Showing posts with label daytona road course. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daytona road course. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Daytona Road Course Betting Preview: 2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253
Yes, seven road races. What happened? How did we get to seven after receiving blowback from fans when adding three races to the schedule three years ago?
From 1988 to 2017, there were just two NASCAR road courses -- Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International -- and then NASCAR added the Charlotte Roval to the playoffs in 2018 giving us three on the schedule through 2020.
But the pandemic allowed only two road races in 2020 with California (Sonoma) and New York (Watkins Glen) being shut down which put Daytona’s road course in play for the first time in NASCAR history as the schedule was released in staggered stages on the fly.
NASCAR CUP BETTING RESOURCES
O'REILLY AUTO PARTS 253 PICKS
Date: Sunday, February 21, 2021
TV-Time: FOX, 3:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Daytona International Speedway
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
The original 2021 schedule had six road courses but with California Speedway being forced to cancel due to the state’s strict COVID-19 protocols, Daytona’s road course was there again on the fly and added. Seven road course events for the 36 points-paying dates.
The majority of Cup drivers aren’t very good on road courses -- making left and right turns -- giving the few that do excel a huge advantage in season points. I’m thinking the majority of fans and drivers would probably prefer more short tracks than having a fifth of the schedule loaded with road courses.
“I would probably vote for short tracks just because of the fact that I think that short-track racing is a lot of fun to watch,” said two-time road course winner Kevin Harvick. “The road courses will be great to mix it up, but when you look at the short tracks, everybody can see what’s going on from their seat and not wonder what happens the next time around. I think there’s a balance between adding more short tracks compared to road courses.”
HANDICAPPING NASCAR AT DAYTONA ROAD RACE
Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 will be the second race of 2021 and also the second NASCAR points race ever held on the road course, although the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona has been racing on it since 1962. The thing I like most about this course is the speed of the cars using the 750 horsepower and short spoilers ripping around the high banks.
NASCAR also scheduled the non-points Busch Clash on the Daytona road course for the first time since the exhibition invitational began in 1979 so the 21 drivers that participated two weeks ago will have a huge edge coming in this week. They got 35 laps of quality time on the track and the top drivers in that race were no surprise. It was the same guys that have been dominating road races for the past five seasons. Denny Hamlin led a race-high 25 laps and finished sixth.
“Yeah, we had a fast car during the Clash, and I’m sure this weekend won’t be any different,” said Hamlin who the Las Vegas Westgate SuperBook set at 12/1 odds to win this week. ”We’ll take that data and learn from it, and it will certainly help us as we return to the same course. It’s going to be a tough race like all road courses are, but I’m confident in our team to put us in a position to win.”
Hamlin is one of those few drivers who excel on the road courses with seven top-fives in his last 12 of them, which includes a 2016 Watkins Glen win and runner-up on the Daytona course last season.
But he isn’t one of the top-two favorites at the Superbook this week.
It’s all about Chase Elliott at 5/2 and Martin Truex Jr. at 3/1 odds with everyone else at 12/1 or higher.
Without even seeing how they’ve done statistically, the odds immediately tell you something like no other NASCAR odds board has said. The odds say it’ll be a major surprise if one of those two doesn’t win and that’s the dilemma everyone betting this race has to deal with.
The duo has combined to win nine road courses in their career and they've won eight of the last nine road races dating back to 2017.
Elliott leads all active drivers with five road wins and has won the last four in a row, not counting the Busch Clash where he was runner-up after wrecking his best friend Ryan Blaney who was leading on the last turn of the last lap. It’s a great feeling betting Elliott when you know he’ll wreck his best friend for the trophy.
“Road courses have been good to us the past few trips, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to go good every time,’ Elliott says.
“There has not been one part of me that watched the schedule change, saw seven road courses and thought, ‘Yeah, we’ve got it now.’ That’s just not how I am. At the end of the day, you have to be good everywhere and I want to be good everywhere. We as a team want to get to the point where we can win on any given week: road course, circle track, intermediate, dirt…whatever it is, we want to be able to win at any time. The great teams and the great drivers are capable of doing that, and I think we are capable doing that. So that’s where my head’s at – trying to be good everywhere.”
And that’s our 2020 NASCAR Cup Champion. He says all the right things all the time, but not like a robot. He’s a calculated cool. But the oddsmakers certainly added some bump into his odds to win his second straight title with William Hill sportsbooks offering him at 5/1 odds.
It’s not quite Jimmie Johnson in-his-prime future odds, but it’s close. Hamlin and Harvick, who combined to win 16 races last season, are both 6/1 to win the championship.
READ MORE HERE.......TOP-5 PREDICTIONS ON VEGASINSIDER.COM
TV-Time: FOX, 3:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Daytona International Speedway
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
The original 2021 schedule had six road courses but with California Speedway being forced to cancel due to the state’s strict COVID-19 protocols, Daytona’s road course was there again on the fly and added. Seven road course events for the 36 points-paying dates.
