Posted on by Brandon White

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When Kaden Honeycutt stepped out of the Niece Motorsports hauler at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday morning, the warm Florida air was refreshing in more ways than one.

Honeycutt made the Speedweeks trek once before back in 2023, but it did not come with the guarantee of a full-time ride or a secured future in the industry. This time around, Honeycutt has an assured opportunity to pursue a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title behind the wheel of Niece’s No. 45 AutoVentive/Precision Chevrolet.

The path toward this moment in Honeycutt’s career was strenuous. With his funding a constant question mark, Honeycutt took any ride that was available at both the national and short track level to prove he was capable of being an efficient competitor.

Endless gambles and sacrifices have led Honeycutt back to Daytona with a future more coherent than ever before.

“I have a lot of confidence in this team,” Honeycutt said. “We expect to win races and we expect to go to Phoenix and fight for a championship. That’s all we want to do here at Niece, so I’m thankful for them choosing me to drive their [truck] this year and we’ll make sure to kick it off on the right foot at Daytona.”

Dedication is a vital part of Honeycutt’s modus operandi as a competitor. It was present when he started his career on the dirt tracks in his home state of Texas and has followed him across several different disciplines in motorsports.

Kaden Honeycutt
Kaden Honeycutt’s auto racing journey has taken him all across the United States and through several different disciplines. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

Honeycutt has needed that vigilance in nearly every aspect of his grind toward the top. With other young competitors in his age group possessing far more resources than him, Honeycutt knew the best method to accomplish his goals was to keep racing, no matter the cost.

After a brief ARCA Menards Series East stint, Honeycutt regrouped and centered his efforts on short tracks in the southeast during the 2020s, competing in Late Model Stocks and Pro Late Models. As he started finding success, different organizations began realizing how much talent the Willow Park, Texas native possessed.

Honeycutt made their investments pay off. He guided MMI Racing to an ARCA Menards Series West owner’s championship after joining them for the final four races in 2023. The following year, Honeycutt earned a Pro Late Model title after making a late-season switch from Mavrick Page Motorsports to Bryson Lopez Racing.

All this occurred while Honeycutt stayed relentless to refine his race craft. In one instance, Honeycutt competed in four races across a two-day stretch between Phoenix Raceway and Caraway Speedway, located in Asheboro, North Carolina.

The result of the rigorous endeavor: one victory and no finishes outside the top 10.

Every victory, moral and tangible, culminated in what is currently Honeycutt’s crowning achievement as a driver at the end of 2024: his first Snowball Derby victory at Five Flags Speedway.

Besting Super Late Model stalwarts like Ty Majeski, Stephen Nasse and Bubba Pollard was not the only reason why winning the Snowball Derby was so special for Honeycutt. The jubilation also stemmed from his connection to the track and the car owners who took a chance on him during his early development.

“I’ve been going to Pensacola since I was 5 years old,” Honeycutt said. “I learned how to actually walk at Pensacola, and my mom has a video of that. It was really incredible [to win the Snowball Derby] Patt [Jett] and Larry [Blount]. I’ve known them for years, and that was the first time I got to drive one of their Super Late Models.

“It was emotional for everybody involved, and we worked extremely hard for it.”

Kaden Honeycutt
Prevailing in the 2024 Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway further solidified status as one of NASCAR’s brightest prospects. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

The Snowball Derby triumph was one of several major achievements Honeycutt enjoyed in 2024. Along with that win and his Pro Late Model title, he also secured the deal to compete for Niece’s Truck Series program full-time in 2025.

Honeycutt was already well-ingrained into Niece’s culture, having worked for the organization since May 2023. During his time with the company, Honeycutt has fulfilled numerous roles around the shop while also amassing six top 10s in limited starts, including a career-best of fourth twice.

It was a top 10 finish in an unsponsored Young’s Motorsports truck at Darlington Raceway the same year that led to Honeycutt’s initial conversation with Niece’s general manager Cody Efaw. For Honeycutt, overachieving in underfunded equipment was essential toward surviving and maintaining a positive reputation in the NASCAR garage area.

“The chance I had to move up in the series was to take the not-seen teams and go run well with them,” Honeycutt said. “We did that with Tyler [Young] at Darlington and I think that’s where my career changed with taking the job with Niece. Cody [Efaw] let me run Pocono two years ago, I got the part-time season last year and now I’m full-time this year.”

“Other GMs ask for $3 million to run a full season, Cody asks what can we do to put you in the truck.”

The call Honeycutt received from Efaw in August confirming his role as a full-time competitor for Niece was equal parts cathartic and shocking. With so many emotions going through his mind, Honeycutt immediately thought of his family and everything they did to ensure his dream of competing in NASCAR endured.

“The first person I called was my dad [Kirby],” Honeycutt said. “It was a pretty big moment for both of us, considering how much effort he put into me by selling homes, businesses, everything for me to race even my dirt car. I can’t wait to share the moment throughout the year with him and my whole family.”

Honeycutt only recalls a few instances in his career where he has not had to worry about funding. All 25 races on the Truck Series schedule will have Honeycutt in a Niece truck, which allows him to center his focus on team chemistry and optimizing his performance across so many diverse tracks.

Daytona presents an ideal opportunity for Honeycutt to kickstart a potential championship run on a high note. Although drafting tracks are not his preference, Honeycutt believes he is starting to comprehend how to be successful in the pack, as he led three laps at Talladega Superspeedway last fall.

For as much of an equalizer as the draft is, Honeycutt knows one mistake on his behalf or someone else’s could put him in an early points deficit. With so many extraneous factors that could dictate his race on Friday, Honeycutt intends to implement a conservative, but methodical approach.

“[We’ll be fine] as long as we can [put ourselves in the mix] and stay in the top 10 for stage points,” Honeycutt said. Me and [crew chief] Phil [Gould] have talked a lot about how there are a lot of different people in the Truck Series this year, so you’re not really going to know what you’re going to get.

“If we can get stage points, that’s awesome, but if not, we’ll try to survive.”

