Posted on by Jason Christley

Some race teams come back from New Smyrna with an idea of what they want to try for the rest of the racing season.

But most are just there to win.

Matt Hirschman has done a whole lot of that his last few years in Florida. His 2021 title was the third in the last four years during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing week at the Florida half-mile. Hirschman’s racing season model has been the same for years: no focus on a single series, but rather on the open events and a few Whelen Modified Tour races.

There’s a reason Hirschman is nicknamed “Big Money.”

In that sense, the week-long World Series championship is a cluster of open shows, one race after another for an entire week.

And when it’s money time, Hirschman is there: he’s won the Richie Evans Memorial 100 four of the last five years. He’s no slouch in the John Blewett III Memorial 76, either. Over the last five years, he’s won that event twice and finished second three times.

“It bridges the gap from 2020 to 2021, meaning from November to April it gets us back in race mode,” Hirschman says. “You just knock the rust off, so to speak. I don’t think I need that so much from the driving standpoint.

“It’s more of just working together with everyone, just being familiar with how we do things and the order in which we do things. I think it’s more beneficial from that standpoint.”

Hirschman hasn’t run more than four tour races since 2014, but won at New York’s Oswego Speedway in 2018 and lost an overtime thriller to Justin Bonsignore last year at New Hamphire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park. He non-committal on his 2021 tour schedule.

The 2021 season will take the green flag on Thursday, April 8, at Martinsville Speedway.

RELATED: Buy Tickets for Martinsville | 2021 Whelen Modified Schedule

New Smyrna has turned into a trophy battle between Hirschman and Ryan Preece.

Since 2015, either Hirschman (2017, 2019-21) or Preece (2015-16, ’18) have won the Richie Evans Memorial 100. In that span – covering 34 tour-type Modified races overall – Preece has 11 wins and Hirschman eight.

Hirschman swept the Richie Evans Memorial and week-long titles in 2020 and ’21, while Preece did it in 2015 and ’16. In 2017, Hirschman on the tace and Preece the title, and in 2018, Preece won the race and Hirschman the title.

You have to go back to 2014, when Justin Bonsignore won the Richie Evans Memorial and Ron Silk the championship to find someone other than Preece or Hirschman holding the trophy.

For Silk, racing at New Smyrna all about winning and having fun.

Silk is one of just four drivers — along with Ted Christopher, Jimmy Spencer and Preece — to win both a Tour title and a World Series title.

No driver in the modern-tour era has won the World Series and the tour in the same year. Richie Evans, in 1984, is the last driver to win both the World Series and NASCAR Modified title in the same year.

Steve Park won the championship at New Smyrna in 1992 and ’93, and then finished second on the tour in 1995 and ’96. Reggie Ruggiero finished second on the tour seven times, including 1987 and ’89 when he won the New Smyrna championship.

Christopher, who won nine tour-type Modified titles and split one SK Modified title at New Smyrna, finished third behind champion Jimmy Blewett and runner-up Hossfeld in 2008, when he went on to win his only tour title.

Recent Whelen Modified Tour champions have eschewed the World Series. New York’s Justin Bonsignore, who won his second tour title in three years in 2020, hasn’t raced New Smyrna since 2017. He has three wins there, including one in 2015 when he was World Series runner-up. Similarly, six-time tour champion Doug Coby made one start in 2014, ran five nights and finished fifth in points in 2019 and ran two nights this year.

While Silk didn’t win a race this year, he was competitive all week and ended up in a three-way tie for second in the points with Eric Goodale and Ryan Preece.

The week is a break from the snow and ice up north the Modified community sees every winter. Add five nights of racing, and it’s a hard combination to beat in February for Silk.

“The weather sucks up here [in the winter],” Silk says. “Obviously, we race because we love racing, so we can’t race up here. It’s a good week.

“Vacation’s the wrong word because it’s a lot of work, but your regular daily routine just kind of comes to a grinding halt. You’re in an alternate reality for a week where you’re just racing every day and hanging out with your buddies. It’s a great time to get away and go do that.”

While the championship indicators may not be there at New Smyrna, the health of Modified racing bodes well for an exciting 2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. Patrick Emerling and Craig Lutz finished fifth and sixth this year at New Smyrna, with both picking up wins. Anthony Nocella proved to be competitive all week, while Jon McKennedy collected three top fives.

