Daytona International Speedway Track Facts: 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2019 Top 16 at Daytona International Speedway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Joey Logano	21	0	1	6	9	4	17.0	86.2
2	Kyle Busch	28	1	1	8	9	7	18.6	91.2
3	Brad Keselowski	20	0	1	3	4	8	22.4	78.2
4	Kevin Harvick	36	1	2	9	14	8	17.5	83.4
5	Martin Truex Jr	28	1	0	2	4	7	22.1	77.0
6	Denny Hamlin	27	0	2	8	9	3	17.0	87.9
7	Chase Elliott	7	3	0	0	0	3	27.0	70.6
8	Kurt Busch	36	0	1	13	17	4	17.9	87.4
9	Alex Bowman	6	1	0	0	1	0	16.3	74.6
10	Ryan Blaney	8	0	0	1	2	4	22.2	87.6
11	Aric Almirola	15	0	1	2	2	5	21.5	73.5
12	William Byron	3	1	0	0	0	2	25.3	78.7
13	Kyle Larson	11	0	0	0	3	5	23.3	70.6
14	Jimmie Johnson	35	2	3	11	15	10	18.3	86.8
15	Daniel Suarez	5	0	0	0	0	4	30.2	54.8
16	Clint Bowyer	27	0	0	4	12	6	16.2	79.0

* – Based on last 29 races at Daytona International Speedway (2005 – 2019).

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2019 Top Five Leaders In Loop Data:

Daytona International Speedway (Loop Data Era: 2005-Present)

Driver Rating		Average Running Position		Laps In The Top 15
Drivers	Driver Rating	Drivers	Avg. Running Pos.	Drivers	Laps in Top 15
Kyle Busch	91.2	Kyle Busch	14.258	Kyle Busch	3,202 (63.8%)
Denny Hamlin	87.9	Ryan Blaney	14.565	Jimmie Johnson	3,189 (61.1%)
Ryan Blaney	87.6	Jimmie Johnson	15.054	Kurt Busch	2,967 (59.2%)
Kurt Busch	87.4	Denny Hamlin	15.095	Denny Hamlin	2,805 (57.8%)
Jimmie Johnson	86.8	Kurt Busch	16.246	Kevin Harvick	2,614 (50.1%)
Laps Led		Quality Passes		Fastest Laps Run
Drivers	Laps Led	Drivers	Quality Passes	Drivers	Fastest Laps
Denny Hamlin	437 (9.0%)	Kurt Busch	4,093	Ryan Newman	119 (2.3%)
Kyle Busch	420 (8.4%)	Jimmie Johnson	4,043	Kevin Harvick	116 (2.2%)
Kurt Busch	291 (5.8%)	Kyle Busch	3,721	Clint Bowyer	113 (2.3%)
Jimmie Johnson	272 (5.2%)	Denny Hamlin	3,658	Kyle Busch	110 (2.2%)
Brad Keselowski	199 (5.5%)	Kevin Harvick	3,576	Denny Hamlin	103 (2.1%)

 Daytona International Speedway:

History

·        Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.

·        The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959 – won by Bob Welborn.

·        The first summer race at Daytona International Speedway was held on July 4, 1959 – won by Fireball Roberts (140.581 mph).

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.

·        Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the July race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under the lights ever since.

·        The track underwent a repave in 2010.

·        2016 marked the next phase in the existence of Daytona International Speedway as the DAYTONA Rising project was completed, ushering in the first ‘motorsports stadium,’ a 400-million-dollar project.

·        There have been 144 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway since the track hosted its first race in 1959:  61 have been 500 miles, 56 were 400 miles and four were 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.

Starts

·        A total of 679 different drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway; 515 have competed in more than one.

·        A total of 464 different drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series July race at Daytona International Speedway; 296 have competed in more than one.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Daytona with 74 starts. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active series drivers in Daytona starts with 36 each.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in July race starts at Daytona with 32. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active series drivers in July Daytona starts with 18 each.

·        A total of 180 drivers have made their first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona International Speedway; only 19 have made their first start during the July Daytona race.

·        Five active series drivers have made their first career start at Daytona International Speedway, though none were during the July race: Brendan Gaughan (2/15/2004) Alex Bowman (2/23/14), Daniel Suárez (2/26/17), William Byron (2/18/2018) and Matt Tifft (2/17/2019).

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts leads the series in average starting position at Daytona with a 5.412 in 17 starts. He also leads the series in average starting position in the Daytona July race with a 2.200 in five starts.

·        Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the series in average starting position at Daytona with a 7.285 in eight total starts. Elliott also leads the series in average starting position in the July race at Daytona with a 9.0 in four starts.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position in the Daytona July Race (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Avg. Start	Starts	Rank	Active Drivers	Avg. Start	Starts
1	Fireball Roberts	2.200	5	1	Chase Elliott	9.000	4
2	Boris Said	4.000	4	2	Jimmie Johnson	10.000	18
3	Banjo Matthews	4.667	3	3	Ryan Blaney	11.000	5
4	Davey Allison	5.286	7	4	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	11.833	7
5	Pete Hamilton	6.000	3	5	Austin Dillon	12.000	6
6	Cale Yarborough	6.455	22	6	Kevin Harvick	14.389	19
7	Earl Balmer	6.667	3	7	Kyle Busch	16.000	15
8	Casey Atwood	7.000	2	8	Clint Bowyer	16.923	14
9	Dick Hutcherson	7.000	2	9	Denny Hamlin	17.846	14
10	Fred Lorenzen	7.000	8	10	William Byron	18.000	2

Poles

·        A total of 61 different drivers have won the Busch Pole Award in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway; 24 drivers have won more than one.  

Monster Energy Series
Active Daytona July Race Pole Winners
Active Pole Winners	Poles
Chase Elliott	1
Kevin Harvick	1
Kyle Busch	1
Paul Menard	1

·        A total of 41 different drivers have won the Busch Pole Award in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona for the July race; eight drivers have won more than one. Only four active pole winners are entered this weekend.   

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough leads the series in poles at Daytona with 12 poles (Feb. 1968, July 1969, 1970 sweep, 1978 sweep, July 1980, July 1981, July 1983, 1984 sweep, July 1986). Eight of the 12 poles are from the July race.  

·        Chase Elliott leads all active series drivers in poles at Daytona with three (Feb. 2016, Feb. 2017 and July 2018).

·        Fireball Roberts won the inaugural Busch pole for the July race at Daytona in 1959 with a speed of 144.997 mph. 

·        Three drivers have won consecutive Busch poles for the July race at Daytona: Cale Yarborough (1969-’70; 1980-’81, 1983-’84), Sterling Marlin (1991-’92) and Dale Earnhardt (1994-’95).

