Posted on by Terrin Waack

It’s fair to be both optimistic and realistic.

Corey LaJoie is well aware of his circumstances with Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. It’s not the richest team in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, but it can be competitive. The No. 7 Chevrolet finished ninth in the season-opening Daytona 500 last Sunday at Daytona International Speedway — one of the 22 cars still running at the end of the 40-car race.

“I get Daytona is Daytona,” LaJoie said Thursday on a Zoom teleconference. “With certain circumstances, you can pop off a fast lap like we did there. But you don’t luck into two top-10 finishes in the 500 just because you’re out there riding around.”

DAYTONA ROAD COURSE: Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FOX

LaJoie placed eighth in the crown-jewel event last season. He also has a sixth-place finish at Daytona in the 2019 summer race. Daytona is home to three of his four career top 10s. The fourth came at its sister track, Talladega Superspeedway — seventh, also in 2019.

Superspeedways do tend to open the door for non-frontrunners to make their move, as the racing is more unpredictable and the playing field is rather even. BetMGM had last weekend’s winner, Michael McDowell, at 66-1 odds entering 2021’s first event. The victory marked McDowell’s first in 14 years and 358 starts.

Nothing is really impossible. The right car at the right track can make for a happy surprise. At the same time, being successful among those in the same financial ballpark alone is an internal victory. And LaJoie is in a new ride this year, so he’s having to learn where he stacks up against his competition now compared to previous seasons.

“I’m ready to get to Phoenix and Vegas — some intermediates — to just see where we stack up speed wise and figure out those group of four, five cars we can race consistently and how to beat them,” LaJoie said. “I’m looking at cars like even RCR and JTG, I feel like we can compete against those guys each and every week. Wherever that stacks up in points — should be somewhere between 19th and 22nd — I feel like that’s where we should be running and getting better.”

DAYTONA ROAD COURSE: Betting odds | Paint schemes | TV schedule

He’ll have to wait two weeks for the series’ first time on an intermediate track. The 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway is slated for Feb. 28.

First, the No. 7 team will have to take on the Daytona Road Course, a 14-turn, 3.61-mile layout that includes portions of the World Center of Racing’s oval and infield. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 is Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“I forget where it was, whether it was the first media Zoom here before the 500, when people asked if they can take Spire seriously, I was like, ‘Check back here in six months and we’ll see if they’re taking us seriously,’” LaJoie said. “I would say people should start taking us serious.”

Posted on by Terrin Waack

The spotlight is on Chase Elliott this weekend, and understandably so.

As the NASCAR Cup Series takes on Daytona International Speedway’s road course, the reigning champion rides a four-race win streak on the track type, which is good for the second longest streak all time and includes Daytona’s 14-turn, 3.61-mile debut in 2020. The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver also finished second last week in the exhibition Busch Clash event on the oval-road layout, after both taking and losing the lead on the last lap. Makes sense why Elliott is Sunday’s favorite, according to BetMGM, by 2-1 odds.

RELATED: Chase Elliott on pole for road race | Daytona Road Course weekend schedule 

Dim that light, though. Shine it on someone else for a moment.

Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 title holder, boasts a second-best 4-1 odds. He’s tied for second-most road wins among active drivers with four; Elliott has just one more. Truex has consistently been in the contention to win at road courses over the past decade, too.

En route to his championship, Truex split the road-course slate. He led a race-high 25 laps at Sonoma Raceway, only to lose his engine and finish 37th. He later won at Watkins Glen International, leading a race-high 24 laps.

Truex rebounded at Sonoma in 2018 to win by more than 10 seconds and lead a whopping 62 of the 110 circuits. At Watkins Glen, he was on his way to cross the finish line first but ran out of the gas and sputtered across in second. The Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval was also introduced this season as a third road-course show, and while battling for the lead in the final corner, Truex was spun by Jimmie Johnson and ultimately placed 14th.

In 2019, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota repeated at Sonoma after leading a race-high 59 of 90 laps. Truex once again was runner-up at Watkins Glen. And at the Roval, he navigated his way up to seventh after an engine change and two in-race penalties.

DAYTONA ROAD COURSE: Paint schemes | Betting odds

And then there’s last season. Sonoma and Watkins Glen were taken off the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Roval remained, and the Daytona Road Course was added. Truex finished seventh and third, respectively, after overcoming speeding penalties in both events.

