Posted on by Nascar

Cup Spotters touch on difficulty of night spotting on back straightaway at Daytona

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live | Sign up for RaceView today

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Thursday night’s Budweiser Duel qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway will be run under the lights for the first time.

The temperature of the race track will be cooler and speeds are expected to be higher. For some, a starting spot in the season-opening Daytona 500 hangs in the balance. For others already assured of a place on the 43-car grid, a trouble-free race can mean a much better starting position in the series’ premier event.

While the two qualifying races are only 60 laps (150 miles) in length, the move to run them under the lights adds another degree of difficulty to the jobs of the spotters situated atop the main grandstands.

“Here during the day, when they’re on the back straightaway they’re so far away from you but you’re so used to it,” said Jason Hedlesky, spotter for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards. "You use your binoculars …  and you do your deal. It’s second nature, you’re so used to it, it’s fine and you feel comfortable with it.

"At night, the added dimension down the back straightaway is the light. It’s like a strobe effect. … When the guys fan out and do their two- and three-wide racing, you really have to pay attention; it has to be crystal clear because the strobe effect adds such a different view, a different dimension for you as a spotter that it makes it harder to tell what’s going on."

Hedlesky has been spotting for Edwards at Roush Fenway Racing since 2004. He also spots for RFR’s Trevor Bayne in the Nationwide Series and ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton in the Camping World Truck Series.

"Everywhere else, in the corners, (turns) three and four, it’s not as dramatic," he said of the effect of the lights. "But that whole back straightaway is a whole other dimension. That’s the main thing.

"I love spotting at night at all places because it stays consistent, you don’t have the sun in your eyes. … Just like when I was driving I liked racing at night. The same can be said for spotting.

"Here, it’s such a big place anyway, and that strobe effect that the lights add, you just have to be precise and … really be sure what you’re looking at and it’s not your eyes playing tricks on you on the back straightaway."

Chris Lambert, spotter for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, said running the Duel at night will be "different" but similar to last Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited race.

"Spotting at night anywhere creates differences, there are the shadows and we have a black car, which obviously makes it a little harder to judge when you’re so far away at places like here and Michigan," said Lambert, who is known as @3widemiddle on Twitter. "But at nighttime, the speeds pick up, the closing rate this year is a lot different here with the spoiler rule.

"You’re trying to talk fast enough to keep up with what’s going on. Matt (Kenseth) got tore up here in the Unlimited race just because about the time his spotter was saying ‘inside,’ Matt was already committed to come down. Things just seem to happen so quick at night."

Spotters are another set of eyes for the team, watching the ebb and flow of the race from afar but in constant contact with the driver. They can quickly discern which lines on the track are working better or where their own driver might be struggling. Often, they can get a sense of trouble before it actually takes place out on the track.

"And a lot of times you get that sense and nothing happens," said Andy Houston, spotter for Coors Light Pole Award sitter Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team. "But at least half the time something does. Not just here but even short tracks and mile and a halves, you can kind of sense when something is brewing, kind of see it and you pay extra attention to it so you can hopefully give your driver enough warning.

"It’s definitely different vision here at night than during the day. A little harder to see, a lot more shadows.

"I think as far as the racing, I think being a night race it will be a little more competitive; day races here it seems the track gets really slick and a lot of times you’ll see them get single file and the best handling car wins the race. The night will make it be more about making moves and being at the right place at the right time."

Night races are nothing new for NASCAR. This year, 10 of the 36 points races will be run under the lights. The length of qualifying races creates a sense of urgency, regardless of what time they take place.

"They’re shorter, a lot shorter, so there’s not a lot of time to go," Lambert said. "For most teams, they’re going to determine where you start, it’s a one (pit) stop race. … It’s go time.

"It’s a lot like the racing we all grew up on."

 

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups
Posted on by Staff Report

See how drivers will officially line up in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at 1 p.m. ET

RELATED: 2014 staff predictions, including Daytona 500 winner

Editor’s note: Drivers marked with "#" signifies a rookie; a "(i)" signifies a driver is not eligible to earn points

Pos No. Driver Sponsor
1 3 Austin Dillon # DOW Chevrolet
2 78 Martin Truex. Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet
3 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
4 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota
5 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
6 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
7 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 
8 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet
9 88  Dale Earnhardt Jr.  National Guard Chevrolet
10 27 Paul Menard Peak/Menards Chevrolet
11 98 Josh Wise  Curb Records Ford
12 33 Brian Scott (i) Whitetail Chevrolet
13 43  Aric Almirola  Smithfield Ford
14 21 Trevor Bayne (i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
15 47 AJ Allmendinger  Kroger/USO Chevrolet
16 42 Kyle Larson # Target Chevrolet
17 38 David Gilliland  Love’s Travel Stops Ford
18 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman Racing Chevrolet
19 31 Ryan Newman  Caterpillar Chevrolet
20 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota
21 14 Tony Stewart  Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
22 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet
23 26   Cole Whitt # Speed Stick Gear Toyota
24 32 Terry Labonte C&J Energy Services Ford
25 16  Greg Biffle  3M Ford
26 52 Bobby Labonte Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
27 10 Danica Patrick  GoDaddy Chevrolet
28 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
29 23  Alex Bowman # Dr. Pepper Toyota
30 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford
31 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
32 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
33 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
34 17  Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Nationwide Insurance Ford
35 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
36 7 Michael Annett # Pilot/Flying J Travel Centers Chevrolet
37 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota
38 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
39 36 Reed Sorenson Golden Corral Chevrolet
40 51 Justin Allgaier #  Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
41 30 Parker Kligerman #  Swan Energy Toyota
42 66 Michael Waltrip BlueDEF/AAA Toyota
43 34 David Ragan CSX – Play It Safe Ford

