Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR made some major announcements on Tuesday morning. The big news being that the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be adopting the Chase-elimination style format that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has used the past two seasons.

RELATED: Learn all about the Chase format | Fast facts about the changes

On top of that, the Dash 4 Cash program will have a new-look to it in the XFINITY Series and a Caution Clock is being unveiled in the Camping World Truck Series.

MORE: Dash 4 Cash gets new look for ’16 | Caution Clock comes to Truck Series

After the announcement, drivers took to social media to react to the news. 

Posted on by Staff Report

SHOP: Get ‘Batman v. Superman’ NASCAR gear

Superman vs. Batman? Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have picked their respective sides.

Two months before the much-anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie is released, Hendrick Motorsports unveiled a pair of special paint schemes that Six-Time and Junior will run at Auto Club Speedway on March 20.

Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet will maintain its blue color, but with a bright red Superman logo on the hood. Earnhardt’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevy gets a gray look with the bat symbol on the hood.

Here’s a trailer via Hendrick Motorsports:

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full Charlotte Media Tour schedule | Fast facts: All changes coming in 2016

The 2016 NASCAR season is upon us. 

Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour is here, kicking off with Toyota Tuesday. Be sure to follow along by tuning into today’s press conferences.


NASCAR.com will also be keeping a live blog covering all the Media Tour news. So, check back right here for periodic updates throughout the day.


5 p.m. ET

FOX Sports NASCAR announcers on stage. We see you, “Four-time”.



4:15 p.m. ET

Next up at Charlotte Media Day is FOX Sports at 5 p.m. ET. | Watch here


3:35 p.m. ET

Take a look at Martin Truex Jr.’s 2016 ride.



3:22 p.m. ET

Furniture Row Racing announces its deal with Bass Pro Shops for 2016 | READ: Furniture Row lands Bass Pro sponsorship



3:16 p.m. ET

Furniture Row Racing takes the stage.

1:59 p.m. ET

Check out a Periscope stream of Joe Gibbs Racing‘s break-out sessions here. Next up is Furniture Row Racing at 3:15 p.m. ET. | Watch here


1:50 p.m. ET

Joe Gibbs Racing shares a cool photo of its drivers from 25 years ago, when the racing team orginiated.



1:31 p.m. ET



12:28 p.m. ET

Stay tuned — Joe Gibbs Racing coming up at 1:30 p.m. ET. | Watch here


12:01 p.m. ET

Renovations coming for two of NASCAR’s most unique tracks.



11:55 a.m ET

Full details on the new Caution Clock here.


11:52 a.m. ET

Now, this … this is exciting.

11:40 a.m. ET

Cut to The Chase. Hey, that’s pretty good.


11:25 a.m. ET

Safety first.


11:22 a.m. ET

Major news. XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series shifting to Chase elimination format for 2016. Full details here | Watch: NXS, NCWTC get Chase format


11:15 a.m. ET

Can’t. Wait.


11:10 a.m. ET

And all signs point to 2016 being even more exciting.


11:05 a.m. ET

First look at your 2016 XFINITY Series championship winning team?


11:02 a.m. ET

Green flag on Charlotte Media Tour.


10:58 a.m. ET

Gotta stay fresh.


10:50 a.m. ET

Who’s ready? We’re ready.


10:41 a.m. ET

Gotta be one of the coolest paint scheme promotions we’ve seen in the past few years. #HeroFaceOff



10:30 a.m. ET

It’s not even lunchtime yet. Get it together, ‘casm.


10:23 a.m. ET

Ah, picture day. Hope Mom remembered to pack a comb in everybody’s backpacks.


10:17 a.m. ET

Hendrick Motorsports announced some pretty cool paint schemes for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson before the festivities even got underway. Check ’em out.


10:15 a.m. ET

Kicking us off with a few links courtesy of @NASCAR to get you in the Charlotte Media Tour mood. Stay tuned for more.


Posted on by Zack Albert

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Denny Hamlin said Tuesday that he’s roughly 50 percent recovered from offseason knee surgery, but that the relatively lengthy healing process should not hinder his readiness for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
 
Hamlin, 35, underwent successful surgery Nov. 30 after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing basketball in early September. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who competed in the final 11 races of the season without an absence, said his recovery was still a “day by day” process.
 
