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See how Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fared in the Daytona 500 here.
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NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Ronnie Bassett Jr. sat in contemplation last May, having rushed to witness first-hand the devastating fire that tore through his family-owned team’s race shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
While thankfully no one was injured, the material loss was heavy, with little to salvage in the way of cars, tools, equipment and the team’s hauler. Sifting through cinders in the days after the blaze, Bassett said he wondered what would come next for him and his brother, Dillon, a pair of next-generation racers.
“We were sitting there scratching our heads,” Bassett says. “We didn’t know whether we were going to be able to race again the rest of that season or what.”
Sunday night, nearly nine months after their loss, came victory. The 21-year-old Bassett emerged from a frantic second half of the season-opening Jet Tools 150 to score his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory at New Smyrna Speedway. The win also soothed the heartbreak of last year’s K&N opener, where an official scoring check after the checkered flag kept Bassett from Victory Lane.
Bassett’s convincing victory, which included a late-race stretch of running 1-2 with his brother, belies the adversity that his family has faced. Working with insurance to rebuild their own shop has been a gradual process, and the family racing operation is now spread over three buildings in their hometown — a small warehouse for primary cars, a shed for parts and another space serving as a makeshift fabrication shop.
“We’re just trying to make it happen,” said Ronnie Bassett Sr., who enjoyed a successful career in the Sportsman division at Bowman Gray Stadium. “They don’t have much to work out of. It’s a tight spot, I can tell you that.”
What has helped has been a devoted crew, and fellow racers David Calabrese and Brandon Gdovic lending a hand with equipment to help the team finish out 2016 with a part-time slate.
“We just prayed to the good Lord about it to see what needed to be done,” Bassett Jr. said. “It kind of worked out. We have more than what we had when we were working out of our other shop. We’ve been blessed with a lot of great people.”
Bassett Jr. led the final 42 laps, sweating through a pair of red flags for accidents, including a final stack-up near the front of the field that knocked his brother and NASCAR Next driver Tyler Dippel from contention. It marked the first laps led in a K&N East career that’s spanned 40 races since 2013.
Though Bassett Jr. amassed a three-second lead on the half-mile track over the closing laps, he and his father remained antsy. Intense racing behind him threatened a late caution, and then there were the reminders of the mix-up from last season.
Bassett actually crossed under the checkered flag first at New Smyrna in 2016, emerging from a three-car fracas with Todd Gilliland and Spencer Davis. But race officials determined that an extra lap had been inadvertently run beyond the scheduled distance, handing the victory to Gilliland. There was no doubt Sunday night.
“I had a counter in my hand tonight,” Bassett Sr. said with a laugh. “We were definitely watching the flagstand, that’s for sure. It’s all good, though.”
For his son, the victory was a needed boost after a long dry spell. Bassett had two runner-up efforts sprinkled among his nine previous top-five finishes, including a third place at New Smyrna last year.
After leaving the Florida half-mile with trophy in hand, Bassett said the sense of rejuvenation was real.
“It’s been very, very tough on myself — I went from running good in Late Model Stocks and then coming to these things, it’s like punching myself in the heart,” Bassett Jr. said, adding that the family plans a full K&N East schedule in its rebuilding year. “To come back and have a good race car and lead laps tonight, it builds my confidence back to know that I can still do it.”
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It wasn’t quite the Daytona 500 pole position — although for a while it looked like it might be — but Clint Bowyer‘s fourth-place qualifying effort Sunday afternoon on the Daytona International Speedway high banks was a huge confidence boost for him and for his Stewart-Haas Racing team.
Bowyer took over the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for retired great Tony Stewart this season and his first official outing in the car Sunday certainly was noteworthy. And assuring.
The 2012 Cup championship runner-up looked stout taking over driving duties for the three-time series champion Stewart — and held the lead spot on the timing pylon for a good portion of the qualifying session before Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. topped the mark.
Even so, Bowyer was smiling and enthusiastic when qualifying closed.
"It’s a great effort, considering everything these guys have gone through all season long, switching manufacturers and everything that goes with that,’" Bowyer said of his SHR team. "It was right where they left off and we gained on it."