Failed to qualify: No. 35 Eric McClure, No. 83 Ryan Truex, No. 87 Joe Nemechek, No. 93 Morgan Shepherd, No. 95 Michael McDowell

Withdrew: No. 77 Dave Blaney

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

WATCH: Big wreck ends
Budweiser Duel 2

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Official Daytona 500
starting lineup
Posted on by Staff Report

Ryan Sieg heads out first as Nationwide Series uses new qualifying format

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live

Entry No. Driver Team

1

39

Ryan Sieg #

Pull-A-Part Chevrolet

2

67

* Clay Greenfield

Martins Motorsports Dodge

3

11

Elliott Sadler

OneMain Financial Toyota

4

99

James Buescher

Rheem Toyota

5

31

Dylan Kwasniewski #

Rockstar/FOE Chevrolet

6

74

Mike Harmon

Genesis Auto Body Dodge

7

54

Kyle Busch(i)

Monster Energy Toyota

8

24

Harrison Rhodes

Hoodz-Ductz Toyota

9

42

Kyle Larson #

AXE Chevrolet

10

88

* Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i)

TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet

11

52

Joey Gase

TransLife Chevrolet

12

6

Trevor Bayne

Advocare Ford

13

16

Ryan Reed #

Amer.Diabetes Assoc./DrivetoStopDiabetes Ford

14

20

Matt Kenseth(i)

Reser’s Main Street Bistro Toyota

15

3

Ty Dillon #

Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet

16

22

Brad Keselowski(i)

Discount Tire Ford

17

30

Danica Patrick(i)

Florida Lottery Chevrolet

18

93

* Matt Carter

Guardian Digital Furnaces Dodge

19

85

* Bobby Gerhart

Lucas Oil Chevrolet

20

87

Joe Nemechek

D.A.B. Constructors/pelletgrillusa.com Toyota

21

44

Blake Koch

Son Of God Toyota

22

84

* Chad Boat #

Corvetteparts.net Chevrolet

23

29

* Scott Lagasse Jr.

FL DOT Alert Today-Alive Tomorrow Toyota

24

7

Regan Smith

Ragu Chevrolet

25

15

* Carlos Contreras

Racetrac Ford

26

51

Jeremy Clements

Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet

27

9

Chase Elliott #

NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

28

13

* Carl Long

OCR Gaz Bar Toyota

29

76

* Willie Allen

DiamondGussetJeans/AlphaProSolutions Dodge

30

14

Eric McClure

Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota

31

23

Robert Richardson Jr.

Cornboard Chevrolet

32

62

Brendan Gaughan

South Point Chevrolet

33

43

Dakoda Armstrong #

WinField Ford

34

00

* Jason White

Police Sunglasses/Friday Night Tykes Toyota

35

91

* Jeff Green

Supportmilitary.org Toyota

36

01

Landon Cassill(i)

G&K Services Chevrolet

37

2

Brian Scott

Shore Lodge Chevrolet

38

40

Josh Wise(i)

Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet

39

98

* David Ragan(i)

Carroll Shelby Engine Co. Ford

40

10

* David Starr

BYF.org Toyota

41

19

Mike Bliss

Tweaker Energy Shot Toyota

42

80

* Johnny Sauter(i)

Goodyear Toyota

43

60

* Chris Buescher #

Ford EcoBoost Ford

44

37

* Matt DiBenedetto

NationalCashLenders.com Dodge

45

70

Derrike Cope

Charliesoap.com Chevrolet

46

28

* Mike Wallace

Unker’s Dodge

47

55

* Jamie Dick

Viva Auto Group Chevrolet

48

4

Jeffrey Earnhardt

Flex Seal Chevrolet

49

17

* Tanner Berryhill #

BWP Bats Dodge

* Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups
Posted on by Brad Norman

Track stats, 2013 results and more for 21 Sprint Cup Series drivers

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live | Sign up for RaceView today

Editor’s note: The first edition of Driver Reports for 2014 includes the top 16 in points standings last year, and five bonus drivers. Beginning next week, it will include the top 16 drivers in the current points standings.

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Last year: Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with 2,419 points.
2013 season stats: 6 wins, 16 top-fives, 24 top-10s, 3 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Johnson’s average finish is 20.5 and his average running position is 13.9 over the past eight years. In 24 career starts at Daytona, he has three wins, eight top-fives, 11 top-10s and two poles.
Quick hit: It doesn’t matter where Johnson starts in the field or how his No. 48 Chevrolet looks during the final bout of practices. As defending Daytona 500 champion and a six-time Cup Series champ, Johnson must be considered one of the race favorites.

Matt Kenseth (No. 20)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Last year: Kenseth finished second with 2,400 points.
2013 season stats: 7 wins, 12 top-fives, 20 top-10s, 3 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Kenseth’s average finish is 15.9 and his average running position is 13.9 over the past eight years. In 28 career starts at Daytona, he has two wins, six top-fives, 13 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Kenseth is one of just 10 drivers in NASCAR history to have more than one Daytona 500 win. His pair of victories, though, came when driving for Jack Roush. A Toyota has never won the Daytona 500, and during single-lap qualifying runs, Kenseth was the top Toyota and in 17th place. Good thing for last year’s title runner-up that the race will be spent drafting.

Kevin Harvick (No. 4)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Last year: Harvick finished third with 2,385 points.
2013 season stats: 4 wins, 9 top-fives, 21 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Daytona, Harvick’s average finish is 16.4 and his average running position is 19.5 over the past eight years. In 25 career starts at Daytona, he has two wins, six top-fives, 11 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: The Hendrick engine issue didn’t hit Harvick — that was reserved for his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick. Harvick had one of the cars to beat last year and finished 42nd after a wreck. He also finished 42nd in 2011. He seems due for a strong Daytona run.

