Editor’s note: Kyle Larson will be spotlighted in USA Network’s new unscripted series “Race for the Championship” airing this fall. The first episode is Thursday, Sept. 1, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Watch the trailer here.
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After Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, noted road-course expert AJ Allmendinger offered high praise for race winner Kyle Larson, calling the 2021 champion ‘the most badass driver on the planet right now.’ The comments came after Larson outdueled Allmendinger in both the Xfinity and Cup Series races for a weekend sweep.
As Larson prepared for Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (10 a.m. ET, CNBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM), the Hendrick Motorsports driver said what it meant to receive that compliment.
“That means a lot to me. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him,” Larson said. “Coming from a guy who’s got a versatile background of racing, too, it made me feel really good. Having him breathing down my neck both days was definitely a nervous feeling. It makes you happier when you beat a guy like that.”
Both Allmendinger and Larson have developed a knack for exceptional driving on road courses. Larson picked up victories at Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval last season while Allmendinger’s two career Cup wins have come on road courses (Watkins Glen, Indy Road Course) and nine of his 13 Xfinity wins have come on tracks with left and right turns.
In the past, Allmendinger could only display his road-course prowess twice every season with Sonoma and Watkins Glen making up the entire road-course schedule, but NASCAR’s willingness to build a diverse schedule has created more opportunities for Allmendinger and other road-course aces to display their exceptional talent.
Even though road courses weren’t prominent a few years ago, Larson said that he always felt he could be successful on them despite the results not showing before 2021.
“Speaking for myself, I took them pretty serious even when there were only two,” Larson said. “For the drivers who maybe didn’t feel like they’re a good road racer, I feel like now they maybe spend more time in the simulator and doing things to try to get themselves better because there is more of them. I feel like I’ve always adapted well to road courses. Before I got to Hendrick, I never was like a good driver in the race because I felt like my car wasn’t capable of being good on the long runs.”
While competing against each other during a handful of weekends in the Cup and Xfinity Series this season, Larson emphasized that he’s a big fan of Allmendinger and will be cheering for the driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet through the remainder of the Xfinity Series season. Allmendinger currently is the series points leader and a championship favorite.
“I look forward to seeing how he does in the Xfinity Series as we progress this season,” Larson said. “I’ve been cheering for him the most out of everybody for the last couple of years because he’s kinda the underdog in my eyes. I’ll be cheering him on and hoping to see him win a championship.”
Larson will have one more shot at another road-course win this season in the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Roval — a race he won last year in route to a series championship.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Friday night’s bizarre, attrition-filled, rain-delayed NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway produced an appropriately unexpected outcome when Jeremy Clements took the checkered flag under caution at the end of the third attempt at overtime.
Clements’ victory in the Wawa 250, a race that started roughly three hours late and ended shortly before 1:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, was his first at Daytona and the second of his career. Both of Clements’ victories have come during the month of August, his first at Road America on Aug. 27, 2017.
“I’m speechless, man—I don’t even know what to say,” said Clements, who grabbed a playoff spot with the victory and shoved Ryan Sieg into 13th place in the standings, 12 points below the cut line. “We survived that big wreck back there (in the first overtime). It was like a ‘Days of Thunder’ wreck.
“Then I was like, ‘If we can just keep up with these guys, it’ll be a good day—top five and bring this car home in one piece.’ But, wow! This is incredible.”
As race leader Austin Hill lost electrical power and steered his Chevrolet to the apron, Clements got a push from Sage Karam on the third overtime restart on Lap 117 and was out front on the final lap when NASCAR called the 11th caution for Riley Herbst’s spin on the backstretch. Timmy Hill finished second, followed by AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Brown and Karam, who posted his career-best finish.
Eighteen of the 38 cars that started the race were already in the garage when Clements took the checkered flag.
A massive multicar wreck on Lap 98 of a scheduled 100 sent the race to overtime. First, Landon Cassill’s Chevrolet slapped the outside wall and collided with Jeb Burton’s Camaro.
Then, at the front of the field, Daniel Hemric moved down the track and turned off the nose of Noah Gragson’s JR Motorsports Chevrolet, igniting a melee that involved eight cars.
But that was just the appetizer before a feast of crumpled chassis that followed the restart for the first attempt at overtime. On Lap 104, Brown’s Chevrolet got loose on the backstretch in front of Riley Herbst’s Ford.
Brown spun, and 13 cars were damaged in the ensuing chaos. But the hardest hit of the night came on overtime attempt No. 2.
