Gio Ruggiero soldiers to runner-up finish for Tricon in Truck Series debut

Posted on February 15, 2025February 15, 2025 by Zach Sturniolo

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Gio Ruggiero was sitting 10th in the middle of the pack three-wide midway down the Daytona backstretch on the final lap. Half a lap later, Ruggiero finished second in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut.

Driving the No. 17 Toyota for Tricon Garage, the 18-year-old recovered from losing the lead late and avoided the carnage around him in the final mile of Friday’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway for a top-five finish in his inaugural truck start. Ruggiero was third on track when the yellow flag waved with the checkered, but Parker Kligerman’s No. 75 truck failed post-race inspection after measuring too low on both sides of the rear of the vehicle, bumping Corey Heim from runner-up to winner and Ruggiero into second place — a sudden 1-2 finish for Tricon Garage.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Ruggiero, the Seekonk, Mass., native, led 11 laps Friday but was shuffled from the top spot with five laps remaining. Bayley Currey surged the inside lane forward past Ruggiero before Ruggiero’s Tricon teammates Tanner Gray and Heim decided they needed to work past Ruggiero too. But through guidance from spotter Frankie Kimmel II, Ruggiero stayed in the game, missed multiple wrecks through the final set of corners and persevered.

“Stuff happens quick here, and I was leading that pack for a couple of laps,” Ruggiero said. “And I think five to go is when I lost the lead there. But I knew it was coming. I knew they were going to have lines forming up and it was going to get crazy. So I’m just glad we could hang on and have a strong finish and a clean truck there for the end.

“My spotter, Frankie Kimmel, this was my real first race with him other than our race last year, and I thought he did a great job helping me and coaching me tonight. I just dragged brake and tried to keep the guys behind me tucked up and pushing me.”

Tricon Garage owner David Gilliland was thrilled seeing the immediate results from one of his two full-time rookie drivers in Friday’s season opener — but he wasn’t surprised. Ruggiero’s background stems mainly from Late Model racing on his way through the racing ladder but moved to the stock car ranks in 2024 with 10 ARCA Menards Series starts.

“From the Rockingham test to him being around the shop, I’ve been super, super impressed with his demeanor and his attitude,” Gilliland told NASCAR.com. “Today, he impressed me, but really, 0% shocked at what he accomplished today. Really proud. He had a lot of adversity thrown at him today.”

Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

Indeed, Ruggiero had a flat tire during his qualifying run Friday and subsequently had another flat early in Friday’s 100-lap contest.

“A lot of these young kids can come out here and go fast,” Gilliland said. “But to execute and put a whole race together … he never got panicked, never nothing. Just very, very proud of him. Very proud of our team. Tricon Garage executed very, very well as a team today. I was just talking to our guys — from our crew chiefs communicating to our drivers to spotters, everybody working together is tough. I was very proud of everybody at our team.”

Heim, a championship threat in each of the past two Truck Series campaigns, locked into the playoffs once again, this time via a win in the opening race. But on Friday, he couldn’t help but notice how well Ruggiero adapted to the unique challenge of superspeedway racing.

“For Gio’s first race, I think he did a great job,” Heim said. “There’s definitely a lot to work on in general, but I mean he’s fresh out of late models and a part-time ARCA schedule. I can’t expect him to be perfect. To be able to put himself in position at the end of the race is impressive, along with Tanner and William (Sawalich) as well. This is by far the best the organization has worked together which is pretty surprising because there’s a lot of rookies. But regardless, proud of Tricon Garage.”

Next is Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 22 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where Ruggiero will attempt to go for a second straight top five to kick off his Truck Series career.

“It’s really good momentum headed into the year, and as well to Atlanta being another superspeedway next weekend,” Ruggiero said. “But, like my old super late model team owner Donnie Wilson used to tell me, (if) you finish in the top five, then the top threes will come. You finish in the top three, then the wins will come. So if we can keep building off this, we’ll get a win soon.”