Kyle Busch (No. 18)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Last year: Busch finished fourth with 2,364 points.
2013 season stats: 4 wins, 16 top-fives, 22 top-10s, 3 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Busch’s average finish is 18.6 and his average running position is 12.3 over the past eight years. In 18 career starts at Daytona, he has one win, five top-fives, six top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Busch ranks first among all drivers in average running position in the past eight Daytona 500s. His average finish, though, ranks outside the top 10, the result of a wreck and an engine failure in two of the past five 500s. Staying out of trouble is critical for the No. 18 — then again, how much control does a driver really have at Daytona?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Last year: Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth in the standings with 2,363 points.
2013 season stats: 10 top-fives, 22 top-10s, 2 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Earnhardt’s average finish is 14.1 and his average running position is 14.5 over the past eight years. In 28 career starts at Daytona, he has two wins, 10 top-fives, 16 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Will Junior breakthrough? The veteran has two career wins at Daytona (one of which is a Daytona 500 triumph), both with Dale Earnhardt Inc. during the team’s period of restrictor-plate mastery. He’s finished runner-up in the 500 for two consecutive years and three of the past four years, and his average finish in the 500 over the past eight years leads the Cup Series. The No. 88 team knows how to be in contention at the end, which is nearly as great an achievement as winning itself.

Jeff Gordon (No. 24)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 

Last year: Gordon finished sixth with 2,337 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 8 top-fives, 17 top-10s, 2 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Gordon’s average finish is 20.4 and his average running position is 14.2 over the past eight years. In 42 career starts at Daytona, he has six wins, 12 top-fives, 19 top-10s and three poles.
Quick hit: Gordon is the only active driver with three Daytona 500 victories, but the last one came in 2005. In the past six Daytona 500 races, Gordon’s average finish is 26.0 with zero top-10s. History has been kind to Gordon here … just not recent history.

Clint Bowyer (No. 15)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota 

Last year: Bowyer finished seventh with 2,336 points.
2013 season stats: 10 top-fives, 19 top-10s.
Track history: At Daytona, Bowyer’s average finish is 14.8 and his average running position is 16.3 over the past eight years. In 16 career starts at Daytona, he has three top-fives and seven top-10s.
Quick hit: Want a smart pick for a driver who could win his first 500? Bowyer’s not a bad bet. His average finish in the past eight years is fourth-best in the series, and in the past five years he’s finished fourth twice and 11th twice. The key takeaway: Bowyer has run every single lap of every Daytona 500 he’s ever run.

Joey Logano (No. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford 

Last year: Logano finished eighth with 2,323 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 11 top-fives, 19 top-10s, 2 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Logano’s average finish is 20.9 and his average running position is 18.6 over the past eight years. In 10 career starts at Daytona, he has two top-fives and three top-10s.
Quick hit: Logano’s 19th-place effort in 2013 gave us one of the year’s best images — his yellow and red No. 22 Ford diving onto the apron to avoid a wreck, then kicking up a plume of grass when he narrowly edged the infield in getting back onto the oval. Big picture, it shows that 23-year-old knows how to wheel it. And remember, his one win last year came at a big track in 2-mile Michigan.

Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford

Last year: Biffle finished ninth with 2,321 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 4 top-fives, 13 top-10s.
Track history: At Daytona, Biffle’s average finish is 20.4 and his average running position is 18.0 over the past eight years. In 22 career starts At Daytona, he has one win, three top-fives, six top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Biffle earned the ire of some fans when he unseated Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the provisional pole during Daytona 500 qualifying, although neither driver held on to a top-two starting spot. Biffle should always be considered a Daytona threat, with his powerful Yates engine having never led to an equipment problem in any of his 11 Daytona 500s.

Kurt Busch (No. 41)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet

Last year: Busch finished 10th with 2,309 points.
2013 season stats: 11 top-fives, 16 top-10s, one pole.
Track history: At Daytona, Busch’s average finish is 16.8 and his average running position is 16.4 over the past eight years. In 26 career starts at Daytona, he has 10 top-fives and 13 top-10s.
Quick hit: Busch is happy with his move to Stewart-Haas, although his former No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team put its new driver on the outside of front row. The Outlaw’s strong Daytona runs have come when he was driving for a multicar team, so expect him to improve on his past two performances (28th, 39th).

Ryan Newman (No. 31)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 

Last year: Newman finished 11th with 2,286 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 6 top-fives, 18 top-10s, 2 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Newman’s average finish is 18.8 and his average running position is 18.1 over the past eight years. In 24 career starts at Daytona, he has one win, four top-fives and six top-10s.
Quick hit: It’s been boom-or-bust for Newman at the Daytona 500. Yes, he has a win (in 2008) and three top-fives in the past eight years, but he also has three finishes outside the top 30 in that same span. This year? It appears to lean toward "boom," given the power of his Childress engine.

Kasey Kahne (No. 5)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Last year: Kahne finished 12th with 2,283 points.
2013 season stats: 2 wins, 11 top-fives, 14 top-10s.
Track history: At Daytona, Kahne’s average finish is 17.4 and his average running position is 16.8 over the past eight years. In 20 career starts at Daytona, he has two top-fives and seven top-10s.
Quick hit: Kahne simply has to stay out of trouble. He finished 36th last year after logging 150 of 200 laps and didn’t finish the race in 2010 or 2012. A finish of 20th would be an upgrade at this point, and could help ease his past troubles of starting the season off slowly.

Carl Edwards (No. 99)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Last year: Edwards finished 13th with 2,282 points.
2013 season stats: 2 wins, 9 top-fives, 16 top-10s, 2 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Edwards’ average finish is 18.2 and his average running position is 17.6 over the past eight years. In 18 career starts at Daytona, he has four top-fives, eight top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Edwards is a safe bet in the 500, his 33rd-place finish last year following a wreck being the only outlier in the past five years. Given the tremendous improvement in his times at Daytona from December to February, he’ll be in contention for a top-10 — and maybe more.

