LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 21: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford, climbs into his car during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on February 21, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney was a bit frustrated Sunday having narrowly missed – again – a chance to hoist a winner’s trophy. Only two races into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season and Blaney has been a major factor in both checkered flags. But there is some solace for the popular and talented competitor. Blaney is the NASCAR Cup Series championship leader entering Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Auto Club Speedway.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 16: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, is introduced prior to the NASCAR Cup Series 62nd Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2020,in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In the hours before his final Daytona 500 start, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was riding bikes with his wife and two young daughters in the infield, enjoying the sunny Florida day and the good vibes before NASCAR’s highest-profile green flag flew.
On the grid before the race, Johnson’s daughters took turns sitting in the driver’s seat of their dad’s famed No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. And then moments later, their father rolled off and into the last Daytona 500 he’s scheduled to run before retiring at the end of the season.
For most of the day, Johnson kept the car upfront and looked absolutely ready to contend for his third Daytona 500 trophy… only to be collected in a late-race wreck while running in the top five. Johnson was caught in a 19-car accident with 16 laps remaining in the 200-lap race – a race won for the second consecutive time by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 15: Jeb Burton, driver of the #8 LS Tractor Chevrolet, prepares to pit during the NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Making the first of a handful of starts for the JR Motorsports team Jeb Burton won the first stage of Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300 Xfinity Series opener at Daytona International Speedway and led a race-best 26 laps only to get tangled in a late-race accident that derailed his shot a career-first victory.
With the racing ‘graduation’ of several of the last two season’s championship contenders – including two-time Xfinity champion Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, and John Hunter Nemechek all to the NASCAR Cup Series this year – the 2020 Xfinity championship field has a distinctive new competitive look.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 14: Natalie Decker, driver of the #44 N29 Technologies LLC Chevrolet, qualifies for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Niece Motorsport’s Natalie Decker was grinning widely before she even arrived at the many microphones and reporters ready to interview the Wisconsin driver following her historical run in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season-opener Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.