·        Youngest series Daytona July race pole winner: Jeff Gordon (July 6, 1996 - 24 years, 11 months, 2 days); all-time track record belongs to Chase Elliott (February 21, 2016 – 20 years, 2 months, 24 days).

·        Oldest series Daytona pole winner: Mark Martin (July 2, 2011 – 52 years, 5 months, 23 days).

Monster Energy Series
July Race First-Time Pole Winners
First-Time Pole Winners	Season
Paul Menard	2008
Kevin Harvick	2002
Sterling Marlin	1991
Greg Sacks	1990
Geoff Bodine	1982
Charlie Glotzbach	1968
Darel Dieringer	1964

·        A total of 17 different drivers have posted their first series career Busch pole at Daytona International Speedway – 10 during Speedweeks in February and seven for the July race.  

·        Six active drivers have posted their first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch pole at Daytona International Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2/17/02), Kevin Harvick (7/6/02), Paul Menard(7/5/08), Austin Dillon (2/23/14), Chase Elliott (2/21/16) and William Byron (2/17/2019).

·        Nine different manufacturers have won the Busch Pole Award at Daytona, led by Chevrolet (49) and followed by Ford (25), Pontiac (15), Mercury (10), Dodge (nine), Oldsmobile (six), Plymouth (two), Toyota (one) and Buick (one).

·        Eight different manufacturers have won the Busch Pole Award for the July race at Daytona, led by Chevrolet (22), and followed by Ford (13), Pontiac (six), Dodge (five), Mercury (five), Oldsmobile (three), Toyota (one) and Buick (one).

Wins

·        A total of 64 different drivers have posted at least one Monster Energy Series win at Daytona, 29 drivers have multiple series wins at Daytona.  

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in wins at Daytona with 10 (Feb. 1964, Feb. 1966, Feb. 1971, Feb. 1973, Feb. 1974, July 1975, July 1977, Feb. 1979, Feb. 1981, July 1984).

·        Jimmie Johnson leads all active series drivers in Daytona wins with three (Feb. 2006 and 2013 sweep).

·        Of the 64 Daytona winners, 37 of them have won the July race at Daytona International Speedway,  eight are entered in this weekend’s event.

Monster Energy Series
Active Daytona July Race Winners
Active Winners (8)	Wins
Aric Almirola	1
Brad Keselowski	1
David Ragan	1
Erik Jones	1
Jimmie Johnson	1
Kevin Harvick	1
Kyle Busch	1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr	1

·         NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson with five wins (1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978).

·        Eight active drivers are tied with a single series July race win at Daytona – Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    

·        Five drivers have posted consecutive July race wins at Daytona International Speedway: Fireball Roberts (1962-1963), A.J. Foyt (1964-1965), Cale Yarborough (1967-1968) David Pearson (1972 - 1974) and Tony Stewart (2005-2006).

·        Youngest Daytona July race winner: Kyle Busch (07/01/2008 – 23 years, 2 months, 3 days); all-time track record - Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 – 20 years, 0 months, 1 day).

·        Oldest Daytona July race winner: Bobby Allison (07/04/1987 – 49 years, 7 months, 1 day); all-time track record - Bobby Allison (02/14/1988 – 50 years, 5 months, 23 days).

·        Nine of the 60 July Daytona races (15%) in the Monster Energy Series have been won from the Pole or first starting position; six from the Pole and three from the first starting position when qualifying was cancelled. The most recent was the 2015 July race – winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

·        The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (nine) than any other starting position in the July race at Daytona International Speedway.

Monster Energy Series Wins by Starting Positions at Daytona

Starting Position	Wins	Winning %	Starting Position	Wins	Winning %
1	9	15.00%	12	1	1.67%
2	7	11.67%	13	2	3.33%
3	6	10.00%	14	1	1.67%
4	3	5.00%	15	3	5.00%
5	4	6.67%	19	1	1.67%
6	4	6.67%	21	1	1.67%
7	1	1.67%	29	1	1.67%
8	4	6.67%	30	1	1.67%
9	6	10.00%	38	1	1.67%
10	1	1.67%	42	1	1.67%
11	2	3.33%
Stats				Winning %	Wins
Winning from the First Starting Position:				15.00%	9
Winning from the Front Row:				26.67%	16
Winning from a Top-Five Starting Position:				48.33%	29
Winning from a Top-10 Starting Position:				75.00%	45
Winning After Starting Outside the Top 20:				8.33%	5

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Daytona is 42nd, by Tony Stewart in the 2012 July race.

Monster Energy Series
First-Time July Daytona Race Winners
First-Time Race Winners (9)	Season
A.J. Foyt	1964
Sam McQuagg	1966
Greg Sacks	1985
Jimmy Spencer	1994
John Andretti	1997
Greg Biffle	2003
David Ragan	2011
Aric Almirola	2014
Erik Jones	2018

·        A total of 19 drivers have posted their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona; nine of the 19 drivers posted their first win in the July race.

·        Three active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Daytona International Speedway; all three were during the July race: Aric Almirola (07/06/2014), David Ragan (07/02/2011) and Erik Jones (07/07/2018).

Daytona Sweeps Drivers that have swept both races (Daytona 500 and the July race) at Daytona: Fireball Roberts – 1962 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 250) Cale Yarborough – 1968 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 400) LeeRoy Yarborough – 1969 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 400) Bobbie Allison – 1982 (Daytona 500, Firecracker 400) Jimmie Johnson – 2013 (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola)

·        Martin Truex Jr. leads the series among active drivers with the most Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona without visiting Victory Lane at 28.

·        The Wood Brothers have the most wins at Daytona in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with 15; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 14.

Additional Finishing Position Stats

·        A total of 67 different drivers in the Monster Energy Series have finished runner-up at Daytona.

·        Buddy Baker leads the series in runner-up finishes at Daytona with eight second-place finishes.  

·        Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Daytona with four.

·        A total of 39 different drivers in the Monster Energy Series have finished runner-up at Daytona in the July race.

·        Buddy Baker leads the series in runner-up finishes at Daytona in the July race with five second-place finishes.  

·        Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson lead all active drivers in runner-up finishes in the July race at Daytona with three each.

Top Five in Runner-Up Finishes in the July Race at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Runner-Ups	Rank	Active Drivers	Runner-Ups
1	Buddy Baker	5	1	Jimmie Johnson	3
2	Richard Petty	4		Kyle Busch	3
	Sterling Marlin	4	3	Clint Bowyer	1
4	Jimmie Johnson	3		Martin Truex Jr	1
	Kyle Busch	3

·        A total of 152 different drivers in the Monster Energy Series have finished in the top-five at Daytona.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Daytona with 28 top fives.  