The majority of Cup drivers aren’t very good on road courses -- making left and right turns -- giving the few that do excel a huge advantage in season points. I’m thinking the majority of fans and drivers would probably prefer more short tracks than having a fifth of the schedule loaded with road courses.
“I would probably vote for short tracks just because of the fact that I think that short-track racing is a lot of fun to watch,” said two-time road course winner Kevin Harvick. “The road courses will be great to mix it up, but when you look at the short tracks, everybody can see what’s going on from their seat and not wonder what happens the next time around. I think there’s a balance between adding more short tracks compared to road courses.”
HANDICAPPING NASCAR AT DAYTONA ROAD RACE
Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 will be the second race of 2021 and also the second NASCAR points race ever held on the road course, although the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona has been racing on it since 1962. The thing I like most about this course is the speed of the cars using the 750 horsepower and short spoilers ripping around the high banks.
NASCAR also scheduled the non-points Busch Clash on the Daytona road course for the first time since the exhibition invitational began in 1979 so the 21 drivers that participated two weeks ago will have a huge edge coming in this week. They got 35 laps of quality time on the track and the top drivers in that race were no surprise. It was the same guys that have been dominating road races for the past five seasons. Denny Hamlin led a race-high 25 laps and finished sixth.
“Yeah, we had a fast car during the Clash, and I’m sure this weekend won’t be any different,” said Hamlin who the Las Vegas Westgate SuperBook set at 12/1 odds to win this week. ”We’ll take that data and learn from it, and it will certainly help us as we return to the same course. It’s going to be a tough race like all road courses are, but I’m confident in our team to put us in a position to win.”
Hamlin is one of those few drivers who excel on the road courses with seven top-fives in his last 12 of them, which includes a 2016 Watkins Glen win and runner-up on the Daytona course last season.
But he isn’t one of the top-two favorites at the Superbook this week.
It’s all about Chase Elliott at 5/2 and Martin Truex Jr. at 3/1 odds with everyone else at 12/1 or higher.
Without even seeing how they’ve done statistically, the odds immediately tell you something like no other NASCAR odds board has said. The odds say it’ll be a major surprise if one of those two doesn’t win and that’s the dilemma everyone betting this race has to deal with.
The duo has combined to win nine road courses in their career and they've won eight of the last nine road races dating back to 2017.
Elliott leads all active drivers with five road wins and has won the last four in a row, not counting the Busch Clash where he was runner-up after wrecking his best friend Ryan Blaney who was leading on the last turn of the last lap. It’s a great feeling betting Elliott when you know he’ll wreck his best friend for the trophy.
“Road courses have been good to us the past few trips, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to go good every time,’ Elliott says.
“There has not been one part of me that watched the schedule change, saw seven road courses and thought, ‘Yeah, we’ve got it now.’ That’s just not how I am. At the end of the day, you have to be good everywhere and I want to be good everywhere. We as a team want to get to the point where we can win on any given week: road course, circle track, intermediate, dirt…whatever it is, we want to be able to win at any time. The great teams and the great drivers are capable of doing that, and I think we are capable doing that. So that’s where my head’s at – trying to be good everywhere.”
And that’s our 2020 NASCAR Cup Champion. He says all the right things all the time, but not like a robot. He’s a calculated cool. But the oddsmakers certainly added some bump into his odds to win his second straight title with William Hill sportsbooks offering him at 5/1 odds.
It’s not quite Jimmie Johnson in-his-prime future odds, but it’s close. Hamlin and Harvick, who combined to win 16 races last season, are both 6/1 to win the championship.
READ MORE HERE.......TOP-5 PREDICTIONS ON VEGASINSIDER.COM
Alex Bowman is 25/1 at William Hill to win on Daytona Road Course
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| Bowman to Elliott: "Share some road course stuff, please." |
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
FRONT-ROW SUCCESS: In his four DAYTONA 500 qualifying efforts with Hendrick Motorsports, Alex Bowman has sat on the front row each season. The Tucson, Arizona, native is the only driver in history to sit on the front row of “The Great American Race” in four consecutive starts. Bowman captured the pole award in 2018 and 2021 and started second in 2019 and 2020. Crew chief Greg Ives is the only crew chief in DAYTONA 500 history to earn a front row starting position in five consecutive seasons. Ives’ drivers have sat on the front row since Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified second for the 2017 event.
DAYTONA 500 RECAP: After starting on the pole for the 63rd running of the DAYTONA 500, Bowman was running in fourth place on lap 10 and sat in third one lap later. While running the high line, the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was collected in an incident, which ended Bowman’s day on lap 14. The team was scored with a 35th-place finish at the conclusion of the event.
