Showing posts with label daytona 500. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daytona 500. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
2023 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Class: Gibbs & Gragson
The Sunoco Rookie of the Year point system mirrors the points structure that awards the season-long championship, including stage points and Playoff points, with the eventual Sunoco Rookie of the Year earning the most points throughout the season.
As is the case with the season-long points structure, a race win will earn a Sunoco Rookie 40 points and five Playoff points. A second-place finish will earn a Sunoco Rookie 35 points; a third-place finish nets 34 points, and so on. A Sunoco Rookie who wins a stage will earn 10 points and one Playoff point.
Ty Gibbs, from Charlotte, North Carolina, is the grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, and the talented young racer has been tapped to drive the No. 54 Toyota this season with crew chief Chris Gayle for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Gibbs and Gayle are fresh off of winning the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship together, where the duo amassed seven wins.
Noah Gragson, from Las Vegas, Nevada, has joined the recently formed Legacy Motor Club after an impressive 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with JR Motorsports, where he finished runner-up in the points and posted a season-high eight wins; including tying Sam Ard’s record of four consecutive victories. The 24-year-old, Gragson, will wrestle the No. 42 Chevrolet this season with crew chief Luke Lambert in his corner.
Both Gibbs and Gragson have made starts at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series, and both have posted their best finishes at the 2.5-mile track in last season’s summer race, with Gragson finishing fifth and Gibbs in 13th.
Martin Truex Jr. brought his broom to sweep the start of the season
Truex is looking to become the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the Busch Light Clash, then go on to win the DAYTONA 500 pole, the Duel he will be entered in and then the ‘Crown Jewel’ the DAYTONA 500 to start the season.
Only two drivers have come close to accomplishing the feat, winning everything but the Clash. Cale Yarborough (1984) and Bill Elliott (1985) won the DAYTONA 500 pole, won the Duel race they were entered in and then went on to win the DAYTONA 500 all in the same Speedweeks.
Truex could also become the sixth different driver to win the Busch Light Clash and DAYTONA 500 in the same season; joining Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott (1987), Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000), Jeff Gordon (1997), and Denny Hamlin (2016).
Cup Garage Spotlight: Fresh faces in new places
23XI Racing tapped Tyler Reddick to pilot the No. 45 Toyota, alongside his teammate Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota this season. The organization will also be expanding to a third car on a part-time basis beginning with this weekend at Daytona International Speedway with driver Travis Pastrana behind the wheel of the No. 67 Toyota. Pastrana will be looking to make his NASCAR Cup Series and DAYTONA 500 career debut, and as a new team, Pastrana will have to either qualify or race his way into the Great American Race.
Richard Childress Racing swung for the fences and landed the hottest free agent on the market last season, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. This season, Busch will pilot the No. 8 Chevrolet collaborating with crew chief Randal Burnett, as the pair competes alongside teammate Austin Dillon in the famous No. 3 Chevrolet. Dillon is the most recent winner at Daytona International Speedway grabbing the checkered flag back in August to earn his spot in the 2022 Playoffs.
The recently introduced Legacy Motor Club is all brand new for 2023 and has stacked quite the lineup this season. Veteran Erik Jones will return to the historic No. 43 Chevrolet and will have two new teammates to work with as Noah Gragson has moved up from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet fulltime with crew chief Luke Lambert, and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson has returned to the series as an owner/driver and will compete on a part-time basis starting with the DAYTONA 500. Johnson will have former series champion crew chief Todd Gordon calling the shots on top the pit box.
Speaking of moving up from the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Joe Gibbs Racing has graduated Ty Gibbs to the NASCAR Cup Series after his impressive championship winning 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series run. Gibbs will pilot the No. 54 Toyota with crew chief Chris Gayle on the pit box this season, alongside a stable of veterans – Denny Hamlin (No. 11), Christopher Bell (No. 20) and last weekend’s 2023 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum winner Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19).
Kaulig Racing has also called up A.J. Allmendinger to run fulltime this season in the NASCAR Cup Series in the No. 16 Chevrolet, joining his teammate Justin Haley, who will continue to drive the No. 31 Chevrolet.
Joining Corey Lajoie over at Spire Motorsports this season will be Ty Dillon, who will jump behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet with crew chief Kevin Bellicourt. Lajoie will continue to be in the No. 7 with crew chief Ryan Sparks.
Stewart-Haas Racing has also called upon Ryan Preece to take over the driving duties of the No. 41 Ford this season with crew chief Chad Johnston. He will be joined by SHR teammates Chase Briscoe in the No. 14, Aric Almirola in the No. 10 and veteran Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Ford. This will be Harvick’s final season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The California native has announced his retirement at the end of the 2023 season, upon where he will join the FOX Sports TV booth as a NASCAR analyst alongside Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer.
75th Diamond Anniversary season officially begins with the DAYTONA 500
Last weekend, NASCAR jump started the 2023 season with a return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum quarter-mile for a spectacular Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, that not only saw Martin Truex Jr. grabbing the checkered flag in a wild short track showdown, but also performances by Cypress Hill, Wiz Khalifa, Cheat Codes and Dixie D’Amelio.