·        Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in top-five finishes at Daytona with 13.

·        A total of 108 different drivers in the Monster Energy Series have finished in the top-five in the July race at Daytona.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in top-five finishes at Daytona in the July race with 13 top fives.  

·        Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in top-five finishes in the July race at Daytona with seven.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes in the July Race at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Driver	Top Fives	Rank	Active Drivers	Top Fives
1	David Pearson	13	1	Kurt Busch	7
2	Richard Petty	12	2	Kyle Busch	5
3	Buddy Baker	11	3	Jimmie Johnson	4
4	Dale Earnhardt	10	4	Joey Logano	3
5	Bobby Allison	8		Kevin Harvick	3
	Darrell Waltrip	8
	Sterling Marlin	8

·        A total of 266 different drivers in the Monster Energy Series have finished in the top-10 at Daytona.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Daytona with 37 top 10s.  

·        Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in top-10 finishes at Daytona with 17.

·        A total of 180 different drivers in the Monster Energy Series have finished in the top-10 in the July race at Daytona.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in top-10 finishes at Daytona in the July race with 19 top 10s.

·        Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in top-10 finishes in the July race at Daytona with nine.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes in the July Race at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Driver	Top 10s	Rank	Active Drivers	Top 10s
1	David Pearson	19	1	Kurt Busch	9
2	Dale Earnhardt	18	2	Clint Bowyer	8
3	Buddy Baker	15	3	Jimmie Johnson	7
4	Terry Labonte	14	4	Kevin Harvick	6
5	Richard Petty	13	5	Kyle Busch	5
				Ryan Newman	5

·        Vic Parsons leads the series in average finishing position at Daytona with an 8.5 in two starts.

·        Austin Dillon leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Daytona with a 13.583.  

·        Cotton Owens and Erik Jones leads the series in average finishing position at Daytona in the July race with a 5.0 in two starts each.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position in the July Race at Daytona (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Avg. Finish	Starts	Rank	Active Drivers	Avg. Finish	Starts
1	Cotton Owens	5.000	2	1	Erik Jones	5.000	2
2	Erik Jones	5.000	2	2	Ty Dillon	11.000	2
3	David Pearson	6.435	23	3	Austin Dillon	12.800	5
4	Fireball Roberts	7.800	5	4	Bubba Wallace	14.500	2
5	Darel Dieringer	8.750	8	5	Clint Bowyer	14.846	13
6	Jack Smith	8.800	5	6	Alex Bowman	15.667	3
7	Jim Hurtubise	10.000	3	7	David Ragan	15.667	12
8	Marvin Panch	10.000	7	8	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	15.667	6
9	Dale Earnhardt	10.478	23	9	Kyle Busch	16.500	14
10	Dick Hutcherson	10.500	2	10	Ryan Newman	16.647	17

Track / Event Stats

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway for the July race is the July 7, 2007 event won by Jamie McMurray over Kyle Busch with a margin of victory of 0.005 second.

·        Below are the top five closest MOVs in the MENCS July race at Daytona

Margin of Victory	Date	Winner	Runner-Up
0.005	7/7/2007	Jamie McMurray	Kyle Busch
0.008	7/2/1994	Jimmy Spencer	Ernie Irvan
0.029	7/5/1997	John Andretti	Terry Labonte
0.092	7/3/2010	Kevin Harvick	Kasey Kahne
0.104	7/6/1996	Sterling Marlin	Terry Labonte

·        Seven of the MENCS July races at Daytona have resulted with NASCAR Overtime:

Date	Scheduled No. of Laps	Actual No. of Laps	NASCAR Overtime	Winner
7/7/2018	160	161	1	Erik Jones
7/1/2017	160	163	3	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
7/2/2016	160	161	1	Brad Keselowski
7/5/2015	160	161	1	Dale Earnhardt Jr
7/6/2013	160	161	1	Jimmie Johnson
7/2/2011	160	170	10	David Ragan
7/3/2010	160	166	6	Kevin Harvick
7/5/2008	160	162	2	Kyle Busch

Daytona NASCAR Cup Series Notes: 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400

Cup Series has a different race package from February's Daytona 500.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Coke Zero Sugar 400
The Place: Daytona International Speedway
The Date: Saturday, July 6
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, 7:00 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)
2018 Race Winner: Erik Jones

Logano looking good atop the points standings

Joey Logano rallied to a third-place finish in Sunday night at Chicagoland Speedway and that effort was good enough to keep the Team Penske driver atop the points standings as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series arrives in Daytona Beach for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

It was inspired driving by the reigning Monster Energy Series champion, who had not earned any stage points on the day but still managed to collect his ninth top five of the season and third top-three run in the last five races. He’s won twice on the year (at Las Vegas and Michigan) and his work at Chicago was good enough to extend his championship lead to 18 points over Kyle Busch.

Daytona International Speedway has been hit-or-miss for the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. He won the Daytona 500 in 2015 and led 11 laps and finished fourth in the season opener this year.

The Daytona summer race, however, has been more challenging for the team of late. Logano has crashed out of the last two 400-milers but finished fourth in the last two Daytona 500s. He has six top-10 finishes in the last nine races at the track, but only led 74 laps (in 21 starts) and posted an average finish of 17.0 in his career there.


Back to defend for the first time

For the first time in his brief Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones returns to Daytona International Speedway as a defending race winner. The driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota earned the win in only his fifth Cup start at the track.

And while the 2.5-mile Daytona high banks have typically proven tough for many competitors, the 23-year old Jones seems to have taken to the style of fast, tight competition rather well. He has three top-10 and a pair of top-five finishes in five starts, including a third place in this season’s Daytona 500 as an impressive follow-up to last year’s summer victory.

He has only two Coke Zero Sugar 400 Cup starts, but his 5.00 average finish in the race is still tops statistically.

Jones has been strong especially as of late. He has three top-10 finishes in the last four races and five in the last seven. He’s scored a season-best third place, three times – at Daytona, Texas and Pocono. He comes to Daytona ranked 17th in the championship hunt, only 15 points behind 16th place Clint Bowyer in the Playoff cutoff position.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to Daytona,’’ Jones said. “It’s always cool coming back to a track where you are the defending race winner. Looking forward to the race and defending our win from last year.

“It’s always fun to get down there on the 4th of July. It’s usually a great crowd, a great turnout and great atmosphere for the race. Looking forward to getting out there and hopefully we’ll be able to get another win to lock ourselves in the Playoffs and have a lot fun at the same time.”


Blaney on the verge of driving into Victory Lane

Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney has watched both his teammates – Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski – celebrate in Victory Lane multiple times this season. But the popular 25-year old driver of the team’s No. 12 Ford should feel plenty optimistic heading into Daytona.