Chain reaction contact between the cars of Clements, Allmendinger and Noah Gragson turned Gragson into the path of Landon Cassill’s Chevrolet. The impact from Cassill’s car spun Gragson around 360 degrees and tore the body off the front clip. Gragson had led a race-high 54 laps at that point.
A multicar accident on Lap 83 put a dent in Sheldon Creed’s playoff hopes and destroyed his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 26 Toyota got loose off Turn 2 and spun off the front bumper of Brown’s Chevy.
“All of a sudden, I was looking at the inside wall,” Nemechek said. “I’m not sure what happened, but I felt like I was hooked in the left rear.”
Creed’s Camaro hit Nemechek’s car and spun to the inside and shot back across the track into traffic, demolishing Joe Graf Jr.’s Ford. The wreck kept Creed below the playoff cutline, 55 points behind Cassill for the last spot with three races left before the playoff field is set.
NOTE: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage is complete. There were no issues, confirming Clements as the winner.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR officials penalized six Cup Series teams for multiple failures in Friday’s pre-race inspection at Daytona International Speedway.
Those teams each had one crew member ejected before Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (10 a.m. ET, CNBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM), the last race in the Cup Series’ regular season.
Penalized teams (with ejected crew member in parentheses) included:
• No. 3 Richard Childress Racing for driver Austin Dillon (car chief Ryan Chism) • No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford for driver Chase Briscoe (car chief JD Frey) • No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for driver Martin Truex Jr. (car chief Chris Jones) • No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford for driver Cole Custer (car chief Tony Cardamone) • No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet for driver Erik Jones (engineer Evan Bensch) • No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford for driver BJ McLeod (engineer Chris Stanley)
The inspection process was delayed Friday afternoon by intermittent rain and lightning.
In 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace’s five-year full-time NASCAR Cup Series career, he has four runner-up finishes. Three of them have come at Daytona International Speedway. He has finished second in the last two races at the historic track, and he was runner-up in his first ever Daytona 500 in 2018.
However, Wallace doesn’t necessarily consider his past success at the track a true indicator of his chances going forward.
“Like maybe five years ago, it would be like, ‘Man, we deserve a win here,’” Wallace said. “Five years to work on that. Now, it’s like you don’t deserve anything. Let’s go out and earn it. No matter if you finish second, how many times we’ve done it, we can still blow up or we could still break something. You don’t know. And so for us it’s just (important) to not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s focus on what we need to do.
“It’s just making sure you’re there for the last — I always say five laps, but we may wreck 10 times in five laps — so just make sure you’re there for the last two laps and set yourself up for being one of the first four cars,’’ Wallace added. “That’s what we need to focus on. Let’s get up to that point.”
Wallace comes to Daytona ranked 20th in the standings, and his only shot at advancing to the 2022 playoffs is to win Sunday morning (10 a.m., CNBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 28-year-old has earned four top-10 finishes in just the last six weeks, including a runner-up at Michigan International Speedway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway is on hold due to rain at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
NASCAR updated the timeline for Friday’s event with plans to get underway shortly (all times Eastern):
9:45 p.m. – Drivers begin to prepare to race – get in fire suits and start to head to the Xfinity Series garage.
10:15 p.m. – Drivers buckle into their cars in the Xfinity Series garage. Teams will do their final adjustments with the drivers in the cars.
10:30 p.m. – Drivers will drive the cars to pit road and will be staged double-file on pit road, starting at pit out.
Drivers will shut off their engines and remain in their cars for the invocation and National Anthem. Immediately after the National Anthem, NASCAR will move on to the command and then into the race.
Inclement weather earlier Friday washed out qualifying for this evening’s Wawa 250, forcing NASCAR to set the starting lineup per the rule book.
AJ Allmendinger, who finished runner-up at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 20, will lead the field to the green flag alongside Noah Gragson once the event begins. Gragson won the 2020 season opener at Daytona and snagged another superspeedway victory at Talladega Superspeedway in April earlier this season.
Race coverage can be found live on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Denny Hamlin said Friday that his 23XI Racing team did not influence Kurt Busch’s decision to withdraw his waiver for eligibility in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, adding that the team is doing its best to stoke morale in support of the veteran driver.
Hamlin’s remarks come one day after Busch’s announcement that he did not wish to take a spot on the 16-driver postseason grid if he was unable to compete for a championship. Busch has missed the last five races after suffering a head injury in qualifying at Pocono, and he will also miss Sunday morning’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (10 a.m. ET, CNBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM), the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
Busch had locked himself into a provisional playoff slot with a dominant win at Kansas Speedway in May. But Thursday, he indicated that he had not received medical clearance to return to competition.