“I’m not where I want or should be right now, but I’m getting there, like every day,” Hamlin said during the Joe Gibbs Racing portion of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour. “I went on vacation and that kind of set me back a little bit and then now I’m starting to get back in the groove of things.”
 
Hamlin said the method of surgery differed from an ACL operation he underwent on his left knee during the 2010 season. He added that while the style of surgery may make him stronger in the long run, the short-term recovery process might be more drawn out.
 
With little more than three weeks before cars hit the track at Daytona International Speedway ahead of the Feb. 21 Daytona 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Hamlin said he wasn’t worried about any sort of delay for the start of his season.
 
“There’s no concern about Daytona,” Hamlin said. “I definitely could get in a car and do what I need to do right now. I think the challenge for me would probably be getting in the car, (that) would probably be the toughest part, but I was able to get in one at JGR last week, so I think everything will be fine. It’s just once I get my range of motion back, it’ll be fine. I’d say 50 percent’s probably fair.”

 

Coach Joe Gibbs, Hamlin’s car owner since his Sprint Cup debut in 2005, also struck a positive note. “I think it’s been a lot slower coming back, but I think he feels good about it,” Gibbs said. “We don’t see any issues, so he should be ready to go at Daytona.” 

 

The recuperation process did have an unintended side effect, halting an opportunity for Hamlin to compete in his first Rolex 24 at Daytona, the star-studded opening race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Hamlin was in line to join part-time NASCAR competitors Boris Said and Kenny Habul in the Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS entry for the 24-hour sports car race Jan. 30-31. 

 

“I was closer than what Joe was willing to think I was,” Hamlin said with a grin. “I think I was going to run it, I’d verbally told someone I was going to run it, but then Joe reminded me and he talked to my doctor and said that I just wasn’t ready to do it. I agree with them. I needed some more time to get ready for the season, and when you have the Rolex 24 and driver changes and you’ve got to get in and out real fast, I just wasn’t ready for that.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: NXS, Trucks Series get Chase elimination | Smith talks Caution Clock

 

The shot-clock era is coming to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

NASCAR announced plenty of changes Tuesday during its annual kickoff to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour, but the superlative for “Most Innovative” or “Most Unique” may go to the advent of a Caution Clock for the truck series this year. It’s the latest wrinkle in an already intriguing 2016 season, which will feature a Chase playoff format for the first time.

Starting with the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 19, Camping World Truck Series races will use a 20-minute timer that begins counting down at the start of each green-flag run. If no caution period occurs before the 20-minute limit elapses, the yellow flag will fly, giving teams the opportunity to make pit stops and adjustments under caution.

The rules change will have variations at a handful of tracks. At most tracks, the Caution Clock will be turned off with 20 laps to go. The exceptions are events held at the longer layouts of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Pocono Raceway, where the Caution Clock will be discontinued with 10 laps remaining. The Caution Clock will also not be used at Eldora Speedway, where the series’ annual race on dirt has traditionally been broken into three segments.


RELATED: Drivers excited about Trucks format changes 


It’s another big format change that promises to break up longer runs in a series that’s become a proving ground for young talent.

“Why is it important for us? We think it’s going to add to the strategy during the race,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “If you look at the Camping World Truck Series, that is an area where some of our younger drivers, our newer teams really can use the competition caution to be able to adjust on the truck.

“We’ve seen that in the (Sprint) Cup Series when we’ve had a competition caution early in the race. It’s allowed teams to make some last-minute adjustments in the race. We think that’s going to be huge for the teams in the trucks throughout the race.”


RELATED: Five young drivers to watch in NCWTS


The rules change takes come cues from basketball, with its shot clocks and regularly scheduled TV timeouts. But it also makes a slight nod toward the trucks series’ infancy, when shorter races used a halftime break.

While contrarians could argue that the natural flow of races might be disrupted by competition cautions at 20-minute intervals, Elton Sawyer — the truck series’ managing director — said the rules change has a groundswell of industry support.

“Actually, all the stakeholders, the teams, the broadcast partners were very receptive,” Sawyer said. “A lot of input went into it, a lot of energy behind the scenes. … Again, I just think it’s another level of excitement, another level of strategy and something our fans at the race track and the ones that are home are going to be tuned into.”

The truck series also will institute a seven-race Chase postseason format, culling a field of eight title-eligible drivers with two stages of eliminations before the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18.