That’s three wins out of 10 opportunities. Truex could have won each race, but saying could have is different than promoting should have. The reasons he didn’t are valid – and a part of racing.

Elliott won five of the seven Truex did not. Kevin Harvick (2017 Sonoma) and Ryan Blaney (2018 Roval) round out the 10 total otherwise.

The wins may be skewed toward Elliott, but Truex and Elliott match in top fives (six) and 10s (eight).

So, as the hype points toward Elliott, eyes can drift toward Truex with the expectation they may be side-by-side at the finish.

Posted on by Team Release

CONCORD, N.C., (February 18, 2021) – Roush Fenway Racing today announced that the team has become the first carbon neutral NASCAR race team, powered by its official sponsor Castrol. Throughout the 2021 NASCAR season, Castrol will power the Roush Fenway team by supporting Roush Fenway’s carbon reduction and offset programs across their operations both on and off the track.

“As an organization, Roush Fenway has always been environmentally conscious,” said Roush Fenway President Steve Newmark. “Our hope with this program is to demonstrate that every business, small or large, and regardless of industry, can contribute to address global climate challenges. We hope to set an example and highlight that small steps by many can make a real difference.”

Roush Fenway has achieved carbon neutrality for the entire organization including operations, the two race teams and race cars for the period between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020, according to the PAS 2060 standard as verified by ERM CVS (independent 3rd party).

The partnership between Roush Fenway and Castrol is designed to help the team better manage its greenhouse gas emissions by tracking, quantifying, and reducing those emissions, and offsetting the balance with high-quality carbon offsets.

“At Castrol, we believe that small steps together can make a difference,” said Castrol’s Vice President of Marketing Rayne Pacek. “We want to play our part and teaming up with Roush Fenway to achieve their carbon neutral ambitions is a notable milestone in the sport and another step in supporting our partners in their efforts to drive change.”

In addition to working with Roush Fenway, Castrol plans to drive change by expanding its carbon neutral product range, reducing the carbon used in its production, and offering a new and expanded range of services – all to give consumers and customers more lower carbon choices.

“It’s an honor to pave the way in the sport and bring awareness to the importance of reducing your carbon footprint,” said Roush Fenway Driver Ryan Newman. “Every business can make choices to help promote a more sustainable future and this program makes me proud to be part of a team that takes the initiative to drive change.”

As part of the program, Newman’s traditionally green and red Castrol No 6. Ford Mustang will don an all-white paint scheme featuring a grey Castrol badge and muted logos from partners like Ford Motor Company, Kohler Generators, Oscar Mayer, Coca-Cola, Guaranteed Rate, MacTools, and Wyndham Rewards to show their support of the initiative. This paint scheme will be used at the Daytona Road Course on Sunday, February 21, 2021.

The initiative is part of Castrol’s ongoing relationship with Roush Fenway and is another step towards supporting its partners in achieving their lower carbon ambitions.  Consumers interested in learning more about Roush Fenway carbon neutral initiative powered by Castrol can visit Castrol.com/DrivingForChange. Visitors can also enter for a chance to win Ryan Newman race-used gear following the Daytona Road Race on February 21, 2021.

Posted on by Jason Christley

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – The 2021 BMR Drivers Academy – a NASCAR development program – will feature 14 full-time drivers competing in 16 two-day race events on the West Coast, culminating in opportunities in the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The program opens on March 26-27 at All American Speedway in Roseville, for its 40-race campaign.

NASCAR has joined the Academy as it develops drivers at five NASCAR National and Weekly Series tracks in California. Drivers will compete in full-sized stock cars utilizing a 625-horsepower NASCAR Yates Spec Engine and the same chassis components as ARCA and the NASCAR Truck Series. Races will be streamed live to a worldwide audience via SPEED SPORT TV.

“NASCAR and the ARCA Menards Series are fully committed to strengthening stock car racing on the West Coast. We believe the BMR Drivers Academy will amplify our West Coast efforts and develop future NASCAR and ARCA Menards Series drivers through a competitive environment that will sharpen their skills with real-world racing experience,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President & Chief Racing Development Officer.