The 2.5-mile track has been a positive entry on the resume of his four-year fulltime career with multiple close-calls in scoring that first win on the iconic track.

He finished runner-up in the 2017 Daytona 500 – by a mere blink-of-the-eye .228-seconds to Kurt Busch. And after winning one of the two Daytona 500 Duel qualifying races, he answered the effort leading a race best 118 laps in 2018 - only to finish seventh after being collected in an accident in the final laps.

This year, he was again involved an accident – only 10 laps from the scheduled checkered flag – and finished 31st. So Blaney arrives at the beach, hoping to extend some of his better luck 2019 showings.

He is on a run of three straight top-10 finishes, including a sixth place at Chicago. He has finished a season-best third, three times including two weeks ago at Sonoma, Calif., and is ranked 10th in the championship standings, only 10 points behind ninth place Alex Bowman, last week’s Chicago winner.

The new technical package – a tapered spacer as opposed to the traditional restrictor plate – will be used for the first time since 1988 at the track. But Blaney, who started seventh and finished 15th at Talladega using the new package earlier this season, seemed optimistic that teams will be in better shape this go-round.

“Obviously, they are different kind of race tracks a little bit in their own ways and I think teams will go to Daytona with a little different mindset of what they had at Talladega,’’ Blaney said. “Just trying to figure it out. I think it will be a good race. I thought Talladega was a pretty good race and I think it will get better as teams start to understand the package.’’

“It’s a race I look forward to every year,’’ Blaney added.


Back On Track

Four-time race winner Kyle Busch has displayed a dominant start to the 2019 season – tying a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series record with 11 consecutive top-10 finishes to start the year. And he won three races (at Fontana, Calif., Bristol, Tenn. and Pocono, Pa.) in that time.

His top-10 streak ended with a season worst 30th place at Kansas Speedway, however, he has rebounded solidly. Busch has four top-five finishes in the last five races in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, including a fourth win at Pocono, Pa. and a runner-up at the Sonoma, Calif. road course two weeks ago.

Busch remains ranked second in the Monster Energy Series points standings – trailing leader Joey Logano by 18 points – despite a 22nd place finish at Chicago on Sunday. Looking to Daytona, he has run the most laps in the top 15 (63.8 percent) and made the most Quality Passes (4,093) since 2005. Only his JGR teammate Denny Hamlin has led more laps (437 vs. 420) in that time

He enters the Coke Zero Sugar 400 as one of the top ranked drivers in the event – his only win at the track coming in the summer of 2008. He has nine top-10 finishes – eight of them top-five finishes – in 28 starts at Daytona. He led 37 laps in this year’s Daytona 500 and finished runner-up to Hamlin.


Will Denny double up at Daytona?

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin returns to Daytona International Speedway as the most recent race winner, having taken the season-opening Daytona 500 victory – his second in the Great American Race.

He has 10 top-10 finishes through the first 17 races in the No. 11 JGR Toyota Camry with wins at Daytona and Texas and average finish of 10.4 on the season. He’s led laps at the five previous races coming to Daytona, a place where he is tops in laps led (437) among the current drivers.

Hamlin has eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 27 Daytona starts – famously winning the exhibition Clash race in his very first Cup start at the track.

“We had a great race earlier this year in Daytona, but this weekend will be entirely different,’’ Hamlin said. “Just like all the other teams, we have learned a lot about ourselves in the weeks since the Daytona 500 and we will be fighting for a repeat win, but we are ready and preparing for the challenge that is coming our way.’’


Hendrick Resurgence

Alex Bowman’s maiden Monster Energy Series victory Sunday night in Chicago coupled with the good showings from his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates – Jimmie Johnson, William Byron and Chase Elliott – was certainly an encouraging sign for the championship organization as it heads into Daytona Beach.

The four drivers have combined for 12 top-five finishes and 25 top-10s. Elliott, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet leads the team with six top-five finishes. Elliott and the seven-time Cup champion Johnson each have seven top 10s while Bowman has tallied six. All by Bowman has won at least one pole position. Bowman (Chicago) and Elliott (Talladega, Ala.) have race wins.

Elliott’s victory at Talladega in May is encouraging for the team, as that marked the first time the series has used a tapered spacer in place of a restrictor plate at one of the two “big tracks.” This week will feature the same tapered spacer at Daytona.

Even though Elliott, Bowman and Byron have won pole positions at Daytona International Speedway, the famed high banks haven’t been the most productive of venues for the three youngest members of the Hendrick team. Bowman is the only member of that trio with a top-10 finish (10th place in this summer race last year) in 16 combined starts among them. The veteran champion Johnson, however, has three victories at Daytona – two Daytona 500 wins (2006 and 2013) and scored a Daytona victory sweep in 2013 while also claiming the 400-mile race win.

He’s crashed out in four of the last six Daytona races, but paced the team this February with a ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500.


By the numbers

Chicagoland Speedway continued an upward trend statistically for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season.

The average number of lead changes (18.94) is the most through a season’s opening 17 races since 2017 (19.65). The average number of leaders (9.29) per race is the most since 2014 (11.0) and Alex Bowman’s win at Chicago marked the 10th time in 17 races the Margin of Victory was less than 1-second.

Green flag passing is up this year – 602 green flag passes for the lead is the most since 2015 through the opening 17 races. Twelve of the 17 races have exceeded the five-year average, including all five races at 1.5-mile venues to date. Overall and specifically, this season’s green flag passes for the lead are up 30.9 percent from last year.

Nine drivers from five teams have won pole positions. Hendrick Motorsports has earned the most – William Byron (three), Chase Elliott (two) and Jimmie Johnson (one). And while Joe Gibbs Racing leads the season with the most race wins (10), it has yet to win a pole position.

JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. have the most wins (four) on the year.


Parade Laps: Insights ahead of this week’s driver media rotations

Seven drivers from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series – JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ryan Preece, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Daniel Suarez, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Jimmie Johnson, Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Leavine Family Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto will be participating in this week’s media rotations at Daytona International Speedway in advance of Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Ryan Preece, 28, of Berlin, Conn., has turned in the best showings of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie year at the superspeedways. He was eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500 and answered with a third place at Talladega Superspeedway. The driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet is still looking to lead his first laps of the season and is coming off a 28th place finish at Chicago last weekend.

Daniel Suarez, 27, of Monterrey, Mexico, would love to turn around his superspeedway program and he’s in the midst of a high-achieving first season driving the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. He has six top-10 finishes in 2019 – half of his previous best entire season total (12 in 2017). His top-five efforts were at Texas and Michigan. He crashed out of the 2019 Daytona 500 and has failed to finish in four of the previous five Daytona races, but did have a good day at the series’ other superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., finishing 12th this spring.

