Posted on by Staff Report

Company will sponsor Ryan Blaney, No. 21 car at Kentucky and Darlington

Ryan Blaney and his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford will have a new sponsor on the car for this weekend at Kentucky Speedway in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, PRN, SiriusXM).

Snap-on Tools will also sponsor the car in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend (Sept. 6, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM). Check out the paint scheme.

"It’s a real privilege to be representing a company like Snap-on that has such a rich heritage of quality and craftsmanship," team co-owner Eddie Wood said in a release provided by the team.

Blaney’s six starts this season so far for Wood Brothers have carried the sponsorship of Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center. The 21-year-old’s best finish this season came at Talladega Superspeedway in May — he finished fourth.

Blaney and the No. 21 car did not make the 43-car field for last Sunday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway with qualifying rained out and the field set by the NASCAR rule book, which meant by the speeds of the opening practice as well as based on the number of race attempts each team has made. It was the first time since 2008 that the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 car did not qualify for a race in which it was entered.

Posted on by Staff Report

See what’s coming this week to NASCAR.com

Here’s what you’ll see on NASCAR.com this week:

MONDAY: With the Daytona race ending at nearly 3 a.m. ET, catch up on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win and Austin Dillon‘s last-lap wreck … Plus recap the race in GIFs with our Weekend in GIFs … @nascarcasm recaps the race in photos as only he can.

TUESDAY: This week’s Power Rankings, presented by Outback, is sure to get a shakeup. Who will be No. 1? … Kenny Bruce hits the high notes from the garage in this week’s Tech Talk … @nascarcasm delivers what Dale Jr.’s winning Facebook page might look like … Wonder what drivers’ first-ever tweets were? We’ve got that, too.

WEDNESDAY: New paint schemes will be on display at Kentucky, and we’ll have them all in Paint Scheme Preview … Should NASCAR tweak the rules package at midseason? It’s a debate in which Kenny Bruce and RJ Kraft will engage … The Kentucky rules package will see its debut, too, with two testing sessions at the 1.5-mile track. Zack Albert and Jessica Ruffin will provide coverage, and NASCAR.com will have live leaderboards.

THURSDAY: There are five on-track events Thursday, and we’ll have every one covered — from the 8 a.m. ET Truck Series practice to the 7:30 p.m. Truck Series race … Driver Reports highlights which drivers currently in the Chase Grid do well (or poorly) at Kentucky … It’s Jeff Gordon Day in Pittsboro, Indiana, and @nascarcasm will be there. Seriously.

FRIDAY: The second race of the weekend tripleheader is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET when the NASCAR XFINITY Series cars go under the lights … Eight Tweets You May Have Missed highlights some of the best social media chatter from the past week.

Also coming this week: Want to hear the best sounds from the scanner? That’s coming Tuesday … Holly Cain will follow up on Chase Elliott‘s third-place finish at Daytona.

Posted on by Staff Report

No. 3 RCR driver discusses last-lap wreck in Coke Zero 400

On the last lap of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Austin Dillon was involved in a multi-car crash that sent his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet SS into the catchfence after passing the start/finish line in seventh place. Below are Dillon’s comments following the incident.

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Q: I don’t think I have seen more happy people after a crash. How are you?

Austin Dillon: "I am just going to be really sore. It got my tailbone pretty good and my arm. Should be fine, just go ice it up and get ready for Kentucky. But just thank the good Lord for taking care of me and for what NASCAR has done to make the sport this much safer.  I just hope everybody in the stands is all right. That is the next biggest concern. Just praying for everybody and glad the good Lord looked out for me tonight."
 
VIDEO: Johnson reacts to crash

Q: What happened?

Dillon: "You know the 11 (Denny Hamlin) got turned by the 4 (Kevin Harvick) across the start/finish line and I thought the race was going to be over right there. We were almost there, and I was just pushing the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the next thing I knew was that I was looking at my roof for a long time. I thought it was all over when I was sliding there and the 2 (Brad Keselowski) came in and really got me. So it was a wicked ride but thank the good Lord above for taking care of me."
 