Brad Keselowski (No. 2)

Penske Racing, Ford 

Last year: Keselowski finished 14th with 1,041 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 9 top-fives, 16 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Daytona, Keselowski’s average finish is 22.1 and his average running position is 19.4 over the past eight years. In nine career starts at Daytona, he has one top-five and two top-10s.
Quick hit: In 2012, Keselowski finished 32nd in the Daytona 500. He won the Sprint Cup title that year. In 2013, he finished fourth in the Great American Race. He did not make the Chase. The point — don’t put too much stock into his finish Sunday, regardless of where it is.

Jamie McMurray (No. 1)

Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet  

Last year: McMurray finished 15th with 1,007 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 4 top-fives, 9 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Daytona, McMurray’s average finish is 21.1 and his average running position is 18.0 over the past eight years. In 22 career starts at Daytona, he has two wins, three top-fives and five top-10s.
Quick hit: In the three Daytona 500 races since McMurray won in 2010, his average finish is 27.0. A new crew chief in Keith Rodden and new teammate in Kyle Larson seems to have breathed new life into the No. 1 operation, though.

16. Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78)

Furniture Row Racing, Chevrolet 

Last year: Truex Jr. finished 16th with 998 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 7 top-fives and 15 top-10s
Track history: At Daytona, Truex Jr.’s average finish is 22.5 and his average running position is 16.6 over the past eight years. In 17 career starts at Daytona, he has one top-10 and one pole.
Quick hit: For the second consecutive year, Truex has a starting spot in the top five. He qualified second and will start on the outside front row. His car is among the best in the field, and his team purposefully held back in some of the practices. Perhaps they know the No. 78 is something special.

FIVE IN THE REARVIEW

Austin Dillon (No. 3)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet  

Last year: Austin Dillon won the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.
2013 season stats (Nationwide Series): 13 top-fives, 22 top-10s, 7 poles; made 11 Sprint Cup Series starts.
Track history: At Daytona, Dillon’s average finish is 31.0 and his average running position is 20.7 over the past eight years. In one career start at Daytona, he finished 31st.
Quick hit: Dillon is a rookie driving the resurrected No. 3 and starting the Daytona 500 on the Coors Light Pole. No pressure, right? If Dillon’s proved anything in his short stint of Sprint Cup races, it’s that he won’t buckle under pressure. And he’s also pretty good on plate tracks.

Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Last year: Hamlin finished 23rd with 753 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 4 top-fives, 8 top-10s, 5 poles.
Track history: At Daytona, Hamlin’s average finish is 21.5 and his average running position is 16.5 over the past eight years. In 16 career starts at Daytona, he has two top-fives and two top-10s.
Quick hit: Hamlin’s lone top-10 Daytona 500 finish came in 2012. The 1-for-8 mark isn’t good, and Hamlin is coming off his worst Cup season to date. Still, the No. 11 team has serious momentum after winning the Homestead finale last year and the Sprint Unlimited season-opening event last Sunday.

Kyle Larson (No. 42)

Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet  

Last year: Larson finished eighth in the Nationwide Series.
2013 season stats (Nationwide Series): 9 top-fives, 17 top-10s; made four Sprint Cup Series starts.
Track history: At Daytona, Larson has 0 career Cup starts.
Quick hit: Larson may be one of the most naturally gifted rookies in recent memory. Don’t look at how he finishes, though — study how he maneuvers his No. 42 Chevrolet around the track to get an idea of how his rookie season will go.

Danica Patrick (No. 10)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet  

Last year: Patrick finished 27th with 646 points.
2013 season stats: 1 top-10, 1 pole.
Track history: At Daytona, Patrick’s average finish is 20.0 and her average running position is 19.7 over the past eight years. In three career starts at Daytona, she has one top-10 and one pole.
Quick hit: It will be difficult for Danica to match her outing last year, when she led five laps and notched a top-10 finish. She’s starting from the rear of the field, too, but if there’s one track where Patrick can outperform expectations, it’s Daytona.

Tony Stewart (No. 14)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet  

Last year: Stewart finished 29th with 594 points.
2013 season stats: 1 win, 5 top-fives, 8 top-10s.
Track history: At Daytona, Stewart’s average finish is 14.3 and his average running position is 15.6 over the past eight years. In 30 career starts at Daytona, he has four wins, nine top-fives, 14 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Forget about ‘Smoke’ starting in the back. The high banks of Daytona provide a unique setting for Stewart’s first race back since breaking his leg in August, and riding in the back may help him get more comfortable — provided he’s not caught up in the ‘Big One.’


MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups
Posted on by

Kligerman goes upside down in big crash during Daytona practice

MORE: Practice results from Daytona
RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live | Sign up for RaceView today

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Rookie Parker Kligerman went for a long slide on his roof after the front end of his No. 30 car got on top of the outside wall and into the catchfence as part of a crash that claimed several vehicles in opening Sprint Cup Series practice Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway.

The accident appeared to begin when Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth made contact in tight drafting practice, causing a number of vehicles to go sideways. Kligerman got the worst of it, riding up and over the car of Paul Menard, then getting pushed from behind by the vehicle of Ryan Truex. The front end of the No. 30 car slid along the top of the wall and grinded against the catchfence, causing some damage to the mesh fencing. With Truex still behind him, Kligerman rolled over and slid on his roof before being extricated from the car.

Fortunately, no drivers were hurt in the accident, and no spectators were impacted by the damage to the catchfence.

"I guess that was the first time I’ve ever flipped over. Never done that before in a race car," said Kligerman. "I assumed it would be rougher, but it was actually really soft. I saw the whole thing go down. I’m up in the fence kind of floating along. Thankfully none of the fans got injured. … Obviously, it was a scary situation when a car gets that close to the fence. Then it just flipped over softly, and I slid on the roof. I guess the strongest thing going through me at that time was anger over the wreck. Most importantly is the fans are OK and I’m OK."