ROAD-COURSE STATS: Bowman has 12 starts on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series, which includes two top-five finishes and four top-10s. The driver of the No. 48 Camaro finished inside the top 15 in all eight of his road-course starts while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman’s average finish of 9.6 at these venues while driving for the 13-time championship organization is fourth-best among active drivers since 2018. His two top-five results came in 2018 and 2019 on the Charlotte ROVAL where he has an average finish of 4.6. Last year at the DAYTONA Road Course, Bowman rolled off 27th and finished 12th even after suffering a flat tire early in the 65-lap event. During the Clash at DAYTONA last week, the No. 48 Ally team started second following a random draw and finished seventh after 35 laps.
IVES ON A ROAD COURSE: Crew chief Ives has 14 starts on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Bark River, Michigan, native has two top-five results and six top-10s at road courses in the series. Under Ives’ leadership, Bowman has two events on the DAYTONA Road Course under his belt since last year, with the most recent outing coming last week during the Clash.
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK: Ally Racing revamped its website for the 2021 season, giving fans a place to learn more about the No. 48 team’s pit crew members and driver Bowman. A digital hero card is available for download for fans not able to visit the track this year. Learn more about Bowman’s famous four-legged sidekicks, as well as his No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE specs. Visit the new website to learn more about the team and to purchase your 2021 gear.
QUOTES:
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to the DAYTONA Road Course: “Coming back to the DAYTONA Road Course this week will, hopefully, be good for our team since we just ran this course last week in the Clash. During the Clash, we were in contention for win a couple times. We had some speeding penalties but thankfully worked those out later in the week. There is a lot that we learned last week that we can definitely apply to Sunday’s race. Getting taken out of the 500 early last week, I think this Ally team needs some redemption on Sunday.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on using the Clash as a road-course blueprint: “We are fortunate to have the experience of running the Clash. We know we have a good road-course car and can fine tune some details to get it better for Alex. The Clash really gave us a better understanding of what we are needing to do to improve the car. I am dreading seeing what calculation decides where we will start, since our DAYTONA 500 finish was not where we needed to finish. All in all, we have a good car and we have to be smart.”
ODDS & MICAH ROBERTS' THOUGHTS & PREDICTION:
8th #48 Alex Bowman (25/1) - He was seventh two weeks ago in the Busch Clash at Daytona and the reason you take him is because he should have similar equipment to teammate Chase Elliott. In his last nine road course starts driving for Hendrick Motorsports his worst finish was 14th and his best was second (Charlotte, 2019).
ODDS & MICAH ROBERTS' THOUGHTS & PREDICTION:
8th #48 Alex Bowman (25/1) - He was seventh two weeks ago in the Busch Clash at Daytona and the reason you take him is because he should have similar equipment to teammate Chase Elliott. In his last nine road course starts driving for Hendrick Motorsports his worst finish was 14th and his best was second (Charlotte, 2019).
Daytona Road Course Data
Season Race #: 2 of 36 (02-21-21)
Track Size: 3.61-miles
Track Type: Road Course
Number of Turns: 14
Elevation Change: 31 degrees
Race Length: 70 laps (252.7-miles)
Stage 1 and 2 Length: 16 laps
Stage 2 Length: 18 laps
Final Stage Length: 36 laps
Top 10 Daytona RC Driver Ratings
Chase Elliott……………………….. 135.3
Martin Truex Jr……………………. 126.5
Denny Hamlin……………………… 116.0
William Byron……………………… 102.3
Joey Logano………………………… 86.3
Michael McDowell………………….. 85.7
Erik Jones……………………………. 85.7
Alex Bowman……………………….. 84.8
Kurt Busch…………………………… 84.7
Aric Almirola…………………………. 78.5
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (one total) among active drivers at the Daytona Road Course.
| Daytona Road Course Loop Data Leaders | ||
| Category | Leaders | Stats |
| Driver Rating | Chase Elliott | 135.3 |
| Average Running Position | Chase Elliott | 3.169 |
| Laps Led | Chase Elliott | 34 Laps |
| Fastest Laps Run | Chase Elliott | 18 Laps (27.7%) |
| Laps In The Top 15 | Chase Elliott | 64 Laps (98.5%) |
| Green Flag Passes | Ryan Preece | 107 |
| Quality Passes | William Byron | 40 |
Kyle Larson is 16/1 to win on Daytona Road Course
No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his first DAYTONA Road Course race: “It’ll be a challenge since I haven’t turned a lap on the road course at Daytona in a Cup car yet, although I have run a couple sports car races there. Those are two very different type cars, but at least I have some laps on the track. (Crew chief) Cliff (Daniels) has some experience with Jimmie (Johnson) there last year and they had a good run, so that gives me confidence. I was able to watch last year’s race, watch some onboard footage to get an idea of shifting and braking points and look at some data. Last week during the Clash, Cliff and I were able to watch it together and discuss some things. I think we’ll have a good starting spot, too, but it’ll be a challenge definitely.”
