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DAYTONA 500: Starting lineup | Race-day schedule | Key info
RELATED: Junior fulfilled with his career numbers

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — He tested at Phoenix earlier this year, qualified on the outside of the front row for Sunday’s Daytona  500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and on Thursday he led the bulk of his Can-Am Duel qualifying race before finishing fifth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is officially back.


Today marks his return to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and no one is more pleased about it than the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.


"I really had fun," Earnhardt said Thursday evening after a strong return at a track where he’s typically one of a handful of drivers expected to run well. "I hated to lose but still we have to be aware of how far we’ve come to get back here. To go out there and lead all those laps and be able to make some good smart moves, it felt great."


The road back has been a long one for the 42-year-old Earnhardt, who missed the final 18 races of 2016 while recovering from a concussion. It marked the second time he had been sidelined by such an injury, and he admitted there were times he questioned what his racing future held.


RELATED: Junior emerges from injury stronger, centered and ready to win


"There was a lot of time during the recovery where there were days I was 90 percent sure I wasn’t going to drive again," he said. "There were days when it was 50 percent. It was just moving all over the place depending on what I felt that day. Your recovery is up and down, you have good days and bad days. …


"When it came down to it, I had to decide for myself if I wanted to drive anymore. I’m not going to race because of any other reason than I want to be out there."


Earnhardt will roll off second alongside Elliott, the pole winner, for the 59th running of the Daytona  500. He is a two-time winner of the "Great American Race" and one of the favorites based on past success and this year’s efforts thus far.


RELATED: Chronicling Junior’s return to racing | Dale Jr. in the 500


Restrictor-plate races are breeding grounds for multi-car crashes, with cars running two-, three- and sometimes four-wide, a dozen or more rows deep at 200-plus mph. Earnhardt doesn’t dwell on the possibility of another accident and what might result.


"I don’t want to wreck to sort of quantify my recovery," he said. "I think should that happen and I come out the other side of it feeling great, that will add a ton of confidence. I can’t sit here and say that I know exactly how I’m going to react in those situations with confidence. So yeah, when I go through that process, there’s a box or two to check that aren’t checked yet."


Three-time series champion Tony Stewart hung up his NASCAR uniform at the end of the ’16 season. Two of Stewart’s final four years driving for Stewart-Haas Racing were cut short due to injuries the Columbus, Indiana, native suffered in non-NASCAR events.


But there was no apprehension about climbing back in the car following lengthy recovery periods, he said.


"Never. It was more excitement to get back because you have to remember, we’re drivers," Stewart, the winner of 49 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, said. "That’s what we want to do, drive.


"When you have an injury, all it is is a pain in the ass. It’s keeping you from doing what you want to do. That’s why you heard so many drivers praise Junior last year (when) he chose not to run. And that’s hard."


Fellow driver Martin Truex Jr. has a close relationship with Earnhardt — the two were teammates from 2004-07 at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and spend time away from the track each fall on hunting trips.


"I know he’s got a lot on his shoulders," Truex said. "A lot of people put a lot of pressure on him, obviously. I think in a lot of ways he sometimes feels like he needs to be here for other people. But hopefully he made the decision based on what’s best for him. I think he did. I know he’s excited about racing still. He obviously still loves it and wants to do it and hopefully things will all work out for him."


It has been 20 races since Earnhardt won his last race and just five — due to his shortened ’16 season — since his last top five. Sunday affords the opportunity to reset both those streaks. After that? He’s yet to win a championship at NASCAR’s top level, but has finished as high as third. And, yes, he did say if he wins the title in ’17 "it would be hard to not call it a career."


RELATED: Earnhardt Jr. would consider walking away as champion


He has a new outlook and seems to be at peace with the road he’s traveled. For the longest time, he said "I let racing be who I was instead of what I did.


"Like Richard Petty said, I’ve got a whole other life beyond driving and I really believe that," Earnhardt said. "I’ve got a lot of things I’d love to do. Even outside of having a family, there are a lot of things in business that I’d love to see if I could succeed at. I think we got a glimpse of what that would be like; it looks pretty awesome."


For now, though, the Daytona  500 and another season of crisscrossing the country await. And Earnhardt is more than OK with that.


"Like I said, I crave to drive the car," he said. "I love the position I’m in with the team I’m with, (crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the guys, and until that feeling … and that ‘want’ to be there is gone, I want to keep going."