“No, this is a Kurt thing. This is definitely not us by any means,” Hamlin said when asked about the impact of Busch’s absence to the playoff picture. “We’ve been very clear and transparent with Kurt that we’re going to support him no matter what. If he wants to stay in there and come in for the last race of the first round, like, let’s go. Let’s go try to win it. So he just felt like this is the best decision for him, you know, not to hold somebody else back from going for a championship that he thought maybe had a better chance at it. It’s still unknown whether he would be able to come back. So this is all Kurt’s decision, and his future will always be his decision.”
Busch joined 23XI Racing this season, as the team owned by Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan expanded to a two-car operation. He arrived to the newly formed No. 45 Toyota team as a proven winner with 20-plus years of experience, adding a veteran presence alongside teammate Bubba Wallace. Xfinity Series regular Ty Gibbs has filled in admirably the last five weeks, and Hamlin indicated that Busch has been working with the 19-year-old prodigy, assisting the organization with his observations and contributions in team debriefs.
Hamlin related a similar instance when he missed four races early in the 2013 season, injuring his back in a crash at Auto Club Speedway. But he also said that Busch’s case is different, both because of the playoff implications and the nature of Busch’s injuries.
“The team and him just kept getting better, so that’s the tough part about it is we had so much momentum going with that 45 car before that happened,” Hamlin said. “So I mean, that part was tough, but it’s the only thing I can relate is to when I had to sit out races because my back injury in 2013. I mean, it sucked then, but for him, I mean, it’s nothing physical as far as like something that hurts. It’s just something that you know is not right in the brain. So, you know, that’s something that you got to have 100%. You can’t fake that part of it. The results will show your performance and anything else on the race track if your mind’s not right. I know he’s frustrated and emotional about it, and we just want to support them in any way we can and give him the time off that he needs to to get better.”
Busch’s decision moved Martin Truex Jr. from provisionally out of the 16-driver field to a spot provisionally in. It also gave Ryan Blaney a measure of breathing room, pushing him from the “last driver in” position to 15th in the playoff picture with a 25-point buffer over Truex. If Sunday’s 400-miler produces a new winner who otherwise meets the playoff-eligible criteria — full-time, 30th or better in the Cup Series standings — it would bump out the low-points man between Blaney and Truex.
Foremost, though, Blaney spoke in terms of Busch’s competitive drive when asked if the move surprised him.
“As a competitor, you know him as a great competitor,” Blaney said. “You don’t want to ever stop doing what you love, in racing and making those tough choices. But it seems like he understood where he was at physically and didn’t think that he could get behind the wheel of a race car. So I mean, yeah, I bet that was one of the toughest choices he’s ever had to make in his professional career. I mean, you never want to be in that spot. That’s a terrible spot to be in. It stinks for him. So yeah, but that was really, really tough for them to make that choice.
“Like I said, you never want to see that as a competitor. You always want to race the guys and them be there all the time. But I bet that was really, really tough.”
Honoring our past. Celebrating the present. Looking to our future.
That will be the hallmark of NASCAR 75, which launches in 2023 in honor of the sport’s 75-year anniversary.
A piece of NASCAR 75, though, was showcased Friday night on USA Network with the reveal of the official 75-year anniversary logo, a diamond-centric look that is befitting of NASCAR’s Diamond Anniversary.
The sanctioning body was founded in 1948, making 2023 its 75th season — which will be celebrated throughout the year.
“As much as it is a reflection of the fairly unique and rich history of our past, we really want it to be symbolic of where we are today as a sport and as a brand, and where we expect it to go in the future,” NASCAR Chief Marketing Officer Pete Jung told Adweek.
Additional plans, content and celebrations will be announced at a later date.
It all comes down to this. One race. Through 25 races in the regular season, there have been 14 winners advancing to the playoffs (Kurt Busch, the 15th winner, is out after 23XI withdraws waiver) leaving two coveted spots up for grabs on Sunday. For Ryan Blaney, sure, he moves off the cutline with Martin Truex Jr. slotting in there. But with the usual unpredictability that comes with racing at the “World Center of Racing,” even a solid points day may not be enough. Everyone behind Blaney and Truex will be aiming for the only way they can make it in: a win. Easier said than done, but the numbers favor one of the winless to get the job done on Sunday. Fourteen winners. Fifteen winless drivers each trying to join them. Expect Sunday’s showdown to have a finish for the ages. | Full playoff outlook | Scenarios for final playoff spots
Who’s hot? Who’s not?