Larson on his DAYTONA 500 finish: “I wish we could have finished a little bit better in the DAYTONA 500, but we were able to score some points in the Duel, score points in each stage and come out with a top-10 finish even after being collected in the last-lap crash. I hope we can build on that this weekend.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his approach to DAYTONA Road Course race: “We’re going with a realistic approach. I know the success of our (Hendrick Motorsports) cars and I know how our cars are built. Chase has won the ROVAL (at Charlotte Motor Speedway) a couple times, he won the DAYTONA Road Course event last year and we ran up front with the 48 (car driven by Jimmie Johnson). We have decent idea of how race strategy will play out and we have covered a lot of different scenarios – although every situation is unique. But we are taking a very realistic approach of how to put ourselves in position. There are calls you can make that are too conservative and calls that are too aggressive. We have discussed a lot of scenarios in our strategy meetings to prepare us to make the right call when needed.”
DEBUT PERFORMANCE: In his first start for Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson drove the No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet to a 10th-place finish in the season-opening DAYTONA 500. Larson led one lap during the 500-mile event and battled for a top-five finish on the final lap before being collected in a multi-car incident in turn three.
ALL FOUR: Larson had four opportunities to score championship points at Daytona International Speedway last week, and he collected each time – one of only four drivers to do so. On Thursday in the Duel qualifying races, points were awarded for the top-10 finishers in each, and he crossed under the checkered flag in seventh in his race. Points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers in each stage during the NASCAR Cup Series season, and the Elk Grove, California, native posted results of fourth and eighth in the two DAYTONA 500 stages, respectively. With his top-10 finish at the end of the 500-mile race, Larson now sits seventh in the point standings.
NEW BUT KNOWN: Larson did not compete in last year’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race on the DAYTONA Road Course, but he has experience driving on the similar sports car layout at the Florida track. The 28-year-old driver competed in the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2014 through 2016 and was victorious in 2015. The NASCAR layout has a chicane approaching the start/finish line that is not utilized during sports car events.
RC RACING: Larson, the driver of the No. 5 Camaro ZL1 1LE, has 14 starts on road courses in the Cup Series, posting one top-five finish – fourth at Watkins Glen International in 2014 – and four top-10s. Larson has three pole positions – all at Sonoma Raceway – and two stage victories in those starts.
DAYTONA TOP-FIVE: Crew chief Cliff Daniels was atop the pit box for Jimmie Johnson during the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s final season of full-time NASCAR competition in 2020. While Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott led 34 laps en route to victory in the inaugural DAYTONA Road Course event, the Daniels-led No. 48 Chevrolet finished a strong fourth.
NOTABLE START: Sunday’s event will mark Larson’s 225th start in NASCAR’s premier series. He has six wins, 56 top-five finishes and 102 top-10s since entering the Cup Series in 2013. Larson earned rookie of the year honors in 2014.
UNITED NATIONS: NationsGuard, a program that gives car dealers control of their F&I products and customer experience, will adorn the No. 5 Chevrolet again this weekend at Daytona. It will also appear as the primary sponsor at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Feb. 28. For more information about NationsGuard, click here.
Michael McDowell looks to join elite company to win first two races of the season
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| Michael McDowell's win paid out at 100/1 odds |
If McDowell can accomplish the feat, he will join some elite company: Matt Kenseth (2009: Daytona, Auto Club), Jeff Gordon (1997: Daytona, Rockingham), David Pearson (1976: Riverside, Daytona), Bob Welborn (1959: Champion, Daytona), Marvin Panch (1957: Lancaster, Concord).
The Glendale, Arizona native, McDowell, made his series debut at the Daytona Road Course last season; he started 30th and finished 10th.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series Season embraces road racing
For the first time in a NASCAR Cup Series season (1949-2021) the schedule calls for the series to visit seven different road course tracks – Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Watkins Glen International, Sonoma Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) and Road America. The previous most the NASCAR Cup Series competed on in one season was four back in 1964 and 1957.
Series | Track | Track Type | Winner | Date | Season |
Cup | Augusta (RC) | Road Course | Fireball Roberts | 11/17/1963 | 1964 |
Cup | Bridgehampton | Road Course | Billy Wade | 7/12/1964 | 1964 |
Cup | Riverside | Road Course | Dan Gurney | 1/19/1964 | 1964 |
Cup | Watkins Glen | Road Course | Billy Wade | 7/19/1964 | 1964 |
Cup | Kitsap | Road Course | Parnelli Jones | 8/4/1957 | 1957 |
Cup | Lancaster | Road Course | Marvin Panch | 11/11/1956 | 1957 |
Cup | Titusville-Cocoa | Road Course | Fireball Roberts | 12/30/1956 | 1957 |
Cup | Watkins Glen | Road Course | Buck Baker | 8/4/1957 | 1957 |
The first of the seven road courses on the 2021 schedule is this weekend’s Daytona International Speedway Road Course. The series made its debut at the Daytona Road Course last season with the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion taking the checkered flag. This weekend’s race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 At DAYTONA is scheduled for 70 laps or 252.7 miles (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The starting lineups for this weekend’s race was determined by Metric Qualifying and as a result Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott will start from the pole and 2021 Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell will start on the outside front row (second).
