{"id":41415,"date":"2023-02-15T17:55:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T23:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=41415"},"modified":"2023-02-17T16:16:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T22:16:19","slug":"nascar-daytona-500-media-day-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/15\/nascar-daytona-500-media-day-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: DAYTONA 500 Media Day Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain and Reid Spencer<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service <\/em><\/p>\n

Kyle Busch discusses his odds in the DAYTONA 500<\/b><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Kyle Busch\u2019s star-crossed history in the DAYTONA 500 isn\u2019t lost on the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

As Busch approached the dais Wednesday during DAYTONA 500 Media Day, he noticed a lottery ticket next to the microphone\u2014a leftover item from the earlier announcement of PowerBall as an official NASCAR partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter chance of winning that than the DAYTONA 500,\u201d Busch quipped, mindful of his 20.24 average finish in the Great American Race.<\/p>\n

Busch got his best DAYTONA 500 result in 2019, when he finished second to former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin. In 17 starts in the season-opening race, Busch has recorded just three top fives and five top 10s. Many of the remaining races have been unmitigated disasters.<\/p>\n

Between seasons, Busch switched teams from Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota to Childress and Chevrolet, and he hopes the move will bring a change of fortune where the DAYTONA 500 is concerned.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, a lot of your result can be in the hands of the other drivers around you and the circumstances around you,\u201d Busch said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the nature of it, but we all have the same race to go out there and run in.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as being positive about it, yeah, I would be positive about it. Having a new fresh look and outlook with my new team, and being with the No. 8, it\u2019s exciting for me anyways. So, I would love nothing more than to win the DAYTONA 500 with RCR, Chevrolet, (sponsor) 3CHI and everybody to really put an exclamation point on the offseason and what this year will hopefully bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harvick\u2019s Final DAYTONA 500<\/b><\/p>\n

Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, begins his final season of NASCAR competition with this week\u2019s season-opening DAYTONA 500. The 47-year-old California native concedes he is balancing a naturally sentimental reaction to his retirement with his famous highly-competitive spirit.<\/p>\n

Asked if he may show less patience racing in his farewell season, the 2007 DAYTONA 500 winner grinned and shared some advice retired driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDale Jr. summed it up for me by saying it was my NFG tour,” Harvick said. \u201cIf we have to settle scores, we will settle them immediately. We aren\u2019t waiting until next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the sentimental side of his farewell, Harvick said, \u201cI don\u2019t know how good I\u2019ll be at soaking it in because I get too competitive.”<\/p>\n

Harvick, did remind, however, that he will be sharing stories of his 30 years of racing through his 2023 helmets and various special tribute paint schemes on the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford all season. He\u2019s already got his next \u201cjob\u201d settled. Recently, Harvick revealed he would move from the FOX Sports broadcast booth and call races alongside Mike Joy and fellow retired driver Clint Bowyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it is going to be a balance between taking all of that in and not being grumpy because you are in the competitive mindset,” he said. \u201cI explain that to people all the time. There is a difference between a meet-and-greet at the car or one away from the race track. They are two different people. We have put a lot of things in place to just try to make it simple. As simple as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I also understand that it is important. I feel like your last year is important.”<\/p>\n

In 43 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona, Harvick has 16 top-10 and 11 top-five finishes with wins in the 2007 DAYTONA 500 and 2010 summer 400-miler. He\u2019s finished top five in two of the last Daytona 500s.<\/p>\n

NASCAR\u2019s Next Gen car is foreign territory for Jimmie Johnson<\/b><\/p>\n

How can a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and two-time DAYTONA 500 winner make a rookie mistake?<\/p>\n

Jimmie Johnson already has\u2014on the simulator.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #84 Carvana Chevrolet, speaks to the media during the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Johnson left NASCAR racing after the 2020 season and spent two years driving IndyCars. In his part-time return the Cup Series and his attempt to qualify for the 2023 DAYTONA 500, Johnson, as part owner of newly-branded Legacy Motor Club, will be driving a car almost as foreign to his stock car history as the IndyCar was.<\/p>\n

Johnson got his first experience in NASCAR\u2019s Next Gen car during a recent test at Phoenix, a one-mile track far different from 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, both in terms of configuration and speed. He spent additional time on a simulator to gain familiarity with the race car NASCAR introduced last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sim session that I had getting ready for here\u2014although it\u2019s kind of silly to do sim for Daytona running by yourself\u2014I did notice the track was really rough,\u201d Johnson said before time trials on Thursday night. \u201cThat was not the case my last time here\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019ve been advised many times that I need to remember that it\u2019s a sequential (gear) box, and fourth gear is actually back here (behind third)\u2014it\u2019s not forward. I think some guys made that mistake last year and downshifted and blew engines.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, just trying to stay disciplined on that. I think the last thing I\u2019ve got to be aware of and remember\u2014there\u2019s five gears, not four. On the simulator, I made that mistake and ran around in fourth gear for one of my qualifying laps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson is one of six drivers who either have to qualify on time or race into the field in one of Thursday night\u2019s Duel 150-mile qualifying races. The last time he faced that sort of situation was during his rookie year in 2002\u2014and he won the pole.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sitting here with seven championships and 83 wins\u2014yes, absolutely it would suck to not make the race,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cBut the pressure I had on myself in 2002\u2026 life would have seemed like it ended if I didn\u2019t make the race\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe qualified on the pole in \u201902. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s in the cards for us (Wednesday night), but who knows? Maybe lightning will strike twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

