Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued penalties Tuesday to the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team for a lug-nut infraction discovered after Sunday’s Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway.

RELATED: Pocono weekend schedule

Martin Truex Jr. drove the No. 19 to a 22nd-place finish in Sunday’s Ally 400, the Cup Series’ first event at the 1.33-mile Tennessee track. But his car was found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check, a violation of Section 10.9.10.4 (Tires and Wheels) in the NASCAR Rule Book. No. 19 crew chief James Small was fined $10,000.

No further penalties were announced for the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team of defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. Five of the car’s 20 lug nuts were found unsecured in post-race inspection, and Elliott and the team were disqualified, dropping them to last place in the 39-car field.

In the Xfinity Series, the race-winning Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota was also found with a single lug unsecured after Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250. Crew chief Chris Gayle was fined $5,000 for the safety violation. Kyle Busch drove the No. 54 to the 100th victory of his Xfinity Series career.

No Tuesday penalties stemmed from last weekend’s race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Nashville.

Posted on by Press Release

NASCAR’s Kyle Busch became the first driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to reach 100 wins with his victory in last Saturday’s race at Nashville Superspeedway, adding to his legacy as the most decorated driver in the Xfinity Series.

To celebrate Busch’s 100 wins, Comcast donated 100 laptops and a year of free Internet Essentials to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee, which is also a Comcast Lift Zone.

RELATED: Kyle Busch scores 100th Xfinity Series win | Latest Xfinity Series news

“Increasing access to the Internet and reaching more youth to help them succeed in today’s digital world is a focus for our future growth,” said Eric Higgs, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee. “This gift will go a long way with our efforts to help the youth in our communities, and in our ability to prepare them for their great futures. We are grateful for this generous investment from Comcast.”

Busch won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2004 at Richmond Raceway, and has since garnered the title of 2009 Xfinity Series Champion, as well as the 2015 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championships. Busch’s 100 wins makes him 51 wins ahead of the next closest driver, Mark Martin.

“We’re excited and proud to celebrate Kyle’s historic 100th win by making a positive impact in the Nashville community,” said Matt Lederer, Vice President of Brand Partnerships & Amplification at Comcast. “Kyle is the most successful driver in the history of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 100 wins is a true accomplishment.”

Since September 2020, Comcast has been rolling out Lift Zones as part of its ongoing effort to provide free WiFi to more than 1,000 community centers across America by the end of this year. These safe spaces will help ensure thousands of low-income students can remain online to continue to participate in distance learning and do their homework, even if their schools are closed. The Lift Zones initiative complements Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which, since 2011, has connected a cumulative total of more than 10 million people in need to the Internet at home. By also providing community centers with free WiFi service, more students, seniors, veterans, and others have access to the Internet for education, participating in digital skills training, applying for jobs, and staying in touch with friends and family who have been forced to socially distance due to the pandemic. For more information, visit www.internetessentials.com.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

LEBANON, Tenn. — For the most part, Stewart-Haas Racing raced to the beat of a different tune on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.

After uncharacteristic struggles throughout the majority of the 2021 season, Aric Almirola changed course by scoring the Busch Pole for the Ally 400. The No. 10 Ford driver was able to parlay that into a fourth-place finish at the 1.33-mile track, his first top five and second top 10 of the year.

MORE: Full Nashville results | Photos from race weekend

After coming off a 2020 season that produced career bests of six top-five and 18 top-10 results, Almirola said it just felt good to be in the conversation up front.

“It’s been such a tough year and it’s easy to get down on yourself and just not have a lot of confidence,” Almirola said after Sunday’s race. “Confidence is something that comes with results. You can’t fake it. So, it’s been nice to have two good weeks now. It certainly makes everybody have a little pep in their step and things are going in the right direction.”

Kevin Harvick was the next-highest-finishing SHR car in fifth place. Harvick is having the best season out of the SHR drivers so far with five top fives and 12 top 10s, but it will take more consistent results to approach his 2020 season-ending mark of 20 top fives and 27 top 10s.

Almirola was able to get past his teammate for position on the final lap when the No. 4 Ford of Harvick ran out of fuel coming to the checkered flag. Harvick also received damage earlier in the race, which hindered the performance of the car in the later stages.