Chase Elliott is 5/2 favorite to win 2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2020 DAYTONA Road Course winner Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be available to members of the media via video conference on Friday, Feb. 19, at 11 a.m. ET. Visit NASCARmedia.com for details.
500 REWIND: Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team started 12th in the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway and battled inside the top 10 for the majority of the rain-delayed event. Elliott narrowly missed a last-lap accident and brought home a runner-up finish – his career best in “The Great American Race.”
WORLD CENTER OF (ROAD) RACING: This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to the DAYTONA Road Course. During the inaugural event last season, Elliott dominated the race, winning the first stage and leading a race-high 34 laps en route to his second victory of the year. More recently, he started from the rear of the field in the Clash at DAYTONA and battled his way to a runner-up finish in the exhibition race.
NEW SEASON, SAME CHASE: As the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into 2021, Elliott carried over his championship momentum by finishing second at Daytona for his third consecutive top-two result dating back to last season. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet has won three of the last six races and is the only driver to collect multiple victories in that time frame. Elliott has also led 720 laps in the last 11 Cup events, which is 289 more than any other driver.
NAPA KNOW HOW: On Sunday at the DAYTONA Road Course, the No. 9 Chevrolet will feature the familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for 25 NASCAR Cup Series races this season.
ROAD COURSE WARRIOR: Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, is set to make his 13th Cup Series start on a road course this weekend. In his previous 12 races, he has collected the most wins (five) and stage wins (five) of active drivers. Elliott has garnered six top-five finishes, eight top-10s and a total of 240 laps led. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native holds the best average finish (8.92) on road courses of active drivers and sixth-best all-time average. Last season, Elliott swept both races on road courses (DAYTONA Road Course and Charlotte ROVAL). The 25-year-old driver also led the most laps (61) on these tracks in 2020.
WINNING RECORD: Elliott continues to prove his road-course prowess after winning four consecutive races on road courses and five of the last seven. Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon holds the record for most consecutive road-course wins with six (1997-2000). Elliott is also the youngest driver to win a road course race (22 years, 8 months, 8 days) and holds the overall second-best win percentage (41.7 %) behind only Dan Gurney (55.6 %).
HOMETOWN WIN: Last season’s win at the inaugural DAYTONA Road Course race was crew chief Alan Gustafson’s first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at his home track. He hails from Ormond Beach, Florida, just down the road from Daytona International Speedway. After graduating from Seabreeze High School, he enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to study mechanical engineering. Gustafson is in his 17th full-time season as a crew chief and sixth year with Elliott. He has called the shots for five different drivers (Elliott, Gordon, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Kyle Busch).
GUSTAFSON ON ROAD COURSES: Gustafson will call his 35th road-course race from atop the pit box this Sunday at Daytona. In his previous 34 starts, the Florida native has garnered five wins, the most of active crew chiefs, 10 top-five finishes, 16 top-10s and 297 laps led.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on 2021 road courses: “Road courses have been good to us the past few trips, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to go good every time. There has not been one part of me that watched the schedule change, saw seven road courses and thought, ‘Yeah, we’ve got it now.’ That’s just not how I am. At the end of the day, you have to be good everywhere and I want to be good everywhere. We as a team want to get to the point where we can win on any given week: road course, circle track, intermediate, dirt…whatever it is, we want to be able to win at any time. The great teams and the great drivers are capable of doing that, and I think we are capable doing that. So that’s where my head’s at – trying to be good everywhere.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what the team learned from the Clash: “I didn’t feel like we were as good as we needed to be during the Clash. We did have a lot of circumstances that prohibited us from kind of working our way up - some of our own doing, some not. The windshield was one certainly, our strategy and execution was also pretty poor. We had to come back from those things and ultimately we were headed towards the front and I think we were probably in our best position until Martin (Truex) crashed. We didn't need that caution because we were out of tires. We weren’t as good as we wanted to be, for sure. We are going to try and improve a little bit and give Chase a better car so we are focused on trying to do that for this weekend.”
FIT FOR THE CHAMP: Last week at Daytona, Elliott was outfitted with his very own WWE title. WWE Superstars Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, better known as the Street Profits, presented the reigning champion with a WWE title that features customized side plates. Elliott is the first NASCAR Cup Series champion to receive this honor. Click here to see the presentation.