Now the NASCAR Cup Series is headed to the sunny beaches of Central Florida to officially kick-off the 36-race points-paying championship season and will do it in style as multi-platinum recording artist Dierks Bentley will take the stage ahead of the 65th running of the DAYTONA 500. The 14-time Grammy-nominated entertainer will perform a setlist of hit songs just before drivers take the green flag.
“I’m ready to get back to Daytona with all the biggest NASCAR fans,” Bentley said. “The energy there is unmatched, and I know we will have a blast getting them ready for the race.”
And once that green flag waves it will be quite the race in Daytona. Last season’s DAYTONA 500 was action-packed with 104 green flag passes for the lead, and over 6,400 total green flag passes, but it was Team Penske’s Austin Cindric who crossed the finish line first, just 0.36-second ahead of runner-up Bubba Wallace driving for 23XI Racing – the third closest finish of the DAYTONA 500 since advent of electronic scoring in 1993.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Micah Roberts NASCAR Notes, Selections for 2023 Daytona 500
I'll have the Duels analysis on this site and I'm offering my top-10 for the Daytona 500 as well. Enjoy the season, folks. Enjoy the sensations of Daytona.
2023 Daytona 500 Top-10 Prediction:
1 #1 Chastain 16/1
2 #24 Byron 18/1
3 #8 Ky Busch 13/1
4 #23 Wallace 18/1
5 #19 Truex Jr. 18/1
6 #11 Hamlin 11/1
7 #9 Elliott 13/1
8 #42 Gragson 45/1
9 #10 Almirola 35/1
10 #31 Haley 50/1
Austin Hill is 75/1 to win 2023 Daytona 500
AUSTIN HILL Daytona Speedweek Pole Qualifying | Duel | Daytona 500 No. 62 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro
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Event Overview |
Wednesday, Feb. 15: Daytona 500 qualifying (single-lap qualifying to determine pole for the Daytona 500) ● Time/TV/Radio: 8 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Thursday, Feb. 16: Bluegreen Vacations Duel (twin 150-mile qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500) ● Time/TV/Radio: 7 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday, Feb. 19: 65th annual Daytona 500 (first of 36 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races in 2023) ● Time/TV/Radio: 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● Beard Motorsports is back for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season and will be increasing its presence in the NASCAR garage with an expanded schedule. It all begins this Sunday’s 65th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The Beard Motorsports team is aiming to make its sixth start in The Great American Race and will be doing so with a new face behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet in driver Austin Hill.
● With a Chevrolet Camaro powered by an ECR-built engine, Beard Motorsports is accustomed to racing at the front, proven by its recent performances that include a top-five finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona last August with former driver Noah Gragson. Prior to 2022, Beard boasted a pair of top-10 finishes during the 2020 season at the hands of former driver Brendan Gaughan. With Gaughan behind the wheel, the Beard team finished seventh in the Daytona 500 in February and eighth in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August.
● Beard’s Daytona 500 campaign will be boosted by a partnership with Bennett Family of Companies. The Bennett Transportation and Logistics brand will adorn the No. 62 Chevrolet. Headquartered in McDonough, Georgia, Bennett Family of Companies provides logistics and transportation services for companies across American. Bennett offers a suite of trucking and specialized logistic services, from flatbed and step deck trucking and manufactured housing transport to RV delivery, customs brokerage, and warehousing. With more than 46 years of experience in the industry, Bennett’s network provides the safest and best possible service to all of its business partners.
● Honoring the passion and desire of the late Mark Beard Sr., the founder of Beard Motorsports, is what drives the team. Linda Beard sits atop the organization as the owner with strong support from daughter Amie and son Mark Jr., as well as crew chief Darren Shaw and Gaughan who, upon retiring from racing at the end of 2020, made the transition from driver to vice president of competition for the team. Historically, the No. 62 Beard Chevrolet has only run the races at Daytona and its sister track, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. This season, Beard will expand that schedule with appearances at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval in October, as well as the August race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, which will serve as a homecoming for the Michigan-based Beard family and Beard Oil Distributing Company.
● Hill may be new to the No. 62 Beard Motorsports team but he arrives at Daytona having made one start in NASCAR’s top touring series. The native of Winston, Georgia, made his NASCAR Cup Series debut last season at Michigan driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). He finished a respectable 18th after starting the race 31st. In addition to his previous Cup Series experience, Hill goes into Daytona knowing what it takes to be successful at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Driving for RCR in 2022, he raced his way to a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season-opening race at Daytona. Hill led a total of 23 laps en route to the victory. It was one of two wins he scored in the series last season – the other coming at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July.
