{"id":23185,"date":"2019-02-09T19:41:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-10T01:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=23185"},"modified":"2019-02-09T19:43:04","modified_gmt":"2019-02-10T01:43:04","slug":"nascar-daytona-notebook-saturday-feb-9-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/09\/nascar-daytona-notebook-saturday-feb-9-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Daytona Notebook Saturday Feb. 9, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Wreck in Daytona Clash practice clobbers four high-profile cars<\/b><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Thirty-four minutes into Saturday\u2019s opening practice for the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, a session that had been relatively benign to that point went haywire for four prominent drivers.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, speaks with his crew chief Alan Gustafson in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway on February 9, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Drafting in a pack of cars through Turns 1 and 2, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Chase Elliott was trapped in the middle lane and lost positions. Moving up the track slightly, Elliott ran out of room and clipped the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang of Ryan Newman with his right rear quarter panel.<\/p>\n

Both cars spun out of control. Checking up behind the collision, Denny Hamlin\u2019s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry got nailed from behind by the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang of Kevin Harvick, who slid into the infield grass and came to a stop. Hamlin\u2019s car suffered severe damage as it plowed through the grass.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really excited to see that there was actually a pack formed,\u201d Elliott said of the moments that led up to the wreck.<\/p>\n

\u201cTypically, guys ride around here in practice and don\u2019t ever do anything, so I was glad to see there was a good pack lined up. We were making an effort to try to get in it before it was over and Aric (Almirola) and I were coming up to speed together.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The crew of Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Car2Can Ford, push the car during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway on February 9, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cHe got to the bottom and kind of got in line, so I thought I would just hop in line, too, and it didn\u2019t work out. Ended up kind of being in the middle, and I was going to ride out the middle until the back, and I came off (Turn) 2 there and it looked like I crowded Ryan (Newman) a little bit. When you get close to guys, it kind of brings you together. So, yeah, like I said, just messed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Elliott and Hamlin had to go to backup cars for the Advance Auto Parts Clash (Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). NASCAR allowed Harvick and Newman to extricate their cars from the infield, change tires where necessary and drive them back to the garage, avoiding additional potential damage from being hauled on a tow truck or rollback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really see anything other than I hit the car in front of me and just jammed on the brakes, wheel-hopped and spun out,\u201d Harvick said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of got stuck in the mud there, and they helped us out by letting us bring tires. It would have destroyed the car dragging it out of there, so I appreciate NASCAR helping us out.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALMIROLA TOOK THE HIGH ROAD AFTER 2018 DAYTONA 500\u2014NOW HE\u2019S BACK<\/b><\/p>\n

Driving in his debut event for Stewart-Haas Racing last year, Aric Almirola had the lead roughly a mile from the finish line.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola poses for a portrait during the NASCAR Production Photo Days at Charlotte Convention Center on January 29, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

But as he approached Turn 3 at Daytona International Speedway and tried to block a run by Austin Dillon, contact between Dillon\u2019s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Almirola\u2019s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang sent Almirola into the outside wall and Dillon into Victory Lane.<\/p>\n

Under the circumstances, Almirola was extraordinarily gracious after the fact, defusing what could have been a volatile situation between the two drivers.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say, however, that Almirola didn\u2019t have a few private moments of anger and frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid I ever have a moment where behind closed doors I stomped my feet and hit some things?\u201d Almirola asked rhetorically on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. \u201cMaybe,\u201d he acknowledged with a mischievous grin.<\/p>\n

But his behavior in public was far more measured and diplomatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that time, in that moment, it was more important for me to go out and be a good representation for my sponsors and my partners and my kids,\u201d Almirola said. \u201cMy kids were sitting back in my motor home watching on TV like the rest of the world, so at that time it was an opportunity for me to be a good role model for my kids. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be a good sport, and sometimes things don\u2019t always go your way. You\u2019ve got two choices. You can either keep your head high and take the high road, or you can pout and piss and moan\u2014and the sponsors usually like the first one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almirola didn\u2019t win the Daytona 500, but he eventually found Victory Lane with Stewart-Haas in the last restrictor-plate race of 2019 at Talladega. With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series cars featuring the same specs for the Daytona 500, Almirola is optimistic about his chances this year\u2014if he can just complete the last mile in the lead.<\/p>\n

ARCA, MENARD\u2019S ANNOUNCE MULTIYEAR ENTITLEMENT DEAL<\/b><\/p>\n

John Menard, founder of the home improvement company that bears his name, is a long-time supporter of motorsports. Typically, Menard has a penchant for one-year deals.<\/p>\n

\"\"

NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton, ARCA President Ron Drager, and John Menard pose for a photo prior to practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 9, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

That\u2019s why Menard\u2019s multiyear entitlement sponsorship of the ARCA Series, announced Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, is such a welcome addition to the series, which NASCAR agreed to acquire as part of its motorsports portfolio last year.<\/p>\n

Menard\u2019s, which has enjoyed a 10-year partnership with ARCA, has elevated its status from presenting sponsor to the title position under the ARCA Menard\u2019s Series banner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been with ARCA a long time,\u201d Menard said. \u201cWe\u2019re a Midwest-based company, and ARCA has strong ties to the Midwest. So our customers in the Midwest shop our stores, attend ARCA races, and we really like the idea that we can have a longer-term relationship, that we can have more things that we can carry on from year-to-year to build on.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR vice-chairman Mike Helton underscored the significance of the relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot,\u201d Helton said. \u201cFirst of all, John is no stranger to motorsports. He\u2019s been in it for a long time, so for Menard\u2019s to step up with the ARCA relationship is, I think, indicative, and complementary to the decision that Lesa Kennedy and Jim France had to bring ARCA officially into the NASCAR family.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DIS_ARCA_Announcement_020919.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Wreck in Daytona Clash practice clobbers four high-profile cars DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Thirty-four minutes into Saturday\u2019s opening practice for the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, a session that had been relatively benign to that point went haywire for four prominent drivers. Drafting in a pack of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":23189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[586,272,410,287,41,95,16,397],"class_list":["post-23185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-arca","tag-aric-almirola","tag-chase-eliott","tag-daytona-international-speedway","tag-denny-hamlin","tag-kevin-harvick","tag-nascar","tag-ryan-newman"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/360068.jpg?fit=4666%2C3105&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-61X","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23185","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=23185"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23196,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23185\/revisions\/23196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}