A number of drivers were involved in the incident, among them Logano, Kenseth, Truex, Kligerman, Menard, former Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne, and veteran Dave Blaney. The accident came shortly after an earlier accident involving Cole Whitt, Casey Mears and Brian Vickers, which proved just a prelude to the bigger one to come. According to NASCAR, six teams planned to move to backup cars.

"Turns out Joey was bump drafting the 20 (car of Kenseth) in the middle of the pack when we were trying to getup to speed," Menard said. "I guess that’s the end result."

Kligerman said he was about to pull off the track and park his car for the remainder of the session. His Swan Racing team planned to try and repair Whitt’s primary and put Kligerman into a backup.

"I thought we were good. We were going to quit for the day, probably, pack it up and wait until tonight," Kligerman said. "I guess from what I can see, the 22 (car of Logano) was just being overly aggressive. It’s a shame. He’s supposed to be a veteran. You go up here to the Sprint Cup Series, and it’s supposed to be the best of the best, and you’ve got a guy in practice who wants to race people like that like it’s the end of the Daytona 500. … I don’t quite understand that one. I’ll have to talk to him about how all that went down."

The accident unfolded as the cars rolled off Turn 4 and into the tri-oval. "I guess that’s when the 22 car got close to me, got right on me," Kenseth said. "I moved my car to the left a little bit, and we had plenty of room for everybody, and then he kind of clipped my right rear and that seemed to trigger it. He had to slow down after that, so that seemed to trigger the wreck. Looked like it, anyway."

Logano said Kenseth made a move as if he were headed down the race track. "I had the run, so I was going to fill that hole and then he started to come back up, and I was there," Logano said. "Maybe I shouldn’t have been racing as hard as I was in practice, but everybody was in a big pack there trying to make things happen. As soon as he came back up, I checked up a little bit, and then the 21 (car of Bayne) hit me from behind and we spun out. It happens. That’s Daytona for you."

Those drivers bound for backups — which according to NASCAR included Logano, Kligerman, Menard, Truex, and Blaney from the second incident, and Vickers from the first — will have to start at the rear of Thursday’s two 150-mile Budweiser Duel qualifying races. Menard, who led one of Saturday’s practice sessions and had had one of the faster cars of these Speedweeks, is now bound for a backup.

"We had a really fast Chevrolet, all the RCR cars were extremely fast. Our backup car is pretty good, too," he said. "It comes out of the same shop, obviously. It’s not as good as our primary because it’s our backup. Sometimes a slower car drives a little better too, so we’ll see. I have no reservations about the 150. We’ll try to race our hardest and get the best starting position we can."

Richard Childress, who owns Menard’s car, could only shake his head. "These guys have just been cooped up all winter, and they’re going at it real hard. I don’t know what they were doing there," he said. "It’s a shame to keep tearing these cars up. It’s going to be a week like that. They get a little more run with this little bit more spoiler, and I think some of them are struggling."

Bayne received only nose damage, and Wood Brothers Racing planned to repair his primary vehicle. "The problem is the closing rate is so fast, that if you try to move you have to be so decisive here," he said. "If you commit to a lane, even if it’s going to send you backward, you almost have to stay there because if you try to switch back and forth a couple of times, it isn’t good. It teaches me something for these Duels — to get in a lane, stay there and ride it out."

AJ Allmendinger was fastest in the session, which was cut short due to repairs that needed to be made to the catchfence — which was reinforced in the wake of last season’s Nationwide Series crash involving Kyle Larson‘s car. A Daytona spokesman said the fence performed the way it was designed, suffering "some minimal damage" along the frontstretch. One cable and some of the mesh fencing had to be repaired before a second Sprint Cup practice Wednesday evening, which was completed without incident.

The day’s first crash forced both Vickers and Whitt to backups. A cowl flap from one of the cars involved in that incident stuck in the front end of Jeff Gordon‘s car, in the crease between the hood and the front grille. But the No. 24 team was able to repair the damage and did not move to a backup.

It was a costly afternoon for drivers like Whitt, Truex and Blaney who still need to race their way into the Daytona 500 through Thursday night’s qualifying races. Blaney, driving a car for Humphrey-Smith Racing, said he didn’t have a backup car immediately available.

"We were coming to the tri-oval behind Ryan Truex, and he checked up, and by the time I got checked up, it was on and cars were all over the place," Blaney said. "Going down the back straightway right before that, I told myself, ‘I don’t need to be out here right now. We got no backup car.’ But I was in the outer lane and there was no bailing, so it got us."

No wonder some teams decided against drafting altogether. "That’s the reason you see the 3, 48, and the 88 just sitting," Childress said, referring to the cars of Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Tonight’s when you want to go, when the weather’s like it’s going to be when you’re racing anyway.”

 

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups
Posted on by

NASCAR President Mike Helton welcomes 65th rookie class

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There’s much more to racing these days than, well, racing. That was the overall message delivered to 66 eager young drivers Wednesday at the 2014 NASCAR Rookie Seminar.
 
Call those 66 the "Great American Rookie Class." It sure looked like that, with the seminar taking place adjacent to Daytona International Speedway’s Victory Lane where on Sunday, the winner of the Great American Race, the Daytona 500, will celebrate winning stock car racing’s biggest race.

"We’re not going to tell you how to drive the car but we will introduce you to a lot of things we believe are very critical for your improvement as a pro athlete …"

— NASCAR President Mike Helton

This year’s seminar featured some new sessions, with the goal of more fully preparing rookies for the experiences to come. NASCAR President Mike Helton set the tone with a brief opening address to the audience that represented NASCAR’s three national series plus its touring and weekly series levels.
 
