-mile Fort Worth high banks Tuesday and Wednesday.

For Elliott, this marks the debut of the No. 9 on the sides of his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, which formerly carried the No. 24. And for Almirola, this will be his first formal outing in the No. 10 Ford since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in the offseason after a six-year tenure with Richard Petty Motorsports.

The test session also marks the on-track debut of the Camaro ZL1, the new model Chevrolet will replace the Chevy SS in the 2018 Monster Energy Series.

Camaro ZL1“The new Camaro ZL1 is a great looking race car with a lot of heritage behind it, which will make it a big hit with fans,” Chevrolet’s seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson said at the car’s August unveiling. “And as someone who’s enjoyed the ZL1 on the street, I’m really looking forward to getting this new race car on the track.”

The next preseason test is for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series test at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 17, its goal to help teams get accustomed to the new optional engine approved for use in 2018.

The Monster Energy Series will have an organizational test Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — with one car from each organization allowed laps at the 1.5-mile facility that will host its first ever Playoff race on Sept. 16.

NASCAR’s Daytona Speedweeks begins officially Feb. 11 with Daytona 500 pole qualifying followed by the Advance Auto Parts Clash. The 60th running of the “Great American Race,” the Daytona 500, is Feb. 18.

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The NASCAR national series season may not begin until February at Daytona International Speedway, but several stars are letting their racing passion fly in a different type of race this week: The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.

Considered one of the top dirt races of the year, the Chili Bowl is an annual dirt midget race that has been held since 1987 and runs from Jan. 9-13 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A handful of NASCAR drivers – including Kyle Larson, Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier and Christopher Bell, who won the 2017 Chili Bowl – will compete in the event, which begins its practice on Jan. 8.

“I look at the Chili Bowl, the Snowball Derby. There’s some races on the schedule where the amount of time and effort you put in to run one race is incredible but it’s because everyone wants to go win it,” Allgaier said at the Camping World Truck and Xfinity Series banquet on Dec. 9. “I think Tony Stewart said it the best one time, he said, ‘I would give up all the race wins just to keep winning the Chili Bowl.’ And I think that says a lot for that (race).”

Stewart won the event twice, in 2002 and 2007. Allgaier has yet to win the prestigious event, which also has been won by current and former NASCAR drivers Bell, Rico Abreu and Dave Blaney in years past. He’ll look to change that this time.

“There are a select few races in my life that I’ve been close to winning and had opportunities to win and (the Chili Bowl is) one of them that you put it all out of the line,” Allgaier said. “The last couple of years I’ve made mistakes that probably more than anything have kept me from having a shot at it so it’s disappointing. Go there and try to change it and have some fun.”

For several NASCAR drivers, the Chili Bowl and dirt racing represent a return to their roots, the starting point that launched their respective racing careers. It’s also an opportunity to race before the NASCAR season begins, which is ideal for passionate racers like Kahne.

“The Chili Bowl’s always a cool event,” Kahne, who has raced in three of the last six Chili Bowl events, told NASCAR.com. “I didn’t do it last year, so took a year off.  Looking forward to just racing again and being part of the Chili Bowl and then the NASCAR stuff is so close at this point. It will be here in no time.”

This upcoming NASCAR season marks Kahne’s first season with Leavine Family Racing, where he will pilot the No. 95 Chevrolet previously driven by Michael McDowell. The change comes after Kahne’s six-year stint in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

The change, he said, allows him a bit more flexibility to race outside NASCAR and get back to the dirt.

“I’ve always enjoyed it and wanted to be part of it,”  Kahne said. “But this season with my new Cup team, being part of LFR and just knowing that I can go race on the dirt and I can still do a great job for LFR and be part of that got me excited and is something that I want to do …

“(Leavine Family Racing is) OK with me racing and excited about (me) going to race those cars and be in a car more often than not. So, definitely more flexibility and not just that, but when you do it and know that you’re not making people mad or upsetting people, I think that feels better as well. Nobody’s upset at you for doing it, they understand why you are and are behind you, so that side of it too as much as anything.

“Rather than getting questioned for everything, you can just go race.”

Kahne emphasized that his first focus is the No. 95 Monster Energy Series car in 2018, but he does plan to run a sprint car during Florida Speedweeks for five nights at Volusia Speedway Park in February prior to the Daytona 500. He is also looking into potentially running “the World of Outlaw races, All-Star races and then some races in Pennsylvania, hopefully the Dirt Classic.”

