Daily Archives: February 24, 2017

Kaz Grala Avoids Last-Lap Melee to Become Youngest Daytona Winner

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Kaz Grala is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk, Monday, February 27, 2017 at 8:40 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.

In the space of 100 laps, Kaz Grala went from youngest NASCAR national series pole winner at Daytona International Speedway to youngest NASCAR national series race winner at Daytona.

What happened between the first green flag and the checkers, however, could fill volumes.

Miraculously, Grala slipped through a wild wreck on the backstretch on the final lap of Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 to win the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race contested in stages under NASCAR’s new competition format. Continue reading →

Heading to the Rear for the Daytona 500

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Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, practices for the 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo – Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

With their primary cars damaged in Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel 150-mile qualifying races, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard and Ryan Blaney will start the Daytona 500 from the rear of the field in backup race cars.

They’ll be joined at the rear by three cars that failed to meet the minimum ride height requirement during inspection after the Duels. The two cars of JTG/Daugherty Racing—the No. 37 of Chris Buescher and the No. 47 of AJ Allmendinger—were demoted to the back of the field in their respective Duels, as was the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr.

Allmendinger lost the seven points he would have scored for his fourth-place finish in the second Duel, and Truex lost the four points he would have earned for finishing seventh in the first Duel. Continue reading →

NASCAR Celebrates Best Racing in Years with Return of Ready. Set. Race Marketing Campaign

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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Creative to Debut During 2017 DAYTONA 500

Following a season highlighted by some of the closest, side-by-side racing NASCAR® fans have seen in years, NASCAR today announced the return of its 2017 season launch marketing campaign, Ready. Set. Race.

The new integrated campaign, including television creative promoting the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™, will launch during the 2017 DAYTONA 500® on Feb. 26 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Continue reading →

Chevrolet Owners Contemplate a Surfeit of Young Talent in NASCAR Racing

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(L-R) Chevrolet executive Jim Campbell and Chevrolet team owners Richard Childress, Chip Ganassi, and Rick Hendrick preview the Daytona 500 during a press conference at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photo – Scott Hunter/Getty Images

Roughly 30 minutes after Chevrolet unveiled the Camaro ZL 1 that will pace Sunday’s Daytona 500 and announced four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon as its driver, Chevy brass and team owners gathered in the Daytona International Speedway media center to field questions from reporters.

Owners Richard Childress, Chip Ganassi and Rick Hendrick joined Jim Campbell, Chevy’s U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports, at the press session. One of the first topics to arise was the prospect of Jimmie Johnson winning a record-breaking eighth championship at NASCAR’s highest level.

Johnson won his seventh title last year to tie Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for most championships in the history of the series. Continue reading →