Denny Hamlin is 12/1 to win on Daytona Road Course
Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 At Daytona
Date/Time: Feb. 21/3:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 70 laps/253 miles
Track Length: 3.61 miles (14 Turns)
Track Shape: Road Course-Oval Hybrid
Banking: 31 degrees
2020 Winner: Chase Elliot
Express Notes:
Press Kit: Download the 2021 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.
Daytona 500 Recap: Hamlin and his FedEx “Where Now Meets Next” Toyota won Stages 1 and 2, while leading 98 of the event’s 200 laps. When he wasn’t out front, he was actively weaving his way back up there, and it appeared he could be on his way to earning his fourth career – and third straight – Harley J. Earl trophy. With one last green-flag pit stop needed, Hamlin and the other Toyota drivers ducked down pit road together on Lap 173. But Hamlin and his teammates were too detached exiting pit road to blend back into traffic in the lead. Hamlin found himself in 13th with about 20 laps remaining, with the field staying single file until the white flag. The lead-lap group of cars then spread out for a dash to the finish, and contact between a pair of Team Penske cars triggered a last-lap wreck. Michael McDowell squeaked through for the win, while Hamlin crossed the line in fifth.
Daytona Road Course Outlook: The 2021 NASCAR series moves on, but is not going anywhere as the teams stay in Daytona Beach this week with the running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at the Daytona Road Course. Hamlin will look to secure his first career win in the 253-mile, 14-turn road course race. Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team are coming off a strong performance in the Daytona 500 and will look to use this momentum in order to end up in Victory Lane.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Daytona International Speedway – Road Course
Races: 1
Wins: 0
Top-5: 1
Top-10: 1
Laps Led: 16
Avg. Start: 2
Avg. Finish: 2
Hamlin Conversation – Daytona Road Course:
The rain delay during the Daytona 500 didn’t seem to affect your performance on the track. In Florida, do you almost have to expect weather to play a part in the race weekend?
“That was quite a long delay we had, but our team just maintained focus. You never have control over the weather or if a race will be delayed so you always have to stay ready. You never know when you’re going to hear, OK it’s race time.”
You led a solid amount of the laps in the Clash on the Daytona Road Course. How will you use that to your advantage?
“Yeah, we had a fast car during the Clash, and I’m sure this weekend won’t be any different. We’ll take that data and learn from it, and it will certainly help us as we return to the same course. It’s going to be a tough race like all road courses are, but I’m confident in our team to put us in a position to win.”
FedEx Express Along for the Ride at Daytona Road Course: FedEx Express recognizes the employees at the MLBA station in Melbourne, Fla., for their dedication to People Service Profit and commitment to the Purple Promise by featuring the letters MLBA on the B-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona. The MLBA team prides itself on operational excellence and is dedicated to making every FedEx experience outstanding.
Aric Almirola is 80/1 to win on Daytona Road Course
Aric Almirola Daytona Road Course Advance Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
● Event: NASCAR Cup Series Race at Daytona Road Course (Round 2 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 21 ● Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway ● Layout: 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course ● Laps/Miles: 70 laps/252.7 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 16 laps / Stage 2: 18 laps / Final Stage: 36 laps ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● Road Course History: Almirola has 22 road-course starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has earned two top-10 finishes at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway with a best finish of eighth, four top-20s at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International with a best finish of 12th, three top-20s at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway’s “roval” with a best finish of 14th, and a top-12 finish in his most recent road-course start in the Feb. 9 Busch Clash at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway’s road course.
● Last Thursday, Almirola won Bluegreen Vacations Duel No. 1 on the Daytona oval after leading a race-high 52 laps, which earned the Smithfield Ford driver 10 regular-season bonus points. Fans can view the Duel win from a behind-the-scenes perspective on the latest episode of Beyond the 10.
● Daytona 500: Almirola started third and raced inside the top-five and as high as second before an accident ended his day on lap 14. The No. 20 car approached his bumper off-center and with too much momentum, turning the No. 10 Smithfield Ford into the outside wall and causing a 16-car accident. The damage to Almirola’s car was beyond repair and ended his Daytona 500 bid.
● Almirola was one of 24 NASCAR Cup Series drivers to have already sampled the Daytona road course by virtue of his Busch Clash appearance on Feb. 9. The driver of the No. 10 Ford Mustang earned his spot in the non-points exhibition race on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile circuit by virtue of his appearance in the NASCAR playoffs last season. He started the Clash 21st and finished 12th.
● The Daytona road-course race is the first of a ground-breaking seven NASCAR Cup Series races to be held on road courses in 2021. From 1988 to 2017, there were only two road courses on the schedule – Sonoma and Watkins Glen. The Charlotte roval was added in 2018, giving the series just three road-course venues. The initial 2021 schedule doubled that tally, with Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course all being added. And when COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of this year’s stop at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, it was replaced by this weekend’s race at Daytona.