● While Hill will be competing in the NASCAR Cup Series on a limited basis in 2023, he will be competing fulltime in the Xfinity Series, where he aims to race for a series championship with RCR. The 2022 NASCAR season was his first racing fulltime in the Xfinity Series. In addition to two wins, Hill scored 11 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s and finished the year sixth in the driver standings. Before joining the Xfinity Series fulltime in 2022, Hill competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He was a fulltime competitor in the series from 2018 to 2021 but made his first start in the Truck Series at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in 2014 at the tender age of 20. The now 28-year-old scored his first Truck Series win in 2019 in the season-opening race at Daytona – an event in which he started 10th and led 39 of the 111 laps run. Hill has made at least one start in the series for nine seasons and has 121 starts in all, netting eight wins, 27 top-fives and 54 top-10s.
● Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is unlike any other NASCAR Cup Series race. Before drivers compete in Thursday’s Duel qualifying event, they race the clock in single-lap qualifying Wednesday night, during which the two fastest cars are locked into the Daytona 500 field while the rest field is set by the results of the Duel. Drivers in odd-numbered qualifying positions race in the first Duel, and those in even-numbered qualifying positions race in the second Duel. Only 40 spots are available in the Daytona 500 and, for drivers like Hill, earning one of those coveted spots in the Daytona 500 comes one of two ways – by being one of the two fastest independent teams in single-car qualifying, or by racing his way into the Daytona 500 by way of the Duel. There are only four open spots in the Daytona 500 for independent teams, with the chartered NASCAR teams guaranteed one of the other 36 positions, as they are for each race on the 2023 schedule. Hill obviously wants to outperform 39 other drivers but, more specifically, any driver racing for the other independent teams looking to make the Daytona 500.
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Austin Hill, Driver of the No. 62 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro |
Ready or not, the 2023 NASCAR season is upon us. How does it feel to be heading back to Daytona and getting the season started at the World Center of Racing? “I’m super excited to get the year kicked off at Daytona. We had a really good season last year in the Xfinity Series, running consistently inside the top-five and starting the season off with a win at Daytona. Being the defending race winner on the Xfinity side is going to be cool to see if we can repeat. We seem to have a lot of success on the superspeedways, so hopefully we can use that momentum to our benefit. Then, having the opportunity to run the Cup car adds to the level of excitement I have going into this Speedweek in Daytona. I’ve never driven a Cup car on a superspeedway, so that is going to be a challenge – a good challenge – and one that I look forward to. Our Beard Motorsports Camaro has to make the show, whether that’s on time in qualifying or racing my way in through the Duel. The first step is to see how qualifying goes on Wednesday night, and then if we have to go into the Duel not being locked in, we will see how that unfolds. I’m going to approach it with the same mindset I have on the Xfinity side – to stay aggressive all race long and see where we end up.”
What does it mean to you to have the opportunity to run these six races with Beard Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series this season? “As a kid growing up in this sport, getting the chance to run a NASCAR Cup Series car is the ultimate dream. Obviously I had the opportunity last year at Michigan to make my first start and I was so thankful to Richard Childress for giving me that chance. And now I have an even bigger opportunity with the Beard family and the Beard Motorsports team. I’ve gotten to talk over the phone with Amie Beard, and we’ve talked about her mom Linda and the men and women at Beard. We haven’t been able to meet face-to-face yet, and we will do that this week in Daytona, but I feel like I know them pretty well already. You can tell they’re super excited and stoked to be trying to make it into the Daytona 500. I think they may even be more excited than I am if that’s even possible. They seem like they really love superspeedway racing. And although it’s something that I didn’t necessarily enjoy until last year, I’ve really started to enjoy it more. And it’s just an honor to be able to race for Beard Motorsports and try to make it into the Daytona 500.”
How did this partnership with Beard Motorsports come about? “Once we saw that Noah (Gragson) was moving on to another seat in the Cup Series and not going to be with Beard in 2023, we saw an open door. We started having talks and really just put our name out there. We said, ‘Hey, if you need someone and you don’t have anyone in mind, I would love to do it.’ We kicked it off with Beard and it’s been a really cool deal so far. I’m really excited to get to Daytona and see what we can do for Beard Motorsports. Hopefully it’s successful.”
Before you can run in the Daytona 500, you have to run the Duel. If you get to Thursday and the No. 62 team isn’t locked in from qualifying, how aggressive do you think you will need to be? “As long as I don’t destroy a car and only mess up a fender or something that can be easily fixed, I’m going to do whatever it takes to make the Daytona 500. It’s something that as a little kid you always dream of, racing in the Cup level, and then also racing in the Daytona 500. It’s our Super Bowl. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make it in. I will hang it all out on the line. And if it comes down to the last lap and we are racing another guy to make it in, I’m going to be as aggressive as I can possibly be to make sure that we get our No. 62 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet in the show. That’s the goal. We want to make it into the 500, and from there it’s going to be a really fun Sunday. I’ll be learning all day and trying to make it to the end of the race by missing the big one. First and foremost, we have to make it in.”