Bowyer, who was signed by the Stewart-Haas organization in 2015 to replace the retiring Stewart, drove for HScott Motorsports last year while "on deck" for the seat. And he suffered through the worst season of his career with not a single top-five finish.
The promising start in his first official outing for SHR was exactly the kind of beginning both Bowyer and his team could appreciate.
"It’s a nice first time out with him and more importantly, I think it’s a big progression for Stewart-Haas," crew chief Mike Bugarewicz said. "It says a lot about this company and how hard everybody has worked — our R&D group, everyone in the body shop, the aero engineers, everybody.
"Having two cars in the top 12 (also seventh place Kevin Harvick) we had a reasonable shot at it. We’re happy. This team has been through a lot the past two years and now meeting up with Clint, we’re excited and looking forward to working with him. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this year.
"When the organization that’s been working so hard, sees speed in the car, that’s a good thing. And him climbing in for the first time … this gets him pumped up and everyone in the car excited and ready to go."
Bowyer has four top-10 finishes in the Daytona 500, including back-to-back fourth-place efforts in 2009-10. He says this restrictor-plate style of racing is something he said he looks forward to. This opportunity with SHR is something he’s ready to seize.
‘It’s Daytona," Bowyer said of the importance of his efforts.
"It feels good to be competitive again. I was down here last year and we were way off the pace. It was crushing because you know deep down you don’t even have a chance and when you’ve got a car like this — a hot rod like this and a team like this — I’ve got a chance.’’
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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series fans should be ready for a full day of action at Pocono Raceway on July 30.
The track announced Monday that both qualifying for the Monster Energy Series and the Pennsylania 400 race will be held Sunday, July 30. Thus far, Pocono is the only track to announce it will have qualifying and the race on the same day for the sport’s top series. On a typical race weekend, Monster Energy Series qualifying is held on Friday afternoon.
The schedule for Saturday, July 29, will include Monster Energy Series practices paired with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series‘ qualifying and the Pocono Mountains 150.
In NASCAR’s first trip of the year to Pocono Raceway June 9-11, the track will operate under the standard schedule where Monster Energy Series qualifying is held on Friday with a practice as well as a NASCAR XFINITY Series practice. Saturday will see more practice time for the Monster Energy Series as well as XFINITY Series qualifying and the Pocono Green 250 race.
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The Daytona 500 is a unique event in many ways, including how the 40-car field is set for this year’s race (Sunday, Feb. 26, 2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
There are two days that carry the most significance in how the field is set. The first is Sunday, Feb. 19 when two rounds of single-car qualifying will take place starting at 3:10 p.m. ET (FOX). The second is Thursday, Feb. 23 when the Can-Am Duel races take place, starting at 7 p.m. ET (FS1).
Here are more details:
SINGLE-CAR QUALIFYING
Programming info for single-car qualifying
When: Sunday, Feb. 19
Where: Daytona International Speedway
TV: FOX
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
What is the format?
This event will determine the front row (spots 1 and 2) for the Daytona 500. There will be two rounds of single-car qualifying, with the 12 fastest cars in Round 1 advancing to Round 2. There will be a 10-minute break between rounds, and cars will make their Round 2 run based on Round 1 times (slowest going first, fastest last).
The fastest time in Round 2 will be the Coors Light Pole Award winner for the Daytona 500. The second-fastest time in Round 2 will earn the other spot on the front row for the Daytona 500. The pole winner will start first in the first Can-Am Duel race on Thursday. The other front-row driver will start first in the second Can-Am Duel race.
The rest of the field will line up for Thursday’s Can-Am Duels based on qualifying time, with odd-numbered finishers lining up in the first Duel, and even-numbered finishers lining up for the second Duel.
CAN-AM DUELS
Programming info for the Can-Am Duels
When: Thursday, Feb. 23
Where: Daytona International Speedway
TV: FS1
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
What is the format?