VIDEO: Dale Jr. wins as Dillon crashes on last lap

Q: What were your thoughts as you looked out the window and saw you were surrounded by crew members trying to help?

Dillon: "I thought that was pretty awesome. As soon as I looked up and I don’t know if it was Casey Mears‘ pit crew member or Casey right at the door, but that made me feel really good and comfortable. The only thing I was worried about was that there was oil everywhere and I wanted to get away from the car and that was why I was scrambling to get out from under it. And then just wanted to wave to the fans and let them know I was all good."
 
Q: The catchfence. It will be a topic of conversation. It kept you in the ballpark, so to speak, but did it do its job?

Dillon: "I don’t know because I haven’t even looked at the replay yet and I don’t know when I am going to. But I just think the next thing is that we are going to have to make this racing even more safe. We are running 200 mph and pushing each other around out there and it’s just bound to happen. No matter how safe we can make the sport, when you are going that amount of speed, things happen."
 
Q: Jeff Gordon said this style of racing is more like a video game, but in real life. How would you describe what you saw there in the end?

Dillon: "It definitely is a video game. With three to go, you are just going to push somebody until the end of the race. It’s wreckers or checkers. It’s like ‘Talladega Nights’ out there. So it takes a lot of confidence and just staying into the gas is tough. It is a tough sport and it’s what racing is about and it is why NASCAR has been here for so long."

Posted on by Staff Report

Truex Jr., Almirola among several drivers wiped out after wreck

RELATED: Nine-car wreck on Lap 3
 MORE: Full race results | Updated series standings 

Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne made contact and crashed, bringing out the race’s sixth caution on Lap 104 of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

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Other cars involved in the melee were David Ragan, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Sam Hornish Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Trevor Bayne and Danica Patrick, who cut a tire as she ran over a piece of debris from the incident.

Almirola is the defending race winner.

"I was following Jeff Gordon up through there and he got shuffled out and I kind of committed to him and we started moving back up there pretty good," Almirola said.

"I was happy about the momentum we had and next thing I know some cars got together on the inside, and I heard the noise and heard them start to spin. … It is a game of inches here sometimes, and I think a couple feet more forward and we wouldn’t be in this. It stinks. I am certainly disappointed."

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See what the driver of the No. 18 Toyota needs to make the Chase

With only nine races left until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, it’s time to check up on Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, as he tries to rebound from early-season injuries and make the Chase.

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WHAT JUST HAPPENED: Busch finished 17th in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, not bad considering he scraped the wall in Turn 4 on Lap 17. He was trying to pass Jamie McMurray when his car got loose and hit the outside wall. He went two laps down before rebounding to get on the lead lap. And he managed to avoid more damage in a night filled with big wrecks at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

WHAT HE NEEDS: With a win in hand, Busch now just needs to finish in the top 30 in the points standings to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. After Daytona, he is unofficially in 37th place, 128 points behind the 30th-place driver Cole Whitt. According to NASCAR statistical services, if all things continue at this pace, Busch roughly needs an average finish of between 13th and 14th place over the next nine races.

WHAT’S NEXT: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Kentucky Speedway, where Kyle Busch is no stranger to success. He has a win, three top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes in four starts at the 1.5-mile track. He starts well (6.2 average starting position) and finishes well (4.5 average finish, tied with JGR teammate Matt Kenseth for the best mark at this track). He has also led the second-most laps of all drivers at Kentucky (only Brad Keselowski has led more), totaling 274 circuits at the point (out of the 1,068 laps there). The 30-year-old is also a loop data darling in the Bluegrass State, with the best average running position (5.270), driver rating (124.3), the fastest car on restarts (164.832 mph), fastest car under green flag conditions (172.614 mph) and has spent all but 65 laps running in the top 15 at Kentucky. Bottom line, it would be a major surprise if Busch doesn’t run well at Kentucky to improve his position as he looks to make the Chase.