Drivers that win race events in the Drivers Academy during the season will receive one entry per win, towards a drawing for an opportunity with BMR/MHR in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Phoenix in November. McAnally-Hilgemann Racing fields the #19 Toyota Tundra for Derek Kraus, with a career best finish of second at Darlington in 2020.

After races 14, 24, and 32, the points leader will be awarded an opportunity in a Bill McAnally Racing Toyota for a 2021 ARCA event. Bill McAnally Racing is based in Roseville, Calif. and has won a record 10 NASCAR and ARCA regional championships and more than 100 victories. In 2020, BMR won the ARCA Menards Series West championship with 15-year-old Jesse Love, the youngest champion in series history.

Drivers who have raced at BMR include Cole Custer, Chase Briscoe, Brendan Gaughan, Todd Gilliland, Hailie Deegan, Derek Kraus and Peyton Sellers.

Oval tracks in the 2021 BMR Drivers Academy include All American Speedway, Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale and Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield. Road courses will feature Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma and Thunderhill Raceway near Willows.

In addition to driver support on track, the BMR Drivers Academy program will also provide training in media relations, sponsorship relations, social media, fitness, leadership development, and diet.

Primary car inventory including hood, quarter panels, color scheme, number, and font can be utilized by academy participants for their supporters and sponsors, after approval by the Academy.

The program is being made available to 14 drivers, along with two additional cars being made available for one-off or part-time entries. Program costs and additional details are available at www.BMRDriversAcademy.com  For more information about Bill McAnally Racing, visit www.BMRNAPARacing.com

Posted on by Staff Report

Alvin Kamara, NFL All-Pro running back for the New Orleans Saints, has partnered with JD Motorsports with Gary Keller to sponsor the No. 6 NASCAR Xfinity Series Chevrolet driven by Ryan Vargas, the team announced Wednesday.

The Big Squeezy, Kamara’s chain of juice bars in Louisiana, will be the primary sponsor for the car in Saturday’s Super Start Batteries 188 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly (5 p.m. ET, FS1) at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

RELATED: Daytona Road Course schedule

“When this opportunity presented itself, I knew I couldn’t let it slip by,” Kamara said in a team release. “I did a bit of research on Ryan as an individual and JD Motorsports and was impressed with what I read. I’m excited to play a small role in what they already have going on.”

Kamara and Vargas came together on social media when the driver tried to drum up potential sponsorship there. Kamara, who became a NASCAR fan last season, has attended multiple races, but this will be his first time as a sponsor.

“Having the opportunity to work with Alvin Kamara and The Big Squeezy is such a huge honor,” said Vargas, a product of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program who has 13 career starts in the Xfinity Series. “As one of the best running backs in the game, I know Alvin puts 110% effort into everything he does and that can easily be said for myself and our No. 6 JD Motorsports team.”

Kamara serves as co-owner of The Big Squeezy chain, which has nine locations throughout Louisiana. Find out more at www.bigsqueezyexpress.com.

2021feb17 Alvin Kamara Scheme

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona International Speedway’s Road Course (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will start from the pole position with Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford sharing the front row in the 40-car field.

Additionally, Brett Moffitt won the pole for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race and Ben Rhodes will start up front for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

RELATED: Daytona Road Course schedule | 2021 Cup Series standings

As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.

NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:

  • 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
  • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
  • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
  • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.

Start pos.
 Driver Car # Team
1 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
2 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
3 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
4 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
7 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
8 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
11 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
12 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
14 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
15 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
17 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
18 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
19 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
20 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
21 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
22 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
23 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
24 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
25 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware Racing
26 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
27 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
28 Scott Heckert 78 Live Fast Motorsports
29 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
30 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
31 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
32 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
33 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
34 AJ Allmendinger 16 Kaulig Racing
35 Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing Team
36 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
37 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
38 Ty Dillon 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
39 James Davison 15 Rick Ware Racing
40 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management

Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Busch Pole Qualifying was held for the season-opening Daytona 500; the next race with time trials scheduled is the March 28 event at Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track.

Posted on by Staff Report

Competition officials penalized two NASCAR Cup Series teams Tuesday for lug-nut infractions that occurred after Daytona 500 preliminary events last week at Daytona International Speedway.

