NASCAR Sunoco Rookie of the Year

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Chase Elliott Starting to Feel Comfortable with No. 24 Legacy

Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash on February 17, 2017 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Chase Elliott can’t make fans forget the legacy of the No. 24 car, but by all indications, he’s ready to make his own distinctive mark in that vaunted ride.

The history of the No. 24 car is monumental, and Elliott inherited that ride last year from the driver who made it famous.

The No. 24 has won 93 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in 1,414 starts since the number debuted in 1950. All 93 victories belong to Jeff Gordon, who retired from full-time racing at NASCAR’s highest level at the end of the 2015 season. Continue reading

XFINITY Champion Suarez Promoted to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

HUNTERSVILLE, NC – JANUARY 11: NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez talks about his future driving at NASCAR’s highest level during a press conference at Joe Gibbs Racing on January 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Photo by Bob Leverone/ Getty Images

The phone call interrupted Daniel Suarez’s lunch. He didn’t mind.

Team owner Joe Gibbs was calling with the surprising news that Suarez, winner of the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship last season, would be promoted to drive the team’s No. 19 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota in 2017 as a replacement for Carl Edwards.

Edwards had told Gibbs about his decision to leave racing during the Christmas holidays. Continue reading

Mexico’s Daniel Suarez Wins NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship with Victory at Homestead

Daniel Suarez streaked away from Elliott Sadler after the final restart in Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and three laps later, NASCAR had its first foreign-born national touring series champion.

Ultimately, the 24-year-old driver from Monterrey, Mexico beat Ty Dillon to the finish line by 0.968 seconds. Sadler, who had taken two tires and gained the second position on a lap 193 pit stop, came home third and finished second in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase. Continue reading