William Byron, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, seems on an inevitable track to his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup victory. The former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion has been improving weekly in the Cup side – leading laps in the last seven consecutive races and in 11 of the 17 races to date on the season. He has three top-10 finishes in the last five races in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and is coming off an eighth place run at Chicago on Sunday night. He won the Busch Pole position when the series last raced at Daytona for the season-opening Daytona 500 and led a season high 44 laps in that race. Unfortunately, he was collected in a crash only two laps before the scheduled checkered flag and finished 21st. And there is good precedent for him there. He won a 2017 Xfinity Series summer race at the big track.

Jimmie Johnson, 43, of El Cajon, Calif., is among the most successful racers at Daytona International Speedway. The seven-time Cup champion has a pair of Daytona 500 victories (2006 and 2013) and swept the 2013 season races at the track, earning his only summer Daytona win that year. He won the pole position in his very first start at Daytona (2002). Johnson won this year’s Clash season-opening exhibition at the track and answered with a ninth place run in the Daytona 500. The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is coming off a season-best fourth place finish at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend and led 10 laps. He has three top-10 finishes in the last six races of the season and his top 10 at Chicago moved him from 17th to 14th in the points standings.

Michael McDowell, 34, of Phoenix, Arizona, is enthusiastic about the series return to Daytona International Speedway – site of his best 2019 season result, a fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500. The track has consistently provided highlight reel material for McDowell. He has six top-10 finishes including a career best fourth place in the 2017 summer race. Last year he led 20 laps in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 – the only time he’s led laps in his 16 starts at the track. The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford finished 20th at Chicago on Sunday night – his fourth top-20 of the season. And his seventh-place start marked the best qualifying effort of 2019.

Brad Keselowski, 35, of Rochester Hills, Mich., continues his steady and consistent work toward a second championship and returns to Daytona International Speedway a former Coke Zero Sugar 400 winner. He won the summer race in 2016 leading a dominating 115 of the 161 laps in his No. 2 Penske Racing Ford. He’s had four DNFs in the five races since but did rally with a 12th-place finish in the Daytona 500 this February. The 2012 Monster Energy Series champion has turned in an impressive three-win season to date (Atlanta, Martinsville, Va. and Kansas) and his fifth-place finish at Chicago on Sunday was his seventh top-five of the season, ninth top-10. He’s led an impressive 775 laps on the year.

Matt DiBenedetto, 27, of Grass Valley, Calif., returns to Daytona International Speedway looking for redemption after an impressive effort at the big track in the Daytona 500 this February. He led a race best 49 laps, but while running at the front of the field was caught up in a crash with 10 laps to go in the scheduled distance and instead finished 28th. He has two other top-10 runs at the superspeedway – including a career best seventh place in last year’s summer 400-miler. The driver of the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota recorded a career best fourth place finish at Sonoma, Calif. two weeks ago, has five top-20 finishes on the year and is ranked 25th in the Cup standings.

Aric Almirola is 16/1 to win 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

ARIC ALMIROLA Hometown Hero Returns to Daytona Aric Almirola ran well with new package at Talladega. KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (July 3, 2019) – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Anytime Favorites Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), returns to his home track, Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, this weekend.  In the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500, Almirola showed strength by running at the front of the field on occasion, but his day ended when he was caught in a multicar accident on lap 190 – the inevitable “big one.”  The Tampa, Florida native has found his way to victory lane at Daytona, scoring his first career Cup Series win in the rain-shortened July 2014 race, when he led 14 laps. He tasted restrictor plate-racing success again four years later, during his first season with SHR, when he was victorious at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It put him in the 2018 Cup Series playoffs, where he advance to the semifinal round, and proved the No. 10 driver has potential to bring home another superspeedway win any time he races on one.  Almirola will make his 16th Cup Series start at Daytona this weekend. He also has 10 starts in the Xfinity Series at the track located along Florida’s Central Coast. In fact, Almirola started on the pole in his first Xfinity Series outing in July 2007, and he captured an Xfinity Series win there while piloting the No. 98 Biagi-Den Beste Ford Mustang in July 2016. Almirola has three Daytona starts in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with a best finish of 12th.  In Cup Series competition this season, Almirola has earned nine top-10s, one top-five, one pole, and has led 100 laps in 17 races. He is currently on pace for his best season to date. At this point last year, he had only seven top-10s, no top-fives, no poles, and had led 71 laps.  For the second time this season, a slightly new aerodynamic setup for the superspeedway races first implemented at Talladega in April will be in effect at Daytona this weekend.  “I don’t know if we learned anything from the Talladega race that will apply to Daytona,” Almirola said. “Daytona and Talladega are really two different animals. At Talladega, handling is rarely an issue and it’s more about trimming your car out to go fast. Daytona certainly becomes a handling racetrack, especially in the heat of summer in July. You’ve got to be able to run wide open at Daytona while having great balance to make aggressive moves in the draft.” The Mustang driver enters the Fourth of July weekend the same way he did last year, partnered for the eighth year with Smithfield, a brand of Smithfield Foods, which is based approximately five hours northeast of SHR headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia. Founded in 1936, Smithfield is a leading provider of high-quality pork products, with a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts. Almirola’s Ford Mustang this weekend will sport a fresh new look for the first time this season with Smithfield Anytime Favorites livery adorning the No. 10 car. The legendary artisan taste of Smithfield now comes in more than 20 delicious cuts and flavors – including sliced, cubes and steaks. That means perfect portions every time. Scrambled eggs can be enhanced with flavorful cubes, and diced ham makes for an ideal party appetizer, and enjoyable slices make for a traditional dinner. Also, fans can now get VIP, behind-the-scenes access in following “Aric ‘Beyond the 10’” by subscribing to his YouTube channel and following episodes on Facebook and Instagram TV. Episodes showcase never-before-seen footage of Almirola at the racetrack, on family trips, and “A Day in the Life” during the week, as well as all that goes into a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s season. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode. Almirola currently sits 11th in the championship standings, 195 points out of first and five positions ahead of the cutoff for the playoffs.