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RELATED: Daytona results | ‘Big One’ at end of Stage 1 | Recap
 
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Elliott Sadler climbed out of his wrecked No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the Daytona International Speedway garage, looked over his car and still managed a reluctant smile even as the race field roared by on track.


After leading three times for 40 laps of the Powershares QQQ 300, Sadler was knocked out of the race on Lap 107 of the extended 124-lap XFINITY Series opener. Contact between Sadler and Austin Dillon from behind in the tight pack of front-running cars sent Sadler’s Chevy spinning on track. And while his crew tried to make repairs, the damage proved too much to fix in the allotted five-minute time window on pit road and he had to settle for a 24th-place finish after starting the race 11th.


"Someone got into the back of us just trying to bump draft," Sadler said. "It wasn’t anything intentional, it was just go-time. When he hit us it lifted the rear tires off the ground. The OneMain Financial car was really fast. We can’t hang our heads because we were way fast and way good. We’ll rebound (next week) in Atlanta.


"It’s been fun the whole day, really. We had a really good car, it’s a shame to see it get torn up. We did get our bonus points and if we can do that every once in a while it will set us up here for a championship run.


"You have to be aggressive, it’s Daytona. That’s part of racing here, you’ve got to be if you want to win."


Ryan Reed ultimately won the race to take a likely playoff berth, but Sadler looked like the class of the field for most of the three-hour opener, which included two lengthy red flag periods (totaling more than 40 minutes) for multi-car accidents.


RELATED: Sadler sweeps first two Stages


Sadler, last year’s XFINITY Series championship runner-up, led a race-best 40 laps through the first two stages, earning 20 regular-season points for leading at both the Stage 1 (10 points) and Stage 2 (10 points) breaks. He additionally received two playoff points — again for winning the first two race stages — that could come into play should he make the playoffs. His P24 finished granted him an additional 13 regular-season points, totaling 33 for the day.


Saturday’s effort places Sadler third in the XFINITY Series standings, 14 points behind race winner Reed.


"At least we don’t leave with nothing to show for it," Sadler said, managing a smile. "We got points to take with us into the playoffs and build on that. Our car was fast and we’ll build on that. Accidents happen. 


"With new points system it was fun to race like that, to be honest, and get to each stage and see how people are reacting. Definitely a lot of fun.


"It’s just typical racing. It’s Daytona. You’ve got to go and be aggressive if you want to win. It’s a shame we don’t have anything to show for it."


On the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series side, Sadler was one of four "open" teams to earn a starting position in Sunday’s Daytona  500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and will start 40th in the 40-car field driving the No. 7 Golden Corral Chevrolet.


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RELATED: See the stages for every 2017 race
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona  500 turns 59 on Sunday, just one year shy of a solid, round milestone number. But the otherwise ordinary anniversary has a momentous wrinkle thrown in.

For the first time in its history, the "Great American Race" will be run in three stages — 60, 60 and 80 laps — with points incentives to the top finishers in each segment. It’s an infusion of a new-school format, transposed against the backdrop of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series‘ most prestigious event.

The significance isn’t lost on the 40 drivers who will take the flag in Sunday’s 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and neither is the bounty of bonus points that will be available. It’s a tantalizing carrot, one that could alter teams’ approaches as each race plays out this season.


RELATED: Format enhancement fast facts


"I think that’s the biggest thing — it’s going to change the strategy," said Kevin Harvick, the 2007 Daytona  500 winner. "I think there is going to be a lot of strategy involved. Late cautions in (stages) or the timing of the (stages) … if there is an early caution … do you stay out and gain the points and pit later? There’s going to be a lot of strategy that will mix the field up more than we’ve seen in the past. …

"There’s really no time to relax and I think that’s going to create a bit more of a chaotic atmosphere for the fact that there is so much to get and if you don’t aggressively go out and try and get those things, you’re going to get behind really fast."

The lure for drivers at the end of the first two stages are regular-season points awarded to the top 10, plus a bonus point for a stage winner to carry into the playoffs. That format will be in place for all 36 points-paying races through the season.

The scoring system is no different for the other 35 events, but Sunday’s opener has the weight of the Harley J. Earl Trophy and a career-changing victory at the end of the third stage.


RELATED: Changes in NASCAR for 2017


"I’d love to get those points, obviously, at the end of each stage, but I do feel like there’s going to be people that wreck at the end of the stages," said Austin Dillon, who won the Daytona  500 pole position in 2014. "So, I don’t know. If I’m running in the top three and I keep in my position, I probably won’t pull out of it."