The field, filled by race winners or the highest point-earners in the 16-race regular season, will cut from eight drivers to six after the first three-race stage, then six to four after the final three-race series ahead of the season-ending event. Additionally, drivers who made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs in 2015 will not be permitted to compete in the truck series’ championship race at Homestead.


MORE: Fast facts on the changes in NASCAR’s three top series for 2016


While the postseason format mimics the system now used across all three national series, the truck tour now has its own unique facet in the Caution Clock. NASCAR officials said the change wasn’t implemented solely as a trial balloon for use in other series, but didn’t rule out expanding its reach if it achieves a positive reception in 2016.

“All these changes are really fundamentally with an eye on providing a more exciting product,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR’s new Senior Vice President of Competition. “We’ll always look at concepts, and if it looks like it works well and it’s something that we think would carry over into another series, we’ll always keep that in the back of our minds.”

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

RELATED: New-look Dash 4 Cash unveiled | Caution clock comes to trucks

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 19, 2016) – NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell announced today several racing-related innovations to the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, beginning with the 2016 season, designed to ignite and energize the growth of each series.

 

In the NASCAR XFINITY Series, where “Names Are Made,” each event in the popular Dash 4 Cash program now will be comprised of Two Heats and a Main. Drivers who win two of the four Dash 4 Cash bonuses available also are all but guaranteed a spot in the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.

 

In addition, the rugged NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races now will feature a Caution Clock, which will be triggered at the start of each green-flag run. When the green flag is displayed, 20 minutes will be placed on the clock. If/when the clock expires, a caution will be thrown.

 

“These innovations contain the elements of racing that our fans want the most,” said O’Donnell. “The enhancements put a premium on in-race strategy, and will create an unprecedented level of excitement as teams make tactical decisions that could impact their spot in the Chase.”

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES DASH 4 CASH

The NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash will be comprised of Two Heats and a Main at four tracks: Bristol Motor Speedway (April 16), Richmond International Raceway (April 23), Dover International Speedway (May 14) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 23).

 

Qualifying for each Dash 4 Cash event will set the 40-car field and the starting positions for the Two Heats with the fastest qualifier awarded the Coors Light Pole Award. Odd-numbered qualifiers (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.) will start in the first Heat in respective order, while even-numbered qualifiers (2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.) will start the second Heat in respective order.

 

The Two Heats will set the starting positions for the Main with the top two NASCAR XFINITY Series regulars in each Heat becoming eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus. The highest finishing driver among the four Dash 4 Cash eligible drivers will be awarded a $100,000 bonus. If any driver wins two of the four Dash 4 Cash bonuses available, he/she is all but guaranteed a spot in the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase. In short, two Dash 4 Cash bonuses are equivalent to one race win in the new NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase format.

 

Drivers must have declared to earn NASCAR XFINITY Series points in order to be eligible for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash bonus.

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES CAUTION CLOCK

A Caution Clock will be utilized in each NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event (except for Eldora Speedway). The clock will be set to 20 minutes and triggered at the start of each green-flag run during race events. When the clock counts down to zero, a caution flag then will be displayed. A caution occurring before time expires resets the clock when the subsequent green flag is displayed.

 

The caution clock will be turned off with 20 laps to go at all events in the series, with the exception of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Pocono Raceway, where the clock will be turned off with 10 laps remaining.

 

The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season will kick off with the 58th running of the Daytona 500® on Sunday, Feb. 21 at Daytona International Speedway®. The Great American Race® will be broadcast live on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

RELATED: NXS, Truck Series receive Chase format for ’16 

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 19, 2016) – Using the overwhelming success of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format introduced in 2014 as a guidepost, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France announced today the implementation of a playoff system in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

On the heels of a 2015 Chase that saw the highest season-finale viewership in nearly a decade, record-breaking page views on NASCAR.com, and unparalleled volume on social media, the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will each feature a seven-race Chase to decide its respective championships starting in 2016. The announcement was the first of a number of racing innovations presented by NASCAR on Tuesday.

“Fans, partners and the industry have embraced the new Chase format like nothing we’ve seen in the sport’s history,” said France. “Winning never has been this important, and the excitement generated the past two seasons in the Sprint Cup Series has led to this implementation of the Chase format in all three national series. Competition in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will undoubtedly elevate to new heights and shine a spotlight on the rising stars of our sport.”

