Corey LaJoie is much more than an up-and-coming talent in the NASCAR Cup Series. He knows his way around a race car itself just as well as he knows his way around a race track, and he isn’t shy about offering his opinions.
LaJoie will share his passion of all things racing in the form of a new podcast on NASCAR.com, Stacking Pennies.
What is ‘stacking pennies?’ It’s about the tiny details, the small things that may seem unimportant but add up to the sum of something bigger. This podcast will be from LaJoie’s unfiltered perspective. What did he see behind the visor? What are his hot takes?
LaJoie won’t go at this alone. He will be joined by active NASCAR Cup Series pit crew member Skip Flores, who will go deep inside the pit-road world, as well as NASCAR.com’s Jonathan Merryman, who will join weekly to break down news and notes. Expect additional guests throughout the season as well.
Stacking Pennies will publish Wednesdays and can be found at NASCAR.com/stacking-pennies and your favorite podcast provider.
With Cars Week kicking off on Feb. 8, a new series of Disney and Pixar’s Cars NASCAR die-casts will be released starting next month.
Several of NASCAR’s top drivers will be featured in a new line of Cars die-casts. The first ones available will include 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and William Byron. The rest of the line is slated to include Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola and Kyle Busch.
In addition, there will be a new NASCAR-inspired die-cast car characters from Cars featuring Lightning McQueen, Jackson Storm, Mater, Luigi and Guido.
Each single NASCAR die-cast will be available for $4.99 at Walmart with waves coming out between now and next spring.
The three Cars films have held a special place in kids’ and parents hearts since the first film was released 15 years ago. All three films are currently streaming on Disney+.
The Daytona 500 will kick off the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season and feature a mix of new teams like Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing along with more established units such as Hendrick Motorsports, home to defending series champion Chase Elliott.
This year’s Daytona 500, the 63rd running of The Great American Race, is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 14, with a start time of 2:30 p.m. ET. TV coverage will be on FOX, with live streaming on FOX Sports Go and the radio call on MRN.
The Daytona 500 culminates Speedweeks, a full schedule of practice, qualifying and racing that includes action from all three NASCAR national series, as well as the ARCA Menards Series. Below is all you need to know for watching the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s crown jewel race:
The FOX broadcast will feature a new voice in the booth as former Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer joins NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and veteran play-by-play announcer Mike Joy. FOX is returning to a three-person booth after one year with a two-man setup following the retirement of Darrell Waltrip.
Bowyer and Gordon developed a rapport during broadcasts of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series last season when NASCAR paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FOX is looking to bring that banter over to NASCAR broadcasts as anticipation builds for the unpredictable Bowyer’s booth debut.
Larry McReynolds, America’s favorite crew chief, will continue to provide analysis for the FOX Sports booth from the network’s Charlotte studios.
Daytona 500 2021 TV schedule
The Daytona 500 culminates Daytona Speedweeks presented by Advent Health, six days of NASCAR action that starts on Tuesday, Feb. 9 with the Busch Clash at Daytona. The 43rd annual exhibition race will run on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile Daytona Road Course for the first time, and it will start under the lights at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. NASCAR drivers can qualify for the Busch Clash in a number of different ways.
Practices and qualifying sessions will return at Daytona. Last season, practices were canceled and lineups were set first by draw and then by a mathematical formula during the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, there will be practice and qualifying at select events, including the Daytona 500, as NASCAR continues to work with state, local and federal officials to ensure the safety of its competitors and spectators.
Here’s a look at the full Cup Series schedule of events for Speedweeks:
Setting the lineup is different for the Daytona 500 than any other NASCAR national series event. Busch Pole Qualifying, set for 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, Feb. 10, on FS1, will determine the front row for the main event. The two fastest times from single-car qualifying will line up on Row 1 on Sunday for the Daytona 500.
The rest of the lineup will mostly be determined by results of Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duels, starting at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. The winner of Duel 1 will line up in Row 2 behind the polesitter, with subsequent finishers in Duel 1 filling the odd-numbered slots throughout the 40-car field.
Meanwhile, the winner of Duel 2 will line up in Row 2 behind the second-fastest car in qualifying, with subsequent Duel 2 finishers filling out the rest of the even-numbered slots. The top Open (non-chartered) cars in Duel 1 and Duel 2 will fill the next slots, with any remaining open spots being filled by the best qualifiers.