While on-track discretion will remain in play, the format may have an unintended effect on restrictor-plate racing at Daytona and sister track Talladega in potentially discouraging the play-it-safe tactic of laying back of the main pack.

Joey Logano, the 2015 Daytona  500 winner, said he imagines that stage strategy will evolve for crew chiefs over the course of the season, but that for him, there’s little strategy to dither over.

"For me as a driver, nothing changes because I’m as wide-open as I can be," Logano said. "I don’t have a slower gear. It’s high speed all the time and I’m gonna try to pass everyone every time I can, so that part doesn’t change for me."


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Editor’s note: Every Friday during the season, "Tweets You Might Have Missed" presents eight of the best NASCAR-related tweets from the week. 

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RELATED: Logano nabs victory in ‘The Clash’

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Legendary team owner Roger Penske announced Friday a multi-year contract extension with driver Joey Logano, his crew chief Todd Gordon and the Shell/Pennzoil brand that will go through the year 2022 and beyond.


The Team Penske namesake emphasized the special nature of the long-term and global business-to-business partnership and especially the example his team has set for the sport in its affiliation with Shell/Pennzoil.


"It gave us a chance to combine the business side and also we’ve used motorsports as a common thread," Penske said. "We’re trying to create some value of competitiveness in our business.


"For us to say we have a partnership with Shell beyond 2022 is massive for us, not just here but across the business. We’ve got Joey Logano for the same period and we have Todd Gordon, we think this is one of the biggest announcements in motorsports today. When you talk about the health of the sport, we consider this a watershed time."


"This is 30-plus races per year," Penske continued. "We’re not going to be changing the logos on the car every other week. This isn’t just an announcement about a sponsor, it’s about a business relationship … quite honestly it’s the foundation of our whole business."


Logano was equally as enthused about this opportunity, acknowledging both the rarity of such a long-term contract and the promise the move makes.


"It’s an amazing honor and opportunity for me," Logano said. "Obviously signing with Team Penske is a huge change in my career. I’ve learned to surround myself with greatness, people ‘smarter than you.’ When you think about 22 team and how close we’’ve grown together — it’s a huge advantage for us as a race team to keep the continuity.


"I’m very fortunate and exited about this. This was one of those decisions that was a no-brainer. A lot of pressure comes along with this. … I love pressure. Pressure is a privilege and it honestly is a privilege to have this opportunity to race for Roger Penske and Shell and Pennzoil.


"(The) fact it all goes together is unheard of. It’s a very positive story in our sport to see the commitment of Shell and Pennzoil. It really sets a statement for not only Team Penske but NASCAR as a sport."


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RELATED: Read more Inside Groove


Looking to land his first career XFINITY Series win, Brennan Poole will have a little extra help on his side this weekend at Daytona International Speedway — the Force.


Poole, the 25-year-old

padawan
 driver, recently showed off his new helmet on Twitter, which pulls inpiration from Luke Skywalker’s Rebel Alliance helmet in ‘Star Wars.’ 

Poole has improved his finishing position in each of his three XFINITY starts at Daytona, so it’ll be interesting to see if the helmet can help him keep that trend going — or at least make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

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In celebration of his return to racing at this Sunday’s Daytona  500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. donned a Goodyear Blimp pilot uniform and took a different kind of lap in the Goodyear Blimp on Wednesday, surprising a U.S. military veteran with the experience of a lifetime. 


Earnhardt Jr., who missed 18 races last season while recovering from a concussion, will get behind the familiar wheel of his No. 88 car Sunday seeking his third Daytona  500 victory on the confidence of Goodyear tires. But it was an altogether different experience sitting at the controls of the iconic Goodyear Blimp.


"This was such a cool day — being able to co-pilot the Goodyear Blimp and connect with a fan who has so honorably served our country," said Earnhardt Jr. "I’m proud to be involved with Goodyear. Ever since we started working together, I’ve wanted to ride in the blimp, so this was a great experience I will never forget."


With weather less than ideal in the Daytona Beach area Wednesday, the blimp was limited in flight and only got off the ground for a few minutes. But the day was all about Paul Siverson, a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran who served in the military for 30 years. Siverson describes Earnhardt as his "first, second and third favorite NASCAR driver."


Coupled with his Earnhardt Jr. fandom, it was Siverson’s dedication to NCServes, a charitable organization that provides comprehensive services to veterans, service members and their families, that made Siverson the perfect candidate for the surprise ride with NASCAR’s most popular driver.