“It’s really enjoyable for me to race those cars and to race on dirt and be part of all of that,” Kahne said. “I think that the big thing is, the more I can do it, the better I’ll get at it again. And that’s something I look forward to this year is racing on the dirt more often and try and get really competitive and win races again on dirt.

“That would feel pretty good.”

Posted on by David Smith

RELATED: Five breakout candidates in 2018

Though the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season didn’t offer these drivers much to celebrate, the season on the horizon provides an opportunity to start anew. Fortunately, there is enough data to support their candidacy for bouncing back in a big way:

Clint Bowyer

Bowyer hasn’t parked his car in Victory Lane since 2012. His leap to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017 was supposed to end his dry spell, but he tacked on another winless campaign.

He returns to Stewart-Haas with his team intact and a young crew chief in Mike Bugarewicz, who protected his running position on 70.73 percent of green-flag pit cycles. That was the fourth-highest rate among returning driver-crew chief pairings and gained him 20 positions. Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford ranked as the third-fastest car on 2-mile, non-drafting tracks, signaling the most likely track type on which to end the five-year win drought.

Improvement could come in Bowyer’s closing habits. He averaged a 0.4-position loss in the final one-tenth of races in 2017, though he crashed during that time frame on four separate occasions, the fourth-highest, late-race crash total in the series.

Jimmie Johnson
Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson

Hendrick Motorsports armed its seven-time champion with the ninth-fastest car overall, per timing and scoring data supplied to NASCAR.com, and the 10th fastest during the playoffs. He won three times, more than the teams of Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth and Erik Jones combined, all of whom ranked directly above him in the green-flag speed category. No driver with a slower car than Johnson’s won more often.

Still, there isn’t anything appealing about a 16.8-place finish, which Johnson, Chad Knaus and the legendary No. 48 team tallied in 2017, the worst full-season average in the team’s existence.

Johnson was partially responsible for the downturn. His Production in Equal Equipment Rating of 0.736 was the worst single-season mark of his illustrious career and, at age 41, it came on the downside of the average driver’s career arch. There is good news, though; despite his lackluster results, Johnson was still the best passer.

He ranked first in surplus passing value, which was good for 272 additional positions on the track beyond what was expected from a driver with his average running position. For comparison, the second biggest surplus pass differential was plus-184, belonging to Kyle Larson. Johnson, it seems, still has game but is in need of speed capable enough to turn a season into a serious championship bid.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Joey Logano

Logano’s green-flag speed ranking across the first nine races of 2017, which culminated with his win at Richmond, was 7.1. His speed ranking for the remainder of the season — following NASCAR’s decision to encumber that win, a penalty for altering the rear suspension — was 14.2.

In the three years prior to 2017, Logano ranked first, first and third in Production in Equal Equipment Rating among all Monster Energy Series drivers. His 9.2-place average finish in 2015 would’ve topped the series in 2016 and ’17. He was a minus passer overall this past year and an average restarter who performed mindbogglingly well in clutch situations, retaining his position 13 times on 13 late-race restart attempts from within the first seven rows.

Logano can make a fast car faster, but struggles to eek out results from a mediocre machine. Factor in the 96-position loss he and crew chief Todd Gordon amassed during green-flag pit cycles and it’s easy to find all the track position that eluded them in an aberration of a season.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Kurt Busch

Busch won the Daytona 500, but underachieved from that point forward, earning 18 top-15 finishes when his 62.8 percent of completed laps spent inside the top 15 suggested 23 such results. His 0.44-per-race crash frequency was the third highest among playoff qualifiers and his team’s 2.2 positions-per-race drop in the final one-tenth of races made him the second-worst closer among full-time Monster Energy Series drivers.

Positive regression is likely to occur as Busch, 38, is smack in the middle of his prime production years, remains a stone wall on restarts — his seven positions lost on 73 restarts from the non-preferred groove was the smallest positional drop among drivers with at least 10 attempts — and receives a new crew chief in Billy Scott, who was dutiful in his green-flag pitting habits on behalf of Danica Patrick in 2017, providing her 51 additional positions on non-restrictor plate ovals. That’d represent a 74-position increase over what Tony Gibson provided him.