All of this will lead to a full lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Daytona 500 2021 entry list
This Daytona 500 entry list is unofficial and subject to change:
See where your favorite driver will pit for Tuesday’s Busch Clash at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Fans should prepare to get even closer to the action starting this Sunday with the Daytona 500 when several new interactive elements are added to the NASCAR Mobile app. This season, fans will be able to enjoy features such as polls, predictions, a cheer meter, emoji sliders, and special alerts, all built to make the at home viewing experience even more social.
NASCAR has built this experience using LiveLike’s audience engagement platform, which brings a new level of interactivity to fans of live sports and entertainment. NASCAR is a leader among sports leagues in bringing immersive and innovative digital experiences for fans — and its new partnership with LiveLike is another great way that it is helping fans engage even deeper with the sport they love.
LiveLike’s platform works by being directly integrated into an existing application, powering further engagement and communication with fans, and retention, as well as monetization via brand sponsorships and increased conversion from free to premium/registered users. NASCAR joins other premier LiveLike partners that include Canal+, FloSports, FOX, La Liga North America, nugs.net (live music), Sky Sports (English Premier League soccer), Turner Sports (NBA Playoffs), and more.
BRISTOL, Tenn. —Landon Cassill will make a return to full-time competition with the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller stable, driving the No. 4 Blue-Emu Chevrolet Camaro in the season-opening NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
Cassill is looking to break back into the spotlight after a limited campaign behind the wheel in 2020. Although Cassill started just six NASCAR Xfinity Series races last season, he really made his mark utilizing the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series to remain competitive.
“I’m so excited to open up the new season with Blue-Emu on my car,” Landon Cassill said. “I’ve had a great relationship with many sponsors through my career, but Blue-Emu is a company that has truly taken me in as their own and I can’t thank them enough. We’ve accomplished so much together in the digital world, it feels meant to be to take them to the real world. This is the car that my fanbase has been waiting for.”
The Iowa-native racing veteran was ever-present in iRacing’s ecosystem in 2020 — some days logging more than 12 hours behind the wheel from his home in North Carolina. Blue-Emu was with him every step of the way — from the paint scheme on his virtual race car to the branding on his super sleek Sim rig seen on streaming in-car cameras.
“Last year presented every brand with a unique marketing challenge, and we were no different,” shared Benjamin Blessing, EVP of Marketing at Blue-Emu. “When Landon presented this opportunity for Daytona to us, this brought our story full circle. What a way to connect both worlds of racing: digital and live.”
iRacing and NASCAR have hosted virtual races through the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for more than a decade, so there was a natural progression to create the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series and bring fans competition virtually when real racing halted due to the global pandemic. Six of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series broadcasts are ranked the highest-rated eSports TV programs of all time and averaged more than 1.1 million viewers each week.
To keep up with Cassill, follow his social pages @LandonCassill, and visit his official website at www.LandonCassill.com. For Blue-Emu, follow along on our social pages @BlueEmu1 and visit www.Blue-Emu.com.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Multiple competitors tried, but no one was going to take the checkered flag away from Craig Lutz on Monday night at New Smyrna Speedway.
Lutz, a three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race winner, eventually held off Matt Hirschman to win the first Tour-Type Modified feature of the week during the 55th World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.
The New York native started from the pole following an eight-car invert, which put fast qualifier Hirschman in the eighth position at the start. The field was stacked with more than 30 cars after plans for a B-Main were scrapped due to a rain delay during the ARCA Menards Series East opener earlier in the evening.
The result was a caution-filled affair that forced Lutz to survive multiple restarts. The first caution flag of the evening was the most eventful as Jon McKennedy spun off the nerf bar of Ryan Preece coming out of turn two and down the backstretch.
McKennedy’s modified slid to a stop in the middle of the track, leaving several cars that arrived on the scene seconds later with nowhere to go. The eventual multi-car crash resulted in a lengthy red flag period for cleanup.
Every caution happened behind Lutz, but that doesn’t mean his evening was uneventful. He found himself having to fend off challenges from the likes of Patrick Emerling, Ron Silk and, eventually, Hirschman.
Hirschman was able to race his way into contention following a restart with nine laps left when he went from fourth to second. Another restart a few laps later saw Hirschman snatch the lead from Lutz, but officials deemed Hirschman jumped the start and he was forced to give the position back.
Multiple restarts would follow, but each time Lutz was able to fend off Hirschman’s advances to earn his second career World Series victory.
“This is the longest 50 laps I’ve ever raced,” Lutz said in victory lane. “It all worked out. My guys, we struggled a little bit in practice, but awesome group. My crew chief Doug Ogiejko put an awesome car together.
“It’s a big deal to win down here.”
Hirschman settled for second, with Silk coming home third. Six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby came from 21st to finish fourth, with two-time Southern Modified Tour champion Burt Myers taking fifth after starting 20th.