In honor of soldiers like Siverson, Goodyear donated $10,000 to NCServes with Earnhardt Jr. on hand for the check presentation. In addition to the blimp flight, Siverson will receive access at Daytona Speedweeks including tickets to the Great American Race on Sunday.

Goodyear has more than 100 years of history building innovative tires and equipment to help support and protect U.S. troops and is the largest producer of military tires in the country. The tire manufacturer has helped build more than 150 blimps for the U.S. Navy and continues to recognize the skills of Veterans through a robust hiring program and was recently recognized with the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award.


"We’re honored to celebrate the return of Dale Jr. to NASCAR and recognize an American hero like Paul," said Seth Klugherz, Goodyear’s director of North America marketing. "Connecting American icons NASCAR and the Goodyear Blimp to provide an experience for a military veteran is a natural way to extend Goodyear’s unwavering support to the U.S. Armed Forces."


Tune-in to watch the Daytona  500 on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Following a season highlighted by some of the closest, side-by-side racing NASCAR® fans have seen in years, NASCAR today announced the return of its 2017 season launch marketing campaign, Ready. Set. Race.

 

The new integrated campaign, including television creative promoting the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Seriesu2122, will launch during the 2017 DAYTONA 500® on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

NASCAR fans received a first look at "Sensory Overdrive" Friday on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A 30-second thrill ride, the spot brings to life the high-stakes drama and intensity drivers experience competing in the sport’s premier series.

 

The campaign also includes social media videos featuring Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers shared this week and throughout the season.

 

"The Ready. Set. Race campaign was so popular with our fans last year that we couldn’t wait to bring it back with even more intense racing action," said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series creative is unlike any advertising we’ve ever done. Monster Energy has built a bold, edgy brand, so we wanted to deliver creative that first and foremost is NASCAR but that also complements our new entitlement partner."

 

The new Ready. Set. Race creative was developed in conjunction with agency partner 77 Ventures and acclaimed commercial director Gary Land. Additional creative breaking Sunday on FOX includes "A New Season," an action-packed, 60-second spot that accentuates the NASCAR racing experience across all three national series.

Building on the Names Are Made Hereu00ae positioning, NASCAR will air "The Path" promoting the NASCAR XFINITY Series and featuring the sport’s up-and-coming drivers during the season-opening PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN).

 

The new creative will be available on NASCAR.com and shared via NASCAR social platforms as part of a busy weekend on social media. The DAYTONA 500 Hour Countdown social campaign in partnership with FOX will continue up until Sunday’s green flag as FOX and NASCAR post original DAYTONA 500-themed content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.    

 

The first Snapchat Live Story of the season is planned for DAYTONA 500 race day. NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Darrell Wallace Jr. will serve as Live Story correspondent and bring the sights and sounds from the track to users across the world using Snapchat Spectacles.

 

Earlier this week, NASCAR and Twitter launched a DAYTONA 500 Twitter emoji. Every time a fan Tweets with #DAYTONA500, the colorful, waving flags of the DAYTONA 500 logo appear in the Tweet. Fans can also expect unique, behind-the-scenes content all weekend from NASCAR on Facebook and Instagram.

 

For additional coverage of The Great American Raceu00ae, fans can visit Race Center on NASCAR.com.

 

Tickets to NASCAR national series events are available at NASCAR.com/tickets.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Three-time Daytona  500 winner and four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will lead the field to the start of Sunday’s Daytona  500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) behind the wheel of the new 2017 Camaro ZL1 pace car.
 
"Chevrolet and I have a great history at the Daytona  500 and it’s an honor to drive the 650-horsepower Camaro ZL1 pace car for the largest, most historic race of the season," Gordon said.
 
Chevrolet will also pace the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Nextera Energy Resources 250 with a 2017 Silverado on Friday evening. A 2017 Camaro SS — featuring a new Krypton Green exterior color — will pace the NASCAR XFINITY Series Powershares QQQ 300 on Saturday.
 
"Chevrolet is proud to pace the ‘Great American Race’ on the high banks of the iconic Daytona International Speedway," said Steve Majoros, director of marketing, Chevrolet Cars and Crossovers. "The Camaro ZL1 delivers unprecedented levels of technology, refinement and track capability."
 
Gordon has plenty of experience leading the field at Daytona. In addition to winning the Daytona  500 in 1997, 1999 and 2005, he shared the overall win last month at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
 
All three Chevrolet pace vehicles share graphic theme highlights in silver and black, along with selected accessories and personalization features.