While you are going into Daytona Speedweek as a Cup Series rookie, you are armed with not only superspeedway experience, but also with superspeedway success. You won the season-opening Xfinity race at Daytona last February and you have a Daytona win in the Craftsman Truck Series. How did you adapt to superspeedway racing so quickly? “I think one of the things that has helped me be successful on the superspeedways is RCR. We have really fast superspeedway Chevrolets. Anytime we go to a superspeedway, we just have that raw speed and we’re up front. When you do have that raw speed and you are fast, it makes it a little bit easier, but the driver still plays a role and the spotter plays a huge role. The spotter plays a crucial role, and you have to have that trust and that bond with each other. That’s something that we were able to do early in the Xfinity race at Daytona last February. It seemed like during the first stage we were just trying to figure each other out – the lingo and the things he’s saying and how quick I have to make a move when he tells me I’m clear. We worked through that during the first stage, and then the second and third stages obviously we started trusting each other more. That goes a long way and I think that’s one reason why we saw success throughout the superspeedway races. The only thing I can say I do on superspeedways is I just react. I don’t put too much thought in it. If I see I’m making a run on somebody, I make the move and I react. I have learned throughout the first stage of every superspeedway race what I can and can’t do with the car that day. I truly believe every superspeedway race is different from the next and you have to drive them a little bit differently. But to sit here and say I have some ability that other guys don’t have on superspeedways – I can’t say that. I just think I have a good understanding of where the runs are going and things like that. That just clicks for me.”
Locking yourself into the Daytona 500 is obviously priority number one this week. But looking ahead, this is just the first of a handful of Cup Series races you are planning to run in 2023. Can you talk about what the rest of the season looks like for you? “I plan on running six Cup races this season – the two races at Daytona, the two at Talladega and then Michigan. We had the new road course race at Chicago circled, but then we found out about the new rule that keeps Xfinity drivers from running the Cup race and vice versa. So, we switched that one and will run at the Charlotte road course in October instead. I’m actually really excited about that one because I love road-course racing. I think that’s something that’s going to be really cool that I get to do. I’ll be doing all of these races with Beard Motorsports and I’m really thankful for that. Last year was really cool to be able to have my first-ever start in the Cup Series at Michigan. We had a good, clean day there and finished in the top-20. I’m going to try to take the things I learned in that race and apply it to this season with these six races that I have.” |
Denny Hamlin is 10/1 favorite to win 2023 Daytona 500
Sunday Race Info
Race: Daytona 500
Date/Time: Sunday, Feb. 19 / 2:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 200 laps / 500 miles
Track Length: 2.5 miles
Express Notes
Press Kit: Download the 2023 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedex.com/en-us/racing/press-kit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.
2022 Season Recap: Last season marked the fourth consecutive season where Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team ended up in the top five in the series standings. While the final result was solid, the road there was a trying one for the No. 11 team. After finishing every race in 2021, various misfortunes saw Hamlin out of the race at the end of four of the first nine events in 2022. A win at Richmond Raceway in early April solidified his place in the playoffs and Hamlin added another crown jewel victory to his resume when he won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Once the playoffs began, the FedEx Racing team turned in an impressive stretch with a series-best 6.6 average finish over the final 10 races.
Clash Recap: The No. 11 team finished ninth in The Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 5. After leading 20 of 25 laps and winning his heat race, Hamlin started third in the 150-lap main event. He grabbed the lead early on and led 26 laps before being shuffled out of the lead group. Once he lost his track position, Hamlin was collected in several accidents before ultimately ending up with a top-10 result.
Elite Company: Hamlin is tied with NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Jarrett on the short list of drivers who have three Daytona 500 victories. If Hamlin can capture his fourth Harley J. Earl trophy, he would tie Cale Yarborough for second all-time behind only seven-time winner Richard Petty.
Leading the Way: When it comes to the Daytona 500, Hamlin leads all active drivers in wins (three) and laps led (474). He is also tied for the most top-five finishes (eight). The FedEx Racing driver has earned four top-five finishes in the past five Daytona 500s dating back to 2018.
Speedweeks Success: In addition to his three Daytona 500 victories, Hamlin has visited victory lane six other times during Daytona Speedweeks. He has a trio of wins in the 150-mile Duel qualifying races (2008, 2014, 2017) and three more in The Clash (2006, 2014, 2016).
Hamlin Statistics
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Races: 34
Wins: 3
Poles: 0
Top-5: 11
Top-10: 12
Laps Led: 648
Avg. Start: 16.7
Avg. Finish: 16.8
Hamlin Conversation – Daytona
What do you expect from this year’s Daytona 500?
“I think you’ll see a great race. The 500 is always such a great atmosphere and the racing is always great because everyone wants to put their name on the list of winners of this race. For us, we want to do it for a fourth time. That would mean a lot to me personally to move up that list. I feel very good about it. Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) and my team do an unbelievable job, especially at this race, to give me a great opportunity, so I feel confident we’ll have a great chance on Sunday.”
Celebrating FedEx50: Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry will carry a special FedEx50 paint scheme to kickstart a campaign celebrating all that FedEx has accomplished in its first 50 years, and also what’s to come in the next 50 years and beyond. The design features the FedEx50 logo on the hood as well as a gold 11 in honor of the company’s golden birthday. The ’50 by 50’ logo on the TV panel represents FedEx’s goal of helping impact the lives of 50 million people in need worldwide by the company’s 50th birthday later this spring.