"After 65 years (of NASCAR) we’ve had 65 years’ worth of rookies and along the way they all progressed as drivers, winners, champions, and sometimes landed as car owners in their later years," Helton said. "Through the cycle of our history, they’ve all blazed a trail for each of you to have this opportunity.
 
"(This seminar) introduces you to a lot of faces inside of NASCAR and also to some of the programs that, over the years, we’ve learned are valuable not only to you and your career advancement but also to the sport itself. We’re not going to tell you how to drive the car but we will introduce you to a lot of things we believe are very critical for your improvement as a pro athlete, a representative of motorsports and a representative of NASCAR. We want to help you. The more successful you are, there’s more responsibility that comes along with it."
 
Helton had in effect teed up an all-star cast of speakers who supplied a mixture of motivation and education over a five-hour span featuring six sessions:
 
•           Steve Shenbaum from "game on," a communication, leadership, character development, and media training firm. The high-energy Shenbaum focused on drivers maximizing their appeal to fans, media and sponsors;
 
•           Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III, supplying salient points on the business side of NASCAR, including the ongoing speedway renovation project, "Daytona Rising";
 
•           Kenny Mitchell, NASCAR’s new managing director of brand and consumer, speaking on the subject of drivers building their individual brands;
 
•           Jackson Jeyanayagam, vice president of digital strategy for the communications agency Taylor, with an invaluable social media primer;
 
•           FOX Sports’ Rick Allen, joined by Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Award winner Austin Dillon, on a "working with the media" session.
 
•           And John Bobo, NASCAR’s senior director of racing operations and substance abuse, going through the company’s substance abuse policies.
 
Bobo’s presentation certainly got the rookies’ attention, as he provided the ultimate cautionary tale of professional sports and abuse: Len Bias, the Boston Celtics’ No. 2 pick in the 1986 NBA draft, a young man with a stellar reputation who, 48 hours after that selection, died from a cocaine overdose.
 
The message Bobo conveyed was that drug testing in sports since then has not been a reaction to Bias’ death — but a rational response.
 
"Drug testing protects athletes from the worst of human instincts, (and also protects) the teams’ investment in them and the integrity of their sport. … We want to keep you safe and the people racing next to you safe."
 
Dillon is a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series who in the last couple of months has spent an inordinate amount of time with the media. In the offseason it was announced that the iconic No. 3 would return to Sprint Cup — with Dillon driving — for the first time since Dale Earnhardt’s February 2001 death. Then, this past Sunday he took the Coors Light Pole for the Daytona 500.
 
Dillon provided his peers with some plain-talk advice, saying tough media questions should be dealt with in a forthright manner.
 
"Answer with the best answer you can," Dillon said.
 
He said that in recent weeks, on the advice of his car owner and grandfather Richard Childress, he took every media opportunity offered, to publicize the return of the No. 3.
 
"I think this (seminar) is great," Dillon said. "These (rookies) are the guys that matter (for the future). Hopefully something like today can help grow our sport."
 
Kyle Larson, another Sprint Cup rookie who will drive for owner Chip Ganassi, was experiencing his third rookie seminar. He called this one the best, based on the content lineup.
 
"It’s good that NASCAR has this and reaches out to the guys who are not on the ‘big stage’ yet," Larson said. "This is a good for us — and good for NASCAR."

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups
Posted on by

Plate racing success was a priority for Earnhardt and remains one for Childress

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live | Sign up for RaceView today

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It was about so much more than seeing the air.

Certainly that’s the legend, and no one will ever dispute it. But if there was a real key to Dale Earnhardt’s greatness on NASCAR’s biggest race tracks — aside from the innate driving ability hidden behind those dark sunglasses, of course — it may have been found less in his perceived ability to visualize the aerodynamic forces swirling around him, and more in his knack for helping to build vehicles that could rise above them.

Performance on restrictor-plate tracks is as much a part of Earnhardt lore as the color of his car or the sometimes menacing quality of his nature, which makes it such a cruel irony that it took him 20 years to win the Daytona 500. That quest in the Great American Race belied a level of plate track excellence that was apparent in everything Earnhardt touched, from his longtime association with Richard Childress, to his own race team, to the organization he left behind — as evidenced by Austin Dillon clinching the top starting spot for the biggest NASCAR event of the year.

The connection between then and now is more than just a black race car with the same stylized No. 3. Richard Childress’s Racing’s blitz of this Speedweeks, which has seen a number of vehicles owned by or affiliated with RCR at the top of the speed chart, goes back to an ethos instilled within the organization during Earnhardt’s glory days. There’s a direct connection between Earnhardt’s successes on plate tracks and Dillon’s pole run this past weekend, one that transcends two different drivers of two different generations behind the wheel of a vehicle bearing the same number.

"He and RC together created a restrictor-plate program that was second to none," three-time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip, now a race analyst for FOX Sports, said of Earnhardt. "Dale just had a knack. It wasn’t about seeing the wind or any of that stuff. He just had a knack for what it took to make a car go out on this race track all day long for 500 miles, little things that he knew how to do to the cars that he passed on."

For Earnhardt and Childress, winning on plate tracks was a priority, and the effort that went into those races reflected it. Larry McReynolds, Earnhardt’s crew chief for 45 Cup races over two seasons, said the No. 3 team began building the car that would win the 1998 Daytona 500 in the summer of the previous season, and spent the better part of six months fine-tuning it. That vehicle was sent to the wind tunnel and tested a half-dozen times even before the 1997 campaign ended, McReynolds remembered, and that same level of emphasis exists today at RCR and Earnhardt Childress Engines, the latter of which builds engines for Childress and its affiliated programs.