● Smithfield Foods celebrates 10 years of partnership with Almirola this season with a special campaign called Taste Victory. As one of the most active partners in NASCAR, Smithfield plans to engage fans all year long by hosting a microsite that provides the opportunity to win when Almirola wins or finishes inside the top-10. When Almirola wins, one fan will win $10,000, and 10 fans will win a gift card for each top-10 finish. The microsite also doubles as an Aric Almirola fan page and entertainment source where fans can get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with a custom racing game and learn more about Almirola with fast facts, favorite recipes and custom content about his life on and off the track. Visit www.tastevictory.com to learn more. Thanks to Almirola’s win in the Duel on Feb. 11, one lucky fan has already won $10,000.
● Beyond the 10 YouTube Series: In 2021, Almirola will share his life beyond the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with season three of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and it gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.
● The Smithfield Ford team sits 23rd in the championship standings with 13 points, 45 behind leader Austin Dillon.
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Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing |
How have you prepared for more road courses on the schedule this season? “Well, during the offseason we spent some time at COTA (Circuit of the Americas) getting a feel for that track. I have made it a personal goal and a priority this year to become a better road-course racer. As a racecar driver, you want to be versatile. You want to be able to contend for wins on superspeedways and intermediate tracks and short tracks – challenging tracks and road-course tracks. You don’t want to be weak in any one area. For me, it has been a big challenge to conquer road-course racing. I have put a lot of effort into this year to be a better road-course racer and had a lot of help with it. With Ford, they have helped me a lot with a lot of time in the simulator with our race team at Stewart-Haas Racing, and they’ve provided a lot of data to look at and a lot of things to study. I got my second top-10 on a road course out at Sonoma in 2019 and had a really good run and was really fast. I think we’ve come a long way and will be contending for more top-10s this year.”
Did your performance in the Busch Clash provide some insight as to what you can expect in your return to Daytona’s road course this Sunday? “Yes. I think we learned a lot in the Busch Clash. We were able to test some setups and adjustments that we can bring to the track this Sunday. Some things we liked and some we didn’t like. It is so crucial to get a feel for the car because, when we get to the track this Sunday, we’ll start the race cold without practice or qualifying.”
What do you feel about all of the road courses on the schedule this season? “You know. It’s great for our sport and it’s great for our fans to mix up the schedule and make things interesting. I think these road courses, like we’ve already seen in the past, will make a great show for our sport. It’s always an exciting race.” |
Kevin Harvick is 25/1 to win on Daytona Road Course
KEVIN HARVICK Daytona Road Course Advance No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
● Event: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 (Round 2 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 21 ● Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway ● Layout: 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course ● Laps/Miles: 70 laps/252.7 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 16 laps / Stage 2: 18 laps / Final Stage: 36 laps ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● Turning left and right. Going up and down through the gears. Hitting the apex of corners and, sometimes, riding the curb with such force that it puts the car on two wheels. It’s all a part of road-course racing, and it demands maximum performance from every part and piece on the racecar. Kevin Harvick has as added advantage with Mobil 1. Not only is the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand the primary sponsor on Harvick’s No. 4 Ford Mustang for the Daytona road course, Mobil 1 products are used throughout his racecar and they extend beyond just engine oil. Power steering fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil and driveline lubricants from Mobil 1 give Harvick a technical advantage over his counterparts by reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance. Mobil 1 is a sponsor whose technology makes Harvick’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang faster.
● Harvick was one of 21 NASCAR Cup Series drivers to have already sampled the Daytona road course in 2021. The driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing competed in the non-points Busch Clash Feb. 9 on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile circuit, starting 17th and finishing 15th.
● The Busch Clash marked Harvick’s second NASCAR Cup Series race on the Daytona road course, but his third overall. The NASCAR Cup Series raced on the Daytona road course for the first time last August. Harvick started from the pole and ran among the top-10 until two separate spins in the final stage relegated him to a 17th-place finish. Prior to that race, Harvick’s lone appearance on the Daytona road course came in 2002 during the Rolex 24 at Daytona sports-car race. Harvick co-drove the No. 90 Flis Motorsports entry in the American Grand Touring (AGT) class alongside Davy Lee Liniger, Rick Carelli and John Metcalf. Harvick qualified the car and drove early in the race but the engine expired after just 123 of the race’s 716 laps. The team finished eighth in class and 69th overall.
● The Daytona road-course race is the first of a ground-breaking seven NASCAR Cup Series races to be held on road courses in 2021. From 1988 to 2017, there were only two road courses on the schedule – Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval was added in 2018, giving the series just three road-course venues. The initial 2021 schedule doubled that tally, with Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course all being added. And when COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of the series’ stop at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, the Daytona road course was put in its place.
● Harvick has made a total of 42 NASCAR Cup Series starts on road courses. He has 19 starts apiece at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, three at the Charlotte Roval and one on the Daytona road course. He has scored two wins – Watkins Glen in 2006 and Sonoma in 2017 – along with 10 top-fives and 22 top-10s with 195 laps led. His best finish at the Charlotte Roval is third in 2019.
