Tag Archives: Joey Logano

Ryan Blaney has Mixed Feelings about Runner Up Finish

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Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, prepares to practice for the 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Given his running position with two laps left in Sunday’s Daytona 500, Ryan Blaney was pleasantly surprised with his runner-up finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ most prestigious race.

On the other hand, there was a tinge of disappointment at coming so close to a victory and falling 0.228 seconds short.

“We all got single-file with 15 (laps) to go, something like that,” Blaney said. “I tried to make a move with 10 to go to see what would happen. No one really went with me. The 22 (Joey Logano) tried too. It really wasn’t happening. I was kind of worried it was just going to end that way.

“Luckily, I got Joey behind me there down the frontstretch, and we were able to lay back to him and get a huge run into (turn) one. At the same moment, the 41 (race winner Kurt Busch) went to go pass the 42 (Kyle Larson), and it kept my run going, all the way up to second.”

But second was also where the run stopped.

“It was a good way to start off the year,” Blaney said. “Stinks to be so close. But I think that’s good momentum for our team, to be good at the beginning of the day, get some damage and be able to rally for a good finish.”

Patient Kurt Busch Wins Wild Daytona 500—Without Looking Back

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His car damaged in a wreck on the backstretch and held together with tape, Kurt Busch grabbed the lead on the final lap of the 59th Daytona 500 on Sunday and took the checkered flag in the Great American Race as a capstone to a checkered career that has trended upward since Busch joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.

In a race that featured the first test of a new three-stage race format in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series—and featured enough twisted sheet metal to keep fabricators busy for a month—Busch surged to the front with a run around the outside when more than half the vehicles in an 11-car lead draft sputtered and ran short on fuel.

Having pushed other drivers to victory in the 500 on three previous occasions, Busch took the prize himself this time, finishing 0.228 seconds ahead of Ryan Blaney, who came from the rear of the lead pack on the final two laps. Continue reading →

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 Preview

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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team return to action for 500 miles over 200 laps in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 26, 2017.  FOX will start their coverage at 1 pm ET with a green flag around 2 pm ET and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

He’s Back. Dale Jr. Set To Return At Daytona

After missing the final 18 races of the 2016 season Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to his No. 88 Chevrolet for Sunday’s 59th running of the DAYTONA 500.

Earnhardt, a two-time DAYTONA 500 winner, qualified second for Sunday’s race, a mere 0.002 seconds behind Chase Elliott. In 34 total starts at “The Birthplace of Speed,” he has four wins, 13 top fives and 19 top-tens. Continue reading →

Toyota has a New Camry, but Teams Plan Similar Strategy in Daytona 500

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Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER BOATS Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 23, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo – Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

A new, sleek Camry race car isn’t likely to change the Toyota teams’ approach to the Daytona 500.

Neither is the success Fords had in breaking up the Toyota monopoly in last Saturday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona.

Last year, Camry drivers dominated the Great American Race, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin edging Furniture Row’s Martin Truex Jr. for the win by 0.010 seconds, roughly six inches. Toyotas swept all three podium positions and put four cars in the top-five. 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 →