RELATED: Cup Series standings

The No. 2 Team Penske Ford (driver Brad Keselowski) and the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota (Bubba Wallace) were each found with one lug nut not safely secured in post-race checks. The Penske team’s violation of the NASCAR Rule Book’s Section 10.9.10.4 (Tires and wheels) was discovered after the Busch Clash exhibition on Feb. 9; the 23XI infraction occurred after the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying race last Thursday.

As a result, officials assessed a $10,000 fine each to crew chiefs Jeremy Bullins (No. 2 Ford) and Michael Wheeler (No. 23 Toyota).

NASCAR officials also announced a behavioral penalty for Michael Leoncini, who is listed on the Daytona event rosters as a hauler driver for GMS Racing’s No. 26 Chevrolet team in the Camping World Truck Series. Leoncini, 61, has been suspended indefinitely under Section 12.8.1.e of the NASCAR Rule Book, which details member actions such as discrimination or criminal charges/convictions that could result in suspension.

Posted on by Jerry Bonkowski

For nearly 40 years, Mark Martin was known as one of the toughest opponents in NASCAR. No matter if your name was Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt, Stewart or others, if you saw Martin’s car closing on you in your rearview mirror, you knew you were in for a battle.

But since retiring following the 2013 NASCAR Cup season, Martin has gotten far away from racing.

“I’m retired,” the 62-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer emphatically told NASCAR.com. “I’m really enjoying retired life, that’s really all I’ve got going on. I enjoy seeing and spending time with family and seeing friends and traveling and seeing the country. Arlene (his wife) and I have done a good bit of motor coaching.”

While Martin is far removed from the sport these days, he admits to missing one thing in particular.

“The thing I guess I really miss about racing is the people,” he said. “Working with a team was like a family, the energy of the fans and whatnot. So I kind of miss that. But 40 years of competing at the highest level, and digging as hard as I could possibly dig with every ounce of focus I had, I’m done with that.

“I’m not interested in competing in anything. I don’t even like to play cards or games or anything that requires competing.”

RELATED: Mark Martin’s career through the years

That doesn’t mean Martin has been forgotten by the racing community.

“People always say, ‘Well, just come and practice, come and test,’” he said. “I get offers all the time. I have no interest in driving a race car. I did it for over 40 years against the likes of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart for wins and championships and it was intense as hell. I don’t want to do it.”

That Martin walked away from the sport that consumed more than two-thirds of his life is somewhat surprising, given his competitive nature and his undying devotion and focus to chasing the checkered flag. If there was a race to be run, Martin was in it to win it.

“I did it to win, not because it was fun to go around in circles,” Martin said. “I did it because I was halfway good at that and I wasn’t good at anything else.

“I have to come to grips with it and live my life and enjoy it and have a good time and enjoy family and enjoy working on the mechanical stuff, especially with my motor home. … I just stay busy. I’m really happy with this chapter, where I’m at now and where I’m headed.”

Instead of driving close to 200 mph at places like Daytona and Talladega, Martin’s focus these days is on a much slower pace of life.

He sold his private jet, doesn’t fly anymore and is involved in a number of businesses, particularly around his Batesville, Arkansas, hometown.

“I don’t have anything interesting, I’m just Mr. Fixit every day,” he said with a laugh. “There’s always something. Really, to be honest with you, I spend 50 percent of my time fixing stuff that I tear up and probably another 25 percent fixing things that need to be fixed. … I just live a real calm and normal life.”

While racing was No. 1 on his priority list for four decades, today it’s barely a blip on his attention meter.

“I’m completely away from (NASCAR),” Martin said. “I mean, I know less about what’s going on than the average fan.

“I love racing with all my heart. It’s just something that I’m not interested in doing (anymore). I want to do other things. I want another chapter in my life before it closes. And in something that’s different than what I did the past 40 years.”

During his NASCAR career, Martin won nearly 100 races — including 40 in Cup and 49 in Xfinity — and capped off his outstanding tenure behind the wheel with his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017.

While proud and humbled to be selected, Martin admits “I was embarrassed because I didn’t feel like I belonged when I looked up at the banners of the Bill Frances, the Junior Johnsons, the Dale Earnhardts and Richard Pettys and Cale Yarboroughs, David Pearson. I didn’t feel worthy of being in that crowd, especially as early as I felt like I went in (was inducted).