The NASCAR XFINITY Series, where “Names Are Made,” and the rugged NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will implement seven-race, three-round Chase formats with unique characteristics but very much in the same spirit of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. All three series will conclude the season with a Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to crown a champion. However, all three will begin at different tracks: Chicago (Sprint Cup Series), Kentucky (XFINITY Series) and New Hampshire (Camping World Truck Series)

Drivers still must declare a series in which they will earn points, and will only be eligible to compete for a championship in that series. The 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who qualified for the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will be ineligible to compete in the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship 4 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES CHASE

The seven-race NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase will begin at Kentucky Speedway on Sept. 24, and feature 12 drivers and two elimination rounds, with four drivers competing in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

A win in the first 26 races all but guarantees a driver entry into the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, provided the driver is in the top 30 in points and has attempted to qualify for each race. Drivers who win two Dash 4 Cash bonuses are also all but guaranteed a Chase berth.

The first round, called the Round of 12, consists of the races at Kentucky, Dover, and Charlotte. All drivers will start with their points adjusted to 2,000, with three additional bonus points added to their total for each win in the first 26 races. If a driver wins a race in the Round of 12, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions (1-8) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.

Each driver who advances to the Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas, Phoenix) then will have their points reset to 3,000. Drivers who win a race in the Round of 8 automatically advance to the Championship 4. The remaining available positions (1-4) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.

The four drivers who advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead will have their points reset to 4,000. The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will be crowned the NASCAR XFINITY Series champion.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES CHASE

The seven-race NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase will begin at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 24. It will feature eight drivers and two elimination rounds, with four drivers competing in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. A win in the first 16 races all but guarantees a driver entry into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, provided that the driver is in the Top 30 in points and has attempted to qualify for each race.

The first round, called the Round of 8, consists of the races at New Hampshire, Las Vegas, and Talladega. All drivers will have their points adjusted to 2,000, with three additional bonus points added to their total for each win in the first 16 races. If a driver wins a race in the Round of 8, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions (1-6) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.

Each driver who advances to the Round of 6 (Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix) then will have their points reset to 3,000. Drivers who win a race in the Round of 6 automatically advance to the Championship 4. The remaining available positions (1-4) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.

The four drivers who advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead will have their points reset to 4,000. The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will win the championship.

All rules outlined above also apply to both series’ owner championship structure.

The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season will kick off with the 58th running of the Daytona 500® on Sunday, Feb. 21 at Daytona International Speedway®. The Great American Race® will be broadcast live on FOX, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

From a teamwork standpoint, Jeff Gordon‘s new day job won’t be that much different from his old one.

“It’s such a team effort,” said Gordon, who is transitioning this year from the seat of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the FOX Sports broadcast booth. “(There are) so many comparisons to what I’ve done as a driver in the sport, as to what I’ve already seen in the broadcast booth, whether it was XFINITY races that I did last year, or working with these guys (play-by-play man Mike Joy and analyst Darrell Waltrip) when we did rehearsal at the Truck race in Texas.

“And then following that up in December and January with a lot of meetings, and talking about preparation and the technology that they’re bringing to the broadcast and just how we’re working together as a team, coming up with great ideas. It’s going to be a lot of fun — I can’t wait to get to Daytona.”

Gordon landed his new job after a phone call to Eric Shanks, president, COO and executive producer at Fox Sports. Though Gordon expressed interest in a broadcasting career, Shanks wanted to make sure the four-time champion was a good fit with the brand Joy, Waltrip and Larry McReynolds have established over the last 15 years.

“NASCAR on FOX didn’t exist before Larry, Mike and Darrell,” Shanks said on Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “They created what the NASCAR on FOX brand is. When Jeff said this was something he was interested in, you do take a step back and say, ‘OK, can Jeff carry on the tradition and be a part of the group of what you guys have done?’ which is fun and entertaining and self-deprecating.

“You look at the drivers that are coming out. How many other drivers have hosted SNL (“Saturday Night Live”), and have gone through make-up to be a taxi driver to freak somebody out in a Pepsi commercial? Getting to know Jeff really well and his brand and how it fits with what these guys have created — I think it’s going to be really special.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

From a teamwork standpoint, Jeff Gordon‘s new day job won’t be that much different from his old one.