Last year in the regular-season finale, Ryan Blaney won in overtime. Heading back to Daytona needing a win, the numbers say it is one of his best chances of the season. Blaney has been remarkable here of late, reeling in four finishes of sixth or better in the last five races and leading laps in nine of his last 11 trips to Daytona Beach. For a race with a lot of uncertainty, one thing is for certain: the No. 12 Team Penske bunch will likely be a top contender at the finish.
On the other side of the team shop, Joey Logano has been uncharacteristically off the pace at the Florida superspeedway. Logano has six consecutive finishes outside the top 11, and though he has led laps in 10 of the last 12 Daytona races, he only has one win to show for it (2015). Logano’s aggressive driving style always puts him in contention to win at the plate tracks. But more often than not, it has led him to trouble. Three of his last six races here have ended with DNFs.
Driving under the radar
After a season full of unexpected twists and turns, could Sunday be the day that RFK Racing takes center stage? If you look all the way back to the Duels at Daytona earlier this season, you will remember how dominant the No. 6 of Brad Keselowski and No. 17 of Chris Buescher looked at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Keselowski and Buescher swept both Duels, bringing home an impressive double podium for the newly restructured team. But since then, the organization has not made many strides to get back to Victory Lane. Of the two, Keselowski’s experience and resume on superspeedways, though mostly at Talladega Superspeedway, always have him in the conversation. If one of the RFK drivers is able to pull off a win, it would be one of the story lines of the entire season.
Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images
Race-day staples ✅
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Paint Scheme Preview: Summer schemes for Daytona | Pick a favorite • Power Rankings: Blaney off the bubble and on the rise this week | Updated driver rankings • NASCAR betting: Odds for 2022 Daytona summer race | Underdogs, value bets • Fantasy Fastlane: Expect chaos in regular-season finale | Top plays, sleepers • Bubble Watch: Playoff outlook after Watkins Glen | Read more
Catch the pack 💨
Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• Inclement weather: Qualifying canceled at Daytona, lineup set by rule book | Read more
• Kurt Busch out: Veteran driver will miss playoff opener, 23XI Racing withdraws waiver | Read more
• Aric Almirola: Back again, staving off retirement to return in 2023 | Read more
• Greg Ives: No. 48 crew chief to step down at end of season | Read more
• Noah Gragson: Primed for another opportunity with Beard Motorsports at Daytona | Read more
• Daniel Suárez: Trackhouse Racing re-signs 2022 winner to new deal | Read more
• Larson vs. Elliott: Larson says positive talks had after Watkins Glen | Read more
• Lightnin’ Epton: Ticket office at Daytona re-named for 102-year-old | Read more
• Joey Logano: Team Penske, Logano reach a new contract extension | Read more
• Martinsville test: Cup Series drivers recap two-day tire test | Read more
• Truck Series news: Craftsman returns as title sponsor | Read more
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• The Action Network: Familiar long shot bet for Daytona? | Read more • Fantasy show: Picks, predictions for Sunday morning | Watch the segment • Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
• Going all the way: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
Destiny at Daytona ⭐️
If you win here, you’re remembered forever. Take a look at some of the remarkable memories over the years.
• Winner, winner: All-time summer winners at Daytona | See them here
• Remember this?: Memorable moments from Daytona’s summer races | See them here
• Last year: Ryan Blaney bests the field in overtime | Full 2021 race recap • Race 26: Seven drivers to race themselves into the final playoff position | See them here
Fast facts ⏩
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• All 2022 race winners are locked into the playoffs. • Thirteen of the last 17 races at Daytona or Talladega were won by drivers getting their first win of the season. • Fifteen drivers can still mathematically make the playoffs with a win. You must be top 30 in points. • The pass for the win came in the final 10 laps in 14 of the 25 races in 2022. • Seven of the 16 drivers that won in 2021, including part-time driver AJ Allmendinger, have yet to win in 2022.