Kaden Honeycutt
Kaden Honeycutt is entering a new era of his career with Niece Motorsports, one marked by stability and optimism for the future. (Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The idea of a Daytona victory is enticing to Honeycutt, but he also understands it is just one leg of an intense marathon. Consistency is going to be imperative across the board for Honeycutt in his quest to stay one step ahead of drivers like Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Majeski, a familiar opponent who is also the defending Truck Series champion.

Nothing will come easy for Honeycutt in 2025, but that is a trend he has grown accustomed to. Through every form of adversity, Honeycutt emerged a more refined, disciplined competitor who has taken advantage of every opportunity in front of him.

Only a few years ago, Honeycutt was unsure if his relentless work to prove himself would translate into a national NASCAR ride. Being in Daytona has given Honeycutt time to reflect on his arduous journey, one that was improbable at times but also rewarding.

“It’s not really comparable,” Honeycutt said. “You don’t really think about it until you actually get here. It’s pretty crazy because I’ve always dreamed about starting a season at Daytona and running throughout the rest of the year. At the dirt track, I always watched every race at Daytona, so I’m excited [to be here].

“This is a thanks to all the Texas drivers I’ve had run-ins with in the past and everyone else that’s taught me to be a better person and led to this moment right here.”

What Honeycutt does with the moment ahead is to be determined, but the devoted work ethic prevalent throughout his entire career has molded him into a driver prepared to battle the Truck Series regulars and embark on a long, sustainable NASCAR career.

Posted on by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2025) — Today, NASCAR announced that it will officially partner with Honor and Remember through its NASCAR IMPACT platform to bring Gold Star families to tracks across the country. As a part of this new partnership, Honor and Remember — whose mission is to “publicly honor and remember every American fallen service member and recognize the enduring sacrifice of every family” — will host two Gold Star families at Daytona International Speedway for the United Rentals 300 and the 67th running of the DAYTONA 500.

In commemoration of the partnership, NASCAR and Honor and Remember will unfurl the famed Honor and Remember flag as part of pre-race ceremonies ahead of the NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the World Center of Racing.

“NASCAR is a uniquely patriotic sport, and as such, we feel an incredible responsibility to make sure that these heroes are not forgotten as time goes by,” said Eric Nyquist, Chief Impact Officer, NASCAR. “Through this partnership, our goal is to keep the memory of these brave men and women alive in the hearts of all of our fans, and to let these families know how much they are appreciated.”

This weekend, Honor and Remember will host the families of Army Spc. Daniel J. Agami — who was killed in action in Iraq in 2007 — and Army Cpl. Jimmy L. Shelton — who lost his life in Iraq in 2005.

“Daniel loved all things fast. Everything Daniel did in life was fast, so he would have absolutely loved this,” said Beth Becker-Agami, Daniel’s mother.

A native of Coconut Creek, Fla., Agami enlisted in the Army in 2005. An avid reader who was lauded for his heroism under fire, he was awarded Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal during his time in uniform. Daniel was killed in action by an improvised explosive device in Adhamiya, Iraq in 2007, leaving behind a legacy of service that his mother hopes will never be forgotten.

“Being at the DAYTONA 500 like this is the last thing we could have imagined,” said Becker-Agami. “It’s all that we ask, is for Daniel to be honored and remembered.”

In conjunction with Honor and Remember, NASCAR has welcomed Gold Star families to tracks across the country for over a decade. Through its IMPACT platform, NASCAR will deepen its support for the Virginia-based nonprofit, which will host more than 20 families at NASCAR events throughout the 2025 season.

“As a Gold Star father myself, I know firsthand the incredible impact that it has on these families when thousands and thousands of people take a moment to pause and recognize their sons and daughters for their sacrifice,” said George Lutz, Founder of Honor and Remember. “NASCAR has been incredibly accommodating to these families throughout the years, so to expand that relationship here at the Great American Race really means the world to these families.”

The Honor and Remember Flag has been adopted by 28 states as an official public symbol of the sacrifice made by service men and women from all branches of the armed forces, including Cpl. Jimmy L. Shelton.

Shelton, a lifelong NASCAR fan and a proud cavalry scout assigned to the 101st Airborne Division from Lehigh Acres, Fla., was just 21 when his unit came under mortar fire in Bayji, Iraq in 2005. His actions in combat earned him a posthumous Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Now, nearly 20-years later, his mother hopes this recognition will keep his memory alive.

“Anybody that walked in the house, the first thing I would do is grab them and say, ‘Whatever you do, I want you to promise me right now that you will not stop talking about Jimmy,’ because I was so afraid he would be forgotten,” said Billi-Jo Shelton, Jimmy’s mother. “So for NASCAR to have us come to Daytona to recognize Jimmy… it means so much to know that he’s still remembered.”

Through the work of NASCAR IMPACT, introduced by the league in 2023, NASCAR has strengthened its support for fallen service members, veterans, and active-duty military through partnerships with several military support organizations.

Last year, NASCAR launched partnerships with American Corporate Partners (ACP), which provides one-on-one career mentorship for transitioning service members, Sound Off — a technology-based non-profit that provides mental health support for veterans and other members of the military community, and VetTheVote — a nonprofit that recruits veterans to serve as national nonpartisan poll workers.

Posted on by Staff Report

The 2025 Daytona 500 will begin one hour early due to a forecast for potential inclement weather, NASCAR announced Friday.

The 67th running of the “Great American Race” was initially scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. ET start time Sunday on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Instead, coverage for the 2025 event will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET, with an expected green flag at 2 p.m. ET.

RELATED: Daytona Speedweeks schedule | Starting lineup

The 2025 Daytona 500 kicks off the Cup Series’ regular season with a $30.3 million purse for NASCAR’s most prestigious race. Chase Briscoe will start from the pole position in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, sharing the front row with Austin Cindric in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. William Byron, the defending 500 winner, starts fifth.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

Just in time for the Daytona 500, leading Roblox developer Voldex announced its partnership with NASCAR to bring a year of authentic NASCAR fun to top Roblox racing game, Driving Empire. Starting Feb. 14, Driving Empire players and NASCAR fans can look forward to high-octane updates and events, starting with the Daytona 500. Throughout the year, Driving Empire will release new NASCAR content like cars, liveries, races, events, UGC items and more. Players will dive into the action by racing official NASCAR vehicles from Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet at the famed Daytona International Speedway.