Aric Almirola: Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Anytime Favorites Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How do hot temperatures and high humidity, like we’re starting to see in the current stretch of midsummer races, affect the racecar? “Hot temperatures and high heat, at superspeedway races, especially, make them that much more difficult. You’re already really, really focused on everything going on and it’s very mentally draining. It’s like a high-speed chess match and you’re constantly on pins and needles, and constantly watching both sides of your car and you’re watching everything happening in front of you. You’re really tense all day long and the heat on top of it just gives you one more thing to think about and you have to try and block that out. You have to try and forget about the fact that you’re boiling inside the car and focus on everything going on around you.” How was it to win the July Daytona race in 2014? “The end goal is not just to make it to the top and be there. The end goal is to be successful at the highest level. To win at Daytona stamped a little bit of validation on the fact that I made it to the top and I won at the highest level of stock car racing in the United States. That win was a career highlight and I hope to add another win.” Do you have any memories of the July Daytona race when you were growing up? “I remember going to the Firecracker 400 in July at Daytona. We’d leave Tampa and stop at Disney World for a few days and then head to Daytona for the race. So I grew up going to Daytona and I loved it. Getting the opportunity to race at Daytona is special in itself, but then to be able to win my first Cup race there was a very special day. I would say that is my proudest moment in racing so far. I still have a lot of races I want to win and a championship someday, though.”  Your first Xfinity Series win was the first time you were able to have your family in victory lane with you. How cool was it to have that experience with them? “To see the smile on my kid’s face and the tears in my wife’s eyes, that was special. To have them there when I won my first Xfinity race, that was so cool. To see the reaction on my kids’ faces when they got Gatorade sprayed all over them and they got soaking wet – they were confused and startled but, at the same time, happy and elated. It was really cool.”

Daniel Suarez is 30/1 to win Saturday night at Daytona

DANIEL SUÁREZ Looking To Improve at Daytona KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (July 3, 2019) – Daniel Suárez and the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head south to Florida for Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400, the 18th race of the season. Suárez’s racecar will be adorned with the familiar black-and-red Haas Automation livery for this year’s third superspeedway event. Daytona is the first track the Cup Series will return to this season. NASCAR’s premier series opened the 2019 season at the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway in February. That event marked Suárez’s first time behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang for SHR, and he finished 33rd after an accident prematurely ended his day. Suárez is looking for a little luck after coming off a 24th-place finish in last weekend’s race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The Ford driver worked his way up into the top-10 but contact from another competitor caused a tire to go down and forced Suárez to pit road for an unscheduled green-flag stop, which put him two laps down on the 1.5-mile oval.   The Mexico native is looking to improve on his Daytona finishes as the superspeedway hasn’t been kind to him. Suárez has five Cup Series starts at the high-banked track and has led a total of 11 laps. The pack racing that is standard fare there has proved challenging for Suárez, with an average starting position of 22.2 and an average finishing position 30.2 to show for it. He’s been caught up in the typical superspeedway accidents more often than not in his young Cup Series career. He has seven starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona with one pole position earned in July 2015, along with three top-five and four top-10 starting spots. A speed of 180.256 mph there earned his first career Xfinity Series pole. In total, the 2016 Xfinity Series champion has an average Daytona starting position in that series of 12.9 and an average finishing position of 25.0, along with 12 laps led. Additionally, Suárez has two NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series starts at Daytona with results of ninth and 28th. The Haas driver is currently 15th in the Cup Series standings with SHR teammate Clint Bowyer in 16th to round out the four-driver contingent. The top 16 drivers after the 26 regular-season races will earn a spot in the NASCAR playoffs. If Suárez captures a playoff position, it will be the first of his Cup Series career. Last year, all four SHR entries secured at least one win and a playoff spot. SHR has three wins as an organization at Daytona – former SHR driver Kurt Busch in the 2017 Daytona 500, and team co-owner Tony Stewart in the 2009 and 2012 July races.  Ford has 37 all-time Cup Series wins at Daytona and has captured eight victories in the last 17 events there. Ford has found most of its success in the July Daytona event, winning two of the last three and four of the last eight.

Daniel Suárez: Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

This is your third Cup Series season. Do you expect to be one of the 16 drivers in the playoffs? “Yes, I have that expectation and we have to work hard for it. I think we have everything it takes to do it, but we’ll see. The team has high expectations and we both want more than just to make the playoffs, and I’m up for the challenge.” Is there a different type of motorsport that you have never raced that you want to race? “I hear a lot about the Chili Bowl, Sprint cars and Late Models on dirt with Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart. And as a driver who comes from Mexico, all I have raced is go-karts on asphalt. I have never run dirt in a car in my life. The only time I’ve been on dirt is because I’ve been on a motorcycle or on a four wheeler, but never in a racecar. The culture in Mexico is a little bit different and we don’t have dirt tracks for cars. All we do on dirt is motorcycles, motocross and stuff like that.”

Clint Bowyer is 14/1 to win 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400

CLINT BOWYER Bowyer Has Mobil 1 Advantage at Daytona KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (July 2, 2019) – More than 40 years ago, Mobil 1 motor oil entered the marketplace, making it the first globally available, full-synthetic automotive motor oil. Though it was originally released to safely enhance fuel efficiency, later formulations of Mobil 1 motor oil offered outstanding wear protection over the widest range of temperatures. Now, more than four decades later, Mobil 1 remains the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand. It has pushed forward the boundaries of automotive lubricant technology, evolving and improving to keep engines running like new, mile after mile, since 1974. From its vital role in the world of motorsports to its many scientific breakthroughs, Mobil 1 motor oil has a rich story with plenty of twists and turns. In its 17th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series. It also provides primary sponsorships on Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick’s Mustangs at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) at various Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races throughout the year. The Mobil 1 brand also serves as an associate sponsor for all four SHR drivers at all other races. Since 2011, ExxonMobil has been providing lubricant technology support to the SHR team, which helped drivers Tony Stewart and Harvick earn series championships for SHR in 2011 and 2014. Bowyer and Harvick along with SHR teammates Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez hope to demonstrate the Mobil 1 advantage on the high banks of Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Saturday night in the 61st annual Coke Zero Sugar 400. “Daytona is a challenge for everyone, not just the drivers,” said Bowyer, who will pilot the No. 14 Mobil 1/Rush Truck Centers Mustang at Daytona. “You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that Saturday night in Florida is going to be hotter than you know what. That means those engines, gears and everything are going to be stressed. We feel like we have a competitive advantage over the other teams because our Mobil 1 lubricants have been tested and proven to be the best on the track. It means better horsepower, reduced friction, and outstanding wear protection for our Mustangs. In this sport, even the tiniest advantage is a huge advantage.” Bowyer said that technology and engineering works in his personal car as well as his racecar. “Look, I have said several times over the last few years that Mobil 1 is more than a sponsor at SHR,” he said. “Most of the time I come into the 14 hauler, I see Mobil 1 folks testing our lubricants and doing stuff to make us better. These guys are always looking for ways to make things faster and more efficient. I see firsthand that the Mobil 1 lubricant engineering teams know engines better than anyone else in the industry. From racecars to my truck on the farm, Mobil 1 synthetic oil prolongs the life of every car better than conventional oil.” Bowyer needs the Mobil 1 advantage as NASCAR’s playoffs draw near. Counting Daytona, only nine races remain before the 2019 playoffs begin Sept. 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bowyer occupies the 16th and final playoff spot and is only 15 points ahead of 17th place. A win will secure a playoff position, but a good finish will certainly help, too, as Bowyer is only 68 out of 10th place. Daytona and Bowyer have enjoyed a love-hate relationship over the years. In 27 career starts, he owns four top-five finishes and 12 top10s and has led 159 laps. He battled for victory in the Daytona 500 in February, when he restarted fifth with two laps to go. Bowyer dove to the inside on the backstretch to grab the third spot, but clipped another car. The contact sent Bowyer into a spin, collecting several cars. The No. 14 team attempted to make repairs but could not continue and he finished 20th. “It’s time for a victory,” said Bowyer, who arrives at Daytona after finishing 37th at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois last weekend. “We ran really well in the Daytona 500 and had a chance at the end. I expect we’ll have our chances again Saturday night. We have to take advantage. We know we are a good team and certainly want to get on a roll in these upcoming races to have momentum going into the playoffs.” In addition to Mobil 1, Bowyer’s No. 14 will carry the decals of Rush Truck Centers again this weekend in Daytona. Rush Truck Centers has been the primary partner on the No. 14 team since Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 and has been with the organization since 2010. The Texas-based company has used Bowyer and the team to appeal to NASCAR fans as one way to recruit the technicians it needs to operate the largest network of commercial truck and bus dealerships in the country, with locations in 22 states. According to Rush Truck Centers, the trucking industry is expected to need 200,000 diesel technicians over the next 10 years to keep up with maintenance demands. Rush Truck Centers wants to make NASCAR fans aware of these opportunities and knows that, with Bowyer’s background, he is the right guy to help get the message out. “Mobil 1 and Rush Truck Centers are two longtime SHR partners and really important to what we are doing,” he said. “There would be nothing better than to get a win Saturday night in Daytona. That would be a helluva a fireworks show after the race.”