The World Series coming and going is a sign of something else, too: the racing season up north is on the horizon. The Whelen Modified Tour opener at Martinsville Speedway is set to go in less than seven weeks. Unlike Hirschman, Silk will be on the Tour full-time competing for a second championship.

“I’d be hungry either way, but you’ve got the feeling of racing again,” Silk says. “Really, it’s not going to be too much longer before we’re back.”

Cars race during the John Blewett III memorial tour Modified race at the New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Florida on February 10, 2021. (James Gilbert/ARCA Racing)
It was an up-and-down week for some Modified drivers at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway. (James Gilbert/NASCAR)
Posted on by Zack Albert

Coach Joe Gibbs was on the right side of two first-time victory celebrations last weekend, both delivered by two of the younger prospects in his racing operation’s system at Daytona International Speedway’s road course.

The Cup Series capper came Sunday from Christopher Bell, who validated his credentials as a can’t-miss prospect homegrown within Toyota’s development pipeline. Saturday’s Xfinity Series win was homegrown, too, but within Gibbs’ close-knit family — his 18-year-old grandson, Ty, did the honors in his series debut.

RELATED: First wins at Joe Gibbs Racing

It all came against the backdrop of what would have been J.D. Gibbs’ 52nd birthday Sunday. The coach’s son died in January 2019 after a long battle with a neurological condition, but his spirit and influence as a team executive remain a prominent part of Joe Gibbs Racing’s ongoing success.

“This is J.D.’s birthday today. Our family back home is celebrating it,” Coach Gibbs said after Sunday’s triumph with Bell. “There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. Of course, any parent or grandparent out there would know what it feels like when you have that heartbreak. But J.D. spent his whole occupational life building our race team. So I think he’s getting a full view of it right now. I think he’s loving it. We sure miss him. I think everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing misses him.”

Part of J.D. Gibbs’ multi-faceted legacy at JGR was his knack for assembling winning pieces on the driver roster. The organization is stocked with two former champions in Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., and with longtime title contender Denny Hamlin — all three respected veteran presences in the Cup Series garage. This weekend, the wins came all the same, but from newer contributors to the JGR effort.

Before his breakthrough, the 26-year-old Bell endured two forms of adversity — one longer-reaching and the other shorter. The long-term doldrums came in an uneven rookie campaign last year at Leavine Family Racing before leaving that affiliate for the JGR mothership this season. “Just the highs and lows,” Bell said. “Last year was very disheartening for me.”

The short-term ill was his role in sparking a massive pileup in the 2021 season-opening Daytona 500, his first race in JGR’s No. 20 ride. With twists and additional turns added to the Daytona venue a week later, Bell drove masterfully in avoiding the late-race minefield that thwarted several worthy contenders.

His team owner called it a “statement victory.” The Oklahoma native was reluctant to tout his accomplishment in quite the same way.

“I don’t know. I’d say that’s more for other people to say than me,” said Bell, who won in his 38th Cup Series start. “I knew going to Joe Gibbs Racing that this is my time. I’m either going to put up or shut up. I’m very grateful for how it’s played out so far between the first two weeks.”

Saturday’s prelude was every bit as special for the 80-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer. Ty Gibbs had racked up eight ARCA Menards Series victories during the last two seasons, but expectations were more muted in his jump to Xfinity Series competition, despite having a strong steed in the No. 54 Toyota.

The teenager remained poised through multiple restarts and overtimes, surging after an off-track dip and holding off defending Xfinity Series champ Austin Cindric down the stretch. He was tearful as he searched for ways to express his feelings post-race, but was also quick to apologize for and take ownership of an interview he’d done at the same track a week before. In those post-race remarks, the young Gibbs spouted off after a fourth-place ARCA finish, drawing detractors that included JGR alum and Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett; one week later, a measure of accountability resonated within the joy.

His performance meant the first of his grandfather’s own back-to-back interviews as the winning team owner during Daytona’s road-racing weekend. Gibbs’ next generation of drivers signaled their arrival, and the family’s sense of pride swelled amid the memorable milestones.

“Everybody out there that’s a parent or a grandparent knows what I’m talking about,” the elder Gibbs said after Saturday’s victory. “It’s great when you see people achieve things, particularly on our race team and everything, but then you look and it’s your grandson. Everybody knows the experience and thrill that we have when our kids do things that are special. I think every parent or grandparent out there knows what I’m talking about. It’s just a thrill for us.