The Can-Am Duels will determine spots 3-38 in the Daytona 500 grid. With 36 Charter teams entered in the race, two of these spots will be filled by the top Open car in each Duel race. The qualifiers from the first Duel will line up on the inside row in the Daytona 500 depending upon their finish in Duel 1. The qualifiers from the second Duel will line up on the outside row for the Daytona 500 depending upon their result in Duel 2.
The remaining two spots on the Daytona 500 grid will be awarded to the top Open teams from Sunday’s qualifying that are still left (i.e. didn’t qualify through the Duels).
In review:
– Two spots (front row) determined by Sunday’s qualifying.
– Spots 3-38 determined by results of Duels races.
– Spots 39, 40 go to the top Open cars remaining.
– That’s a total of 40 cars for Sunday’s race (36 Charter cars, 4 Open cars).
RELATED: Results | SHOP: Logano gear
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin collided in Turn 2 on the final lap of Sunday’s rain-delayed Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, Joey Logano was there to seize the moment.
Charging to the outside and grabbing the lead near the entry to the Superstretch at the 2.5-mile speedway, Logano took the checkered flag 1.121 seconds ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch, who beat third-place finisher Alex Bowman to the stripe by .018 seconds.
Danica Patrick dodged the Turn 2 melee to surge from 10th to fourth on the final lap to post her first top-five finish in any Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, though the result is not official because "The Clash" is an exhibition event with a limited field.
Kevin Harvick, driving a Ford for the first time at NASCAR’s highest level, came home fifth.
Daniel Suarez, in his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start, finished eighth.
Logano’s victory was the first in "The Clash" for a Ford driver since Dale Jarrett took the checkered flag in 2004.
Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas settled into the first four spots after a restart on Lap 65, but Team Penske teammates Keselowski and Logano sped toward the front in the outside lane, successfully side-drafted and broke up the Camry armada.
The race was decided when Keselowski challenged defending winner Hamlin for the lead on the final lap. Keselowski, who came home sixth, powered his Ford to the bottom of Turn 2. Hamlin tried to protect his position, and the cars collided, Hamlin’s Toyota spinning wildly and Keselowski’s Ford losing momentum off the corner.
Logano pulled out to a 100-yard lead and maintained it as Busch and Bowman battled side-by-side behind him.
"That was the play," Logano said of the side-drafting strategy. "The Toyotas are so selfless, I guess is the way to look at it. They’re able to work together and think of one car winning, and they’re really good at that.
"We had to think that same way as Ford (drivers), and we Stewart-Haas and the Penske cars, we were able to get a good enough run to work together enough to break them up and make the passes, and then there at the end, it was kind of a mess.
"Everything was going really fast, and I was just in the right place at the right time."
Even though "The Clash" featured a mandatory caution at Lap 25, and even though the cars had been set up for racing under the lights, drivers were uniformly aggressive in the opening segment, often running three-wide in an attempt to gain track position.
On Lap 17, Kurt Busch fell victim to a handling problem with reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Jimmie Johnson‘s No. 48 Chevrolet. Johnson got loose in Turn 4 and spun into the right rear of Busch’s No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, turning Busch hard into the outside wall.
"I was just minding my own business in the low groove and we got tagged in the right rear," Kurt Busch said after exiting the Infield Care Center. "It’s kind of a shame — all of the hard work and the effort everybody puts into the off-season — Doug Yates and his engines and everybody from Ford and everybody at Stewart-Haas, all of the effort put toward building a car and we didn’t even make it to the first pit stop, so it’s kind of a bummer."
Johnson car survived that wreck, but the handling remained evil, and on Lap 49 he spun again off Turn 4 and clobbered the inside wall near the entrance to pit road. The wreck put Johnson out of the race, his sixth straight DNF in the season-opening exhibition event.
With 14 laps left, Martin Truex Jr. tried to fill a hole that wasn’t there and clipped the right front of Kyle Larson‘s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Truex spun in Turn 3, rocketed toward the outside wall and caught the left rear of Chris Buescher‘s No. 37 Chevrolet, which needed two trips to pit road to repair the damage.
That wreck set up the wild 11-lap run to the finish that saw the opportunistic Logano take advantage of the last-lap tangle between Keselowski and Hamlin.