“Before our damage, I think we had the second-best car at the end,” Harvick said. “Got a little bit of damage on the right side, got a little bit tight and then ran out of gas there off of Turn 4. All in all, it was a solid day.”

It wasn’t a major statement run by any stretch, but Harvick at least took solace in the fact that they ran better. But can they make Victory Lane a realistic expectation moving forward?

“I don’t know,” Harvick said. “I don’t think anyone can beat the 5 (team of race winner Kyle Larson) right now.”

The other two drivers in the SHR stable, Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe, were unable to achieve much improvement. Despite running in the top 12 for a portion of the 300-lap event, Custer finished 30th after tire woes, while Briscoe brought out the final caution of the race on Lap 227 when the No. 14 Ford retired after hitting the wall due to a brake failure.

The Ford Performance camp still has much ground to gain to better position themselves for a playoff run with nine races remaining in the regular season. While Hendrick Motorsports has made it look easy up front, Almirola noted just how tough it has been on the No. 10 team to work for better results.

“When you run bad, it’s 10 times as much work because you’re going down every single avenue trying to figure out what’s going to make speed in the race cars,” Almirola said. “When you have fast race cars, it’s easy. You just massage on it and polish it and keep going to the race track with what you know is fast. We’ve been working so hard and proud of everybody back at the shop.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

Kyle Larson specifically and Hendrick Motorsports overall added to their victory haul in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, padding their recent win streaks at Nashville Superspeedway. Dominance is often cyclical in motorsports, and the advantage is now evident in team owner Rick Hendrick’s four-car fleet.

RELATED: Official Nashville results | Cup Series standings

NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller addressed that competitive edge a day after Larson’s Nashville rout in the Ally 400, making one of his regular Monday morning appearances on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. With Larson notching his third consecutive victory in points races and Hendrick tallying its fifth straight points win, Miller was asked if the inspection process becomes any more rigorous for a team on such a roll.

“It does, both externally and internally,” Miller told SiriusXM. “We certainly want to make sure we’re not missing something in our process, so not that we don’t look hard at every single car that comes through there, but when you start to have a dominant team, definitely the lens gets focused a little bit more on the microscope. You think back to a year ago, or even two years ago, I mean we had a run there where nobody could come close to JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and they finished with all cars in the top five many, many times. Same kind of thing, right?

“I don’t know what it is in racing, but it seems to go in cycles with these teams, but really to answer your question: Yes, certainly we look hard at all the cars, but when you start to have a team being very dominant, certainly it’s just natural to make sure that you aren’t missing anything there.”

While Larson’s winning No. 5 Chevrolet cleared Sunday’s post-race inspection without issue, some of the post-race scrutiny on Hendrick’s four-car effort focused on the No. 9 Chevy of defending series champion Chase Elliott. The No. 9 entry was found with five unsecured lug nuts in a post-race check, leading to a disqualification that demoted Elliott from an apparent 13th-place result to last in the 39-car finishing order.

Miller indicated that no further penalties were forthcoming and that the ruling was clear-cut. The NASCAR Rule Book outlines the penalty structure in Section 12.5.2.7.4 (“Minimum Safety Penalty Options”), stating that discovery of three or more unsecured lug nuts in a post-race check will result in disqualification.

“It was a DQ, and it’s spelled out well in the rule book. There were five lug nuts on the car loose, and that’s a safety infraction,” Miller said. “How that happened is always a debate, but it’s really in the rule book to make sure that all the lug nuts get hit on pit road, because we did a couple of years ago go through a rash of people purposely not hitting all the lug nuts, which was very, very unsafe. So the rule’s in there for that, and they just had too many lug nuts loose at the end of the race. Unfortunate situation for everyone, but very, very clear and very well spelled out.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Chase Elliott was disqualified Sunday for having five loose lug nuts in post-race inspection at Nashville Superspeedway.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Elliott had driven the car to a 13th-place finish in the Ally 400, NASCAR’s first Cup Series race at the 1.33-mile track in Tennessee. As a result of the penalty, Elliott’s car was scored in last place. Elliott also lost the Stage 1 win, which went to Kurt Busch in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet instead.