FedEx Express Along for the Ride at Daytona: For the Daytona 500, the B-post of Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry will feature 50 in recognition of FedEx’s 50th birthday coming later this spring. The FedEx50 livery in the Daytona 500 will serve as the launch of a yearlong campaign surrounding the Memphis, Tennessee-based company’s 50th birthday in which they will pay homage to the organization’s fast-growing history and what lies ahead in the future.
FedEx Office – Closest to Daytona International Speedway: 2274 W International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, 386-323-7840
Chase Briscoe is 30/1 to win 2023 Daytona 500
CHASE BRISCOE Pole Qualifying | Duel | Daytona 500 No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
Wednesday, Feb. 15: Daytona 500 qualifying (single-lap qualifying to determine pole for the Daytona 500) ● Time/TV/Radio: 8 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Thursday, Feb. 16: Bluegreen Vacations Duel (twin 150-mile qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500) ● Time/TV/Radio: 7 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Sunday, Feb. 19: 64th annual Daytona 500 (first of 36 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races in 2021) ● Time/TV/Radio: 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● Sunday’s 65th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway marks Chase Briscoe’s third start in the prestigious NASCAR Cup Series event. In last year’s race, Briscoe drove his No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to a third-place finish, his best at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. His Daytona 500 debut in 2021 resulted in a 19th-place finish.
● Briscoe begins his third fulltime points-paying season in the Cup Series with the same team but with new stability as the 28-year-old was signed to a multi-year contract extension during the offseason. He and the Mahindra Tractors team also began 2023 at the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum two weekends ago with a performance reminiscent of their 2022 outing in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Briscoe was consistently fastest in his practice group and in the top-five overall throughout Saturday’s two-hour practice session on the tight, quarter-mile paved oval. Damage sustained late in practice hindered the No. 14 team’s qualifying effort, but Briscoe still turned the 11th-quickest lap and went on to finish second in his heat race Sunday to earn a seventh-place starting position for the 150-lap feature. Unlike last year’s feature, when Briscoe retired early with a mechanical issue, he completed every lap this year and was strongest on the long run. However, a string of cautions in the latter stages of the race slowed his ability to advance higher than 15th.
● On-track action at Daytona begins with single-lap qualifying Wednesday night, when the front row for the Daytona 500 will be set. The Bluegreen Vacations Duel – twin 150-mile qualifying races that set the 40-car field for Sunday’s race follows on Thursday. Drivers in odd-numbered qualifying positions compete in the first Duel and those in even-numbered qualifying positions battle in the second Duel to fill out the rest of the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
● In his two August outings at Daytona, which marks the end of the Cup Series regular season, Briscoe finished 21st in 2021 and was scored 31st last year after getting caught up in an accident on lap 124.
● Briscoe made six previous starts at Daytona prior to joining the Cup Series – four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one apiece in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and in the ARCA Racing Series. He started inside the top-10 for five of those races, with his best being a third-place qualifying effort in the 2016 ARCA season opener. His best finish was third, earned twice – August 2020 in the Xfinity Series and February 2017 in the Truck Series.
● Mahindra Tractors adorns the No. 14 Ford Mustang for The Great American Race for the second straight year. Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America joined SHR prior to the 2022 season with Mahindra Tractors as the anchor sponsor for Briscoe and the No. 14 team. Following a successful year that included a top-three in last year’s Daytona 500, a career-first win at Phoenix Raceway and a tenacious run through the playoffs, the No. 14 team’s cheering section in Daytona will include an international contingent as executives from Mahindra Tractors will host Mahindra Group leadership from India and other U.S. Mahindra companies and their customers.
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Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: |
We’re going into the second season with the NextGen car and the No. 14 team did a lot of experimenting with the setups in the middle of the 2022 season. Do you feel like you are in a better place to start this season in terms of knowing what to expect and how to prepare? “I think so. Some things have changed but, overall, it’s still the car we ran last year. I feel like we’re always learning. If we aren’t learning, we’re going backwards. So, there are still some things that we’ve got to figure out that take time but, yeah, we’re definitely starting off with more than we knew last year and we’ll just keep learning.”
You’ve had two very different Daytona 500 experiences. Does this race set the tone for how you approach the season? “Not necessarily. The Daytona 500 is such a unique race. You never know how the race will play out. No one is really thinking about points, you’re so focused on being in the right position at the right time, so the intensity of the race is a little more than what we see at some other places. Everybody is just trying to get to the end and you see a lot of different strategies. You definitely want to start the season off on a strong note, but at the same time it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have a great run at Daytona. I’ve been on both sides of it. One where we didn’t finish great and then last year finishing up front. It’s definitely a lot nicer when you can have that good points finish to start the year off and kind of build that momentum early. So we’ll see what we can do.”