“I think back, we’ve had certainly some tough stuff in our family over the last three years with J.D., but to have this experience tonight is really special and different for us.”

Posted on by Terrin Waack

For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, crew chief Adam Stevens celebrated a race win with a driver other than Kyle Busch. Stevens helped sophomore Christopher Bell put the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in Victory Lane on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway after Bell conquered the track’s road-course layout. The win marked Bell’s first and Stevens’ 29th.

Stevens won only one race in 2020, and it was the third-to-last event. This victory came in just the second race of the 2021 schedule.

“I generally don’t self-analyze career milestones or achievements,” Stevens said in a post-race Zoom teleconference. “I can tell you it felt really good. I’m beyond thrilled for Bell and beyond thrilled for all my team guys. … We’re all learning each other. Everyone is doing such a good job with such a good attitude. That’s what feels good to me. Certainly less about me.

“It always feels good to win. It’s nice to be reminded we’re doing the right things and we’re doing them the right way.”

RELATED: Race results | Christopher Bell wins Daytona Road Course

The Busch-Stevens duo split during the offseason after six full-time seasons together at NASCAR’s top division. Their shared record included two championships (2015 and 2019) and 28 wins. They also worked together in the Xfinity Series, tallying an additional 19 victories.

Busch now has Ben Beshore atop the No. 18 pit box.

Bell is in just his second season in the Cup Series, his first with Joe Gibbs Racing. As a rookie, Bell competed for Leavine Family Racing in its No. 95 Toyota, but LFR shut its operation’s doors at the end of last year, prompting the move to JGR.

The biggest difference between working with Bell now compared to Busch before is the experience level. That was to be expected, though.

“We have to spend a lot of time talking about how we’re going to operate and what makes a good weekend, what makes a bad weekend — lessons we can learn from,” Stevens said. “You can learn from bad days just as easy as you can learn from a good day. You have to be ready to pull those lessons out. Just a lot of time communicating, laying the foundation for us to do great things in the future.”

Seems like it’s working.

Bell is now qualified to run in the NASCAR Playoffs. He didn’t make the 16-driver postseason field in 2020, finishing the season 20th in the final standings.

“I didn’t imagine we’d win our second race together, but happy to do so,” Stevens said. “It definitely changes the whole season — how you approach the season, what your obstacles might be. Now that we have one under our belt, I think we can get a few more.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott’s four-race win streak on Cup Series road courses ended with a thud after an eventful Sunday on Daytona International Speedway’s 3.61-mile circuit.

RELATED: Official results

Elliott spun with six laps remaining in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 in a close contest with Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin, dropping him out of the top five and relegating him to a 21st-place finish.

Elliott, the defending series champion, started from the pole position and won the first stage. He led 44 of the 70 laps, but was shuffled back to 14th in the running order for a restart with 13 laps to go.

Elliott eventually drove back to fourth place despite an off-course slip that covered the grille of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with grass and later contact with Corey LaJoie’s No. 7, but his Turn 6 stack-up on Lap 64 sent his car around and ended his victory hopes.

MORE: Elliott makes insane save

Elliott was among the drivers who pitted after a caution flag flew for rain on Lap 56, but he was unable to regain ground as efficiently as eventual race winner Christopher Bell.

“When you have those late-race cautions like that and you have a mixed bag of who stays and who goes, it’s a bit of a gamble either way, I felt like,” Elliott said. “I thought (changing) tires was the right move. Tires won the race, so I think it was the right move. You get back in traffic and it just gets to be so chaotic, and then just depending on who gets through and who doesn’t kind of determines how it’s going to shake out.

“I hate it. I made too many mistakes. We went off track and it was just a bad deal. We had a fast NAPA Chevy and I appreciate the effort. I hate it for Corey. He ran me off there, so I thought he was going to take the lane again, so I went to cross him over and I think that time he was actually going to give me the lane. So, go figure. But we’ll try again next week.”

Elliott’s run dated back to August 2019, when he prevailed at Watkins Glen International. He followed that with victories on a pair of oval-road layouts — two at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and one in the Daytona Road Course’s debut last August.

Former Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon still holds the record for most consecutive road-course wins with six straight from 1997-2000.