“Driving Empire has become a must-play destination for car enthusiasts on Roblox,” said Harry Bienenstock, head of growth at Voldex. “Our previous partnership with NASCAR in 2024 was met with a lot of excitement from players and we’re thrilled to partner with NASCAR again for an even bigger celebration of one of the world’s most iconic motorsports!”

The partnership will also introduce a dedicated area called NASCAR World in Driving Empire, a central hub for users to unlock over 40 exclusive liveries, collect official NASCAR UGC items, and connect with fellow racing enthusiasts.

“Our mission has always been to bring the thrill of NASCAR to fans on all platforms,” said Nick Rend, vice president of interactive and emerging platforms at NASCAR. “Our partnership with Voldex to bring NASCAR to Driving Empire introduces our sport to the largest car enthusiast audience on Roblox. This collaboration will welcome new fans to NASCAR while complementing the real-world action with an interactive experience–including, for the first time, the addition of all Cup Series teams on the platform. We’re excited to see fans engage with the new content year-round and to have a persistent presence in Driving Empire.”

Check out the action for yourself only in Driving Empire on Roblox. For additional information about NASCAR, including this year’s Daytona 500 starting on February 16, visit NASCAR.com.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — By all accounts, Charles Denike is a natural-born leader. He gets to prove it now as the new crew chief of the No. 23 Toyota for driver Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing.

The duo already netted their first trip to Victory Lane together, with Wallace scoring the victory in Thursday night’s 60-lap Duel at Daytona to earn a third-place starting position in Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Denike (pronounced de-NYKE as in “hike”) carries his experience as a former engineer officer in the United States Army with him to the NASCAR Cup Series this season for the first time after five full seasons as a crew chief in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 23 truck races last year with Christian Eckes, Denike led the team to the 22 top 10s and 15 top fives — including 12 straight top fives to end the season, placing third in the championship race.

MORE: Wallace wins Duel at Daytona

Denike’s priority now, though, is the top level of stock car racing. 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin believes he’s found a hidden gem.

“He just has some characteristics when you hear him talk, when you hear how he’s organized and works that brings in like a Chad Knaus, Chris Gabehart, Cliff Daniels type of feel to me,” Hamlin said Wednesday during Daytona 500 Media Day.

Immediate comparisons to that elite caliber of crew chiefs may seem premature. But Hamlin has worked with and competed against some of the best crew chiefs in NASCAR’s modern era.

“I don’t know if it’s his military background or what, but he’s just so buttoned up,” Hamlin said of Denike. “I mean, when people are talking in the room, his fingers are going 100 miles an hour, putting it all down to paper. He was actually one of the lead guys and organizing strategy for all of us — and not only us, but Joe Gibbs Racing as well.

“And to trust a guy that is just coming in, learning Cup cars and how this all works to have such an instrumental role in how we’re all going to do this as Toyotas shows that they have the confidence in him that obviously we’ve come to find.”

Bubba Wallace wins the first Duel at Daytona in 2025.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Denike, who replaces Bootie Barker atop the No. 23 team’s pit box, has felt that warm welcome across the board, making his transition to 23XI that much more rewarding.

“It’s really cool to know that they have the belief in me,” Denike told NASCAR.com Wednesday morning. “Makes me proud to know that they believe in their hire because I believe in the company that I came to work for. (I’m) surrounded by unbelievable people, phenomenal people at every level, from owners to mechanics to decal installers to business offices. It’s an incredible place. And (there’s) probably no other place could I come in and have the confidence of being successful, coming out of the Truck garage and having not the experience on the Cup side than this place.

“The way that business is done differently at 23XI allows new people like me to come in and find our place, to fit in, learn at the pace that we can manage, contribute and come to the track and be successful without having to feel like you have to figure out every single detail in a matter of three months of offseason.”

Barker remains at Airspeed — 23XI’s state-of-the-art shop — and played a critical role in Wallace’s rise in performance in the three years they spent together. Now serving as the team’s senior vehicle assembly engineer, Barker still holds a special place in Wallace’s heart — even in the hours leading into the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

“I texted him before,” Wallace said, “and I said, ‘Hey, man, I know it’s a change of pace, but I wouldn’t be where I’m at without all the help and all the guidance that you gave. So I appreciate you.'”

Such a significant change after three years weighs on Wallace — so much so that he was “on the fence about making a change because I was so comfortable with Bootie.”

“But I kind of just took a step back and put all the trust and faith in the team to make the necessary calls and the right call,” he said. “And so far, so good.”

MORE: Full schedule for Daytona Speedweeks

Ultimately, Hamlin believes Denike immediately provides an extra sense of accountability that shines through the level of detail Denike pours into his advanced work.

“I think it’s showing, ‘Here’s how I’m gonna prepare to give you the fastest car. Are you gonna prepare the same kind of way to be the best driver that you can be?'” Hamlin said. “I think that people of high caliber like that hold each other accountable.”

Wallace welcomes that — even if he admits Denike’s buttoned-up style isn’t quite what he’s used to.

“He’s very attentive to every little detail,” Wallace said of Denike. “That’s a change of pace for me. Not saying that Bootie was not, but the way me and Bootie operated was, ‘Hey, man, I gave you a fast car. Gonna qualify 15th, 20th, and we’ll go kick their ass in the race.’ And we’ll talk about tractors and bourbon for the next two hours.

“We’re all race cars. We’re all, ‘You need to do this. You need to do that. And we’ll execute to the best. And that’ll be it.’ That’s how Charles operates. So a little change of pace for me. It’s a little bit more structured and buttoned up, which I’m not really a fan of. But I’m also like, ‘Hey, this is a new year, new me, I guess.'”

The next step is helping Wallace become a consistent threat at the front of the field on race day — a process which has gotten off on the right foot after a top five at the Clash and win in Thursday’s Duel.