Sarah Crabill | Getty Images

Kasey Kahne

Kahne’s 19.4-place average finish was his personal worst of the last 10 seasons, partly why his value as a driving commodity depreciated enough for Leavine Family Racing to swoop in and sign the fan-favorite driver.

Turning 38 in April, Kahne is in his prime, and as a passer he matters on 1.5-mile intermediates, NASCAR’s most prevalent track type. In 2017, his plus-2.99 percent surplus passing value on intermediates yielded 32 positions beyond the expectation of a driver with his average running position. While Leavine is in the process of growing its infrastructure, it isn’t quite the fluid machine Hendrick Motorsports is; Kahne will be asked — and in at least 11 races, be able — to supply his own track position and neutralize some of the team’s speed disadvantage.

Kahne is a long shot to make the 2018 playoffs, but it is possible he bests this past year’s average finish. For Leavine, Michael McDowell scored a 22.2-place result on average. Is Kahne three positions better than McDowell? The Leavine family must think so, which is why they invested in him.

David Smith is the Founder of MotorsportsAnalytics.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidSmithMA.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

RELATED: Dale Jr. retirement gift from @nascarcasm a success

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a Chevrolet driver for life, through and through.

Except for that one time he wasn’t.

On the anniversary of Bobby Hamilton’s death, the former driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet told a story Sunday morning about how the 2004 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion helped him out in a dire situation at the race track one time. It was, as Earnhardt put it, “the only time I ever drove anything besides a Chevrolet in a race.”

The year was 1996, and Earnhardt was entered in a late model race at Fairgrounds Speedway (Nashville). He had the dominant car in practice and was having so much fun driving it, he wanted to make one last run around the 0.596-mile oval despite his crew chief telling him to bring it in.

Lo and behold, a wreck in front of him forced him down the backstretch where he was rear-ended by another car at full speed. Both cars burned to the ground.

While lamenting the loss of the stout entry with his crew chief at the hauler, a voice echoed from behind.

“Do you want to race?”

It was Hamilton.

“Of course I want to race,” said Earnhardt.

“Well, I’ve got a car you can drive.”

Hamilton, a four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner, started to tell Earnhardt about the car … a Ford.

He’d been trying to sell it because his driver at the time, Casey Atwood, wasn’t a fan of it and it needed some adjustments. Thus, it was just sitting on a trailer, ready to be raced.

“I’m thinking, ‘I can’t drive it, because it’s a Ford.’ But I want to race real bad. So I’m calling my dad trying to see if I can get a hold of him and try to ask him if I can drive this Ford. It’s a Petty blue, because Bobby at the time I think must have been driving for Richard in the Cup Series and it had No. 43 on it.

“I couldn’t get a hold of dad, but I got a hold of dad’s general manager. … He said, ‘Yeah, go ahead and drive it. Just don’t talk about it and try not to make too big of a deal about it.’ ”

Earnhardt said he and his team then took duct tape and covered up the ‘4’, leaving just the ‘3’ uncovered.

Around 150 laps into the race, Junior was stomping the field and had every driver but one a lap down. He appeared set to cruise to a win, until the transmission blew with 30 laps to go.

Still, given how fast it was — and perhaps the fact that the son of a seven-time champion wheeled a Ford for the first and only time — Hamilton sold the car on pit road after the race for “quite a bit of money.”

Hear Junior tell the whole story below in his Periscope.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

What channel is NASCAR programming 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.

RELATED: Watch on the NBC Sports App |  How to find FS1, FS2 | How to find NBCSN

Friday, January 19
7:30 p.m., Racing Roots, NBCSN
8 p.m., NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, NBCSN

Posted on by IMSA Wire Service

RELATED: Alonso takes first Daytona laps | Pruett to retire following Rolex 24

Last month, Ford Performance announced a unique plan for four of its rising stars in the NASCAR ranks to enhance their road racing skills through participation in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in 2018.

The same trio of drivers — Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Ty Majeski — who will share the No. 60 Roush Fenway Ford Mustang in the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, will be part of a rotating driver lineup in a Multimatic Motorsports-prepared Ford Mustang GT4 in the Continental Tire Challenge. Joining them will be Cole Custer, who will drive the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Mustang in the 2018 Xfinity Series, and all will race under the watchful eye of Canadian road racing Hall of Famer and longtime Ford/Multimatic driver Scott Maxwell.