Elliott’s teammate, Kyle Larson, won the race for his third consecutive victory while Hendrick teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman finished in third place and 14th place, respectively. Bowman moved up from 15th place as a result of Elliott’s penalty.

“It’s unfortunate. The lug nuts on the No. 9 were loose at the end of the race,” said Chad Knaus, vice president of competition for Hendrick Motorsports. “At the end of the race Chase had a vibration. There were quite a few tire issues through the course of the day so they were hopeful that it was just a cord or something in the tire that was creating the vibration so they chose to run the race out.”

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driven by Martin Truex Jr. was also found to have one loose lug nut in post-race inspection, which usually results in a fine for the crew chief.

Multiple loose lug nuts like for Elliott usually result in a fine and a crew chief suspension when the penalty report comes out later in the week.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

LEBANON, Tenn. — Ross Chastain had his doubts, but a late-race pit strategy call turned into a career-best finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Chastain’s crew chief, Phil Surgen, made the call to stay out following a caution on Lap 218 of the 300-lap race at the 1.33-mile track and Chastain quickly lost the lead to eventual race winner Kyle Larson after the restart with 78 laps remaining. But the key caution came later in the race, the yellow flag flying for the final time on Lap 227 when Chase Briscoe clipped the wall after a brake failure.

Surgen rolled the dice and made the split decision to bring the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in for service, giving up a top-five position on the race track.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

That’s also where Chastain had his doubts, but he also didn’t realize they could make it on fuel through the end of the race while others were cutting it close.

“It was humbling,” Chastain said after the race. “They know better than I do. They also knew we could make it to the end. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. We would have had to pit under green there, even if we stayed in the top four or five. They know what they’re doing. I am sorry that I doubted them.”

The end game worked out well for Chastain, rocketing up to a second-place finish in the final 68 green-flag circuits with fresh tires and plenty of gasoline.

It was a lesson learned for Chastain.

“Heat of the moment in the car,” Chastain said. “It’s really hot, I’m sweaty and tired and I’m like, man, we’re running third and we’re gonna give this up. I need to just drive.”

The result also served as Chastain’s second top five of his Cup Series career, following a fourth-place finish at Circuit of The Americas in May. The reaction from the 42 crew was a special moment for Chastain, as well.

“Positive like the guys got goosebumps driving up through the field,” Chastain said. “I get out of the car and they were like, ‘man, we haven’t had that in a long time.’ I hadn’t, either.”

As Larson and Hendrick Motorsports continue to tally top-five results, Chastain was able to pass William Byron in the closing laps to seal his career-best performance in NASCAR’s premier series.

For Chastain, the finish wasn’t a fluke, but more of a sign of things to come.

“That’s where we belong — second place,” Chastain said. “It’s just going to build confidence and all. It’s like we’re doing the right things.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, June 21
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 (re-air), FS2

Tuesday, June 22
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Presents Trackhouse: Get Ready (re-air), FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1987 Winston 500, (re-air), FS1

Wednesday, June 23
2 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 (re-air), FS2

Thursday, June 24
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series Modified Tour at Riverhead (tape delay), NBCSN
5:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN

Friday, June 25
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200, FS1

On MRN
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200

Saturday, June 26
6:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 (re-air), FS2
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1998 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., ARCA Menards Series General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 (re-air), FS1
11 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Pocono, FS1
12 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150, FS1
2 p.m., Lost Speedways: Danger Zone (re-air), NBCSN
2:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Pocono, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Organics CBD 325, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150 (re-air), FS2
10 p.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2

On MRN
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Organics CBD 325

Sunday, June 27
6 a.m., ARCA Menards Series General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 (re-air), FS1
8 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 (re-air), FS1
12 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3, 5)
2:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Pocono, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3, 5)
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show: Pocono, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing: Six Hours of the Glen, NBCSN

On MRN
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 350

Posted on by Holly Cain

Kyle Larson continued his streak of superiority Sunday afternoon, winning the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway — his third consecutive win, following three consecutive runner-up finishes. He hasn’t finished worse than second place in a NASCAR Cup Series race since May 2.

