Tag Archives: Daytona 500

NASCAR XFINITY Series PowerShares 300 at Daytona Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series teams will race 300 miles over 120 laps in the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, February 25, 2017. FOX Sports 1 coverage begins at 3 pm ET with the green flag around 3:30 pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Joe Gibbs Racing Goes for Six – After capturing its fifth NASCAR XFINITY Series owner title last season (2008, ’09, ’10, ’12 and ’16) the JGR organization immediately turned its attention to number six. This season Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Matt Tifft and Daniel Suarez will contribute to the owner title winning cause. Jones, Tifft and Suarez will be competing this weekend at Daytona. Gibbs has four NASCAR XFINITY Series Daytona wins, but only once in the season opener (Tony Stewart, 2008). Continue reading →

Teamwork is the Mantra for Ford Racing as 2017 Season Begins

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If there truly is strength in numbers, then Ford’s presence in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has grown in magnitude with the addition of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four-car organization.

The benefit was immediately obvious. Stewart-Haas’ Kevin Harvick, driving a Ford in the heat of battle for the first time, helped former nemesis Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski break up a four-car Toyota train at the front of the field in last Saturday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona, the season-opening exhibition race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Continue reading →

Passion to Race Drives Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Return to the Track

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photo – Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt “wobbly” and didn’t know why.

In his motor coach last July at Kentucky Speedway, Earnhardt felt the first hint of the concussion symptoms that would keep him out of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the last half of the 2016 season.

He voiced his concerns to fiancée Amy Reimann. Continue reading →

Racing Icon Mario Andretti Named Honorary Race Official for DAYTONA 500

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Photo – Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Daytona International Speedway to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Andretti’s 1967 DAYTONA 500 Victory

Mario Andretti, who along with A.J. Foyt, Jamie McMurray and most recently Jeff Gordon, are the only drivers to win both the DAYTONA 500 and the Rolex 24 At Daytona, will serve as a Honorary Race Official for the 59th annual DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, Feb. 26 (FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN Radio and SiriusXM Radio), the opening race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Andretti and Daytona International Speedway will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of his epic 1967 DAYTONA 500 triumph throughout Speedweeks 2017. As part of his Honorary Race Official duties for “The Great American Race,” Andretti will be introduced at the drivers’ meeting, participate in pre-race ceremonies, ride in one of the parade cars and take part in question-and-answer sessions in fan hospitality areas and the UNOH Fanzone.

In addition, a replica of Andretti’s 1967 DAYTONA 500-winning No. 11 Holman-Moody Ford will be on display on DAYTONA 500 Weekend in the UNOH Fanzone.

“It’s an honor to host Mario Andretti for the DAYTONA 500,” Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. “Mario is part of an exclusive club of champions at the ‘World Center of Racing’ and arguably has the most recognizable name in the entire history of auto racing. His victory here in 1967 has grown to legendary status and is truly one of the most significant moments in the history of the speedway and our community.”

Andretti is considered by many to be the greatest driver in the history of motorsports, having been named Co-Driver of Century by the Associated Press in 1999. He won the 1978 Formula One World Championship, four IndyCar Series championships and the Indianapolis 500 in 1969. Andretti and Foyt are the only drivers to have won both the DAYTONA 500 and the Indianapolis 500.

Daytona International Speedway

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 →