Chase grid after Daytona

Posted on by Zack Albert

Complete news and notes on all 43 drivers in the Coke Zero 400

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid

Breaking down how the full 43-car field fared at Daytona International Speedway

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. It was initially a muted celebration for Earnhardt’s second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the year as he watched Austin Dillon‘s horrifying crash from his rear-view mirror after the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway. His No. 88 ride dominated, leading six times for 96 laps in the 161-lap main event. | WATCH: Dale Jr. on big week, scary crash
 
2. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt’s stablemate was one of few drivers within striking distance at the finish. Johnson paced 35 laps, the only other driver with more than 10 laps led in the Coke Zero 400. | MORE: Johnson pleased with 1-2 Hendrick finish
 
3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The JGR driver landed his first top-five finish since winning at Martinsville Speedway in March, but came across the finish line sideways at the checkered flag after contact with Kevin Harvick ignited the final massive crash of the night. | WATCH: Hamlin reacts to wild wreck
 
4. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick took the checkered flag at the leading edge of the race-ending melee, making the cool-down lap with heavy front-end damage. He remained the Sprint Cup Series points leader with his fourth top-five finish in the last five races. | MORE: See the updated Chase Grid
 
5. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch held on to avoid the brunt of the damage erupting around him on the final-lap crash to secure his fourth straight top-five finish, moving him to eighth in Sprint Cup Series points despite missing three races to start the season.

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6. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon wound up sliding out of control after taking the checkered flag for the final time at the 2.5-mile track, but clinched his ninth top-10 finish of the year. Barring an unexpected return to competition, Gordon’s career will end with six Daytona wins on his resume.
 
7. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon, the NASCAR XFINITY Series winner the night before, emerged largely unscathed after his No. 3 entry went tumbling into the catch fencing not far from the start-finish line. He walked away from the crash and offered a wave to the crowd with a nod to former professional bull rider Lane Frost. | MORE: Dillon shaken, but OK after massive wreck
 
8. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman caught part of the massive crash at the finish. His RCR entry led its first lap since Martinsville in March as Newman posted his second straight top-10 effort.
 
9. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne went skidding as part of the pileup at the checkered flag, but recorded his second top-10 finish of the year in the No. 6.
 
10. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. The MWR driver eked out his third consecutive top-10 finish in spite of early contact in the first crash of the day and being caught in the midst of the race-ending tangle, with Dillon’s airborne car sailing over his No. 15. Bowyer was among seven drivers credited with leading just one lap. | WATCH: See the contact Bowyer had
 
11. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears’ team recovered from an early pit-road penalty and repairs of a faulty sensor that caused the No. 13 to lose power. He just missed his second top-10 of the season; the first came in the Daytona 500.
 
12. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Ragan brought out the next-to-last caution period with a long slide on the backstretch and was collected in the major crash as the curtain fell on the Coke Zero 400, but still managed to register his best finish thus far in his seven-race stint with the Michael Waltrip-owned team.
 
13. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill ran with the powerhouse teams in the third restrictor-plate race of the season, emerging with damage but also with his best Sprint Cup finish of 2015.
 
14. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart had a prime but unfortunate seat for the race-ending crash, watching Austin Dillon‘s car sail into the catch fencing. Smoke matched his car number in the results column for his fourth top-15 performance of the season.

15. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. McMurray was among the drivers wrapped up in the final multicar crash of the day. Though four of his seven Sprint Cup wins have come at either Daytona or Talladega, he’s yet to record a top-10 finish in three races on restrictor-plate tracks this year.
 
16. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard’s fourth-place starting spot was his best of the season, awarded based on first practice speeds after Coors Light Pole Qualifying was rained out. He dipped from his position in eighth place on the final restart to miss out on a top-10.
 
17. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch’s first race back at Daytona was a rocky one. He scraped the wall in the 17th lap and twice received the free pass during caution periods to rally, but his No. 18 suffered further damage in the race-ending wreck. | MORE: How is Busch positioned to make the Chase
 
18. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier went spinning after the checkered flag, but his best restrictor-plate finish of the year helped him gain two spots in the standings to 29th place.
 
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse surfaced from the carnage to notch his best Sprint Cup finish since a fourth place at Bristol Motor Speedway in April.
 
20. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle was involved in the first yellow flag of the race, then was sent scraping past the finish line at the checkered flag to end an eventful day in the No. 16.
 
21. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. The recent dry spell extended to 14 races without a top-10 finish for the JTG Daugherty crew, which had its No. 47 returned to the Daytona garage by a wrecker after the race-ending crash.
 
22. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. The reigning Daytona 500 champion’s chances at a Daytona season sweep fizzled early with involvement in the first large crash of the day and a black flag for racing with a flapping rear fender. Logano rallied with help of the free pass on the next-to-last caution, turning the rough day into a lead-lap finish.

23. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth was at the center of an 11-car stack-up just past the midway point, spinning in tight racing with Kasey Kahne off Turn 4. | WATCH: See Kenseth and Kahne make contact to trigger wreck
 
24. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Bowman, who failed to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500, converted a lead-lap finish despite his No. 7 ride sustaining damage as he took the checkered flag.
 
25. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt described his car’s handling as "darty" in radio communications but held on to end the race as the Front Row team’s top finisher.
 
26. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. The former NASCAR Next driver secured his first lead-lap finish since placing a season-best 18th at Talladega Superspeedway in May.
 
27. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Though it’s a distant result from his season-best of eighth place, Moffitt’s early morning finish was his best in eight races driving for team owner Bob Jenkins.
 
28. Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. The NASCAR XFINITY Series regular, who has failed to qualify for eight Sprint Cup races this season, secured his first lead-lap finish of the season as the last driver to complete all 161 laps.
 
29. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. A day that started with radio communications trouble ended with Keselowski’s out-of control No. 2 sliding through fluid and wreckage into the mangled No. 3 of Austin Dillon after the race. Keselowski was also involved in the race’s fifth caution period, just past the halfway point.
 
30. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish’s sour luck continued with his involvement in three Daytona crashes, the final of which finally broke the No. 9 with heavy damage after a wild ride through the backstretch grass.

31. Josh Wise, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise finished seven laps off the leader’s pace after a battery cable came unfastened, requiring a tow back to the garage.
 
32. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne ran among the top five with his Hendrick teammates in early portions of the race, but was caught up in Matt Kenseth‘s spin that touched off a sizable wreck in Turn 4 on Lap 105. | WATCH: Kahne and Kenseth involved in big wreck
 
33. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley returned from repairs after a Lap 87 pileup collected his No. 23 and six other cars, but finish 22 laps down to the front-runners.
 
34. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. A crash in the wake of Matt Kenseth‘s spin in heavy traffic dashed Almirola’s hopes for a Coke Zero 400 repeat, sending the Petty-owned No. 43 to the garage. He was listed as running at the finish after extensive repairs.
 
35. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick was caught by the race’s first crash, just four laps in, but any dwindling hopes of contending were thwarted by another hit with the outside retaining wall in the 129th lap, sidelining her for the balance of the event. | WATCH: Trouble at Daytona for Danica
 
36. Jeb Burton, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate lost plenty of ground after the first big wreck of the event, finishing 40 laps off the pace.
 
37. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. A part in the first multicar crash of the day doomed Annett’s effort almost from the outset, relegating the second-year driver to his sixth consecutive finish of 30th or worse.
 
38. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. "The weekend didn’t start off well for us and it ended worse," was the sentiment of Truex after a crash in practice and another multicar wreck in the 105th lap. After reeling off top-10 finishes in 14 of the first 15 races of the season, Truex now has back-to-back DNFs related to crashes. | RELATED: Truex among big names taken out in ‘Big One’
 
39. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. The 105th-lap crash that snared 11 cars hit Larson’s No. 42 hard with heavy nose-first contact against the Turn 4 inside retaining wall. The second-year driver has three DNFs this season, all at restrictor-plate tracks.
 
40. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland was a focal point of the first large crash of the race, spinning in front of a large pack after contact with the car of Clint Bowyer. He returned to the race, enduring a solo spin just before halfway and taking the checkered flag 65 laps down. | WATCH: Gilliland brings out first caution
 
41. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Two crashes curbed Edwards’ efforts, the first causing rear-end damage in the 53rd lap and the latter lifting his No. 19 Camry up onto the hood and windshield of Brian Scott‘s No. 33. | WATCH: Hard hit for Edwards

 42. Brian Scott, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. Scott’s fifth Sprint Cup race of his part-time season ended with a too-close-for-comfort view of Carl Edwards‘ car on top of his. Scott has DNFs in his last three races in NASCAR’s top division.


43. Bobby Labonte, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing. The former series champion’s third race of the season ended early as the Archie St. Hilaire-owned No. 32 completed just two laps before tangling in Sunday’s first multicar shunt.

Posted on by Nascar

Driver mostly concerned with those caught up in final lap wreck

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson didn’t get any help, and the only way to beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 was to have help. Lots and lots of help.

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Johnson, three times a winner at Daytona International Speedway, including once in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ summer stop here, led five times for 35 laps. He lined up for a final, green-white-checkered finish second, on the outside of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
 
The opportunity, he said, was there on more than one occasion in the 161-lap race.
 
“Yeah, restart‑wise, I was excited to have a front‑row opportunity and just hopeful that the scenario behind me would play out right,” Johnson said.
 
The excitement was short-lived.
 
“I don’t know what went on,” he said. “I had two or three shots at it and we just couldn’t get our lane to go.”
 
And as was the case most of the night in a race that started more than 3 1/2 hours past its scheduled start time of approximately 8 p.m. ET due to inclement weather, Earnhardt was able to deftly switch lanes, picking up the push of the faster line of cars that kept his No. 88 Chevrolet safely out front.
 
Johnson’s final opportunity came on a green-white-checkered restart that extended the race one lap beyond its scheduled distance.
 
“The last restart I think the 6 car (of Trevor Bayne) was more focused on setting up a run down the back straightaway and was backing up to the car behind him and I got a great start with Junior and was door to door with him, but didn’t have any help getting through (Turns) 1 and 2,” Johnson sad. “I lost control of my lane, and Junior was so strong all night; you give him control of the race, he’s not going to give that up.”
 
Earnhardt led seven times for 96 laps.
 
The race was slowed eight times for accidents on the track, and ended under a hail of smoke and debris after Austin Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was launched into the fencing on the frontstretch.
 
“Happy to be 1-2,” Johnson said of his runner-up finish to his HMS teammate, “but clearly thinking about the accident that happened and the people in the stands.
 
“It sounds like things are well out there, which is shocking. I’m shocked that Austin Dillon is even alive, what he went through. Just a frightening moment. I saw it in the mirror, and man, I expected the worst when I came back around.”
 
Johnson swept both Daytona races in 2013, and scored his first Daytona 500 victory in 2006. He’s seen his share of crashes here, and he’s been involved in his share as well.
 
“I assumed that the 3 (Dillon) was backwards and it lifted off from that, but it was actually the 11 (of Denny Hamlin) was backwards and the 3 bumped him and got some air under the nose of the car and then it just peeled the car up off the ground,” he said.
 
“I don’t know how you help the cars in that scenario. Slow us down, certainly. Slow us down, we get further below the lift‑off point, and that could be something to look at. But what I thought happened didn’t happen. I was shocked to see the car get off the ground as it did from that type of contact.”