“Huge amount of raw talent and excellent understanding of what he needs in the car and just situational awareness of what’s going on,” Denike said of Wallace. “(His) race-craft is really good, and what we believe right now the best focus to maximize our on-track results is just focusing on the entire efficiency of the weekend. Minimize some distractions, maximize results. Have clean practices. Go qualify a little better. If you look back on last season as a whole, there’s a whole lot of good content, right? So how can we chop off the bad weekends and reduce those and bring them up to the others? And then we’ll work on taking all of it a little bit better from there.”

Bubba Wallace, Charles Denike and others celebrate in Victory Lane.
James Gilbert | Getty Images

At age 31 and entering his eighth full season at the Cup level, Wallace feels more prepared to reach that next level. He has two career wins (Talladega fall, 2021; Kansas fall, 2023), but he knows he and his team are capable of producing on a more frequent basis.

“Just winning and being more competitive,” Wallace said when asked what’s left to unlock those improved finishes. “Being a name that is being talked about for the performance and the success. I feel like I have the mentality to do it. I feel like I have the performance to do it. We just have to put those two things together and make it coincide and exist together, and you never know where the results will take you.

“We’ve just been barely hanging on to the last playoff spot or missing it by one or two spots, and it’s not acceptable. It’s not acceptable, first and foremost, for me — and that’s the most important person that I got to please is myself, and now my kid Becks — although it’s a good thing he doesn’t really know what’s going on right now. But yeah, I think just having fun with it. This is my eighth year in Cup. I feel like I belong here and done a lot. I just need to do a lot more personally to be satisfied.”

The key to making this pairing work is belief in one another. Denike believes in Wallace, and Wallace the same in Denike. Together, their results are already beginning to speak for themselves.

“There’s a lot left to unwind and get to work on,” Wallace said, “but I think Charles fits right into the brand that we’ve created in 23XI, everybody at Airspeed, and just the culture and the environment we have there. So far, so good.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Eager anticipation for the NASCAR Xfinity Series season includes an intriguing subplot — a talented class of contenders for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. The list of first-year phenoms includes eight young drivers with solid credentials, all setting sail for 33 races — beginning with Saturday’s United Rentals 300 (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Daytona International Speedway. Here’s a look at each of the eight drivers vying for top rookie laurels.

***

Xfinity Series driver Carson Kvapil during a production day photo shoot
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

CARSON KVAPIL

Age: 21
Hometown: Mooresville, N.C.
Team: No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Championship odds: 22-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: The next-generation driver has built his own reputation as a force on the CARS Tour, and he gets the call-up to the national-series ranks from JRM’s Late Model program. He’s already made an impression with nine Xfinity Series starts last season, notching top-five finishes in three of his first four appearances.

Xfinity Series driver Daniel Dye during a production day photo shoot
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

DANIEL DYE

Age: 21
Hometown: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Team: No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Championship odds: 100-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: Dye slots into Kaulig’s full-time roster after making 10 Xfinity Series starts with the organization last year, with a best finish of seventh at Indianapolis. He comes in with two years of Craftsman Truck Series seasoning, plus roughly a season and a half of ARCA Menards Series competition in his portfolio.

Xfinity Series driver Christian Eckes during a production day photo shoot
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

CHRISTIAN ECKES

Age: 24
Hometown: Greenville, N.Y.
Team: No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Championship odds: 28-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: Eckes — the oldest of the rookie class — has spent either part or all of the last seven seasons in the Craftsman Truck Series, accumulating nine victories and landing in last year’s Championship 4. His partnership with Kaulig is a multiyear deal, and he’ll make his Xfinity Series debut at Daytona.

Xfinity Series driver William Sawalich during a production day photo shoot
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

WILLIAM SAWALICH

Age: 18
Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minn.
Team: No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Championship odds: 30-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: The JGR development driver enters the Xfinity Series fray after landing two consecutive titles in the ARCA Menards Series East and assembling a decorated Late Model career. Sawalich has already tested the national series waters and registered one pole position in the Xfinity and Truck Series last year.

Xfinity Series driver Dean Thompson during a production day photo shoot
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

DEAN THOMPSON

Age: 23
Hometown: Anaheim, Calif.
Team: No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota
Championship odds: 100-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: The former West Coast Late Model standout joins the growing efforts of team owner Sam Hunt, who put 10 different drivers in his No. 26 entry last year. Thompson competed in two Xfinity races for SHR last year and has spent the last three seasons in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Xfinity Series driver Nick Sanchez during a production day photo shoot
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

NICK SANCHEZ

Age: 23
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Team: No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet
Championship odds: 12-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: The former ARCA Menards Series champ (2022) was a qualifier for the Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs the last two seasons, finally breaking through with two victories last year with Rev Racing. Sanchez joins a Scott Borchetta-owned team that has made the Xfinity Series postseason field two straight years with Parker Kligerman.

Taylor Gray waves during driver introductions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

TAYLOR GRAY

Age: 19
Hometown: Denver, N.C.
Team: No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Championship odds: 12-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: Gray stays in the Toyota family but jumps from Tricon Garage — his home the last two seasons — to JGR’s full-time lineup. He’s been a winner in CARS Tour and ARCA Menards Series competitions, and he aims for his first NASCAR national series win this year in top-flight equipment after making 19 Xfinity starts as a part-timer in 2024.

Connor Zilisch on the grid at Bristol Motor Speedway
James Gilbert | Getty Images

CONNOR ZILISCH

Age: 18
Hometown: Mooresville, N.C.
Team: No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Championship odds: 7-1 (DraftKings)

The lowdown: The highly regarded Trackhouse Racing prospect has already broken through with a victory in his Xfinity Series debut last year, and his stellar 2024 campaign also included wins in IMSA competition and all three variants of the ARCA Menards Series. His budding talent, paired with the organization that’s fresh off the 2024 Xfinity title, has all the makings of a successful rookie season ahead.

Posted on by Neil Paine

The Daytona 500 is rightfully called the Super Bowl of motorsports. It jump-starts each NASCAR Cup Series season with the sport’s biggest spectacle right out of the gate, and its winner claims the coveted Harley J. Earl Trophy — a prize that can define a driver’s legacy if they have one, or leave a glaring hole in an otherwise illustrious career if they don’t.

But it’s also true that Daytona is the ultimate place where anything can — and does — happen.