It’s a high performance mark the series hasn’t seen in more than a decade when former Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won four straight points-paying races in 2007. Larson’s win Sunday was his third straight points-paying victory, but he also won the All-Star Race $1 million-to-win exhibition last week at Texas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led Ross Chastain and Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Chevrolet across the Nashville finish line by 4.335 seconds. He paced the field by as much as five seconds in the closing 10 laps of this inaugural event. And that fourth winner’s trophy is a series best on the season.

There were 14 lead changes among seven drivers, but only two other drivers led double-digit laps — Chase Elliott (13) and Kyle Busch (10).

“It was a great day,” Larson said, smiling at the understatement. “We never really had to run behind people, so I don’t know if one of my teammates got out front again, it probably would have been hard to pass them.

“This Valvoline Chevrolet was really good. It cut the middle of the corner really well and our pit crew did an awesome job again. I just hope we can keep it going.”

Larson led 264 of the 300 laps at the 1.333-mile Nashville track in the first NASCAR Cup Series race in the city since 1984. The effort marked the fourth time this season Larson has led at least 200 laps in a race and the fifth time he has led more than half the total laps in a race.

Only 17 races into the 36-race season, Larson has already eclipsed his previous season-best laps led. He has been out front 1,426 laps. His previous season-best total was 1,352 laps led in 2017.

Larson, who now has 10 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, has led 82% of all laps run during this current three-race winning streak. His Hendrick teammate, Elliott, – who was disqualified for having five loose lug nuts – won Stage 1 but lost the mini victory with his DQ; Kurt Busch ended up with the stage win. Larson answered with the Stage 2 victory – his 12th of the season, which is double that of any other driver.

Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, looked to give the team its fifth straight 1-2 finish, rallying from the rear of the grid. He was running second until the final 10 laps when Chastain got around him. Byron finished third, followed by polesitter Aric Almirola and his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Kevin Harvick.

The fourth-place finish was Almirola’s best of the season. Harvick’s fifth-place run was his best in the last six races.

“We had a good car, just, my goodness, we don’t have anything for those Chevrolets right now,” said Almirola, who drives the No. 10 SHR Ford. “They’re making grip and they’re getting up off the corner. It’s so hard to race with them.

“But we have made huge strides to close the gap. Our race team is doing a great job scrounging and scrapping to build better race cars and it’s nice to come here and run up front, run in the top five and at least be in the mix.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano rounded out the top 10. It marked Stenhouse’s second top 10 of the season and the third for Suarez in the new No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team, which hosted co-owner, superstar performer Pitbull at Nashville.

NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Denny Hamlin had to pit for fuel with two laps remaining dropping from a top-10 result. He finished 22nd — the second time he has finished outside the top 10 in the last six races and now holds a slim nine-point championship lead over Larson.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Pocono Raceway for a doubleheader weekend. Race 1 will be Saturday (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) completes the weekend.

NOTE: Laron’s race-winning No. 5 Chevrolet passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection, thus confirming his victory. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy, however, was disqualified for five loose lug nuts. The No. 19 Toyota of Truex had one loose lug nut but was not disqualified.

Posted on by Davey Segal

It only took 20 tries for Doug Coby to get the hang of things at Riverhead Raceway.

One week removed from missing the Whelen Modified Tour’s stop at Oswego Speedway, Coby got back to his winning ways with relative ease, leading 149 of 200 laps Sunday en route to the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 victory, his second win of the season and second in a row at the quarter-mile track.

“We hit on something here,” Coby told NBC Sports’ TrackPass in Victory Lane following his 31st career win, tying him with Jeff Fuller for fifth on the all-time series wins list. “In Victory Lane for round two at Riverhead. Who would’ve thought that Doug Coby would be in contention to sweep Riverhead three times in a year when we come back in September? It’s so hard here and we’ve hit on something.”

Coby’s week off saw him fall to eighth in the championship standings, making a bid for his seventh title much tougher. Another win helps his chances, but unfortunately for him, the top two drivers of Patrick Emerling and Justin Bonsignore finished right behind Coby’s No. 10 once again in second and third, respectively, for the second straight race at Riverhead.