What channel is NASCAR programming on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here.
RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area
All times ET
Monday, Feb. 20
4:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FS1
12:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash (re-air), FS2
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FS2
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Midnight, NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., Untold Stories: Daytona (re-air), FS1
8 a.m., A Perfect Storm: The 1979 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., 1979 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
Wednesday, Feb. 22
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., Daytona 500 Media Day, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
Thursday, Feb. 23
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., The Day: Daytona Primetime (re-air), FS1
5:30 a.m., 1979 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., A Perfect Storm: The 1979 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., 1993 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
Noon, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am Duel at Daytona, FS1
10 p.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
11 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
Friday, Feb. 24
Midnight, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am Duel at Daytona (re-air), FS2
3 a.m., Untold Stories: Daytona (re-air), FS1
4 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am Duel at Daytona (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS1
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS1
6 p.m., Beyond the Wheel 2017, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series SetUp, FS1
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250, FS1
Saturday, Feb. 25
2 a.m, Beyond the Wheel 2017 (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice (re-air), FS1
8 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 (re-air), FS1
10:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1
Noon, NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY, FS1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Power Shares QQQ 300, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race Show, FS1
10:30 p.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2
Sunday, Feb. 26
1 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Power Shares QQQ 300 (re-air), FS1
3:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
5:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., A Perfect Storm: The 1979 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1979 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., Untold Stories: Daytona (re-air), FS1
8:30 a.m., Beyond the Wheel 2017 (re-air), FS1
11 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FOX Pre-Race Show, FOX
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500, FOX
9 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane (re-air), FS1
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MORE: Hamlin wears special pair of Jordans for ‘The Clash’
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Brad Keselowski checked over the damage to his No. 2 Ford’s right-front fender, the result of a last-lap crunch in a tense contest for the lead with Denny Hamlin‘s No. 11 Toyota in the Advance Auto Parts Clash.
The contact cost Keselowski a victory in a season-opening exhibition that — despite his superspeedway acumen — he’s now 0-for-5 in. But after conferring with crew chief Paul Wolfe and expressing his dismay, he had no regrets in choosing to keep his foot on the gas — and serving notice that in similar circumstances, he’d do it again.
"It’s unfortunate. I had to make the move," Keselowski said after Sunday’s matinee at Daytona International Speedway. "I know all the other drivers are back watching and they know not to make that block on me again."
The final-lap collision that scuttled the chances of two of the best restrictor-plate racers in the sport allowed Keselowski’s Team Penske stablemate Joey Logano to scoot to a victory in a race delayed a day by persistent Saturday night rain. Neither Keselowski nor Hamlin seemed especially peeved by their own (lower-case) clash, the last of four incidents in the unofficial opener to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Both drivers started on the front row by virtue of a Friday draw. By the time the white flag flew, they were 1-2 again after combining to lead all but nine of the 75 laps.
But Keselowski had an extra level of headway in the form of Logano, who finally linked up with his teammate in the waning laps to give both drivers an aerodynamic assist. The fast-closing Keselowski dipped to the low side of the track through the first and second turns, forcing Hamlin to chop-block into his path. The two cars wedged together, with Hamlin swerving into a lazy spin off course and Keselowski limping to the checkers to finish a distant sixth.
"I was in a bad spot there," said Hamlin, who took 13th place in the 17-car invitational field. "He was just coming so much faster than what I was. There’s not much that I could have done to defend."
If nothing else, the non-points exhibition helped take a stick to the offseason cobwebs ahead of next Sunday’s Daytona 500 (Feb. 26, 2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The revival of "The Clash" name brought back at least a nominal nod to history. The racing brought another reminder of the mercurial nature of the high-speed dance at the 2.5-mile track.
"Yeah, you’re definitely pulling all the strings, but that’s the game," Keselowski said. "That’s part of what the fun is. You have to be two moves ahead, like a chess game."
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RELATED: Full results
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Winning back-to-back Daytona 500 poles is something of a family tradition, as Chase Elliott proved by the skin of his teeth Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
The last driver to take a lap in the second and final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Elliott covered the distance in 46.663 seconds (192.872 mph) to edge Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. by .002 seconds.