"There’s just something in the DNA of Richard Childress, and I think a lot of that came from Dale Earnhardt, that he puts a lot of pride in winning at Daytona and Talladega, and especially in the Daytona 500, preforming well," said McReynolds, also a FOX Sports analyst. "I think that has been exemplified down here not just with the 3 and Austin Dillon sitting on the pole, but all three of the RCR drivers are in the top 10. So many ECR engine packages are in the top 10. … I don’t think it’s a fluke that that 3 is on the pole."

Certainly not, given the speed Dillon and his RCR counterparts showed on the same track in January testing. And just as in Earnhardt’s era, the groundwork was laid well in advance — the week after Thanksgiving last year, RCR and ECR tested at General Motors’ Desert Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz., a facility with a 3.5-mile oval and 1.4-mile straight track, with the Daytona 500 specifically in mind. "We had guys give up vacation time. It’s amazing the sacrifice that goes into it," said Richie Gilmore, chief operating officer of ECR.

The foundation for all that goes back to Earnhardt and Childress, and the common mindset they shared, and how it manifested itself in an emphasis on winning at the sport’s two biggest tracks. Earnhardt instilled that same importance at Dale Earnhardt Inc. when he started his own team in 1996. Childress was ahead of his time in forming a technical alliance with DEI and Andy Petree Racing, in which the three organizations shared aerodynamic information. As a racer who once built his own engines and car bodies — "Richard has oil in his veins," said Danny Lawrence, ECR’s trackside manager — the car owner remains attuned to the vehicles and what makes them perform.

"You go to a test, and if … the car doesn’t respond and it doesn’t pick up speed, Richard will say, ‘Well, that’s the body.’ But if we have a car where all the cars run the same speed and they’re not good, Richard knows, OK, maybe we missed it on this, maybe we missed it on that. He still comes through there. He still looks at the dyno sheets. He still is very, very much involved. Richard loves the engines," said Lawrence, who built the engine Earnhardt used to win the Daytona 500 in 1998.

"He is so dedicated and so into every little detail, and he’s the one that puts that into us, that you would be surprised. Richard knows what spark plugs that we have in the car. He knows every piece of it, and he understands how it works, and it makes my job easier when you’ve got a guy, when you explain to him, OK, we pushed it a little bit too far or we got a little bit too hot. You can’t pull the cover over him, either, because he knows when you’re trying to ‑‑ just BS him, I guess you could say."

That level of attentiveness has been evident in performance. Earnhardt may have spent two decades chasing triumph in NASCAR’s biggest race, but along the way he became the all-time winner at Daytona, with 34 victories at the track in all races — ranging from Nationwide to the summertime 400-miler to qualifying events to IROC — combined. He enjoyed an 11-year span at Daytona where he was near untouchable, finishing outside of the top 10 just three times. He recorded a record 10 Cup victories at Talladega, capped by his epic final victory. He brought that same degree of restrictor-plate devotion to DEI, which in the early to mid-2000s enjoyed a streak of dominance at Daytona and Talladega that no team has since been able to match.

"Richard Childress — and I was there for four years — pushed us to perform everywhere," McReynolds said. "It wasn’t like he handpicked a few race tracks. But a lot of this was truly was stimulated by Dale Earnhardt, because he wanted to perform at Daytona and Talladega."

That stimulation still exists, now 13 years after Earnhardt was behind the wheel for the final time, and in this first Sprint Cup Series campaign to see the No. 3 car on the track since then. The front row for the Daytona 500 is comprised of Dillon and Martin Truex Jr., whose Furniture Row Racing team has a technical alliance with RCR and uses ECR engines. RCR drivers Paul Menard and Ryan Newman were consistently among the fastest over the first half of Speedweeks, and Nationwide Series regular Brian Scott — driving a fourth RCR entry, a No. 33 car — virtually assured himself of a berth in the Daytona 500 with his qualifying run Sunday.

"Let’s go back to last year and remember, the 3 is the old 29," McReynolds said. "And you go back to last year, Kevin Harvick won the Sprint Unlimited, he won the Budweiser Duel, and I truly believe he was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Daytona 500 had he not been caught up in that wreck early in the race with (Kasey) Kahne and Kyle Busch. It’s not like that performance fell out of the sky. It’s something that Richard Childress puts a lot of pride in, and really pushes his people to perform at."

And it all stems from those days when Childress and Earnhardt were the favorites at restrictor-plate venues from the moment that black and white transporter rolled through the tunnel. The No. 3 car is back, and it has a different driver now, but the philosophies that propelled Austin Dillon to the pole for the Daytona 500 are the same as those that launched Earnhardt to victory here so many years ago.

"That’s our history, how dominant Dale and Richard were," Gilmore said. "It’s our heritage."

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups
Posted on by

NASCAR shows off new showroom-inspired models for Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 19, 2014) — At an event Wednesday at the SPRINT Fan Zone at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR officially unveiled newly designed bodies for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race trucks — set to debut on Friday night in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1). The newly redesigned bodies will now match the look of their respective showroom counterparts.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

Wednesday’s introduction of the new truck bodies follows successful launches of race vehicles in NASCAR’s other two national series — the Gen-6 car last year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the new models in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2010.

“Each manufacturer has designed distinctly different trucks that they can use to promote their showroom models through their involvement with NASCAR racing,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition and racing development. “We have worked closely with all three manufacturers for the past several years, and we’re excited to unveil a new truck body that will make one of NASCAR’s most exciting series even better.”

Extensive research and testing went into the development of the new bodies, with the goal of continued close competition while allowing specific features from each model. The new trucks have a unique design that will make it easier for fans to recognize their favorite model.

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups

Posted on by Staff Report

Three-time Cup champion breaks silence on Petty’s Danica comments on radio program

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live | Sign up for RaceView today

Tony Stewart broke his silence on Wednesday regarding seven-time NASCAR premier series champion Richard Petty’s comments about Stewart’s driver, Danica Patrick.