When I looked into it last summer, I found that Daytona was the track where the pre-race No. 1 rated driver (according to my driver rankings) had the worst average finish of any regular Cup Series destination, as well as the worst pre-race ranking for the eventual winner on average. Basically, chaos reigns on NASCAR’s biggest stage.

RELATED: Daytona 500 week schedule | 25 Days of Daytona countdown

(Incidentally, that’s what made William Byron’s win at Daytona a year ago so special, as he prevailed as arguably the top driver in the sport, a rare combination.)

All of this is why predicting Daytona is a bit of a fool’s errand. Some drivers tend to do meaningfully better than others on restrictor plate tracks, but there’s also a whole lot of good fortune involved in giving yourself a chance to drive for the checkered flag late. That doesn’t mean we can’t at least speculate about who might be the lucky winner, however, especially in a field where 37 entrants are seeking their first career Daytona 500 win.

With that in mind, we thought we would look at first-time winners from recent history (since the late 1980s) and categorize them based on their age, experience and previous performance at the time of victory. We sorted our groups from least to most surprising, then looked for the drivers from 2025 who might fit each historical profile.

Type 1: Rising superstars

Historical examples: Davey Allison (1992), Jeff Gordon (1997), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004), Jimmie Johnson (2006), Kevin Harvick (2007), Joey Logano (2015), William Byron (2024)

This group is the cream of the crop — drivers who were right at the beginning of their primes (average age: 28.1 years old) when they won their first Daytona 500s, achieving a potential that had been laid out for them from the time they entered the Cup Series. For this group, winning the Great American Race felt inevitable, and was in most cases the stepping stone to championships and/or Hall of Fame legacies. The only historical drivers in this group who didn’t win at least one Cup championship were Allison — who seemed destined for it before a tragic helicopter crash claimed his life at age 32; Dale Jr. — the most popular (and arguably most iconic) driver of his generation, whose late career was hampered by concussions; and Byron — whose career story hasn’t been written yet. It’s a good bet that he will use his 2024 Daytona victory as a stepping stone to championship success down the road.

Possible 2025 candidates: Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick

Bell just turned 30 in December, while Elliott and Reddick are still 29, so all fit the profile of young guns who are coming off phenomenally successful seasons and looking for their first Daytona 500 wins. Between the three, Elliott is the best on restrictor plate tracks, so he is probably more likely to punch his ticket into this group — but Bell isn’t far behind, and Reddick is coming off of his best plate-track season according to my Adjusted Points+ index metric, with an average performance 26% better than the Cup Series average at drafting tracks. It would not be a surprise if any of this trio were to win this year’s race.

SHOP: Daytona 500 gear

Type 2: Overdue legends

Historical examples: Darrell Waltrip (1989), Dale Earnhardt Sr. (1998), Kurt Busch (2017)

Members of this group used to be like the guys from Type 1 … except they were never quite able to get their breakthrough win until much later in their careers. Taking the average between Waltrip, Busch and Dale Sr., this type of Daytona winner did it at age 42.3, in race No. 536.3 overall in their careers and after 17.7 tries in the sport’s most famous race. Perhaps the greatest version of this archetype came in the form of Earnhardt, who famously had never won the 500 in his first 19 tries despite being arguably the greatest plate racer on the planet and winning the summer Daytona race multiple times. When he finally won the biggest race of his life in 1998, he received congratulations from every single member of every pit crew as he crept his car toward Victory Lane.

Possible 2025 candidates: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr.

The presence of these three legends on this list — Keselowski and Busch as full-time drivers still, with Truex running a special attempt in retirement with Tricon Garage — is all the proof needed that Daytona can be a cruel, cruel place. Together, the trio has recorded 27 total top 10s at the track overall in their careers, but none have won the most coveted race in NASCAR. Among the three, Keselowski is coming off the best season, though Busch had better numbers on plate tracks in 2024 and finished the race last year.

Type 3: Experienced contenders

Historical examples: Ernie Irvan (1991), Dale Jarrett (1993), Sterling Marlin (1994), Ward Burton (2002), Ryan Newman (2008), Matt Kenseth (2009), Jamie McMurray (2010), Denny Hamlin (2016)

This group belongs somewhere between the rising superstars and overdue legends, both in terms of experience and talent. On average, these winners were 35.1 years old with 245.5 career races and 8.1 attempts at the Daytona 500 at the time of their first victories. They hadn’t quite banged their head against the wall as much as an Earnhardt, but they had also passed through the young-hotshot phase of their careers to become respected veterans who were still great drivers.

Some are admittedly borderline fits for the group: Hamlin was on another level of performance from the rest, but at age 35, he was a bit long in the tooth for the rising star label. Of course, he added two more wins at the 500 after grabbing this one. Irvan had only run 89 career races by 1991, though he was coming off a great season in 1990. And while Marlin was something of a journeyman, on his third team in three years in 1994, he had been an undeniably elite driver from 1988-92. Overall, this group consists of experienced drivers with strong credentials who finally got the crowning win of a career while still near their peak.

Possible 2025 candidates: Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suárez, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain

Because this is a bit of an in-between, catch-all type of category, it features a large group of contenders from this year’s field. Some, like Blaney and Larson in particular, could also be considered for the up-and-coming star group, but both are north of 30 years old and have more than 340 races (and a decade of Daytona 500 experience) under their belts, nearly double the averages for the Rising Superstars. But make no mistake — both are elite, even if they are coming off less dominant seasons on plate tracks than usual. It might be surprising to learn that Larson is a substantially below-average plate racer in his career. The rest all fit the mold of the respected veteran who is still a threat, with some degree of history of success on plate tracks.

MORE: Full 2025 Daytona 500 entry list 

Type 4: Unproven stunners

Historical examples: Derrike Cope (1990), Trevor Bayne (2011), Austin Dillon (2018), Austin Cindric (2022)

This is the first of two classifications belonging to your classic out-of-nowhere Daytona winners. Type 4 leans more in the direction of inexperience as its defining attribute — among the quartet above, only Cope was over the age of 28 at the time of his shocking win, and only Dillon had run more than 73 career Cup Series races. Bayne and Cindric stand out as particular avatars for this type of winner: Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500 at age 23 in just his eighth career start (and second at Daytona), while Bayne’s victory in 2011 happened at age 20 in his second career start and first ever race at the Daytona 500. For his part, Cope won in only his third try at the 500. Sadly, this group hasn’t tended to do much after their life-altering achievement, winning a grand total of only five additional races after taking the checkered at Daytona. However, both Dillon and Cindric scored wins during the 2024 Cup Series season. 