The schedule for this year looks different than it has in the past. Is it more important now to qualify well? “Unless you’re good enough to get on the front row, qualifying still doesn’t really matter. You’re not getting any idea of how your car performs in the race, so the Duel is going to be the focus. It’s always been important, but with no practice before, it almost gets treated as a practice session to make sure we’ve got everything close to where it needs to be. But, you also need to do what you can to finish well or you’re already starting off on the wrong foot for the 500. We’re all in the same position going in so it’ll be interesting to see how everyone races the Duel and whether it’s a race with a lot of excitement or everyone just taking it easy to make it to Sunday.”
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Ryan Preece is 35/1 to win 2023 Daytona 500
RYAN PREECE Daytona Speedweek Pole Qualifying | Duels | Daytona 500 No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
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Notes of Interest |
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Riding along with Ryan Preece on his No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) is Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: |
Some might consider this a comeback year for you now that you’re back to fulltime racing in the Cup Series. What does this moment feel like after all the hard work you’ve put in? “I mean, it’s a dream come true and it’s honestly the perfect matchup. Getting this opportunity at Stewart-Haas Racing is exactly the opportunity I need to succeed. I know what I can do in a racecar and there’s nobody who’s harder on me than I am on myself. I’m going to make the best of every opportunity I get and that’s what I’ve always done. I feel like being in the position I am now with this organization and this team – it can’t get any better. I’m ready to go out there and win races. That is always my goal, every single weekend. Having Chad Johnston as my crew chief this season, too, is just another motivator. We’ve worked together before and we’re very similar. I think we work really well together. We have the same goals for this 41 team. It is a great feeling to be back fulltime in Cup. Sometimes I don’t think I let myself enjoy those moments. They are special and I’m very thankful. I’m just ready to get out there and race.”
This will be your fourth Daytona 500. You ran your first one in 2019. What was that experience like, and how will this year be different? “To be honest with you, in 2023, I just feel like there’s going to be a lot of different challenges. I’m very optimistic going into the race because we’ve had some really strong runs previously at Daytona or even other superspeedways. But I think this will be one, at least for myself, of learning how to prepare better for these types of situations. Those last five laps, things get hectic and you’re just trying to position yourself in the right spot. That way, once you take the white flag, it’s not necessarily one lap to go there, it’s one lap going into turn three. Trying to understand that and put myself in the best situation to give myself the best opportunity to win.”
Strategy is always something talked about when NASCAR heads to superspeedways, but the Daytona 500 schedule is so unique with qualifying, the Duels, practices and the race. Do you have a specific strategy, or does it depend on the event? “The strategy constantly changes. As far as positioning goes and where I think I need to be to give myself the best chance, it’s always changing. I’d say, in a perfect world, I know exactly where I want to be but it’s all in different circumstances.”
What is the No. 41 team’s mindset heading into the Daytona 500? “Well, our mindset is to win. I think most teams will say that’s what their mindset is. It’s true, though, you don’t put in all this work that we do in the offseason and during the week for anything less. It’s important for our team to work closely with each other, get to know each other and then execute on the weekends. I have no doubt that we will.”
You have some experience in the NextGen car, but you didn’t get to run it every weekend last season like other drivers. What do you think that’s going to be like? “I spent a lot of time in the simulator last season. I was really focused on learning that car and getting as much experience as I could. I think that time in the simulator definitely helped me, and I did get some seat time in a car throughout last year. Everyone was sort of learning the new car last season, so I don’t know that I’m very far off from them. It was a growing year for everyone in the series. Now it’s time to take all of that and go out and perform.”
What are your expectations for this season? “It starts with, we need to make the Playoffs, and that’s going to be by winning. At the end of the day, that’s what it took to get in last year. From there on out, just consistency. We want consistently fast racecars. We want to continue to build consistently fast Ford Mustangs. If we do that, we can go out and perform the way we should.”
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Kevin Harvick is 25/1 to win in his final Daytona 500
KEVIN HARVICK Daytona Speedweek Pole Qualifying | Duel | Daytona 500 No. 4 Busch Light #Busch401K Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
Wednesday, Feb. 15: Daytona 500 qualifying (single-lap qualifying to determine pole for the Daytona 500) ● Time/TV/Radio: 8 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Thursday, Feb. 16: Bluegreen Vacations Duel (twin 150-mile qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500) ● Time/TV/Radio: 7 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday, Feb. 19: 65th annual Daytona 500 (first of 36 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races in 2023) ● Time/TV/Radio: 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● Back on Jan. 12, Kevin Harvick announced that 2023 would be his final year in the NASCAR Cup Series. The driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing will retire after the checkered flag waves at the season finale Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway. When that day comes, Harvick will have had a 23-year run in the Cup Series – one of the longest tenures in recent memory. A championship in 2014 and 60 points-paying victories ensures Harvick is set for his golden years. Busch Light wants to help one lucky Harvick fan with his or her own swansong by contributing toward his or her retirement, along with other big prizes. Fans just need to follow @BuschBeer and turn on notifications to find out how to win leading into the Daytona 500. The 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway gets underway at 2:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 19, with live coverage on FOX.