“I was just trying to bide my time there, keep the right rear on the car,” Emerling said following his fifth top-five finish in six races this season. “We got to second there and I thought we were in really good shape. I was looking forward to another 50 laps … hopefully we can come here and get one spot better (in September).”

Bonsignore, an eight-time winner at Riverhead, led the opening 51 laps from the pole before relinquishing the lead to Coby. While battling for position, he suddenly fell outside the top 10 as his No. 51 lost power before regaining it moments later.

“It’s tough here now with the spray, you gotta muscle our way to the top,” he explained following his fifth top-five finish this season. “It’s not the same track we were winning at for awhile. We gotta do our homework a little bit and see if when we get back here in September we can get a little better.”

Coby smiled and looked behind his No. 10 car in the winner’s circle at both Emerling and Bonsignore parked behind him, commenting on the championship battle unfolding.

“I wish I could get rid of these two,” Coby joked. “I finally win races up here, I look and the guys that are second and third are the guys I’m chasing in points. But that’s how good they are.”

Said Bonsignore: “These guys have been top 3 every week. Going to be one of these years it seems. It’s good to have new guys battling with us and Doug. Patrick’s team has been really good this year, they’re going to fight us until the end.”

With rain forcing the postponement of the race from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, Coby, along with most other teams, were forced to make last-minute travel arrangements, causing a bit of a logistical headache. Emerling was quick to thank local driver J.B. Fortin, whose family allowed Emerling’s team to stay the night avoiding travel to and from the track on Father’s Day weekend.

Ron Silk and Anthony Nocella finished fourth and fifth, respectively, earning their first top five finishes of the season. Tommy Catalano, Kyle Soper, Jon McKennedy, Dylan Slepian and Tyler Rypkema rounded out the top 10 finishers.

The race was slowed six times for on-track incidents, including a red-flag period after Fortin, Eric Goodale and Dave Sapienza were involved in a multi-car accident.

The Whelen Modified Tour returns to the track on July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Whelen 100. Bobby Santos III has won the last two events at NHMS (six total) and is expected to be in the field making his 2021 season debut.

Posted on by Staff Report

Just over a year since Alvin Kamara traveled to Homestead-Miami Speedway to attend his first NASCAR race, the All-Pro running back for the New Orleans Saints has partnered with the sanctioning body to help grow the sport and its fan base.

As the first-ever Growth and Engagement Advisor, Kamara will work directly with NASCAR leadership on strategic planning and creative opportunities that support its fan development efforts. 

https://twitter.com/A_kamara6/status/1406671034003202048

Kamara and NASCAR announced the partnership this morning on his social channels from Nashville Superspeedway, where he will tour the facility and meet with NASCAR, industry leaders and drivers ahead of today’s Ally 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“It’s an honor to be able to team up with NASCAR and be their first-ever Growth and Engagement Advisor,” Kamara said. “I’m excited to use my passion as a fan to help shape their long-term efforts to grow the sport.”

“Alvin’s journey to NASCAR happened very organically from that initial curiosity to experiencing our events to developing a real and sincere passion for the sport,” said Pete Jung, Chief Marketing Officer at NASCAR. “That’s what we’re looking to tap into … his insights, perspective and ideas … and learning more about his experience so that we can enhance what we’re doing to engage and develop new fans.”

A collaboration between NASCAR and Kamara’s team at Klutch Sports Group, the engagement will focus on connecting new audiences with NASCAR through immersive and educational experiences that help them learn more about the sport. Beginning today at Nashville Superspeedway, Kamara will interact directly with fans at races and share the ongoing story of his NASCAR fan journey through digital and social media content.

Additionally, Kamara will work alongside the Charlotte-based NASCAR Marketing team under Jung’s leadership and contribute to planning, ideation and activation around fan development and engagement.

Kamara’s interest in NASCAR began in June 2020 when the sport and its drivers, led by Bubba Wallace, took a stand for racial equality and social justice, and shortly after NASCAR banned the confederate flag. Four days later, Kamara attended the NASCAR Cup Series race in Homestead, Florida, the first major sporting event to return fans following the COVID-19 hiatus. 

Kamara has attended additional races since and this past February, his Louisiana-based juice bar, The Big Squeezy, sponsored Ryan Vargas’ No. 6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.