Possible 2025 candidates: Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Cody Ware, Shane van Gisbergen, Justin Haley, Zane Smith

Ironically, a Gibbs win at Daytona in a few years might qualify him as a rising superstar if he strings together some playoff campaigns and wins races elsewhere (we’re still waiting for his first career victory). But if he does it on Sunday in just his third try at the 500, the 22-year-old Gibbs would have more in common with the other names on our historical list. He is, however, in some decent company among the 2025 candidates listed above, as each has some kind of calling card to claim — from elite new equipment (Briscoe) to a nice record at plate tracks (Ware, Haley) or just rapid improvement overall (van Gisbergen, whose age is out of place here but definitely fits the theme of inexperience).

Type 5: Out-of-nowhere veterans

Historical examples: Michael Waltrip (2001), Michael McDowell (2021), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023)

The other side of our Cinderella coin involves drivers with plenty of experience, but also guys who gave little indication that they were going to ever join the prestigious club of Daytona 500 winners. Any salute to this archetype has to dive into the story of Waltrip, who was given a career life raft by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. before the 2001 season and immediately ended a 462-race winless streak to start his career with a win at Daytona — but lost his best friend in the process.

McDowell was also a career journeyman with zero wins in 357 starts before victory at Daytona in 2021, and while Stenhouse had won before the 2023 Daytona 500, he had long since shed his potential as a rising star and was riding a 199-race drought of his own before becoming one of the most unheralded winners in Daytona history. What’s impressive about this trio is the fact that each used Daytona as a springboard for a career renaissance: Waltrip was a consistent contender each of the next few years at DEI, McDowell had a strong 2022 season and won again in 2023 and Stenhouse also returned to the winner’s circle in 2024.

Possible 2025 candidates: AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, JJ Yeley, BJ McLeod

By definition, this is probably the toughest category to forecast because it involves journeyman veterans with limited records of success achieving an incredible late-career breakthrough. But there are a few names who stand out in the 2025 field. Allmendinger is the most likely pick. The 43-year-old is back in a regular Cup ride after being part-time in 2024, and he has a strong record on plate tracks with 11 previous Daytona 500s under his belt. Preece would be a feel-good story after surviving a scary series of flips at the 2023 Daytona summer race. Yeley is making his seventh Daytona 500 start and isn’t a bad plate racer either. McLeod has experience, too. Should he qualify, this will be career race No. 145 for the veteran, including six Daytona 500s — and he’s done better at plate tracks than other track types.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller faced nearly every emotion over the first two days of Daytona Speedweeks.

Excitement, enthusiasm, anticipation heading into Wednesday night’s single-car qualifying session.

Dread, anxiety, fear after their No. 40 Chevrolet was not fast enough to lock into the Daytona 500 on speed.

But on Thursday, the JR Motorsports co-owners were rewarded with elation after Justin Allgaier finished ninth in the first Duel at Daytona Thursday night, the highest of the five Open entries — securing JRM’s inaugural spot on the NASCAR Cup Series grid in Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

DUEL RECAPS: Wallace, Cindric take home trophies; LaJoie races into 500

The waning moments of the 60-lap qualifying race stuck Allgaier in a precarious situation, running three-wide with fellow Open entries Martin Truex Jr. and J.J. Yeley with just five laps to go. With Michael McDowell and Josh Berry in tow, Allgaier rocketed to the top lane and surged into the top 10, earning the Earnhardt duo their first Cup start in the “Great American Race.” Allgaier will start 19th in the No. 40 car.

Earnhardt, a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 and longtime co-owner of his Xfinity team, admitted Thursday he has tried to “downplay” how badly he wants JR Motorsports to race in the Cup Series. The journey of attempting to qualify for Sunday’s 200-lap feature has only emphasized how badly he wants a car of his own at the sport’s top level.

“Man, we got here and we got a taste of it, and holy moly,” Earnhardt said. “(Wednesday) was so disappointing. I didn’t really know exactly how badly I wanted to do this or wanted to be a part of something like this until we started going through it, and yesterday was just so tough to understand. Something as simple as just being 0.008 (seconds) too slow was really hard to understand, and it’s hard to accept.

“And so (I’ve) just been sitting here all day thinking about how badly I wanted this for all of us. And we asked Justin to go on this journey with us. And he as the driver has to shoulder a lot of the pressure, more pressure than anyone. (Crew chief) Greg Ives agreed to do this with us, and he has had to handle so much pressure to try to put this thing in the field, and I wanted it for everybody that was feeling all of that. And Kelley said it. We race. We love to race, and racing is hard, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This was rough emotionally, but damn it, it’s fun when it works out.”

Justin Allgaier races the No. 40 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the Duel at Daytona.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Earnhardt has carried an enormous amount of enthusiasm throughout the experience, joining the No. 40 crew in the garage when it opened at 6 a.m. ET Wednesday. He and many, if not all, members of JRM’s front office have lived every moment of this attempt. The emotional toll has not been light — rivaling even the ups and downs of Allgaier’s Xfinity Series championship effort in November at Phoenix Raceway — but the reward has justified the nerves.

“Look, this might not seem as big to some other people in the room and even some people outside of this room,” Earnhardt said. “But I know how it feels internally for me, and I think everybody here is experiencing the same thing emotionally. We kept telling ourselves, like, man, if it was easy, it wouldn’t matter as much. And not that we want it to be as hard as it possibly can, but damn, it makes it rewarding when you finally get what you’re looking for. And that’s racing.”

The son and daughter of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt — known affectionately as “The Intimidator” — that gritty determination is a built-in feature of Earnhardt and Earnhardt Miller.

“In our DNA is to earn it, and that’s how we were brought up with Dad,” Earnhardt Miller said. “And I think everything that we do, you put that hard work in and it feels better to earn success.”