● The Daytona 500 will be Kevin Harvick’s 22nd career start in The Great American Race. His first Daytona 500 came 21 years ago on Feb. 17, 2002. He started second in that race and finished 36th after getting collected in a multicar accident on lap 150.
● Of the 43 drivers who competed in the 2002 Daytona 500, only one is entered in this year’s race – Harvick. The 65th Daytona 500 will be his 791st career NASCAR Cup Series start. In terms of career starts, the next closest driver to Harvick is Kyle Busch. He will make his 643rd career Cup Series start in the Daytona 500.
● In the 2002 Daytona 500, three of the drivers Harvick competed against were Bill Elliott, Jeff Burton and Dave Blaney. In the 2023 Daytona 500, Harvick will compete against their sons, as Chase Elliott, Harrison Burton and Ryan Blaney follow in the footsteps of their fathers.
● Trivia Time! How many NASCAR Hall of Famers competed in the 2002 Daytona 500? Answer: 10. They are Mark Martin (finished sixth), Jeff Gordon (finished ninth), Elliott (finished 11th), Dale Jarrett (finished 14th), Rusty Wallace (finished 18th), Terry Labonte (finished 20th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (finished 29th), Matt Kenseth (finished 33rd), Bobby Labonte (finished 34th) and Tony Stewart (finished 43rd). Who won the race? Answer: Ward Burton by .193 of a second over Elliott Sadler. It was the fourth of his five career NASCAR Cup Series victories. (FYI: Ward Burton is Jeff Burton’s brother and Harrison Burton’s uncle.)
● Five years and one day after Harvick’s Daytona 500 debut, he won the 2007 Daytona 500. He edged the aforementioned Martin for the victory by .02 of a second in a frantic green-white-checkered finish. It is the second-closest finish in Daytona 500 history, trailing only Denny Hamlin’s .01-of-a-second advantage over Martin Truex Jr., in 2016.
● To earn a spot in this year’s Daytona 500, drivers must first compete in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel – twin 150-mile qualifying races that set the 40-car field for the Daytona 500. Harvick has won his Duel race twice (2013 and 2019). The driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing is currently on a run of eight straight top-10 finishes in the Duel, and he has finished among the top-five in six of his last seven Duel races.
● Before drivers compete in the Duel, they race the clock in single-lap qualifying. The two fastest cars are locked into the field while the rest of the drivers are split into the Duel. Qualifiers in odd-numbered positions are in the first Duel and qualifiers in even-numbered positions are in the second Duel. Harvick has never started on the pole for the Daytona 500, but he did take the outside pole once – 2002 in his first Daytona 500. Harvick lapped the 2.5-mile oval in 48.447 seconds at 185.770 mph, just .016 of a second off the pole-winning time of Jimmie Johnson.
● The 2023 season marks Harvick’s 23rd year in the NASCAR Cup Series. Of his 790 career, points-paying starts, 43 of them have come on Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval. In addition to his 2017 Daytona 500 victory, Harvick won the 2010 Coke Zero 400. He has 11 top-fives and 16 top-10s on the Daytona oval. The 65th Daytona 500 will be his 44th points-paying start on the Daytona oval.
● Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, Harvick has made 19 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Daytona and three IROC starts. Of Harvick’s 47 Xfinity Series wins, only one is at Daytona – the 2007 season opener. And Harvick’s best IROC finish at Daytona is seventh, earned twice (2003 and 2004). Harvick is a two-time Xfinity Series champion (2001 and 2006) and the 2002 IROC champion.
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Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light #Busch401K Ford Mustang |
What is your mindset as you begin your final season in the NASCAR Cup Series? “My mentality heading into our last Cup season is to do the exact same things we’ve done for the last 22 years. That’s be competitive and make sure that every week you show up at the racetrack and do all that you can do for your teammates. I know my guys on our Busch Light Ford Mustang show up every week at 100 percent, and you know if you’re not 100 percent, you’re letting the rest of that team down because they’re locked, loaded and ready with the details that it takes to be competitive. And if we’re not competitive, we have access to a group of people who can communicate and do the things needed to figure it out. I want to do whatever we have to do to get back to victory lane and be competitive. I love going to the racetrack with the guys that I have on our car, and everybody at Stewart-Haas has been so great. From the very beginning, they let us go out and hire Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and let him build a group of guys around our No. 4 car, and I think the success speaks for itself. It’s going to be a fun year with a lot of stories and things that we’ve done and remember when we came here for the first time nine years ago. We’re going to laugh and pat each other on the back and tell each other how much we’ve enjoyed the beginning days all the way through to the end. Everybody knows that we’re going to show up and do the same things that we’ve done and be prepared just like we would be, because that’s our job.”