A guest on a taping of Performance Racing Network’s "Fast Talk" radio show at a Daytona Beach Outback Steakhouse, Stewart told Patrick that "she should challenge Richard to a heads-up race."

"I think that would pretty much settle it once and for all," Stewart continued. "Maybe get him to shut up a little bit, too. 

"I think he forgets that, that NASCAR’s changed a lot since he was a driver and how hard it really is now."

The three-time champion offered to supply cars for the challenge.

"If he wants to race her, I’ll make sure they have exactly the same setup in the car and give him a chance," Stewart said. "He can drive one of my 14 cars."

When host Doug Rice suggested that Patrick have Petty sign her Sunoco checkered flag after her first win, Stewart said, "If I were her, I’d take it over and cram it up his (expletive)."

"That’s the first time I’ve said anything about it. It’s like I’ve tried to steer away from it, but it’s like, "Man, did he really think about what he said before he said it?"

Stewart’s comments came after NASCAR Hall of Famer Petty’s response to a question at the Canadian Motorsports Expo on Feb. 9 when he said that the only way the second-year driver would win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was "if everybody else stayed home."

At NASCAR Media Day on Feb. 13, Patrick said, "You know, people have said things in the past and they will say things in the future, I still say the same thing and that’s that everybody is entitled to their own opinion," Patrick said.

"People are going to judge what he said and I’m just not going to."

Stewart noted that his driver has been "under a microscope" since she began racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2010, moving over from IndyCar. 

"Everybody was judging her from Day 1 that she got in a stock car when it was a Nationwide car, when she got in a Cup car," Stewart said. "It takes a little longer than what the media and everybody’s giving her time to learn."

"I think that’s why it surprised us so much that Richard said what he said because I remember when I was in a Nationwide car and crashed a lot. I remember when Jimmie (Johnson) was there, and he struggled. I remember when Jeff Gordon struggled in a Nationwide car. We all did."

"People didn’t pay attention to what we were doing. We got to wreck cars. Nobody cared. Nobody knew who we were. Nobody cared about paying attention to us. There was somebody else that was a bigger name to watch." 

"When Danica came in, she’s had all the pressure, all the media attention. She can’t walk two steps in the garage area without being smothered. How she can even focus on driving a car, I can’t comprehend it…so I think she does it better than anybody that I know right now. "

Stewart said Patrick’s boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., had a steep learning curve while racing for him.

"He drove sprint cars and midgets for me and literally about put me out of the open wheel industry. He crashed everything we had, and then he went to Roush and crashed everything he had."

"And in about a two-week period, all of the sudden, he got the feel. Once he got the feel there then everything switched. That’s what happened to me as well."

A former IndyCar champion, Stewart explained the learning curve Patrick faces and reiterated his support for his driver.

"When you go from an IndyCar that’s as light a weight and has as much downforce and as much grip as it has to a 3,400-pound stock car, it is a huge change, and it’s not something that happens overnight."

"She’s learned a lot. She’s asked a lot of great questions. She has what it takes to do it."

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups
Posted on by Staff Report

Multiple accidents cut Wednesday’s first Daytona 500 practice session short

RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live | Sign up for RaceView today

The Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series hit the pavement Wednesday for practices ahead of Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1) and Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX).

Stay tuned for updates and full practice recaps as the on-track action unfolds this afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.

Camping World Truck Series practice (Results)

Camping World Truck Series rookie Ben Kennedy paced the field in opening practice for the NextEra 250 on Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway.

Kennedy, who had one top-five finish in five Truck Series starts last season, notched a fast lap of 192.806 mph on his 20th circuit. The Daytona Beach, Fla., native made up half of a Turner Scott Motorsports sweep of the first two spots, the other going to Ron Hornaday Jr. (192.291).

Reigning series champion Matt Crafton (190.763) was next on the charts, while Joey Coulter (190.666) and John Wes Townley (190.492) followed to complete the top five. Crafton’s teammate Johnny Sauter was sixth with a speed of 190.239.

Midway through the session, Brennan Newberry’s hood flew up over his roof, but he was able to avoid a major incident.

Sprint Cup Series first practice (Results)

AJ Allmendinger was the fastest car out there in the first Daytona 500 practice of the day, but that certainly wasn’t the story.

A pair of accidents kept the track time short in the session, as rookie Parker Kligerman went for a long slide on his roof after the front end of his No. 30 car got on top of the outside wall and into the catchfence as part of a multi-car crash that marred and eventually ended opening Sprint Cup Series practice Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway.

The accident came moments after an earlier wreck involving Cole Whitt and Brian Vickers, which proved just a prelude to the bigger one to come, and forced a number of drivers into backup cars.

The full top five was Allmendinger (199.575 mph), Vickers (199.327), Joey Logano (198.456), Trevor Bayne (198.308) and Michael Waltrip (198.308).

Sprint Cup Series second practice (Results)

The second practice of the day for the Sprint Cup Series was far less eventful. The session started 15 minutes earlier to make up for the first practice being cut short.

Denny Hamlin, who won the Sprint Unlimited last Saturday and also topped the final practice before that event, led the second session on Wednesday. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver posted a speed of 199.574 mph to pace the practice.

Kasey Kahne was second on the speed charts (199.570 mph), followed by Waltrip (198.965 mph), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (198.776 mph) and Greg Biffle (198.627 mph).

There are no Sprint Cup practices on Thursday, but the Budweiser Duels will take place starting at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. The Nationwide Series and the Truck Series will take to the track on Thursday afternoon before the Duels. 

MORE:

READ: Austin Dillon wins
Daytona 500 pole

READ: How to qualify
for the Daytona 500

WATCH: Massive wreck
in Sprint Unlimited

READ: Daytona Duel 150-mile
qualifying race lineups