“I tell myself sometimes I’m a fool to come into these race tracks and think this stuff’s going to be handed over just because of what we’ve done or where we’ve been in the past,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “It doesn’t care, and it didn’t care this week. We had to dig.”

RELATED: Earnhardt: ‘Might need a psychiatrist’ to explain relationship with Daytona

A key part of JR Motorsports’ effort to make the “Great American Race” was and is its alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. After his television interview, Earnhardt celebrated the moment with former teammate and current Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon and team president Jeff Andrews, sharing the jubilation together. In that moment, Gordon told Earnhardt his “enthusiasm is contagious.”

“It just goes to show you how much this sport and this race means to him,” Gordon told NASCAR.com. “I never realized that when you’re driving, you just feel like there’s never going to be anything that compares to it. But when you put an effort, you see the people working hard, and you see what it takes to put something together like this, and then it work out well, it’s a lot to be proud of and you get to enjoy being a part of that. But he’s been texting and it’s just been amazing how involved he’s been and how excited he’s been for this moment.”

The primary sponsor of the No. 40 Chevrolet is Traveller Whiskey, a brand owned by Chris Stapleton, who has been integral in the entire Daytona 500 mission. Stapleton, a country music star, and Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick share a “great relationship,” Gordon explained, through which the genesis of this ride sparked. Stapleton and Hendrick developed a friendship through Hendrick’s love of music, specifically Stapleton’s library.

“With him wanting to promote his brand now, he reached out to Mr. Hendrick,” Gordon said. “The next thing you know, here we are.”

MORE: Best photos so far from Daytona Speedweeks

Even Gordon — a four-time Cup champion, three-time Daytona 500 winner and leader of a four-car, title-contending organization — felt the weight of what JRM’s effort meant to all parties involved.

“Pressure. There was pressure,” Gordon said. “I mean, you don’t want to disappoint. We take a lot of pride in the relationship that we have with JR Motorsports. We think of them as family, and they’ve done a lot for us, developing people and drivers and things along the way. But this has been different.”

Allgaier felt every bit of that through Thursday’s race — the grand scope of the hands and hearts poured into this project.

“I don’t know why this feels different, why this is more emotional, why this is more pressure and stress,” he said. “I mean, I think for me, I just don’t want to let Dale down. I don’t want to let Kelley down. I don’t want to let our fans down. Chris Stapleton has been extremely excited about this project with Traveller Whiskey. He’s coming on Sunday, hopefully, and I didn’t want to him to show up and not have a car in the field, right? That’d be pretty weird.

“But honestly, those last two laps, I thought we were wrecking on the back straightaway. I think the 10 (Ty Dillon) pulled up maybe in front of the 16 (Allmendinger) and got into the wall, and I thought it was game over. But, you know, Michael kept pushing, and I think Josh was behind Michael. Just kept pushing, and coming across the line was like this relief that — I don’t even know if I got that same relief winning the championship last fall. I don’t know. It seems fairly weird, but you’re proud of the effort, proud of the team.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — With a push from teammate Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace surged ahead of 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron to win Thursday night’s first Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying race and earn the third starting position for Sunday’s 67th running of the “Great American Race” (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Driving the No. 23XI Racing Toyota, Wallace edged Byron by 0.082 seconds, as intense drama unfolded behind the two frontrunners.

With a determined charge over the final two laps, Justin Allgaier finished highest among the unchartered cars in the first Duel, ensuring that a JR Motorsports Chevrolet would compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time in company history.

RELATED: Duel results, Daytona 500 lineup

With a massive wreck littering the asphalt behind them, polesitter Austin Cindric edged Erik Jones for the victory in the second Duel. Though Jones was first to the finish line, Cindric held a lead by inches when the caution lights illuminated as the cars approached the stripe.

In an unchartered No. 01 Rick Ware Racing Ford, Corey LaJoie raced his way into the Daytona 500 with a sixth-place finish in Duel 2.

“Thanks to Tyler (Reddick),” Wallace said after the first Duel. “That was awesome to see two team cars work together that well and learn a lot for Sunday. Did a great job pushing me. Our McDonald’s Toyota Camry was really fast. Two different balances from being in the pack to being out front. Have some work to do there.

“I’ve wanted one of these Duel wins for so long. All my buddies got one. Tyler got one last year. I was pissed off. I got one now. I’m good.”

With the unchartered car of JJ Yeley boxed in on the bottom, Allgaier made a three-wide move to the top on the next-to-last lap and surged forward to earn the transfer spot into the Daytona 500.

With a ninth-place finish to Yeley’s 17th, Allgaier earned the 17th starting position in Sunday’s race.

“He got up to the top on that last lap, and I didn’t think that was possible, but he got to the top and made it work,” said team co-owner and two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who couldn’t hide his elation at making the race for the first time as a car owner.

“This was rough emotionally, but damn it, it worked out.”

WATCH: Justin Allgaier, Dale Jr. emotional after advancing to Daytona 500

“This means a lot to our team, this little team of JR Motorsports,” Allgaier added. “Dale Jr. is an amazing race car driver. He’s an amazing dad, car owner. You can tell how much he wanted this and our whole shop wanted this.”

A wild multicar wreck on Lap 14 eliminated the unchartered cars of Chandler Smith and Helio Castroneves in the first Duel. Smith was running third but moved down the track into the Chevrolet of Justin Haley, triggering a crash that damaged eight cars.

Smith’s Ford shot up into the outside wall, as did Castroneves’ Chevrolet. Out of control, Castroneves’ car bounced on the apron before climbing the track into the wall a second time.

“I got hit and ended up hitting the wall in Turn 2 pretty hard and broke a toe link,” said Castroneves, who nevertheless will start Sunday’s race on an open exemption provisional.

“It’s disappointing because the No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet was really good. The boys on the Project 91 team did an amazing job. They have a little bit of work to do, unfortunately. It wasn’t the night that we wanted, but we’ll take the provisional. So many people have been talking about it, but we will take it, and we will learn more for the race.”

At the end of the second Duel, Cindric had to wait until NASCAR reviewed the finish and confirmed him as the winner. With Cindric taking the checkered flag, Jones will start fourth on Sunday.