You ran your first Daytona 500 21 years ago. What was that experience like? “For me and my career, a lot of things happened backward, probably the opposite of the way they should have. My first season in Cup (2001), I ran every race but the Daytona 500 because of Dale Earnhardt’s death and replacing him in the car. Coming back to the Daytona 500 in 2002 was probably one of the bigger moments in my career just because of all the hype and anticipation from 2001 that led into the Daytona 500. I think I wound up at the front of a 23-car pileup, so it was definitely one of those moments where you wish you could’ve done it a little bit differently and had the outcome be a little bit better. But the Daytona 500 can get your emotions and twist them upside down and make you just crazy and want to do things that you know you shouldn’t do and take risks that you know you shouldn’t take and aren’t going to work, but you’ll do them anyway just because of it being the Daytona 500. Controlling those emotions and controlling those expectations – controlling the week, really – is important. It used to be 12, 14 days of the buildup to the event – we still have the buildup, it’s a much shorter amount of time – but the plot goes everywhere. You have a good qualifying race, bad qualifying race. You used to have the Clash at Daytona – good Clash, bad Clash. PR day, PR stories, whatever, there’s just a lot of hype and buildup that goes into the race and you can’t get caught up in it.”
What is it like to compete in the Daytona 500? “There’s nothing like coming to the green flag at the Daytona 500. The reason is hard to explain unless you’ve done it. There’s no other race like the Daytona 500, and I realized that when I won the Daytona 500 in 2007. You look at the names on that trophy and you go back and look at the history of our sport, and a lot of it has been made at Daytona. Whether it’s from the beach or the big track, it’s the who’s who of NASCAR. The Daytona 500 is the biggest race you’ll ever be a part of, and it’s the biggest win you’ll ever have. It’s definitely the heart of NASCAR and what we do.”
You’re often asked about your strategy in a superspeedway race. But what strategy is there for the entire week of Daytona, where you want to show speed, but also keep a clean car through qualifying, the Duel and then, finally, the Daytona 500? “As you go through the week, it’s that evolution of the enthusiasm ramping up as you get closer to the Daytona 500. You have to maintain a pretty even-keeled approach to things just because of the fact that you don’t want to be so jacked up and make a stupid move and tear up your car before you even get to the Daytona 500. But you also want to get everything that you can because you want to get the best starting position you can and the best pit selection that you can for the 500. It’s a different mentality than any other week because you practice and race and practice and race again. But it’s not just a race. It’s the Daytona 500. So, it’s a different type of enthusiasm headed for the green flag.”
What does it take to win the Daytona 500? “The superspeedways, in general, are difficult to have everything line up to get a win out of the weekend. For the Daytona 500, it’s our biggest race of the year, but it’s also the one race a year that you have months to prepare for. Every team in the garage has their most prepared car that shows up at the Daytona 500. On top of that, you have the most aggression and enthusiasm to try to take risks and do things that you normally wouldn’t do to win races because the Daytona 500 only comes once a year, and it can make a year and it can also make a career out of winning that race. I think as you look at the Daytona 500, it’s just different than any other race and it becomes difficult to win because of all the risk-taking that you don’t see on a weekly basis.”
How does a Daytona 500 win impact your career? “I’d always heard that when you win the Daytona 500, it’ll be like no other race, and it really is. You win more money, and you’re always introduced as the Daytona 500 champion from that particular year. When you start the year off by winning the Daytona 500, your season’s pretty much made. Racing against Mark Martin and beating one of the sport’s greats back to the finish line, that’s a moment in time that will always be special, not only in my career, but the sport, in general.”
When you won the 2007 Daytona 500, you beat Mark Martin by .02 of a second in a frantic green-white-checkered finish. Take us through that final lap. “A lot of things that people overlook about that race is that it really wasn’t about the final lap. With 12 or 15 laps to go, we were 30-something – a long way from the front. Those last several laps, when you go back and watch the in-car video, you see all the passes and us scraping the fence and yellows and restarts, and then the push down the back straightaway from Matt Kenseth, which really is what helped us win that race. When I go back and look at that last lap, I think pulling out of line and seeing Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton back there and not really knowing if Matt would pull out. The thought process at that particular time was, if I pulled out, Matt would know that Jeff was going to pull out, and it all kind of played out and Matt just gave us a huge push down the back straightaway. Then it was just a side-drafting game off turn four back to the start-finish line, and we were in good position to be on the right side of that. It was an exciting last 12 or 15 laps when you look back at it. I think the pit box was closed and covered and everybody was probably taking things back to the hauler. I don’t even think all the guys were still in the pit box. Best I can remember it was crew chief, engineer, car chief and DeLana sitting on the pit wall waiting for the race to end just because they thought it was over. It wasn’t over, and that’s been the case a lot of times. That Daytona 500 sticks out because of the fact that it’s our sport’s biggest race and it puts you in a position to be on that Harley J. Earl trophy next to some of the biggest names in our sport.”
Did going back to Daytona feel different after you had become a Daytona 500 champion? “Well, I think you put a lot less pressure on yourself just because when you’re around this sport for a long time, you understand the importance of having that Harley J. Earl trophy and having your name on it. When you look at the names that are on it, you understand its significance – how it’s migrated from the beach to the biggest single race in our sport.” |
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