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — For the second consecutive week, Daytona International Speedway crowned a first-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell earned the honor Sunday on the track’s road course, taking the lead from Joey Logano with two laps to go and pulling away to a comfortable 2.119-second victory over the former series champion.

Bell, 26, is the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and this is his second season at the premier level — his first driving for the championship Gibbs organization. His work Sunday, however, was more reminiscent of a veteran. There were eight caution flags, eight race leaders and a whole lot of action in the waning laps.

RELATED: Official race results | At-track photos

Bell pulled around Logano in the chicane just yards before the white flag and easily stretched the lead to earn his first career NASCAR Cup Series trophy. Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin finished third, followed by Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski.

Kevin Harvick, AJ Allmendinger, last week’s Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell — also a first-time winner this season — Ryan Preece and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 10. This is just third time in NASCAR Cup Series history the season has started with two first-time winners — joining 1949 and 1950.

“This is definitely one of the highlights of my life so far,” a smiling Bell said after climbing off the roof of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, where he flashed the No. 1 sign to the grandstands.

“Just so incredibly thankful to be here with Joe Gibbs Racing and all our partners. This feels like I prepared my whole life for this moment to race in the Cup Series. Last year was a huge learning curve for me, and I’m very grateful I got the opportunity to run in Cup and it definitely prepared me to move to Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Bell’s pass for the win capped a suspenseful final dozen laps. Defending race winner and reigning series champion Chase Elliott led a race-best 44 laps but was caught up in heavy traffic after his final pit stop with 15 laps remaining. He won Stage 1 and was running fifth — rallying back to the front with six laps to go when he spun out in the infield — a victim of a chain-reaction collision in the fender-to-fender racing at the time. He ultimately came home 21st — snapping a four-race road-course victory streak.

“Man, we had those late-race cautions like that and a mixed bag of who stays and who goes,” said Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“It’s a bit of a gamble either way I felt like. I think (pitting for) tires was the right move. Tires won the race. So it was the right move. You get back in traffic and gets to be so chaotic.

“Who gets through and who doesn’t just kinda determines how it’s going to shake out.”

RELATED: Watch Chase Elliott’s great save | Contact from Hamlin derails Elliott’s run

For much of the 70-lap race Elliott paced the field, making up ground when needed and often putting on a road-course tutorial. Hamlin stayed close and kept him honest, ultimately coming home third. Logano ran among the top five for much of the race and took the lead on Lap 63 when other cars pitted for fresh tires.

“He’s the one that got through with tires,” Logano said of Bell. “One more caution lap would have been enough to have a door-to-door finish across the line maybe.

With his maiden win, Bell is now ranked fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. Hamlin, who won Stage 2, leads the series standings by 12 points over Logano heading to the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I just kept doing what I was doing all day long,” Bell said of the career milestone. “Whenever we took the green flag, I felt like I was really patient. Kyle (Busch) tried to go three-wide around me at the start. I knew that I was OK. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) kept asking what I needed in the car and I didn’t really need anything. Just took my time to get going, get up to speed and really proud to be here.”

Note: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed without major issue. NASCAR officials found one unsecured lug nut on each the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of race winner Bell and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford of Keselowski.

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, Feb. 22
Midnight, NASAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS1
12:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: BestBrake Brake Pads 159 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
4:30 a.m., NASAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Superstart Batteries 188 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
9 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS2

Tuesday, Feb. 23
Midnight, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: BestBrake Brake Pads 159 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, Feb. 24
10 a.m., The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: BestBrake Brake Pads 159 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Superstart Batteries 188 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, Feb. 25
4 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Larry McReynolds (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Randy and Corey LaJoie (re-air), NBCSN
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, Feb. 26
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, Feb. 27
5 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS2
4 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity at Homestead-Miami, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
10 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami

Sunday, Feb. 28
Midnight, NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS2
1 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS2
4 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Homestead (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami, FOX (Canada: TSN 5)
11 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami

Posted on by Holly Cain

Ty Gibbs turned in a historic NASCAR Xfinity Series debut Saturday night as the 18-year-old won in his first series start, holding off reigning champion Austin Cindric on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Gibbs took the lead on a restart in double overtime and held off the field by a comfortable 1.726 seconds at the finish line, dropping to his knees to reflect after climbing out of his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – a car owned by his grandfather, NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Daytona

With his win in the Super Start Batteries 188 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly, Gibbs becomes only the sixth driver to win in his first series start – matching a feat achieved by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in 1982 and most recently, Kurt Busch, 15 years ago.