Tour-Type Modified (50 laps)
1. Craig Lutz, 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Ron Silk, 4. Doug Coby, 5. Burt Myers, 6. Anthony Nocella, 7. Ryan Preece, 8. Brian Robie, 9. Chris Finocchario, 10. David Sapienza
11. J.R. Bertuccio, 12. Danny Knoll Jr., 13. Buddy Charette, 14. Patrick Emerling, 15. Eric Goodale, 16. Matthew Galko, 17. Marcello Rufrano, 18. Chuck Hossfeld, 19. Chris Ridsdale, 20. Jeremy Gerstner
21. Jimmy Blewett, 22. Ronnie Williams, 23. Jim Gavek, 24. Bobby Jones, 25. Tom Martino Jr., 26. Zane Zeiner, 27. Timmy Catalano, 28. Amy Catalano, 29. Tyler Catalano, 30. Jon McKennedy
31. Tyler Rypkema, 32. Eddie McCarthy, 33. Stephen Kopcik, 34. Tommy Catalano, 35. Tyler Truex.
Setting the Daytona 500 lineup is different than any other NASCAR Cup Series event. The process begins with single-car qualifying on Wednesday night and continues in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday night.
What time is Daytona 500 single-car qualifying?
Each team on the Daytona 500 entry list will get a chance to put down a timed lap in single-car qualifying on Wednesday night at Daytona International Speedway. Qualifying is expected to get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET with television coverage on FS1 and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The fastest two cars in single-car qualifying at the 2.5-mile superspeedway will make up the front row for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The rest of the Daytona 500 starting lineup is determined by the Duel races.
Chevrolet has won the last eight Daytona 500 poles, dating back to Danica Patrick in 2013. The most recent pole winner was Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
A unique aspect of this year’s qualifying is that it is being held at night.
Single-car qualifying on Wednesday will set the front row for the Daytona 500. The duels will determine the majority of the rest of the lineup. For the start of the Daytona 500, the finishers from Duel 1 will line up on the inside row in order of their Duel finish. Meanwhile, the finishers from Duel 2 will line up up on the outside row in order of their Duel finish.
What is the duels format?
There are two separate duels races on Thursday night, each 60 laps or 150 miles in length. The lineup for the duels is set by Wednesday’s single-car qualifying. The odd-numbered finishers in single-car qualifying will line up in Duel 1, while the even-numbered finishers will line up in Duel 2 — although NASCAR will ensure there are an equal number of Open, or non-Charter teams, in each Duel race.
Duel 1 is expected to get underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday with television coverage on FS1 and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Duel 2 will begin roughly 20 minutes after the conclusion of Duel 1.
Can open teams qualify for the Daytona 500?
There are 36 teams with charters that are guaranteed to race in the Daytona 500. Open teams will fill the remaining four spots in the 40-car field. There are expected to be at least 44 cars on the entry list, so there could be at least eight teams vying for the final four spots.
The fastest open team in each duel race will gain entrance into the Daytona 500 field. The two open teams with the fastest times from single-car qualifying that didn’t qualify through the duels will fill the last two spots in the 40-car field.
Are points awarded in the duels?
Yes, the top-10 finishers in each of the duels will earn points. The first-place driver in each duel will get 10 points, the second-place driver nine points and so on down to the 10th-place driver, who will earn one point. However, no playoff points will be awarded in the duels.
What happens if there is a rainout?
If both duels are canceled because of weather conditions, then NASCAR officials will determine the four open teams by qualifying results.
If only the second duel is canceled, then the highest-finishing open team from the first duel and the three remaining fastest open teams from qualifying will advance.
In the event of a complete cancellation where the event can’t be the rescheduled, the lineup will be set by the NASCAR Rule Book.
Messages for drivers on the start-finish line are a special part of NASCAR fans’ pre-race rituals, especially for the Daytona 500. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not yet safe enough to have fans back on the track before the race to participate in the tradition.
The tradition will still live on, though, for this year’s 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX). In the absence of fans on the track to sign the start-finish line, NASCAR and Twitter will partner to paint select fan tweets directly onto the track.
Tweet a message to your favorite driver using #DAYTONA500 and your tweet may end up painted on the Start/Finish Line at @DAYTONA for The Great American Race! pic.twitter.com/wMjpOvxeuj
Starting at noon ET on Feb. 8, tweet us a message to your favorite driver using the #DAYTONA500 hashtag and your tweet may end up being painted on the start-finish line for The Great American Race. Eighty-five tweets will be selected for the honor.
