By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
Engine manufacturers celebrate the close competition in NASCAR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Executives representing NASCAR’s three engine manufacturers took questions from the media Friday in advance of the big season-opening race weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
They are coming off a season that saw all three makes – Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota – among the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four in a season with 18 different race winners representing 10 teams and featuring a slight 1.3-second average margin of victory on the year and three of the five closest finishes in NASCAR history.
Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance, Dr. Eric Warren, General Motors, Director of Global Motorsports Competition and Tyler Gibbs, President of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) USA were upbeat and goal-oriented Friday, eager for the first green flag to wave.
Ford’s Joey Logano won his third NASCAR Cup Series championship and Ty Majeski claimed his first in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series while Chevrolet’s Justin Allgaier and the JR Motorsports team earned the NASCAR Xfinity Series top honors.
“For me, for us, 2024 I thought was a fantastic season and for the sport as well,” Rushbrook said. “The closeness with the finishes and the competition amongst the OEMs, working together off the track, but racing each other really hard on the track, and I just think it was great for the sport with the competition that we had on track.”
Among the topics raised was a rule book update NASCAR issued in mid-January regarding “performance obligation’ in reaction to the season’s penultimate race at Martinsville, Va. last year. In the race it appeared manufacturers purposely strategized to affect the outcome. The loss of manufacturer points, wind tunnel time and test sessions are among the possible penalties going forward.
“I think we’ve had a lot of dialogue,” Warren said of the new NASCAR rules designed to prevent any race manipulation among drivers of the same car make. We’re all competitors. We want to compete. As you look at the races, it kind of requires you to put some guardrails up.
“I think speedway racing, the important part is just because of the aerodynamics and the nature of speedway racing, you have to actually draft together to improve your performance and to be successful. I think it’s always been acknowledged and the discussions amongst all of us in NASCAR that speedway racing is different because of that.
“I think each situation is complicated, obviously, and things come up that you didn’t expect and you have to discuss. It’s a little uneasy sometimes trying to think about all these scenarios, but that’s just part of top-level racing and the competition. It’s just things we’ll have to deal with.
“We understand the principles, I think, as a whole. We all want to have great shows and great competition, and that’s really what we’re all here for and why we work together on those things.”
Asked about another important topic, the executives acknowledged that the three of them may soon become four with rumors of another manufacturer entering the sport in the near future.
“We recognize that it probably means between the three of us we share a few less wins, but it’s tremendous for the sport,” Gibbs said. “It’s good for the fan base. It’s good for just the activation at the tracks. It’s good for the advertisements on television. It just brings a whole lot more to the sport.
“So, from our perspective, we certainly would welcome another OEM or two.”
Interview:
OEM Press Conference – Mark Rushbrook (Global Director of Ford Performance), Dr. Eric Warren (GM Executive Director, Global Motorsports Competition) and Tyler Gibbs (President of TRD, USA) –
DAYTONA 500 RACE TIME CHANGE
NASCAR has announced that the start time for the DAYTONA 500 has moved up an hour to a 1:30 p.m. ET – a precautionary change in case of poor weather.
Gates and hospitality will now open at 9 a.m. ET, and the infield Fanzone will open at 8:30 a.m. ET. Parking lots will open at 6 a.m. ET.
Due to increased security measures, Daytona International Speedway encourages all attendees to arrive early for the event. The speedway also asks people to be aware that traffic may be “unpredictable,” and to allow extra time for “potential delays” noting that entry gate lines will be longer be because of the extra screening processes.
FRIDAY DAYTONA 500 PRACTICE
Defending DAYTONA 500 winner William Byron was fastest in Friday evening’s rain-abbreviated practice – his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet topping the practice chart with a lap of 194.923 mph. His Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott was second quickest in the No. 9 Chevrolet with 2023 DAYTONA 500 winner, HYAK Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Richard Childress Racing teammates Kyle Busch and 2018 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Dillon rounding out an all-Chevy top-five.
Only 31 of the 41 cars participated in the 30-minute session. Zane Smith was the fastest Ford in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Mustang – sixth overall. It was a promising rebound following an accident early in Thursday’s Duel 150. Smith confirmed the team was able to repair his primary despite hitting the wall early in the race.
“That was a major bummer because I had been real happy with my car,” Smith said, adding with a smile, “But, I feel good, wish we were racing tonight. The FRM cars on the superspeedways are fast. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek was the fastest Toyota – 14th overall in the No. 42 Camry. Fellow Toyota driver and DAYTONA 500 polesitter Chase Briscoe placed 16th on the speed chart, running only 14 laps in his No. 19 JGR Toyota in the short time on track.
XFINITY SERIES PRACTICE
A pair of series rookies paced the season’s opening NASCAR Xfinity Series practice with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Taylor Gray turning in a lap of 186.004 mph in the No. 54 Toyota – a very slight .002-second faster than his JGR teammate William Sawalich in the No. 18 Toyota.
JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith, a 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff driver, was third fastest in the No. 8 Chevrolet with Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed and JRM’s Carson Kvapil rounding out the top-five.
Qualifying for Saturday’s United Rentals 300 (5 p.m. ET on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is set for 10 a.m. Saturday. Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill is attempting to win four consecutive Daytona season-openers. He was 22nd in practice running only a handful of laps. Reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier was 25th quickest, turning only three laps in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet during practice.
VETERANS TICKET RAFFLE
Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 will feature a windfall for one lucky fan as part of a very important initiative. The Daytona 50/50 Draw will include a minimum jackpot of $100,000 with half of the money raised going to “Vet Tix” a non-profit that supports veterans and first responders. Tickets are available now at: daytona5050.com (must be 18 years old) and the jackpot draw will be on race day, Feb. 16.