Gibbs becomes the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series road course event. At 18 years, 4 months, 16 days, he breaks the record most recently held by Cindric (20 years old).

By most measures, it was an emotional victory after an intense, exciting race on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course. Cindric led the most laps (29 of the 56) but could not catch Gibbs in the end.

“I just cannot thank everybody right now, really this is like a dream come true for me, it’s just awesome,” said an emotional Gibbs, who turned his first-ever laps in the car and made his first career live pit stop Saturday evening.

“I really didn’t think I had it there,” he said of the intense racing at the end. “I fought back and we won.”

RELATED: Gibbs emotional after first career win

Gibbs teammates Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones finished third and fourth, followed by Jeb Burton and another member of the JGR family, Harrison Burton. Miguel Paludo, Brandon Brown, Justin Haley, and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10.

A victory for Cindric would have been his second in as many races in 2021 and he turned in an inspired drive back to the front to contend for the win. He and AJ Allmendinger – another road course racing star – collided while running first and second heading to the Stage 1 checkered flag. Allmendinger’s car was badly damaged and he ran laps down the remainder of the race.

Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford was damaged as well, but the team made repairs and Cindric went to work. He returned to the race after multiple pit stops in 33rd place, but still on the lead lap. His road racing skills and the team’s strategy calls ultimately put him in position to contend for the win.

“Obviously I don’t want to be racing to a stage that aggressively, I’d love to see a replay and hopefully we can avoid something like that because obviously AJ and I were going to be fighting for a win later,” Cindric said. “I hated having that much damage to our PPG Ford Mustang that early. Just seemed like he was trying to block there, don’t know if he knew I was there or not. Sucks it’s over with and we salvaged a good finish. Congratulations to Ty.”

MORE: Cindric, Allmendinger clash in Stage 1

Gibbs’ grandfather, who owns the team, climbed down from the pit box and stood behind it to watch the final moments of the race. During a late-race pit stop, the teenager Ty was asking his team for peanut butter crackers. An hour later, he was hoisting the biggest trophy of his young career.

“I don’t even know how to feel,” the younger Gibbs said. “This is really hard for me to explain. After my uncle [JGR President J.D. Gibbs] passed away, it’s been hard for me. It’s just a dream come true. I’m just rambling. I’m excited. Mixed emotions for sure. This is just awesome.”

Of his tight-knit family, Gibbs again wiped tears.

“The family is everything to me, they do so much for me,” said Gibbs, who also won Stage 2. “I just can’t thank them enough, this is just amazing; this is a dream come true. It’s all the man above, I’m sorry I’m a wreck. I didn’t think this was going to happen at all. This is awesome, I can’t thank everybody enough watching and last week I had a terrible interview. I want to apologize for everybody, I just can’t thank everybody enough. This is just amazing.”

Following the second race of the season, Cindric holds the points lead by 24 markers over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton in second.

The Xfinity Series’ next race is the Contender Boats 250, scheduled next Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Notes: There were no issues in post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage at Daytona. … Hemric was forced to drop to the rear of the field for the start after his No. 18 JGR Toyota failed pre-race inspection three times. He had been scheduled to start fifth in the 40-car field.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger stood atop the heap of pre-race favorites in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, given their road-racing prowess and familiarity with the 3.61-mile layout at Daytona International Speedway.

Both of their cars, though, nearly went from top of the heap to the scrap heap after a rapidly escalating tussle at the end of the Super Start Batteries 188’s first stage. Cindric charged back to net a runner-up finish to first-time winner Ty Gibbs, minus the right-front fender of his Team Penske No. 22 Ford. Allmendinger fared worse with an off-course ricochet that left his Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet in 35th place, 13 laps down.

Cindric had designs on opening his Xfinity Series title defense by going 2-for-2 in the victory column, following his triumph last Saturday in the season-opening event on Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval. Instead, he was left with the prospect of processing his on-track tangle with Allmendinger, who has moved to a full-time slate this year after three straight seasons on a partial schedule.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Daytona

“I doubt it,” Cindric said when asked if any resentment might linger. “I think he and I should talk about it, just to understand obviously we had two really great cars capable of winning the race. Definitely damaged mine, and I never saw him the rest of the afternoon, so I’m sure that obviously affected his chance of winning the race, so it’s frustrating but I think we can both learn from it and try not to do that again.

