Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are in Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 on Sunday, April 9th. Television and radio coverage begins 1:30 pm ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Drivers will race 501 miles over 334 laps with Stage 1 ending on lap 85 and Stage 2 ending on lap 170. Continue reading
Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, stands on the grid before the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 26, 2017 in Fontana, California. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
When Corey LaJoie’s brush with the turn two wall brought out the sixth of seven cautions on lap 192 of a scheduled 200, Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn gambled.
They stayed out on old tires for a restart on lap 196, but only two other drivers, Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray, followed suit. That left race winner Kyle Larson in the fourth starting position, and one lap after the resumption of action, he had the lead. Continue reading
Daytona 500 pole winner Chase Elliott put an exclamation on his qualifying effort with a victory in Thursday night’s first Can-Am Duel at Daytona International Speedway.
Elliott passed second-place starter Brad Keselowski for the lead on lap 37 and held it the rest of the way—through a wreck that altered the positions of the two Open Team drivers trying to race their way into the field for the 59th running of the Great American Race.
In the second Duel, defending Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin got a huge push from Austin Dillon and passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the next-to-last lap to win the race by 0.214 seconds over Clint Bowyer, who was competing for the first time in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Continue reading
Photo – Getty Images
Christmas comes but once a year. The same is true of the unique qualifying format for the Daytona 500.
Unlike Christmas, however, the setting and ordering of the field for the Great American Race takes five days, from single-car qualifying on Sunday through the Can-Am Duel at Daytona twin 150-mile races on Thursday.
The basics are straightforward. Only two cars in Sunday’s time trails are locked into their starting positions for the Daytona 500—the pole winner and the car that qualifies on the outside of the front row.
Of the 42 entries for the race, 36 hold Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series charters and are guaranteed to compete on Feb. 26. That leaves six drivers fighting for the four remaining positions in the 500. Those drivers are Elliott Sadler, Timmy Hill, Reed Sorenson, Brendan Gaughan, Corey LaJoie and DJ Kennington.
Qualifying on Sunday sets the starting order for the Can-Am Duel races on Thursday, with the odd-number qualifiers (positions 1-3-5, etc.) running the first Duel, and even numbers competing in the second Duel.
The finishing positions in the Thursday races determine the starting positions for the 500, with the exception of the front row. The winner of the first Duel, which forms the inside row, starts third in the Great American Race, with the winner of the second Duel starting fourth, on the outside of the second row.
If either of the front row starters wins a Duel, then the second-row position goes to second place finisher in that particular Duel.
Open drivers, those competing without charters, have two avenues into the 500. The highest-finishing driver in each of the Can-Am Duels earns a starting position on Feb. 26. The final two positions go to the two fastest among the open drivers in Sunday’s time trials, if not already qualified through the Duels.
Aside from determining who’s fastest in single-car runs, this year’s qualifying session will provide several story lines of keen interest to NASCAR fans.
Guest include, NASCAR driver, Corey LaJoie with JGL Racing and Ranier Racing with MDM chatting about his top-ten XFINITY Series finish along with his victory in the K&N East at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past weekend.
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