MORE: Rising NASCAR stars to share No. 60 ride at Roush Fenway

Cindric is no stranger to Mustangs in the Continental Tire Challenge, as he raced in the series in 2015 and earned his first series victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Custer also has a reasonable amount of road racing experience in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It’s a different story entirely, though, for Briscoe and especially Majeski.

“This is only my second time ever on a road course,” Majeski said. “The multi-class thing is a lot different, everything is just a lot different. It’s just a new experience for me. I’m leaning a lot on Scott Maxwell, my teammate, who’s had a ton of experience with this stuff. It’s been a big learning experience, but I think it’s gone pretty well so far. I’m looking forward to the next day and a half and sinking my teeth into it even more.”

With that in mind, what has been the biggest adjustment so far for Majeski?

“Turning right,” he laughs. “It’s something I’ve literally done none of in my entire life. It’s just a whole different set of instincts to get speed out of these cars. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.”

Also learning as much as he can is Briscoe, although he does have somewhat more road course seat time. He and Majeski are expected to compete in several Continental Tire Challenge rounds this season — certainly more than Cindric and Custer – which is somewhat of a “pinch me” moment for Briscoe.

“I never thought in a million years that I would get to do what I’m doing on the NASCAR side, let alone get an opportunity to come to Daytona for a road course race,” Briscoe said. “Growing up being a sprint car guy, that’s probably the last thing you’d ever think would be a possibility.

“For Ford to decide that they would give me a chance to do it and not only run here, but I think I’m going to run six or seven other races, so it’s going to be really fun. I’m thankful to be in that position with Ford, where I get to do so many different things. As a driver, that’s all you can ask for is to get seat time in different cars and whatnot.”

Posted on by IMSA Wire Service

RELATED: Pruett to retire following Rolex 24 | Allmendinger to run Rolex 24

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso turned his first laps at Daytona International Speedway on Friday during the opening day of the three-day Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona test.

And while the Spaniard has driven on a variety of road racing circuits throughout his storied career, it’s safe to say he hadn’t previously experienced anything like the unique, 3.56-mile Daytona course.

“I did, unfortunately, only three laps this morning, but enough to have a feeling in the car and on the Speedway as well,” said Alonso regarding his maiden DIS laps aboard the No. 23 United Autosports Ligier LM P2 car. “The coolness and the high banking were special. You feel the compression in the body and you feel the visibility change, because when you are in, let’s say, the normal part of the circuit, you have a view in the car that is a little bit longer ahead.

“When you are in the corner with the banking, you see the next 200 meters of the track and only that. I was trying to look where the track was going. It was good fun and a fast feeling.”

While already an established worldwide racing superstar with his F1 titles, Alonso’s popularity among many U.S. race fans soared last May when he contended for the win in his first Indianapolis 500 before a mechanical issue removed him from contention. He was competitive throughout the month of May at Indy and was focused on the singular goal of winning the race, even as he learned a new racing format. He’s taking the same approach at Daytona.

“It’s more or less the same goal as Indianapolis, first of all, to try to learn different driving techniques,” Alonso said. “I’m trying to learn from the specialists of endurance races and try to be a better driver when the 24 hours finish. That’s the first aim. It’s the first time for me in an endurance race, first time in a Prototype car, first time driving at night, the first time driving with GT around, so many new things will come step-by-step.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Pruett’s NASCAR stats | Allmendinger to run Rolex 24

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Scott Pruett walked into the Daytona International Speedway media center and smiled widely as he looked at the Lexus banner hanging behind the podium displaying three cars he had driven in the Rolex 24 and honoring him for a “storied career in racing” that spanned five decades.

Moments later, the 57-year old Pruett smiled again and calmly, thoughtfully, announced his retirement from the sport, revealing he will hang his helmet up after the upcoming Jan. 27-28 Rolex 24 At Daytona – the great sports car endurance race that Pruett has hoisted the overall victory trophy five times in an amazing career that’s spanned five decades.

“As an athlete if you’re fortunate enough to have a long and successful career and lucky enough to come to the end on your terms then you are truly blessed, and I truly am,” Pruett said. “Today, after 50 years of racing, the 2018 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona will be my last race.

“It’s a magical place and I love it and what better way to say goodbye to a sport I love than at this revered place surrounded by my respected peers and diehard fans. So here we go. I’m so excited about the next chapter of my life and getting on with the Rolex 24 here in the next few weeks.”