Posted on February 14, 2025February 15, 2025 by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When the caution flag flew on the final lap of Friday night’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Corey Heim thought he had finished second in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener.

Roughly an hour later, Heim was declared the winner of the superspeedway race after the No. 75 Chevrolet of apparent winner Parker Kligerman was disqualified when its ride height was measured too low in post-race inspection.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Daytona

Surging into the lead in the closing laps of Friday night’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Kligerman held the top spot on the final circuit when a multicar wreck in Turn 4 forced NASCAR to call the eighth caution of the evening.

But Kligerman’s victory celebration was short-lived when his truck failed inspection. The disqualification gave Heim his first victory at Daytona and the 12th of his career.

“Nothing short of crazy there the last 20 laps,” Heim said. “Honestly, pretty impressed with everyone that we kept it straight for as long as we did. They piled it up a little bit on the last lap. Compared to last year, it was such a big upgrade as far as the quality of racing.

“Definitely was out of control there at the end, being three-wide middle on old tires, being free.”

Heim was thankful for the victory but expressed sympathy for Kligerman’s misfortune.

“Well, it’s my first time having this kind of scenario happening either way, so certainly glad to be on the right side of it,” Heim said. “It sucks for Parker and those guys.

“It seemed like they put themselves in a position at the right time to win the race, but obviously, there is another level to it after the race. Grateful to be in the spot to take advantage of that.”

Kligerman’s disqualification promoted Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Gio Ruggiero to a runner-up finish in his Truck Series debut.

“This is my first time on a superspeedway in anything, so it was a lot of stuff for me to take in tonight,” said Ruggiero, who led 11 of the 100 laps. “Drafting in the pack, side-drafting and leading the pack as well, so I definitely learned a lot for Atlanta.”

MORE: Ruggiero soars to second in debut Truck race

Reigning series champion Ty Majeski was third, followed by Grant Enfinger, who recovered from significant damage to the rear of his No. 9 Chevrolet as well as a pit road speeding penalty.

“We made a lot of leaps today as a team,” Majeski said. “This has been a type of racing that has been outside of my comfort zone, so it was good to put some good stages together. We went from the back to the front multiple times, something that we’ve not been able to do in the past.

“I’m excited about that and I had fun out there for the first time in a speedway race. It’s a good way to start defending the championship and a good start to our 2025 season.”

Chandler Smith led a race-high 34 laps but was shuffled back in the late going and finished sixth behind Justin Haley. Pole winner Ben Rhodes led 22 circuits but came home 20th after suffering damage in a Lap 83 wreck that caused the seventh caution.

Actor-turned-full-time driver Frankie Muniz posted a career-best 10th-place finish in his fifth Truck Series start.

“It was intense,” Muniz said of the final two laps. “When I caught them (the lead pack in the draft), you saw everyone moving around, but I was still half throttle. I went to the top; I was trying to push the top, but then I went to the middle, and then the bottom had a run so I went there.

“And thankfully I did, because it helped us get through (the last-lap wreck). The thing about Daytona, I’m not calling it luck, but you don’t know what the right move is. I’m just so happy, especially after the year we had last year, when it felt like getting punched in the gut. I feel really good. I am just so ready for next week.”

Behind Smith, Daniel Hemric, Jason White, William Sawalich and Muniz completed the top 10. Cup Series driver Michael McDowell finished 26th in his first Truck Series start since 2009.

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the Truck Series garage, confirming Heim as the winner. The No. 75 Chevrolet of Parker Kligerman was disqualified for not meeting post-race height requirements after the truck was too low in the rear. Henderson Motorsports, which fielded the entry, announced it plans to appeal the ruling.

Posted on February 14, 2025February 14, 2025 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Brad Keselowski arrived at Daytona’s Speedweeks festivities during a time of personal and professional growth. He revealed this week that his family is about to expand to a party of six, and the RFK Racing organization that he co-owns with Jack Roush has swelled to three full-time teams for this season.

It’s his trophy collection that also has room for expansion, and the coveted Daytona 500 title that’s eluded him in 15 previous tries is a missing piece to an already illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career.

