Tag Archives: Toyota

DiBenedetto Takes Gamble on Himself and it’s Paying Off

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Matt DiBenedetto on Pit Road at Chicagoland Speedway before the Camping World 400 NASCAR Cup Series practice on Saturday, June 29, 2019. Photo – Jay Husmann for Fan4Racing Blog and Radio.

Following the 2018 race season, Matt DiBenedetto’s fourth year competing at NASCAR’s top level, the Monster Energy Cup Series, he chose to leave the team he was with to essentially become a free agent.  DiBenedetto had no other deal lined up or guaranteed but was placing a bet on himself that someone would pick him up.  That team was the No. 95 of Leavine Family Racing, an organization that was looking to make some major changes to include a possible manufacturer change from Chevrolet to Toyota and an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.  When all the T’s were crossed and the I’s dotted, Matt DiBenedetto was set to embark on the best opportunity of his career.

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Chevrolet, Ford Win Battles, Who Wins the War?

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 14: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Car2Can Ford, leads during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander RV Duel At DAYTONA #1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway covers ten days and encompasses many different events leading up to the Great American Race, the Daytona 500.  On the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series side of racing, the first focus is a week before the main event with Pole Qualifying followed by the Advanced Auto Parts Clash featuring select drivers.  Then in the week leading up to the biggest event in racing, the Gander RV Duel set the starting lineup for the prestigious race this Sunday.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona Preview

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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 →

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 →

Fords Find the Answer to Toyota Dominance

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Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

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.”