“I honestly thought I got him, but I wasn’t going to sit there and argue about anything,” said Cindric, who locked himself into the second starting position for the Daytona 500 during Wednesday night’s time trials. “But, yeah, it’s awesome. Glad to put on a great show for the fans here.”

Without a full-time ride in 2025, LaJoie underscored the significance of the “Great American Race.”

“You forget how special this race is, right, (until) you have to race for it, when you have to earn it, because when you’re racing full-time, it’s just the first one of 36. But when it’s the one that you think about for months, it means that much more.”

Ty Dillon finished third in Duel 1, followed by Ross Chastain, Reddick, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Allgaier and Kyle Busch.

In Duel 2, Chris Buescher ran third, followed by Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, LaJoie, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Blaney, John Hunter Nemechek and Christopher Bell.

The open cars of Anthony Alfredo and BJ McLeod failed to make the Daytona 500 field.

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric as the Duel winners, as well as Justin Allgaier and Corey LaJoie locking into the Daytona 500.

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chase Briscoe is still in a getting-to-know-you phase. His last five seasons at the now-shuttered Stewart-Haas Racing operation were the peak of familiarity, with drivers and team members attending birthday parties for each others’ kids, baby showers and other family functions.

That all changed for Briscoe this offseason with his arrival at Joe Gibbs Racing, where he signed on as Martin Truex Jr.’s successor in the No. 19 Toyota. By most accounts, he’s already made progress in terms of fitting in, but the label of being the “new guy” still applies.

“I never moved as a kid growing up, but I imagine this is what it would feel like,” Briscoe says. “You know, you’re still going to school, but it’s all new faces and new people, and the teachers teach things a little bit different. It’s definitely the same, but it’s very, very different.”

Briscoe and his No. 19 team made noteworthy strides in the name recognition department soon after their arrival this week at Daytona International Speedway, securing the pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It’s a pleasant opening weekend honorific for the 30-year-old driver and the new group surrounding him before their first season together launches.

RELATED: Daytona weekend schedule | Preseason Power Rankings

Big things are expected this year after Briscoe was tapped for the best available free-agent ride in the Cup Series garage, this after a lively Silly Season shuffle up and down the grid. Briscoe maximized the end of his tenure with the No. 14 team last season at Stewart-Haas Racing, turning in a sterling, victorious run in the Southern 500 to snap up a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs. In the wake of SHR’s death knell, a perfunctory performance from Briscoe could have been expected — even excused — but he continually found ways to overachieve. His postseason run ended in the Round of 12.

Briscoe says he always told himself he could be a Cup Series champion but that, realistically, the odds of that happening at Stewart-Haas were relatively small. It was a bittersweet realization because the No. 14 that Briscoe inherited from former boss and role model Tony Stewart carried sentimental weight. This season, with the resources of Joe Gibbs Racing at his fingertips, that championship ambition feels within reach.

“The Xfinity (Series) stuff at SHR, I felt like was top of the field, and I felt like I was able to perform there,” Briscoe said. “But on the Cup side, I’ve never really been in that top-tier program and really felt like I can do what I’m capable of. So that’s the thing I’m most excited for is, at SHR, I would get four or five races a year when my car was capable of running up front and winning, where now I’m going to have 20-something opportunities to do that. So that’s the thing I’m probably the most excited for.”

The experience for Briscoe has been revelatory so far, and that starts at the top. The hands-on, precise involvement of Coach Joe Gibbs permeates many facets of the four-car operation, and Briscoe has found out first-hand about Gibbs’ “people person” reputation. He’s also immersed himself in the organization’s hive of technology.

“Honestly, the biggest difference is just Coach,” Briscoe says. “Nothing against Gene (Haas) or Tony, but just they ran other businesses where like Coach, this is his business. This is what he eats, sleeps and breathes every single day, and he’s there every single day, so that’s been the biggest difference. And I was even telling my wife that the other day, I was like, yeah, if we run bad one week, like it’s going to be weird having the boss on Monday be like, ‘Well, why do we run so bad?’ because I just … I’ve not had that.

“So that part’s been the biggest difference is just how, from the top down, how into it he is. But then the data side, I would say, has been very, very eye-opening. I literally told my wife just last week, too, I said it’s kind of crazy that they picked me because of all the data and analytics they had on me. It’s just nuts how much in-depth they are with the whole field, where each guy stacks up from passing rate, restart rate, all this stuff that I didn’t think anybody even paid attention to, and they they definitely have the data for it. So it’s been very eye-opening from that standpoint, for sure.”

MORE: At-track photos: Daytona | Paint Scheme Preview

Chemistry-building has also thrived in the new partnership. Briscoe says he’s felt out the team-meeting dynamic in JGR’s early season huddles, following the lead of fellow drivers Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin — all of whom have multiyear careers with the organization. No. 19 crew chief James Small noted how he’s found Briscoe exploring areas of the shop where drivers rarely go, making a positive first impression in the offseason.

“It’s been very plug and play,” Small told NASCAR.com, “and I think overall, from a whole global company perspective, we do things very different than Stewart-Haas when it comes to drivers and what we do to hold them accountable in certain ways and things like that. So very, very different, but he’s taken to it like a duck to water, to be fair. As I said before, it’s been pretty seamless, in my opinion. I think there’s been a lot of information for him. It’s probably been quite overwhelming, I’m sure, and eye-opening at the same time for him on how we do certain things, but I know he’s told me numerous times, it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t know how you guys even lose races,  with all the things you think about and do and all that.’ So that’s been pretty cool to see.

“But yeah, everybody, the atmosphere around the whole team, even the whole company, with him coming on board our team, everybody’s super-pumped up.”

There was more reason to be stoked after Wednesday night’s qualifying effort, one that gives him a clear windshield view for Sunday’s “Great American Race.” Briscoe said his phone had swelled to 300-plus text messages after the feat, and that the full magnitude was still sinking in.

“To be on the pole of the Daytona 500 is a really, really big deal,” Briscoe said. “Yeah, just special, special thing for me to do to even start off with a new team, new company, Bass Pro, all the things that go along with it. It’s pretty special, for sure.”