“Well, for me, it’s the last crown jewel that I’m missing, so it’s kind of like the empty spot in the trophy case,” Keselowski said during a Friday roundtable with reporters. “It would certainly round out a lot of aspects of the stat book for me, but beyond that, it’s a huge win for our company to win the biggest race of the year, to lock ourselves in the playoffs early, to allow our team to continue to develop. We made a lot of changes to our team and to take some of those pressures of making the playoffs off of our shoulders very early on in the season would have some major ramifications. So I mean, there are so many aspects of why it would mean a lot to us. It’s hard to really define it.”

Keselowski makes his 16th try in Sunday’s “Great American Race” (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM), which kicks off his fourth season as driver/owner for RFK Racing. The organization will place three Fords on the grid for Sunday’s 500-miler for the second consecutive year, but this time, it’s a launch for three full-season efforts — for himself in the No. 6 Mustang, Chris Buescher in the No. 17 and newcomer Ryan Preece in the No. 60 entry.

Daytona also comes four days after Keselowski’s 41st birthday, an age mark that makes him the third-oldest full-time driver in the field (only Denny Hamlin, 44, and AJ Allmendinger, 43, are older). Barring an “iron man” style run into next-level veteran status, Keselowski likely has fewer Cup Series seasons ahead of him than behind him. But in forecasting when he could make a decision on retirement, the driver who burst into the rookie ranks in 2010 and became a champion two years later says he’ll know.

“When you don’t feel like you can win anymore; I feel like I can win,” Keselowski says. “I was having a great race yesterday (in the second Duel qualifier) until I wasn’t, but when you don’t feel you can make the moves it takes to succeed, that’s pretty clear to me. And I don’t feel that way.”

Keselowski says there’s no set time to make that call, but jokes that he’s not ruling out racing at age 50 or beyond. “I mean, if I keep having kids, I might need to,” he cracked. He backed up his belief in his capabilities when he scored his most recent Cup Series victory last spring at Darlington Raceway. Sharing that win — which broke a 110-race skid — with his family remains a moment he aims to replicate and relive.

“I have a lot of desire, as much if not more,” Keselowski said. “I have my family, my kids, and there’s a lot of this discourse around when a driver has kids that they lose some hunger and all this other stuff. Like to me, I feel like I’ve experienced the opposite. Like I want to win, and my daughter as we were coming down here, she said, ‘Dad, you haven’t won in a few months, I’d really like to be in Victory Lane.’ That gasses me up, right? Not that I wasn’t trying to win before, but you’re like, that last two laps on the radio, when it’s to put your kids in Victory Lane, that’s a little extra jazz, right?”

Finding that winning formula on superspeedways is a tricky dance, one that often waltzes to the beat of manufacturer allegiances and the subtleties of the aerodynamic draft. Keselowski has been a master of that task at sister track Talladega Superspeedway, where he has six triumphs, but his record here is more mixed — he’s failed to finish in nine of his previous 15 Daytona 500 appearances.

Keselowski will be coming from the back end of the grid Sunday, earning the 34th starting spot after a qualifying race crash forced him to a reserve No. 6 Ford. It’s a grab bag for his teammates, too — Buescher starts sixth and Preece will go off 27th after putting up the third-fastest lap in pole qualifying — but it’s a variety that’s underscored by Keselowski’s confidence.

“I think our cars look as good or better than anybody else. Really, really excited about that, really proud of it,” Keselowski says. “It’ll be interesting to see, the Toyotas have this way of showing a lot more speed on Sunday than they do throughout the whole weekend. So you never know exactly what they’re holding. They’re pretty good already, right? So I could see them kind of turning the wick up a little bit, and then the Chevrolets have done the best job consistently just with the nature of executing that last pit cycle and getting control of the race. They don’t seem to have the speed that everybody else has, but they seem to out-execute on a continuous basis.