● When Harvick scored his first road-course victory at Watkins Glen in 2006, he had to beat his current team owner to do it. Tony Stewart – the “Stewart” in Stewart-Haas Racing – had won the past two NASCAR Cup Series races at the seven-turn, 2.45-mile road course and was poised to capture a third straight win as he was leading Harvick with four laps to go in the 90-lap race. But Harvick, who had already led once for 24 laps, passed Stewart on lap 87 as the two drag-raced down the frontstretch and into turn one. Harvick held onto the lead despite Stewart in his rearview mirror, earning a margin of victory of .892 of a second.
● Harvick’s second career road-course win also had a connection to Stewart. When Harvick won at Sonoma in 2017, he gave Stewart-Haas Racing its second straight victory at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course. The winner in 2016? None other than Stewart. It ended up being his 49th and final NASCAR Cup Series victory as Stewart retired from NASCAR racing at the conclusion of the season.
● Harvick’s last road-course win was his first in a Ford. When Harvick won at Sonoma in 2017, he became the 83rd different driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race behind the wheel of a Ford. Harvick has now won 23 Cup Series races with Ford, which makes him one of only 13 drivers to win 20 or more races with the manufacturer. He is currently tied with Rusty Wallace and Carl Edwards for 10th on the all-time Ford win list.
● Harvick has four road-course wins outside of the NASCAR Cup Series. Two came in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Montreal in 2007 and Watkins Glen in 2007 – and two were in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – Sonoma in 1998 and Sonoma in 2017. Harvick’s K&N Series win at Sonoma in 1998 was three years before his Cup Series debut on Feb. 26, 2001 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.
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Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing |
The first three races of this season are very different beginning last week with a superspeedway, a road course this Sunday and a 1.5-mile oval next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Will that shake up the point standings early in the year? “Every year, there are always surprises. There are always situations where people have had a bad three weeks. You just have to approach it as you would at any other point in the season. You go to the racetrack and try to put forward the best effort that you can to position yourself for the best finish you can get, and you do that every week. I think early in the season, no matter what tracks we’re on, there are going to be surprises as far as where people are. Sometimes you’re in a good spot and sometimes you’re digging out of a hole. It’s just the way the season starts.”
In running the Busch Clash on the road course – do you feel like you gave up valuable seat time on the oval in preparation for the Daytona 500 to be good this week on the road course? “I actually feel the opposite. I felt like the Busch Clash benefitted us tremendously just because of the fact that there are a lot of things we wanted to try in this particular environment. It was basically a test for us on the road-course stuff, and with so many road courses on the schedule this year, it just allowed us to have a test session to go out and try all the things we wanted to try. No pressure of a points race or anything that comes with that. We could tear it up, but the likelihood of tearing it up on the oval is way, way higher and, for us, there are a couple of benefits of not having a torn-up car and being able to make some laps and try to hone in on exactly what we need for our road-course program for the year.”
There are seven road-course races on the schedule this year. Do like road-course racing and are you looking forward to doing it so often? “I enjoy road racing. For us, it’s kind of up and down as far as what we’ve been able to do on the racetrack from a performance side, but a lot of that was track specific, too. Sonoma has been a really good racetrack for us. Then you look at Daytona – we kind of all got thrown on there last year. I think we all said we would’ve done probably a hundred things differently. It has yet to be seen, but I think running the Busch Clash helped us this week going back to the road course. We definitely have some racetracks that we needed to work on to try and make our stuff better, but we also know that we are going to some new places. We have to be a little more prepared, and that goes for me too. I’m trying to learn these new racetracks – which curbs to hit and all those types of things. We’re going to be aggressive with it and spend more time in the simulator and more time in the go kart trying to do some other things outside of what we do in the Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.”
Would you rather have more road courses or short tracks? “I would probably vote for short tracks just because of the fact that I think that short-track racing is a lot of fun to watch. The road courses will be great to mix it up, but when you look at the short tracks, everybody can see what’s going on from their seat and not wonder what happens the next time around. I think there’s a balance between adding more short tracks compared to road courses.”
Whether it’s a road course or a short track or any kind of track, you have an added advantage with Mobil 1 as a sponsor and technology partner. How advantageous has this relationship been? “The oil in the engine, the oil in the transmission, the oil in the rear gear and the things Mobil 1 provides us from a lubricant standpoint, it all adds up in the form of quicker lap times. On an oval, we can pick up a tenth-and-a-half or two-tenths of a second. On a road course, Mobil 1 helps with preservation, because we beat the heck out of our racecars – hitting curbs and shifting all the time. The level of technology and commitment to the things that go in our car, every piece of it adds up to a pretty big chunk of speed and an incredible amount of reliability.” |
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