“He’s a grown-up, he’s been around. I’m sure we can talk it out and figure out how to do better going forward.”

Cindric led the first 10 laps in the first stage before giving way to Allmendinger. Cindric chased Allmendinger through the final chicane, and then dove to the inside groove headed to the start/finish line as the green-checkered flag flew.

Allmendinger kept his car tight on Cindric’s and the two came together in their contest for the lead. Allmendinger’s No. 16 entry took the brunt of it with a spin into the infield grass, and Cindric sustained his front-end damage just before capturing the Stage 1 win.

Riley Herbst’s No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was sidelined after his own infield excursion to avoid Allmendinger’s car. Both Cindric and Allmendinger continued, with Cindric rallying for stage points in Stage 2 and Allmendinger losing several laps in the garage. Allmendinger had met the minimum speed before the team opted for repairs behind the pit wall.

Cindric, however, stayed in contention after his own team’s trusty repairs, jumping up to lead Laps 36-51 before pitting during a late caution period. That left him lined up 10th for the first overtime attempt and — after a chaotic Turn 3 jumble — sixth for the second OT. He picked his way up to second place, his eventual finishing spot, but didn’t have quite enough for rookie Gibbs.

“All in all, I’m not sure how avoidable any of tonight’s circumstances were,” Cindric said. “We still put ourselves in position to win the race at the end. Just wasn’t in the cards.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The following article is brought to you by BetMGM.

There will be a NASCAR Cup Series points race on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course for the second straight year. That had never happened before unless, of course, you count the pre-1959 beach and road-course races at Daytona Beach, Florida.

With the challenges of COVID-19, the traditional second race of the season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, had to be moved. A new venue had to be chosen. So all three NASCAR series will run on the Daytona Road Course this weekend, and Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) promises to be a wild NASCAR Cup Series points race.

So, who is good here? While restrictor-plate race finishes are tough to forecast, road-course racing can be a bit more predictable. There are several veteran drivers who are pretty darn good at it, and there are veterans who quietly would rather skip road courses. It’s an acquired taste, so to speak.

How are things sizing up for this weekend? BetMGM takes a look.

RELATED: NASCAR Bet Center | See the betting odds for Sunday’s race from BetMGM

THE FAVORITE

Chase Elliott +200

Like father, like son. Right? Back in 1983, a 28-year-old Bill Elliott won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Riverside International Speedway — a road-course track in Southern California that is no longer on the circuit. The elder Elliott went on to a 44-win career in NASCAR’s top division, and the driver is now in the sport’s Hall of Fame.

His son seems to have a similar skill set when it comes to his affinity for certain types of tracks. Chase Elliott has now won four straight road-course races at the top level, including both last year (the COVID-19 improvised races at the Daytona Road Course and Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, since Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International couldn’t host races). The younger Elliott also captured the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2020.

Summary? He’s pretty good at all kinds of NASCAR tracks, whereas some of his top competitors don’t enjoy road courses or superspeedways. But as any stock-car racing fan knows, you need to have Swiss Army knife talent if you want to conquer this level and win a Cup. Otherwise, it’s like you’re missing some chips, racing-wise.

Elliott isn’t missing any of those qualities. He’s the clear-cut favorite this weekend in Daytona at 2-1 odds.

OTHERS: Both Martin Truex, Jr. (+400) and Denny Hamlin (+1000) have had strong records at road courses. Since 2017, Truex has won three races at NASCAR’s typical road-course venues — Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Hamlin won at Watkins Glen in 2016 and has three top-five road-course finishes in the past two seasons.

RELATED: All-time road course winners in NASCAR

THE DARK-HORSE THREAT

AJ Allmendinger +1400

Who are we kidding? A.J. Allmendinger is in NASCAR Cup Series racing because of road courses. The man can just flat-out wheel a race car when it comes to turning left and right (not common in stock-car racing).

No, he won’t be a full-time racer in the series this year. Does that matter a lick? Absolutely not. His lone NASCAR Cup Series win came at Watkins Glen in 2014.