“It’s such a team effort,” said Gordon, who is transitioning this year from the seat of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the FOX Sports broadcast booth. “(There are) so many comparisons to what I’ve done as a driver in the sport, as to what I’ve already seen in the broadcast booth, whether it was XFINITY races that I did last year, or working with these guys (play-by-play man Mike Joy and analyst Darrell Waltrip) when we did rehearsal at the Truck race in Texas.

“And then following that up in December and January with a lot of meetings, and talking about preparation and the technology that they’re bringing to the broadcast and just how we’re working together as a team, coming up with great ideas. It’s going to be a lot of fun — I can’t wait to get to Daytona.”

Gordon landed his new job after a phone call to Eric Shanks, president, COO and executive producer at Fox Sports. Though Gordon expressed interest in a broadcasting career, Shanks wanted to make sure the four-time champion was a good fit with the brand Joy, Waltrip and Larry McReynolds have established over the last 15 years.

“NASCAR on FOX didn’t exist before Larry, Mike and Darrell,” Shanks said on Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “They created what the NASCAR on FOX brand is. When Jeff said this was something he was interested in, you do take a step back and say, ‘OK, can Jeff carry on the tradition and be a part of the group of what you guys have done?’ which is fun and entertaining and self-deprecating.

“You look at the drivers that are coming out. How many other drivers have hosted SNL (“Saturday Night Live”), and have gone through make-up to be a taxi driver to freak somebody out in a Pepsi commercial? Getting to know Jeff really well and his brand and how it fits with what these guys have created — I think it’s going to be really special.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: More details on new postseason formats | Drivers react to changes

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Let’s cut to the Chase.

 

Starting this year, the NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will use elimination-based playoff formats to determine their respective champions, just as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has done for the past two seasons.

 

According to NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France, the new approach not only builds on the resounding success of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, but it also provides a training ground for drivers who ultimately will compete at NASCAR’s highest level.

 

“The idea is pretty simple,” France said. “When we looked at how successful the format is with the Sprint Cup Series, and the fact that drivers trying to win a championship in those lower divisions are trying to come up to the Sprint Cup, we know the way to win in the future … you’ve got to beat people, you’ve got to be winning, you’ve got to be in the crosshairs of elimination at any given moment.

 

“And that’s how we want our young drivers, at a very early stage, to understand the latest in the competitive style of NASCAR. So no better way to do that than to have our championship formats consistent, and that’s one of the main reasons we did that.”

 

RELATED: Fast facts on all 2016 changes

 

The Chase formats in the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series will feature seven races each and two elimination rounds before the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but beyond that, they diverge in format. The XFINITY Series Chase starts with 12 drivers, four of whom are eliminated after each three-race round, leaving four drivers to race for the title at Homestead.

 

As with the Sprint Cup Series, the highest finisher among those four drivers in the season finale is the champion.

 

 

In the Truck Series, eight drivers will qualify for the Chase, with two drivers eliminated after each three-race round, again leaving four competitors to run for the championship at Homestead.

 

In detailing the fine points of the two new formats, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said the new format in the two lower national touring series would go a long way toward eliminating “points racing,” particularly in the championship race.

 

O’Donnell pointed out that Erik Jones won last year’s Truck Series title by taking care of his equipment and finishing sixth in the finale, given that he had a large enough lead to play it safe at Homestead. By definition, that will change under the new playoff format.

 

“The culture we want in our sport is to go out there and win the race, and I think everybody here in this room knows Erik Jones is capable of that,” O’Donnell said. “And we’re looking forward to seeing that type of racing when we get to Homestead in 2016, as well.”

 

RELATED: How the points work in new formats

 

 

Chase formats aren’t the only innovations, either.

 

O’Donnell also revealed that NASCAR will implement a “caution clock” in the Camping World Truck Series. If 20 minutes of green-flag racing pass without a caution, the yellow will fly as a competition caution.

 

RELATED: Breaking down the Caution Clock

 

O’Donnell also announced a change to the format of the popular Dash 4 Cash bonus program in the XFINITY Series. After knockout qualifying, drivers will compete in two heat races (similar in concept to the Daytona Duel races in the Sprint Cup Series) to set the order for the main event.

 

RELATED: Heat races also on tap