Say what? 🎙
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
• “Daytona is interesting. It hasn’t been one of my better tracks, but I really enjoy going there. In the Daytona 500 this year, we had a really strong car and led laps, won the first two stages and were feeling good about things. Then, we had an issue on pit road and had to go to the back and we were swept up in a crash. To me, the strategy at Daytona is to just try to stay up front as much as possible or as close to the front as you can and hope that when the big crash happens, it’s behind you. That’s really the strategy; the only strategy is to try to stay up front. For us, as much of a wild card race as this is, I think we’ll have a good shot at winning, and it’d be a great time to get our first superspeedway win with everything on the line. It’d be quite a story.” — Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
• “After 17 seasons on the road and making countless memories, I’ve decided to step away as crew chief at the end of 2022. There are many reasons, but the most important one is the chance to focus on my family and spend more time with our kids as they grow up.” — Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
• “I think my commitment and my effort to performing at the highest level has never changed, and so I think the biggest thing for me is just looking ahead into the off-season, where I was like, ‘All right, once we get to the off-season I’ll be able to catch my breath and we’ll figure out whatever is next.’ I don’t for right now have to figure out whatever is next. I know what’s next. I’m gonna continue to drive a race car. I’m looking forward to it and I’m excited about it, but you have to remember I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’m going into my 12th season next year. It’s pretty routine, so from a mindset standpoint nothing really changes.” — Aric Almirola, on returning to the No. 10 Ford of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2023
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aric Almirola announced his return to Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 10 Ford on Friday, reversing course on retirement plans with a multiyear deal that includes an extension for primary sponsor Smithfield Foods.
Almirola indicated that he would be back in a Friday press conference at Daytona International Speedway, site of Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (10 a.m. ET, CNBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM). He’s one of several drivers who will make a late bid for a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs in Daytona’s annual 400-miler.
Almirola had announced Jan. 10 that he would end his full-time career in the Cup Series at season’s end. He is in his 11th full season of Cup Series competition and his fifth with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Friday’s announcement confirmed the 38-year-old driver will be back for 2023 and beyond, and the team indicated that Almirola has found ways this season to achieve a better work-life balance on the circuit, spending more time with his wife, Janice, and his children Alex and Abby.
“Our family dynamic has changed. Things have changed and it just feels right,” Almirola said. “It feels like a blessing and a wonderful opportunity to continue to do what I love to do, and I think I made that very clear when I announced that I was gonna retire and that I wasn’t retiring because I didn’t enjoy racing anymore, I was retiring because I was willing to make a sacrifice for my family because, ultimately, my family is the most important thing to me. Winning races and making money and all of those things, I was willing to make that sacrifice to make sure I was being the husband I needed to be and the father I needed to be, and through this year Janice and I just found a wonderful balance to where I still can be the husband that I want to be and the father that I want to be and we did some really cool stuff this year.
“I forgot just what a wonderful opportunity it is to be a race car driver. Not only do I get to do what I love to do, but we get to travel around the country and go to all sorts of different cities, so we took that opportunity this year. ”
The extension with Smithfield continues one of the longest-running partnerships in the Cup Series garage. The Virginia-based food company first connected with the driver in 2012 during his tenure with Richard Petty Motorsports, and that relationship continued when Almirola moved to the No. 10 Ford in 2018.
“I think that’s one thing, for me, that has been just a huge blessing personally and professionally,” Almirola said. “Smithfield has been the primary sponsor on my race car my entire Cup career and so to continue to have their support and their backing is just an awesome feeling to be their guy and to be wanted.”
Almirola is a three-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, with his first victory scored at Daytona for the Petty organization and the rest coming during his time with SHR. His most recent triumph came in July 2021 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
This season, Almirola ranks 18th in the Cup Series standings, and he will need to win Sunday to reach the 16-driver postseason grid. His immediate future with playoff eligibility is uncertain, but his long-term future is secure.
“All of us at SHR are very happy to have Aric back in our Smithfield Ford Mustang,” said team co-owner Tony Stewart. “I’ve always admired Aric because he’s always working to better himself, to find a better way. This year is proof of that. We’re in a tough sport, in terms of the competition and in terms of the commitment it takes to compete at this level. Even with all that, Aric has found a way to compete and enjoy life. That sounds simple, but achieving it is hard, yet Aric makes it look simple. It’s one of his many attributes, and it’s one of the many reasons why he’s such a good fit for Smithfield and for us. I’m proud of him and proud to extend our partnership with Smithfield.”
Friday’s qualifying sessions at Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series were canceled due to inclement weather. The fields for both series were set in accordance with the NASCAR Rule Book.
Kyle Larson will start on the pole in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the Cup Series’ Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Sunday (10 a.m. ET, CNBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM). Larson is coming off a victory at Watkins Glen International, his 18th career Cup win and his second of the season.
AJ Allmendinger will start on the pole in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for the Xfinity Series’ Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM). Allmendinger leads the Xfinity Series in points with four regular-season races remaining.