Of his 57 top-10 finishes in the top NASCAR series, nine have come at road-course tracks, and there is not an abundance of road-course tracks to collect top 10s from. His other strength is racing on superspeedways. That accounts for another nine of his career top 10s. When it comes to non-vanilla, quirky tracks? Allmendinger is one of the best. Superspeedways and road courses don’t scare him.

Keep an eye on the ‘Dinger this weekend. He may not be driving a big-name team’s equipment, but that has never hurt him before.

OTHERS: More established veterans like Kevin Harvick (+1200) and Joey Logano (+1400) are known commodities in the road-course racing universe. They’ve both proven they can win races in this format. William Byron (+2000) has three straight top 10s, too.

THE INTRIGUING LONG SHOT

Erik Jones +6600

Don’t be fooled by the odds. This kid can race. He’s especially effective when he’s away from the cookie-cutter oval tracks and can improvise. He finished 11th last year on the Daytona Road Course and had top-10 finishes in five road-course races before that. He’s in new equipment this year with Richard Petty Motorsports, but he’s good in whatever equipment he’s in.

While Petty’s equipment is new for Jones, it is not a bad ride to be in. Just ask former road-course ringer, Marcos Ambrose. He won two Cup road-course races in the past 10 years in Petty cars. If a driver has the talent, he or she can win a road-course race with Petty. Ambrose and Allmendinger know it well.

If you like long shots who have a track record (pun intended), how about 66-1 for a guy who has done some things on these tricky tracks?

OTHERS: Nobody expected Michael McDowell to win the Daytona 500, but it happened. Well, this weekend’s race is at Daytona, so maybe it could happen again. Alex Bowman (+2500) hasn’t been too shabby the past two years on road courses, averaging a 10th-place finish in five tries. Matt DiBenedetto (+5000) had two top 10s in 2019. And hey, don’t forget Chris Buescher (+12500) was fifth last year on the Daytona Road Course.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Sheldon Creed won the Camping World Truck Series’ first crack at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course last August, calling his Triple Truck Challenge bonus cash-in “rad.” The second go-round on the 3.61-mile circuit was gnarly in its own mixed-fortune way, but the defending series champion still contended for victory Friday night in the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159.

RELATED: Official race results | At-track photos: Daytona

Creed led a race-high 17 of 51 laps, finishing second in his GMS Racing No. 2 Chevrolet. The only driver placing in front of him was Ben Rhodes, who claimed his second straight victory to open the season. In doing so, he stoked the flames of a developing rivalry after their late-race contact and Rhodes’ clinching pass on Lap 45 prompted testy post-race remarks between the two.

“I was actually not very happy with that,” said Creed, who finished sixth in the Daytona season opener last weekend. “I feel like I passed him for the lead really cleanly and left him room and gave him room, and he just drove into me in (Turn) 1 on the restart. I don’t know. I’ll remember that down the road when we’re racing hard again, and he might be on the other end of that deal. I don’t know. Frustrated to run second, I guess.”

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

Rhodes was frustrated in his own right, and his radio communications to his ThorSport Racing No. 99 team sizzled for much of the night. Rhodes chalked some of the angst to a temper he inherited from his family, but he was also irked by what he perceived as Creed’s unwillingness to share the road and some history of confrontation between their camps.

“I’m going to choose my words carefully here for Sheldon because I’m not exactly sure what he meant by that because the guy did try to run me on the straightaway off of the race track, so I don’t know exactly what he means by that,” Rhodes said. “We’re all slipping and sliding out of control in Turn 1. I mean, two times down the chute from (Turns) 3 to 4, he tried to run me off the track and then did it from (Turns) 5 to 6. And let’s not forget that at Eldora (Speedway) in 2019, the guy did door-slam me into the wall and total a truck at Eldora for seventh place.

“So, this is a win, and I didn’t total his truck out, nor did I wreck him, so I don’t know what his problem is, but he can get over it.”

Creed experienced pitfalls before the conflict with Rhodes ever materialized. His lead was threatened by a significant bump as he placed Bobby Reuse’s No. 3 Chevy a lap down on Lap 16. He also made the unusual error of dropping from first to fifth during a Stage 3 yellow flag, failing to maintain proper pace in an effort to save fuel down the stretch.

That was the downside. On the positive part of the equation, his prospects for sponsorship were looking up once Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis left word for Creed to reach out to talk about backing for his No. 2 GMS entry.

“That’s good to hear,” Creed said. “I’m gonna have to give him a call on Monday morning.”