“There were a lot of greats and heroes of mine that needed to go in before I went in. So, I was a little bit embarrassed, totally, completely humbled, and to this day, I’m still humbled by the fans and the way they supported me all through my career.”

RELATED: Mark Martin among 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class

Martin had numerous memorable wins in his NASCAR career, but none more noteworthy to him than the 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix Raceway, when he became only the fourth driver 50 years or older in the sport’s history to take the checkered flag. (The others are Harry Gant, 52; Morgan Shepherd, 51; and Bobby Allison, 50.)

“I just had this dream of experiencing winning one more time in my life,“ Martin said, “It was such an electrifying win with so much positive energy from (crew chief) Alan Gustafson and everybody on the team, Rick Hendrick, the fans, and especially all the competitors that came to Victory Lane.”

The win on the 1-mile Phoenix oval would spur him to earn four additional wins that year, finishing second in the championship battle to Jimmie Johnson.

Martin hung up his helmet after the 2013 season and he has never climbed back into a Cup car since. But he did finally scratch the racing itch in 2017 when he competed in a one-off, late-model race in Nova Scotia.

While Martin was happy to be back in a race car, the man renowned for setting high standards for himself in his NASCAR career was not happy with his finish (28th in the 30-driver field), seeing his day come to a premature end just 57 laps into the 250-lap event due to mechanical failure.

“I was not satisfied with my performance,” he said. “I actually wanted to just go up there and sign autographs and everything and didn’t want to race, but the only way we could make the deal work was for me to drive the car.”

While it’s been a while since Martin went to a Cup race, he loves to get back to his roots and take in events at local tracks around Batesville, as well as in locales when he’s traveling.

“I like the dirt races, especially the late model dirt series like the Lucas Oil (Late Model) Dirt Series,” he said. “I love the late models and keep up with them a lot. I’ll slip out to a local race track once in a while just to see grassroots people and kind of relate to where I came from.

“That’s the thing with me, just connecting or reconnecting with that like I was before all the NASCAR racing, just the kid that I was in Arkansas growing up before I jumped on that runaway freight train (of NASCAR). Just reconnecting to grassroots people and racers and people that have a passion for the same kind of things that I do: motor coaches, big trucks and car racing.”

Including his early days racing in American Speed Association, Martin competed in well over 1,200 races in his career. He faced the greatest drivers of all time, including the late Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon and so many more.

But when asked who was the toughest competitor he ever faced, Martin surprised with his answer.

“That might be Larry Phillips,” Martin said of the Springfield, Missouri, native who was a legend on short tracks primarily in the Midwest. “He was unbelievable, quite a guy. He gave me my first job. I worked for him in the ’70s, the summer of 1977, and raced against him every Friday and Saturday night of ’77.”

Phillips passed away in 2004 at the age of 62.

“You could look up his history,” Martin said of Phillips. “One year, he won like 93 percent or 88 percent of the NASCAR regional races he entered, but we can’t get him into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It’s unbelievable. I think his records beat anything or anywhere. It’s unbelievable what he did.”

Martin then added about Phillips, “He beat you with a slow car, maybe more often than Earnhardt would beat you with a slow car.”

Even though Martin has been out of NASCAR going on eight years, he remains a big fan favorite. Much of that popularity is due to his reputation as a tough competitor but also a driver who raced others cleanly and fairly.

“It is certainly humbling,” Martin said of his still large and loyal fan base. “I just always tried to stay real, tried to stay true to who I was and what I believed. I tried to be a man, tried to take my lumps like a man, and just tried to be fair on the race track. I raced hard, but I also raced very fair.

“And it endeared a lot of fans to me, I’m not sure why because I’m a pretty boring person.

“I did race hard and I tried hard. And I endured a lot of heartbreaks and failures along the way. I just feel like the fans supported me all through my career, beyond anything that I could have ever dreamed. And that’s why I still had rides up into my 50s when many don’t because of the fan support. It was just amazing and they had a huge hand in my success and especially in my longevity.”

Martin remains a recognizable figure, even in the most remote locales.

“The other day it was fueling my coach at a truck stop and the guy fueling his truck next to me said, ‘Hi, Mark,’” Martin said. “That was kind of unusual. I also have a strong social media presence with Twitter and Instagram and Facebook. … And the Twitter following is unbelievable, so I engage with the fans that way, more than most retired racers.”

