NASCAR Xfinity Series teams are gearing up for their first race of the 2018 season, the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 17th at 2:30 pm ET. Pre-race coverage starts on FOX Sports 1 at 2 pm ET with radio coverage also available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Continue reading →
Early last year without so much as a whisper of rumor or comment, Ford and Stewart Haas Racing dropped a bombshell announcing they were partnering together for the 2017 season. This left most race fans and those within the NASCAR community wondering what kind of impact that was going to have on their sport. The first seven races of the season have shown positive signs of moving ahead in the right direction. Continue reading →
Four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas settled into the first four positions after a restart on lap 65 of 75 in Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona, but Ford drivers found a way to break the Camry chain in the closing laps.
When Brad Keselowski hooked up with Team Penske teammate and eventual race winner Joey Logano, as well as newly minted Ford driver Kevin Harvick, the Fords were able to side-draft the Toyotas, break their momentum and pick them off one by one.
Keselowski had a huge run through the first two corners on the final lap, and race leader Denny Hamlin was powerless to keep his JGR Camry out front. Ultimately, contact between Keselowski’s Ford and Hamlin’s Toyota opened the door for Logano.
A rueful Hamlin described the action in the closing laps.
“There’s really not much I can do differently at the end,” he said. “Perhaps staying in the middle lane there through (Turns) 1 and 2 and trying to side-draft. (Keselowski) had help from the 22 (Logano). I was in a bad spot there. He was just coming so much faster than what I was.
“There’s not much that I could have done to defend. We lined up so well as Toyota teammates throughout the race that once those guys started breaking that up and leap frogging, he (Keselowski) had commitment from the 22 and the 4 (Harvick) and when they were able to back up there that really put us at a speed differential.
“The 2 (Keselowski) was coming with a huge run, and I tried to do everything I could to block and cover the bottom before he got there, but he was coming at such a higher rate of speed, I probably didn’t get there in time.”
Clint Bowyer, who is back in a competitive car at Stewart-Haas Racing, was tenth fastest on Saturday. With SHR switching to Ford from Chevrolet this season, the Ford armada has grown substantially, potentially to the point of challenging the Toyota gang that dominated Speedweeks last year.
In fact, Fords posted the two fastest times in Saturday’s marathon practice session, with Joey Logano (193.116 mph), Aric Almirola (193.054 mph) and Brad Keselowski (193.046 mph) topping the speed chart.
“In all honesty, I’ve never been that fast in qualifying here in Daytona in my whole career,” Logano said after the session. “I feel like I’ve never had a shot at it, but now I feel like I’m closer than ever.
“I feel like I’m kind of in new territory, plus I think some of these other guys sandbag a lot, so tomorrow will be the telltale sign.”
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