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How predictable is a Daytona race? “It’s one of those things where you can be leading coming to the white flag and finish 15th to 20th. I’ve done that. I’ve also been way back in the pack, then somehow picked my way through it on the last lap and got a good, solid finish. It’s a rollercoaster, just like it has been with everybody. You go from thinking, ‘I got ’em!’ to ‘Oh, no! How have we done so wrong?’ I mean, it’s just one of those emotional rollercoaster races where you just never know what’s going to happen. I had the Daytona 500 won in 2010, and they literally used the Bondo out of the haulers to fix the track. I didn’t win that year but, before that happened, I just knew I had it won. Whether it’s a track surface, somebody hitting a jet dryer and blowing up, or coming down to a green-and-white checkered at the end, you just never know the recipe and what it’s going to take to win there.” What are your first memories of racing at Daytona International Speedway? “I remember Richard Childress hiring me and sending me to an ARCA test at Daytona. My eyes are this big – ‘Daytona? Really?’ To be able to roll through that tunnel and see those high banks and Daytona, that’s your ‘I’ve made it’ moment and it’s still that way today. Every time you go there in February and roll through those tunnels and see them high banks, it just gives you chills. You know what I mean? You come back in July, you don’t have – those are sweats, that’s sweat, those aren’t chills anymore. If you get chills in July, you need to go lay down, you’re too hot. But so much fun to be able to go back there, and every single year it’s just meaningful to get on those high banks and be able to compete at Daytona because, for me, it’s always been that moment of, ‘Hey, man, I got here." The big wrecks are common to Daytona. Do you get mad when you are in an accident? “There is a lot of emotion in our sport. Again, the sport’s dangerous. Tracks are different. We have short tracks. We have mile-and-a-half tracks. We have the big tracks we used to call restrictor-plate tracks where we see cars flying through the air like lawn darts. You just have a different variety of situations you’re in all the time throughout the year, so sometimes the level of – I guess I call it – fear. Call it whatever you want, it changes your emotion as you get out of a wreck or something like that. If it was something that somebody put you in harm’s way, that honestly could have hurt you badly or even potentially killed you, the level of anger and emotion is definitely different.” What does Mobil 1 bring to SHR? “Mobil 1 provides the entire SHR team with leading lubricant technology, ensuring that all Stewart-Haas Racing cars have a competitive edge over the competition on the track. Every time we receive a new formulation from Mobil 1, it exceeds our expectations.”

No. 14 Mobil 1/Rush Truck Centers Team Report Round 18

Kevin Harvick is 10/1 to win 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400

KEVIN HARVICK ’Tis Warm in Daytona Kevin Harvick is a two-time winner at Daytona. KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (July 2, 2019) – As difficult as it is to believe, the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season is through 17 points-paying races and number 18 of 36 takes the series back to where it all started – Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Since July 4, 1959, just before Hawaii became the 50th state, NASCAR has conducted a race around the Fourth of July. But changes to that particular tradition are coming as in 2020 as the race will move to late August, the final regular-season event before the 10-race playoffs begin. Daytona’s July date will move to another historic track, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has won just about every event at Daytona at least once – the 2007 Daytona 500, 2010 Coke Zero Sugar 400, the non-points Clash in 2009, 2010 and 2013, the non-points Gander RV Duels in 2013 and 2018, and the February 2007 NASCAR Xfinity Series race. But Harvick would love to win this year’s July race, if for nothing else, to get that first win of 2019 and to guarantee a berth in the 2019 playoffs. And Daytona in July will be different than Daytona in February. In February for the Daytona 500, the temperatures are usually warm but not overly hot, and the race is run during the day. For the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the temperatures soar and the race is conducted at night. What’s going to happen? Nobody really knows, because it’s Daytona and pretty much any driver can win. But for the final time, Daytona will host a July race. And it should be a great final show.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John's Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How do you feel about the July Daytona race moving to later in the year for 2020? “That’s one of the best changes to the whole schedule, in my opinion, because you have a built-in story before you get to the race. You can talk about it all year. Everyone has a chance to win at Daytona and that’s the ultimate end-of-the-year story. And it’s usually miserably hot and the tradition is longstanding, but also times have changed and you can definitely look up in the crowd and see it was time to change.” Is Charlotte around Memorial Day and Darlington around Labor Day more of a tradition than perhaps Daytona and July 4? “Absolutely. And when you have the Daytona 500 at your track, it’s hard to even come close to measuring up to that. That’s a tough one, but I love the position of where it is next year.” You’ve worked with Jimmy John’s for a few years. What makes Jimmy John’s unique? “I’ve known Jimmy since 2009 and I’ve personally seen how driven he is and how his work ethic is embraced by everyone who works at Jimmy John’s. They’re freaks about the details just like he is and want to be the best, period. And he’ll outwork everyone to be the best. That’s the same mindset we have in racing.” What makes racing under the lights at Daytona so special? “I think when you look at the night race at Daytona, it kind of marks the halfway point of the year and you know you’re going to Daytona. It’s not the Daytona 500, but it’s still Daytona, and everybody wants to win a race at Daytona no matter what it’s in or what it’s for. Daytona just has that special place in our sport and everybody wants to win there.”