Posted on by Nascar

Chitwood pleased with safety measure, says track will analyze situation

RELATED: Watch the last-lap wreck

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daytona International Speedway track president Joie Chitwood III said 13 fans were seen by medical personnel following the last-lap crash at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, with one being transported to a local hospital and later released.

"We assessed 13 individuals in the grandstands," Chitwood said following a vicious crash on the final lap of the Coke Zero 400 that included Austin Dillon going airborne. "Eight declined any medical attention. We had four treated on property in our first aid and care centers, and we had one transported off property to a local hospital. That individual was reported as stable when they were transported off property."

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A track spokesman announced at 4:55 a.m. ET that the individual had been released.

Names of those treated were not disclosed.

Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was launched into the catchfence along the frontstretch following contact between several cars, and then was thrown back onto the racing surface. A section of fencing was destroyed and fans were struck by debris.

Dillon’s car, or what was left of it, had barely come to a stop, on its roof, when it was struck by the No. 2 Ford of Brad Keselowski.

Crewmen from race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Hendrick Motorsports team, stationed just across the infield from the crash scene, quickly rushed to Dillon’s aid.

Moments later, after rescue personnel had arrived on the scene, Dillon scrambled from his mangled car, and after walking away from the crash, took off his helmet and raised his arms in response to cheers from those in the grandstands.

Chitwood said he was proud of the fact "that the fence worked" and "the additional safety enhancements" performed as anticipated.

"We’ll take this situation, we’ll learn from it, we’ll analyze it, and we’ll round up our engineering team and see if there’s any additional things we can learn to get better the next time," he said.

It was the second time in three years that a car had impacted the fencing that separates the racing surface from the grandstands on the frontstrech at Daytona. In February of 2013, driver Kyle Larson‘s car also struck the fencing. More than a dozen fans were transported to area hospitals after being hit by debris.

"Obviously through the last couple years, we’ve learned a lot, whether it’s fencing or the facility itself in terms of enhancements," Chitwood said. "One of the elements of the project of Daytona Rising was no longer having fans or individuals on Rim Road and closing off the grandstands on the front row, so those were in the new sections, and that was what was in place today, and I think it did a very good job."

Posted on by NBC Sports

Earnhardt: ‘Dad loved this place; I’m still at peace with this place’

RELATED: #TBT to NBC’s first broadcast, Dale Jr.’s first Daytona win

On NBC’s pre-race show, Steve Letarte visited Dale Earnhardt Jr. to watch his emotional Daytona win in July of 2001, which marked the first time that he returned to the track since his father’s tragic death five months prior.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. on returning to Daytona after the crash that killed his father: "I could tell my buddies were like, ‘Man, what’s going on? How is it going to be? What’s the deal?’ So, as soon as we got there, we drove around to Turns 3 and 4, right where dad hit the wall and lost his life. And, we stopped, and everybody got out and I just walked around a little bit by myself. I just spent some time there seeing how I would feel. I didn’t want to fall apart in front of all of my guys and everybody in the race and the garage. It was good. I was like, ‘Man, dad loved this place and I’m still at peace with this place. I still love being here and looking forward to racing here many more years."

Steve Letarte: "Have you ever gone back and relived or re-watched that race in July [that you won]?"

Earnhardt Jr.: "Oh yeah, tons of times."

Earnhardt Jr. on his Daytona win: "I was wide open the whole time. Panicking. How many laps are left? Are we going to have enough laps left? Just full-throttle panicking."

Earnhardt Jr.: "I think that win right there made the whole company feel like they could move on and that things were going to be alright. We could be a strong team… you just don’t see victory celebrations like this every week. It was special."

Earnhardt Jr. while watching his first interview after his win: "[Laughs] I sound like an idiot. Once you drive in there and you get out of the car, and you’re in Victory Lane, I think the emotion and everything sort of sucks me in."

Earnhardt Jr.: "I know that a lot of people took pleasure in how that worked out. And if they couldn’t have won the race, I heard that 100 times in the garage the next day. ‘If I couldn’t have won that race, man, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way."