The pole was the second straight for Elliott, who led the field to green last year as a Sunoco rookie. It was the third straight for Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, who won the pole with driver Jeff Gordon in 2015 in Gordon’s last year as a full-time driver.
With three straight poles as a crew, Gustafson shares a record previously held solely by Ernie Elliott, Chase Elliott‘s uncle, who fielded cars driven by former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Bill Elliott, Chase’s father.
"Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has done a lot of work this off-season," said Elliott, who claimed the third Coors Light Pole Award of his career, all at restrictor-plate tracks. "This team definitely has a knack for these plate tracks, as they showed with Jeff Gordon and then last year with here and Talladega (where Elliott also won the pole).
"But that stuff doesn’t just happen by staying the same, as everybody knows. Everyone is always trying to get better and make their cars better and faster, and the engine shop is always finding new things. So I think that’s just proof that they’re improving with everybody else and taking that next step, which is really impressive.
"I’m happy to be a part of it, and hopefully we can run good next Sunday."
Elliott and Earnhardt are the only two drivers locked into their starting spots for next Sunday’s 59th running of the "Great American Race" (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). They will lead the field to the green flag in both Can-Am Duel 150-mile qualifying races on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — Elliott in the first Duel, Earnhardt in the second.
Earnhardt is racing for the first time since a concussion sidelined him for the final 18 events of the 2016 season. The satisfaction of locking in a front-row starting position tempered his disappointment at missing the pole by the slimmest of margins.
"I certainly would have loved to have gotten a pole, but my boss man (Rick Hendrick) is happy," Earnhardt said. "I just talked to him on the phone, and he’s got to be thrilled with having his cars up front."
Brad Keselowski qualified third at 192.691 mph and will start on the outside of the front row in Thursday night’s first Duel. Clint Bowyer, in his first competitive effort in a Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, will start beside Earnhardt in the second Duel after posting the fourth-fastest speed (192.571 mph).
With 36 chartered teams knowing they will race next Sunday, six Open entries are vying for the four remaining berths in the Daytona 500 field. Sunday’s time trials brought good news for Brendan Gaughan and Elliott Sadler, who know they will race next Sunday as the two fastest qualifiers among the "go-fast-or-go-homers."
Conversely, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Timmy Hill, who posted the two slowest times in the field, can race in the 500 only if they are the fastest Open drivers in their respective Duels.
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Danica Patrick stood on Daytona International Speedway pit road early Sunday afternoon smiling after a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR season-opening, 75-lap Advance Auto Parts Clash exhibition race.
Even she was quick to remind the gathered press this wasn’t a points event.
But, she conceded it was a nice way to competitively start a season and that can’t be a bad thing.
Her fourth-place showing didn’t earn her any points, but it did mark the highest finish for a woman in a NASCAR-sanctioned race at Daytona. And she was the top performer Sunday on the Stewart-Haas Racing team — something her team owner Tony Stewart recognized following the race, stopping by for a congratulatory pat on the back and some words of encouragement.
As she walked into the garage to prepare for Daytona 500 qualifying a couple hours later, there were loud and rousing cheers from fans acknowledging her work.
"If you’re gonna have one track where I’ve had good races, you kind of hope Daytona is one of them or maybe the one," Patrick said. "It would be great to get a 500 win, but it’s great to run up front."
In fact, Patrick’s work in six years of NASCAR starts on the Daytona high banks has been both historic and praiseworthy.
She sat on the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500 and has two top-10 finishes in nine starts here — including an eighth-place in the 2013 Daytona 500.
"We definitely had some luck on our side today with a couple cars spinning down below (on the last lap)," Patrick said. "It felt like a ‘Days of Thunder’ moment where you see the smoke but hold it wide open and hopefully come out the other side. But that’s the name of the game.
"There were certain times I felt like we were competitive and running up there and certain times I felt like I got pushed out. That’s the nature of this racing. As there were less cars out there, it got harder and harder to recover from those moments where someone hung you out.
But we had a good result and that’s what we show up for."