Kyle Busch is 10/1 to win 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

KYLE BUSCH Recharging the Batteries Kyle Busch won at Daytona in 2008...that's it. HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (July 2, 2019) – For many Americans, the week of July 4th is a time to take a break and recharge the batteries from the daily grind while also celebrating Independence Day with family and friends.    Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), will be recharging his batteries in a different way, most notably wheeling the “Outrageously Dependable” colors of the longtime JGR partner in Saturday night’s traditional midsummer Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Along with recharging the batteries near the beach to celebrate the July 4th holiday, the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series champion knows he will not only need to beat his fellow competitors, but also the Florida summer heat. This part of the season happens to be the hottest for Cup Series competitors, with select race venues seeing record temperatures, and also for those who are heading out on their summer road trips. The summer months can be taxing on both man and machine, whether it’s on the highway or at the track. Caring for the latter is one of the ways JGR founding partner Interstate Batteries leverages its NASCAR program, reminding consumers to have their batteries checked during the hot summer months at a local dealer prior to their summer road trips. Interstate Batteries’ colors are already in the win column in 2019 via Busch’s March victory at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, which also happened to mark his 200th overall NASCAR victory. With his four wins so far this, only JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. has as many wins as Busch as the Interstate Batteries team will look to add another victory Saturday night at Daytona. Busch is certainly no stranger to victory lane in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, having won the July 2008 race behind the wheel of – yes – the Interstate Batteries Toyota. The Las Vegas native has fared much better in his summer races at Daytona during his career, when the track is much more slick thanks to Florida’s July heat. He has five top-five finishes in his 15 July starts at the track. With all of that on his side, Busch hopes to have a strong car and track position in pack-style racing, where a driver not only has to be good, but must have good fortune to go along with it. He would like nothing more than to start July in the best way possible – by bringing the Interstate Batteries green-and-white-striped paint scheme to victory lane Saturday night.  Even though Busch is focused on beating the rest of the field, he and Interstate Batteries will not only look to beat the heat during the remaining months of summer, but recharge the batteries in his favorite place – victory lane.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Is Daytona still a special racetrack for you? “Daytona is cool – a lot more in February than in the summer just because it is the Daytona 500 versus the July race. For us, you still want to win everywhere you go, every single week. To win at Daytona is always cool. It’s definitely special. It’s the birthplace of NASCAR – the superspeedway aspect of it. I definitely love going there. It’s hot, it’s slick, and you can make the most out of yourself as a driver and what you’ve got in the car. We won there in 2008 and I’m hoping we can get a win with our Interstate Batteries Camry this weekend. We came so close to my first Daytona 500 win in February, so I would really like to finish the deal this weekend and get to victory lane – that’s always the goal. Hoping all the fans go out and get their batteries checked with the summer heat upon us now, especially the last couple of weeks. Interstate Batteries has quite the legacy with JGR and I’m always proud to represent those guys, so we hope to get a win for Norm (Miller, Interstate Chairman).” What do you do to prep for the night race at Daytona? “It’s going to be a hot one. Right now, it’s all about getting your fluids back in you throughout the entire week. You’re not going to get them all back in one or two nights. It’s going to take the entirety of a week. You’ll start over again after that race. It’s Daytona. A lot of different planning goes into that. I think we’ll be down in Florida already for the Fourth of July. Hopefully, there are some pretty good firework shows. We’ll check it out.” When you look at guys who have won superspeedway races in the last few years, it seems there are those who win more often than not. Why are they winning more at the two superspeedways? “You’ve got to be good, but there’s still a lot of luck involved. You’ve got to be out front. When your cars are fast, you need to do a good job, you know how to lead it, get yourself through traffic, you’ll be out front a lot of the time. The 2 car (Brad Keselowski) is very hard to pass, he’s very fast. When those guys are out front, they seem to be able to control the race. Last year – I think it was a Duel, maybe the Clash at Daytona – Denny (Hamlin) was trying to go for the lead, get to his inside and pass him. No, Denny was leading, trying to hold Brad off, and they ended up crashing. So hard to hold those fast cars back, if you will. They do a good job of being able to predict the lines and how they build the inertia and everything behind them.” Is there a skill and an art to anticipating and making a move? “Yeah, I don’t ever really think about when something is going to happen. That’s a spur‑of‑the‑moment thing, it just does happen. As far as being able to make your way, make your maneuvers and things like that, Brad and Denny are probably two of the best at being able to do that. I try to watch a little bit what they do and how they do it. I’m just not very good at emulating that. They have a really good sense of what’s going on behind them, how they can make the lines kind of build up that inertia, that pressure, it kind of shoots them forward. The only thing I see behind me is a car. I can’t really see what’s going on three, four deep. Any time I try to back it up and stall it in order to get that inertia or get that run going, somebody just pulls out and wants to pass me.” What are some of the better safety improvements you’ve seen in the last couple of years? “I think, of course, the things Daytona has done with the SAFER Barrier along the whole outside and inside of the racetrack. There are too many different areas on these racing surfaces where we can get out of control and crash into things. We’ve seen that over the years – I think most notably maybe Mark Martin at Michigan several years ago, getting caught on that inside pit wall. We tend to find about anywhere to hit, so it’s just a matter of trying to protect ourselves, as well as the race fans and our crew members, as best as possible.”

Odds to win 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 at 12/1 odds in February.

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK

ODDS TO WIN 2019 COKE ZERO SUGAR 400

DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2019 - 7:48 PM ET

Joey LOGANO 8/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 8/1
Denny HAMLIN 10/1
Kyle BUSCH 10/1
Chase ELLIOTT 10/1
Kevin HARVICK 10/1
Clint BOWYER 14/1
Ryan BLANEY 14/1
Kurt BUSCH 14/1
Aric ALMIROLA 16/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 18/1
Martin TRUEX JR 18/1
Alex BOWMAN 18/1
Kyle LARSON 25/1
Paul MENARD 25/1
Jimmie JOHNSON 25/1
Daniel SUAREZ 30/1
William BYRON 30/1
Erik JONES 30/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 40/1
Austin DILLON 40/1
Ryan NEWMAN 40/1
Daniel HEMRIC 50/1
Ryan PREECE 80/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 80/1
Chris BUESCHER 80/1
David RAGAN 80/1
Michael McDOWELL 80/1
Ty DILLON 100/1
FIELD (all others) 40/1