“So it’s hard to predict what the race is going to value. The race might value having super-fast cars and might value being able to execute at a high level, or might value something I don’t have top of mind. So it’s a really difficult race to predict, but historically over the last season or two, it’s valued execution.”

Keselowski says the top challenge to RFK Racing’s expansion has been hiring the right people to support it. The other focus is to support Preece, a hard-nosed 34-year-old who came up through the Modified Tour ranks as a brilliant short-track talent but has had a journeyman’s career in NASCAR’s national circuits.

MORE: At-track photos: Daytona | Preseason Power Rankings

Preece has landed on his feet after the dissolution of the Stewart-Haas Racing team, and Keselowski says that providing him with the right equipment should also deliver him a boost in his new surroundings.

“Give him fast race cars, put him in a spot where he can play offense,” Keselowski says. “When you’re playing defense all the time, it’s so easy to get over your head. I think you see that commitment with the car, he’s got a great car this weekend, super fast, qualified third, the car drove great for him in the race. I think he’s very excited about that, and that’s so energizing to be able to look out the windshield rather than the mirror. Everybody’s a lot better driver when they’re looking up front than behind, and I think that’s the builder of confidence that he’s going to need, and being surrounded with those right people to go with it.”

Keselowski’s fingerprints are already indirectly on some of the accolades that have been handed out at Daytona International Speedway this week. The top two starters — pole winner Chase Briscoe and front-row flanker Austin Cindric — are both alumni from Brad Keselowski Racing, his namesake team that operated for 10 years (2008-17) in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Besides Briscoe and Cindric, the list of established Cup Series drivers with ties to the BKR days includes Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick — all of whom have become stars in NASCAR’s top division. It’s a source of measured pride for Keselowski as he reflects on his team’s legacy and as he stands just days away from potentially adding to his own.

“It just makes me feel like I should have turned it into a Cup team eight years ago. But you know, life lessons, right?” Keselowski says with a laugh. “But I’m happy for them and their success, and I try to be really careful because although I played a part in their success, I am not their success. They’ve done their own work and there’s other people that have come into their lives that have helped them be successful. I’m like one stepping stone on their journey, right? But it is great to see that it mattered, that it played out for them and that I could be a part of it. It’s meaningful, for sure.”

Posted on February 14, 2025February 14, 2025 by Staff Report

In a session shortened by rain, defending Daytona 500 winner William Byron topped the leaderboard in Friday evening’s NASCAR Cup Series practice at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet set a quick time at 194.923 mph.

Chase Elliott (194.763 mph), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (194.678 mph), Kyle Busch (194.392 mph) and Austin Dillon (194.032 mph) rounded out the top five. All five Chevy drivers worked together in the draft.

RELATED: Practice results | At-track photos

Zane Smith (193.665 mph), Todd Gilliland (193.394 mph), Joey Logano (193.278 mph), Kyle Larson (193.245 mph) and Ryan Blaney (193.236 mph) completed the top 10.

During this practice session, teams and drivers had mixed agendas with some focusing on seeing how their cars handled in the draft, while others got important track time with backup cars or repaired cars from damage suffered in Thursday night’s Duel races.

Only 30 drivers set a lap time before weather halted the session prematurely with less than 20 minutes to go. Out of the eight drivers switching to backup cars following the Duels, Brad Keselowski, Justin Haley, Shane van Gisbergen and Daniel Suárez did not set a practice time on Friday.

Hélio Castroneves also joined Trackhouse Racing teammates van Gisbergen and Suárez in the garage during this session as his No. 91 team focused on repairing his primary car. Luckily, these teams will get one more shot to shake their cars down before Sunday.

MORE: Daytona Speedweeks schedule

The Cup Series will be back on track Saturday for the third and final Daytona 500 practice session at 3:05 p.m. ET (FS2, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on February 14, 2025 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’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.”

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 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 February 14, 2025February 14, 2025 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 67thrunning 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 February 14, 2025February 15, 2025 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.

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 February 14, 2025February 14, 2025 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 February 14, 2025February 14, 2025 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.”

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.”

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 February 14, 2025 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.

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