{"id":19987,"date":"2018-07-05T19:11:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-06T00:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=19987"},"modified":"2018-07-06T16:19:30","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T21:19:30","slug":"nascar-thursday-daytona-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/05\/nascar-thursday-daytona-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Thursday Daytona Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/p>\n

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hopes to seize best opportunity at Daytona<\/b><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/strong> is a realist.<\/p>\n

Approaching the halfway point of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> season, the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford is embroiled in a tight points battle for one of the last spots in the Playoffs.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 5, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Through 17 races, Stenhouse is 16th in the standings, but the defending winner of the Coke Zero Sugar 400<\/strong> (7 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is not currently in a Playoff-eligible position, give that 19th-place Austin Dillon has secured a top-16 spot with his victory in the season-opening Daytona 500.<\/p>\n

But Stenhouse can make the points issue moot by repeating as the winner of Saturday\u2019s race, and he\u2019s practical enough to know that the last restrictor-plate of the regular season gives him his best chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, for sure,\u201d Stenhouse said Thursday between practices at Daytona. \u201cI think we\u2019ve got Daytona, and I feel like Bristol\u2014there are two tracks that we can still potentially win at, being able to go out and win a race. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, there are race tracks where things can play out. I don\u2019t think we have the speed at the mile-and-a-halves yet to go out there and win like we want to, so I think, realistically, when I go to those mile-and-a-halves, I\u2019m like, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s somehow manage a 12th-place finish.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you get a couple stage points and you finish 15th and you\u2019re averaging basically a 12th-place finish, that\u2019s what we look at when we go to some of those tracks, but Daytona definitely Saturday night is a really big opportunity for us, but for everyone else, too.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS2_MENCS_Stenhouse_070518.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

BUBBA WALLACE PROMISES EMOTIONAL DISPLAY IF HE WINS ON SATURDAY<\/b><\/p>\n

When he finished second to Austin Dillon in the season-opening Daytona 500, Bubba Wallace lost his composure on the dais in the media center.<\/p>\n

There were tears and hugs with his family, as Wallace reveled in the strong finish in his first race as a full-time driver for Richard Petty Motorsports.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, stands by his car during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 5, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Since then, the highlights have been infrequent, with a charge to the front at Bristol in the traditional Petty colors being the most noteworthy. But Wallace considers Saturday night\u2019s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) a chance to return to the forefront.<\/p>\n

And if he does happen to win that race, Wallace promises a major celebration and another emotional display.<\/p>\n

\u201cI probably seem boring as hell right now, because I\u2019m not crying and putting on a show and hugging my mom and all that \u2018foo foo\u2019 stuff,\u201d Wallace said Thursday at Daytona. \u201cAmanda (Wallace\u2019s girlfriend) and I had dinner with my crew chief Drew (Blickensderfer) and his fianc\u00e9 Lori last night. He was like, \u2018Man, both times I have won here, I went straight back to the room and went to sleep.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said that ain\u2019t happening if that happens Saturday. So there\u2019s going to be a lot of emotion and you will probably see my guys come in like Clint (Bowyer\u2019s) guys did at Michigan. Spraying Coke or any beverage around and making you guys all feel a part of the celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just because Wallace hasn\u2019t been over-the-top with displays of emotion since the 500 doesn\u2019t mean he isn\u2019t driven to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about winning all the time, and I think that\u2019s what drives all of us,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cOnce you kind of lose the dreaming about winning and you are just sitting there watching these old races and saying, \u2018Damn, that would be cool to win\u2019\u2026 As soon as you lose that, then you are out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for me, it\u2019s still a dream to go out and win in NASCAR, win a Cup race, and there is no greater opportunity than this weekend. Every emotion is coming after that, so have your recorders and video cameras ready.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS2_MENCS_BubbaWallace_070518.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

ELLIOTT SADLER WOULD SETTLE FOR AN EXTRA FRACTION OF A SECOND<\/b><\/p>\n

The last time JR Motorsports teammates Elliott Sadler and Tyler Reddick raced at Daytona International Speedway, Reddick won by the closest margin in NASCAR history.<\/p>\n

In fact, the distance between the two Chevrolets at the finish line in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race was so small that the gap went beyond the one-thousandth-of-a-second limit in NASCAR timing and scoring. By measuring the miniscule difference, NASCAR determined that the actual margin was .0004 seconds, a record.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Elliott Sadler, driver of the #1 ARMOUR Chili Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 5, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

But Sadler isn\u2019t looking for atonement in Friday\u2019s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Winless in his last 54 Xfinity races, he\u2019ll settle for a trip to Victory Lane, no matter the margin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really redemption for me\u2014it\u2019s more opportunity,\u201d Sadler said of the return to the Birthplace of Speed. \u201cWe always run really well in our restrictor-plate race cars for JR Motorsports. We had a chance to win the race here in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely had the fastest car at Talladega and almost got wrecked on pit road by the 42 car (John Hunter Nemechek) and had to speed from getting wrecked, and that cost us a lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cars are fast, and it\u2019s an opportunity for me. We\u2019re going to be in the middle of it one way or another. Hopefully, we\u2019ll have a chance to go for it at the end. That\u2019s all you can hope for in the these restrictor-plate races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadler has an additional incentive to break his drought. His long-time sponsor, OneMain Financial, is pulling back from its support of Sadler\u2019s team, and the driver\u2019s future with JRM is uncertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see where I fit in,\u201d said Sadler, who has begun conversations with potential sponsors for his No. 1 Chevy. \u201cI\u2019m 43 years old. If I was 23, I\u2019d be flipping out about it, because I\u2019ve been through this before. It\u2019s not my first rodeo. I understand that there are some things I can control and some things I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m going to focus on what I can control this year, and that\u2019s on the track, that\u2019s running good and trying to stay up front, trying to stay a part of the championship chase and see where that takes me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/NXS_DIS2_ReddickSadler_070518.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS2_NXS_BJonesGralaPreece_070518.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hopes to seize best opportunity at Daytona DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a realist. Approaching the halfway point of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford is embroiled in a tight points battle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":20009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[287,16],"class_list":["post-19987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-daytona-international-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/356571.jpg?fit=2248%2C1428&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-5cn","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19987"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20005,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987\/revisions\/20005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}