“ … Things can change, but I don’t expect you to see me in a race car again. I have no desire to drive a race car. I’m enjoying another chapter in my life.”

To hear the full interview with Mark Martin, check out The Racing Beat on the BLEAV Podcast Network (BLEAV.com) and your favorite podcast platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more.

 The Mark Martin file:

* Age: 62

* Hometown: Batesville, Arkansas.

* NASCAR Cup Series career: 882 starts, 40 wins, 271 top-five and 453 top-10 finishes.

* Even though he never won a Cup championship, he did record five runner-up finishes in the drivers’ standings.

* NASCAR Xfinity career: 236 starts, 49 wins, 112 top-five and 152 top-10 finishes.

* First Cup season: 1981. Earned two poles in five starts, with a best finish of third at Martinsville Speedway.

* Last Cup season: 2013, when he retired at the age of 54. Competed in 28 of that season’s 36 races, with a season-best finish of third in the Daytona 500.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Michael McDowell opted not to go to sleep after his Daytona 500 victory in the early Monday hours. Besides the nervous energy of his first Cup Series win on NASCAR’s biggest stage, he reasoned a quick nap would only leave him out of sorts for the 500 champ’s day-after duties.

Even after McDowell’s late-race surge propelled him to his biggest triumph, he was still playing a form of catch-up as sunrise neared. “Every time I look down at my phone I have another 100 texts,” he said.

The 36-year-old veteran needed time to respond to all of the notes from all his well-wishers, and to host a video call from Victory Lane with his elated family, showing off the Harley J. Earl Trophy and his new champion’s ring. One of the phone calls McDowell received came from close friend Trevor Bayne, who notched his own breakthrough victory in the 500 some 10 years ago.

RELATED: McDowell prevails in 500 | Official race results

Bayne’s Daytona triumph came in just his second Cup Series start as a relative unknown; McDowell’s arrived in his 358th appearance as a journeyman who went off as a 66-1 long shot in the Vegas sportsbooks.

Both drivers shared a moment over the phone around 5 a.m. ET Monday morning, but they also shared a degree of surprise in their 500 victories. Still, there was a note of caution to avoid calling McDowell’s win a fluke — no less an authority than three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin said as much in a post-race tweet.

“I think we are underdogs, but when we come to Daytona I would consider us a top-five contender every time,” said McDowell, whose previous career best was fourth place at Daytona back in 2017, “and I don’t say that because I’m being boastful, I just say that because a majority of these races we’re in the top five when it comes down to those last five laps — no different than Denny and Joey and there are a handful of guys that seem to be able to get themselves in those positions, but the difference is I haven’t been able to close, I haven’t been able to get to Victory Lane.

“I’ve been able to get in that top 10 and that top five, so I do feel like we are underdogs from that standpoint, but I agree with Denny and I really appreciate what he says. That means a lot. I don’t think it’s a fluke because we do run up front at these races quite often and last night just worked out perfectly.”

After spending a few extra post-race hours at Daytona International Speedway on Monday morning, McDowell flew home to a warm welcome in North Carolina, where he was greeted by friends and fellow drivers, including longtime teammate David Ragan and fellow Ford pilot Aric Almirola.

MORE: Popular win among McDowell’s peers

Bob Jenkins, McDowell’s car owner at Front Row Motorsports, had jumped on a far earlier flight after Sunday’s race had been delayed by rain. With some of his family split between the track and a tour of Disney earlier Sunday, he opted to get them home and watched the conclusion on TV with his wife.

“Surreal,” Jenkins said when asked what it was like to see the final laps unfold and his No. 34 Ford team secure its third Cup Series victory. Ragan (2013, Talladega) and Chris Buescher (2016, Pocono) produced the other wins for Front Row Motorsports, now in its 17th season.

A fluke, though? Jenkins sides with Hamlin, especially as it relates to FRM’s superspeedway performance through the years.

“I know the average fan is surprised when we win a race, but it never surprises me,” Jenkins said Monday. “It’s taken a long time to get our third win and our first Daytona 500 win, but people don’t realize this is our third top five in the Daytona 500, and I just wanted to get that. It’s a lifetime goal. Obviously, you want to win championships, but you’ve got to win races first and I can’t imagine one bigger than the Daytona 500.”