Tweets printed will be photographed and sent back to the user, ensuring they know they were “there.” It’s part of Twitter’s goal to help fill the void of full stadiums and encourage users to engage in meaningful conversations during one of the biggest sporting events of the year.
The final tweets will be selected Feb. 10, so don’t delay on sending us your submissions. On Feb. 13, the tweets will be painted on the track in advance of the Daytona 500.
The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series kicks off its 2021 season Feb. 8 with a trip to the virtual Daytona International Speedway. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is this?
Now in its 12th season, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series features 40 of the world’s best sim racers competing head-to-head using the iRacing simulation platform, racing virtual replicas of NASCAR Cup Series cars on digital versions of real NASCAR tracks.
Who’s racing?
The Coca-Cola iRacing Series is comprised of 40 esports pros who qualified through iRacing’s ladder system. The top 20 drivers from last year’s Coca-Cola iRacing Series return, plus a new crop of talent graduating from the winter iRacing Pro Series.
No NASCAR Cup Series drivers are competing in the field — at least this year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Timmy Hill have competed — and qualified just like everybody else — in seasons past. (If you’re looking for NASCAR stars competing on iRacing, you might want to check out the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, which returns for 2021.)
The 40 Coca-Cola iRacing Series drivers teamed up over the winter with 20 real-world NASCAR teams and pro esports organizations to form this year’s lineup:
Ah, the big question. Glad you asked. This year, a record $330,000 is up for grabs over the 18-race season. 2020 champ Nick Ottinger walked away with $100,000 last year — not to mention a couple of other perks.
Received our @iRacing championship ring today! Pretty cool to receive all the stuff since Homestead last year and this ring is super cool!
• The 18-race schedule adds two new tracks, Circuit of the Americas and Road America.
• The season wraps up at Texas Motor Speedway for the first time ever.
• The playoff field expands from eight drivers to 10 drivers.
• A win-and-in format will be used to determine playoff drivers (assuming they’re ranked in the top 20 when the playoffs begin). Previously, drivers had to rank in the top eight to make the playoffs, regardless of win status.
• Four new teams have joined the series: McLaren Shadow, Elliott Sadler eSports, Spacestation Gaming and XSET. (And Denny Hamlin Racing will take over the 23XI Racing name.)
• Eleven rookies will make their debuts: Mitchell deJong, Ryan Doucette, Isaac Gann, Derek Justis, Garrett Manes, Jake Matheson, Zack Nichols, Femi Olat, Vicente Salas, Blade Whitt, and Steven Wilson.
What are the storylines?
The big prize. Everybody wants a piece of that $330,000. A new season means a fresh start, and that often means the opener at Daytona can set the tone for the season — take last year, for example, where the top three finishers all ended up racing their way into the playoffs (including eventual champ Nick Ottinger, who finished second by a nose).
A seat for next year. Priorities in the Coca-Cola iRacing Series are straightforward. If you can’t win the championship, make the playoffs. If you can’t make the playoffs, finish top 20 in points — and for good reason. The top 20 drivers are guaranteed a spot in the following year’s field. Sure, it’s a little early to start thinking about 2022, but expect to see drivers complete every lap of every race in order to dodge relegation. Finishing in the bottom half of the points standings means a driver will have to claw his or her way back up to the Coca-Cola iRacing Series over the winter, mixed in with up-and-coming talent in the iRacing Pro Series.
New teams. With Elliott Sadler Esports, McLaren Shadow, Spacestation Gaming and XSET throwing their hats (headsets?) into the ring, they’re going to expect success, even against the heavy hitters of the Coca-Cola iRacing Series. Like any racing series, there are sponsors to keep happy and there are names to be made.
A crowded rookie field. Over a quarter of the field will take the green flag for the first time at the top level Monday — an insanely full crop of rookies. Unproven talent mixed with plenty of series veterans makes for an interesting mix; it’s tough to predict which drivers will stand out and who will struggle. The 2020 Coca-Cola iRacing Series typically featured below-average caution counts — will inexperience, combined with the already-high stakes, create chaos?
Win-and-in playoffs. Unlike previous seasons, a win in the regular season will mean a driver nabs a spot in the 10-driver playoffs (assuming they finish top 20 in points). Previously, a driver had to put together a consistent season and finish the regular season top eight in points — regardless of win status. Consistency is still important, but a win from a driver who’s exceptionally good at superspeedways (draft-wizard Malik Ray comes to mind) could start the season off on the right note by making the playoffs right out of the gate with a Daytona win.
How do I watch?
The season opener at Daytona airs Monday, Feb. 8, at 9 p.m. ET.
