Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Austin Dillon prevailed in a game of Survivor played at 200 miles per hour, winning the Sunday’s Daytona 500 fiercely and unapologetically after turning race leader Aric Almirola in the third corner of the final lap. Ten of the 40 drivers who started the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ season-opening event finished on the lead lap in a race that featured eight cautions and three massive wrecks that eliminated many of the strongest cars in the field. After a huge push from Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. down the backstretch on…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Not two minutes after Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. sat down in the Daytona International Speedway media center to field questions about his historic and dramatic runner-up finish in the Daytona 500, his mom Desiree came toward the podium and he stood up to embrace her. They hugged, they cried. It was both emotional and heart-warming to watch. “I am so proud of you,’’ she told him. And through tears of joy, accomplishment and challenges overcome, Wallace finally mustered, “Mom, you’re acting like we just won the race.’’ And laughed. “We did,’’…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aric Almirola did everything he possibly could to try to win Sunday’s Daytona 500, and he wasn’t about to condemn Austin Dillon for doing the exact same thing. In a race that ended with a two-lap overtime shootout, Dillon claimed the Harley J. Earl trophy after tapping the bumper of Almirola’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and turning him into the outside wall in Turn 3 of the final lap. Almirola failed to complete the final circuit in his damaged car and was credited with an 11th-place finish. Dillon, meanwhile,…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There was no mistaking the love. Danica Patrick got one of the largest applauses when introduced for Sunday’s Daytona 500 – her last NASCAR race – and then made her ceremonial lap around the famous Daytona International Speedway soaking in the cheers, and good wishes and genuinely moved by the standing ovation she received from the sold-out crowd. Unfortunately her time in the race car ended a lap past the halfway mark of NASCAR’s greatest race as she was collected in a multicar accident that also ended the day for race…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season officially dropped the green flag Sunday in Daytona. But 1,100 miles west of Daytona Beach, Fla., more than 300 RVs/campers and nearly 5,000 fans gathered in the Texas Motor Speedway infield for the “World’s Largest” Daytona 500 Watching Party. Fans began arriving at Texas Motor Speedway on Thursday, staging their RVs and campers to get the best spot for in front of “Big Hoss,” the world’s largest high-definition TV at 22,698 square feet. “We made sure we were here early to enjoy the…

News, notes and photos courtesy of NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race (Non-Points): Can-Am Duel At Daytona The Place: Daytona International Speedway The Date: Thursday, Feb. 15 The Time: 7 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 5:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: Two races, each 150 miles (60 laps) Monster Performer: Kurt Busch Eyes Daytona 500 Repeat Kurt Busch led only the final lap in last season’s Daytona 500, putting his No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford in Victory Lane in Monster Energy’s first race as entitlement sponsor. He’ll go for an encore in Sunday’s 60th…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – As Sunday’s Daytona 500 approaches, Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage offered his insight into which Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver will win the season-opening race, which one will go on to capture the series crown and which among the youth movement will have the biggest impact in 2018. Let’s take a look at Gossage’s picks: Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske. Gossage’s take: “I believe that a veteran is going to win his very first Daytona 500 – Brad Keselowski. Never…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Alex Bowman, handpicked by Dale Earnhardt Jr. to replace him in the No. 88 entry for Hendrick Motorsports, will lead the field from the pole position to the green flag for Sunday’s 60th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and officially open the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin, the 2016 Daytona 500 champion, joins Bowman on the front row while the remaining starting positions for the 40-car field will be set in Thursday’s The Duel at Daytona International Speedway…

Courtesy of Daytona International Speedway DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Stadium tickets for the historic 60th annual DAYTONA 500, the season-opening event for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, are sold out, Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile announced today. This is the third consecutive year that the DAYTONA 500 has sold out. “Once again, race fans have shown their loyalty to ‘The Great American Race’ and we thank them for that,” Wile said. “Our fans recognize there is nothing like the experience of attending a DAYTONA 500 in the world’s only motorsports stadium. We will strive to make it a memorable…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a day race that ended under the lights, with the closest margin of victory in NASCAR history, Tyler Reddick finished Saturday’s PowerShares QQQ 300 less than three inches ahead of JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler. In the last of five overtimes, after a stoppage of 5 minutes, 27 seconds, and on the 23rd extra lap, Reddick made a move to the outside off Turn 4 and won a drag race with Sadler to the stripe after their cars bumped side-to-side coming to the finish line. The margin of victory…