Early in Pruett’s diverse and celebrated career, it became clear the question wasn’t what this driver might accomplish, but what wouldn’t he achieve.

His is a five-time champion in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with an amazing 60 sports car series wins in addition to claiming victories in the prestigious International Race of Champions (IROC) circuit. He competed in both NASCAR’s premier Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ranks and the IndyCar Series, where he won twice. He even made a pair of starts in the famed Australia SuperCars Series.

When it comes to sports car racing, Pruett is considered a legend already.

And how fitting that his final green flag – teaming with Dominik Farnbacher, Jack Hawksworth and David Heinemeier Hansson in the No. 15 GT Daytona (GTD) class Lexus — will come in the Rolex 24 At Daytona where he is among the great race’s absolute best. His five overall victories ties him for the most all-time with the legendary Hurley Haywood.

Since 2004, Pruett has led an astonishing 5,262 laps in fulltime sportscar competition and in the last 10 years, he’s led 2,010 laps in the Rolex 24 alone.

“Scott Pruett is a legend of sports car racing,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “It is a word and a description that is often over-used, but in this instance it is a statement of fact. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to have him represent IMSA for decades.

“His on-track accomplishments and larger than life personality made him the face of American road racing. He became a household name among race fans through his versatility, and while he also enjoyed success in IndyCar and NASCAR, his sports car racing résumé is what made him a hall of famer.

“As we embark upon what many expect to be the biggest season yet for IMSA and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, we will miss having Scott out there battling for race victories. And we will also miss his ‘Hi to the family back home,’ gesture that was his signature element of every TV interview… On behalf of Jim France, Ed Bennett and everybody at IMSA, I offer heartfelt congratulations to Scott on a truly amazing career, and most importantly, thank you, Scott, for all that you’ve done for our sport.”

He is truly one of the most well-rounded competitors in the sport’s history.

Pruett’s first victory in the renowned IROC (International Race of Champions) circuit came as a 28-year old in 1988 on the Riverside, Calif. road course. He bested a healthy version of the sport’s all-time all-stars including sports car’s Chip Robinson, two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr., and legends such as Al Holbert, Bobby Rahal, four-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser and NASCAR Hall of Famers Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott and the late Dale Earnhardt.

He won a second IROC event on the Daytona International Speedway high banks during the 1991 Speedweeks – less than a year after he recovered from massive injuries – broken feet, ankles and back — he suffered while testing an IndyCar the previous March. That victory remains one of the brightest moments of his highlight-reel career, Pruett insisted Friday.

“Coming off my bad accident and coming here and beating Bill Elliott in the IROC race, that was huge after breaking my ankles and shattering my knees and breaking my back,” he said. “There was never a moment I didn’t want to get back in a race car, in fact it drove me harder.”

Pruett earned three top-five finishes in 40 starts in the Monster Energy Series, including 28 starts in the 2000 season. His best finish was runner-up, fittingly at the Watkins Glen, New York road course in 2003. He also made a combined 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in six different seasons, winning three pole positions and earning top-five finishes in two Mexico City starts.

Pruett’s two IndyCar victories came in 1995 (Michigan) and 1997 (Queensland, Australia).

When it’s all said and done, having competed in such a wide array of race cars and racing series, Pruett reiterated his truest love remains sports car competition. And therefore it is most fitting that he officially retire after the country’s most celebrated sports car race, the Rolex 24.

“Sports cars,” Pruett replied, when asked to reflect on his favorite form of racing competition. “Overall, people long past when I’m gone, I think will remember me for sports cars. Even though I have achievements in other forms, by far, sports cars are my love.

“More so than anything else I’d like to go out and just have an incredible race in my final 24.

“My wife and I were looking. … My first race was when I was 24 and I believe this is my 24th time doing the 24. … maybe all those wonderful 24s will come together in the coming weeks here at Daytona.”

“I have so many incredible memories here, it just seemed appropriate this was the time and place.”

 

Posted on by Brad Norman

RELATED: Joey Logano reveals he and wife Brittany are expecting a boy

So far no epic burnout to celebrate the birth of his son, akin to the announcement that Joey and Brittany Logano were expecting a boy, but the joy over his arrival is magnificent.

Congratulations to the couple on their first child.