DAYTONA 500 winner\u2019s reign<\/b><\/p>\n

Defending Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric showed up for media day at Daytona International Speedway with some captivating stories to tell \u2013 none of them about a race, however.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford, during the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Cindric started out his DAYTONA 500 week locked out of his motorcoach; literally climbing underneath and through it to try and retrieve the keys. A month ago, Cindric also revealed, he served on a jury in North Carolina; the result a guilty verdict for murder.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery guilty,” Cindric said with a straight face.<\/p>\n

As for winning NASCAR\u2019s most celebrated race last year, Cindric was philosophical.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does it change Austin Cindric?” Cindric said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t change Austin Cindric at all, but it does change how I\u2019m introduced and perceived. Some people will only and forever know who Austin Cindric is because he won the DAYTONA 500 and I\u2019m totally fine with that, but it does change, and it did change throughout the entire year last year. It\u2019s not rookie Austin Cindric, it\u2019s DAYTONA 500 winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt almost seems normal now, which is kind of weird because all of last year it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my God, I did that, didn\u2019t I.\u2019”<\/p>\n

As for this week, Cindric said, \u201cI approach this weekend just like any other race because I think you need to mentally because it is the start of our season, but, otherwise, it\u2019s certainly something fun to reflect on and kind of gives you perspective on big moments of your life and how you go about them and how you perceive yourself. Certainly, a lot more reflection than just any other race, for sure.”<\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin has overcome the unpredictability of the DAYTONA 500<\/b><\/p>\n

Only one active full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series garage has won the DAYTONA 500 more than once. In fact, Denny Hamlin has placed his name on the Harley J. Earl trophy three times\u2014in 2016, 2019 and 2020<\/p>\n

Avoiding calamity and taking the checkered flag in the Great America Race requires some degree of good fortune. But Hamlin\u2019s three victories also suggest that a certain amount of exceptional skill and knowledge also play a role.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many factors in it,\u201d Hamlin said on Wednesday in the Daytona International Speedway media center. \u201cJust because a lot of times you don\u2019t decide your own fate. People talk about getting in a wreck here is a 50-50 chance\u2014I think it is probably a little higher than that, and most times you don\u2019t create the wreck; you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes three facets to win at this\u2014you\u2019ve got that luck factor, that\u2019s a part of it. Twenty percent, whatever it might be\u2026 30 percent. Execution, and skill set. You\u2019ve got to have all three to win this race, and it\u2019s hard to get all three of those lined up on any given day, which is why probably the best driver ever here\u2014Dale Earnhardt (Sr.)\u2014won a billion races but didn\u2019t win this one because on that day, he didn\u2019t have all of those things line up for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn any given (non-superspeedway) weekend, the fast cars make it to the front no matter what, there is less attrition, less luck when it comes to being involved in wrecks, so I just think that is part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: Earnhardt finally won the Daytona in 1998, on his 20th attempt\u2026 Two-time DAYTONA 500 winner Jimmie Johnson, who hasn\u2019t raced in the Cup Series full-time since 2020, will attempt to qualify for Sunday\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

DAYTONA 500 High Profile Rookies<\/b><\/p>\n

Action sports star Travis Pastrana and IndyCar standout Conor Daly are among the group of six drivers from non-chartered teams qualifying for the last four available starting positions in the 40-car DAYTONA 500 field. Two of the Open qualifiers will make the race based on qualifying speed from Wednesday night\u2019s pole qualifying session. The final two starting positions will be filled from Thursday night\u2019s Duel qualifying races.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #84 Carvana Chevrolet, (R) and Travis Pastrana, driver of the #67 Black Rifle Coffee Toyota, speak during the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

It would be the DAYTONA 500 debut for both Pastrana and Daly, should they qualify for the race.<\/p>\n

Daly, 31, whose best IndyCar Series finish was runner-up in Belle Isle, Mich. in 2016, was all smiles speaking about his first attempt to the make the DAYTONA 500. Although he\u2019s competed in two Rolex 24 at Daytona sportscar races, Daly\u2019s very first laps on the 2.5-mile high-banked oval will be Wednesday night in pole qualifying.<\/p>\n

He has spent a lot of time on simulators to get used to the car and the track. And he said he\u2019s spoken with drivers A.J. Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe, Corey LaJoie, two-time DAYTONA 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and three-time DAYTONA 500 winner Denny Hamlin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love this sport,” said Daly, who will drive The Money Team\u2019s No. 50 Chevrolet. \u201cThere are a lot of fan bases that are like, \u2018we\u2019re only NASCAR,\u2019 or \u2018we\u2019re only IndyCar, we\u2019re only F1.\u2019 I like them all, so I don\u2019t know why we can\u2019t do more of that and hopefully there is a little bit more love spread to all of them as we try to do a little bit of both NASCAR and IndyCar at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Travis Pastrana, driver of the #67 Black Rifle Coffee Toyota, speaks to the media during the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Pastrana, 39, who will drive the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, earned one of his four career top-10 NASCAR finishes at the Daytona International Speedway \u2013 a 10th place effort in the 2013 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the high banks. As with Daly, he wished there was an opportunity to practice, but he also put time in on the simulators and does have the benefit of competing the full 2013 season in the Xfinity Series.<\/p>\n

Pastrana, an X Games gold medalist and champion in a number of disciplines from supercross to rally racing, is entered in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race on Friday as well planning to run in his first DAYTONA 500 on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single driver has gone so far out of the way,” Pastrana said of the reaction to his Daytona participation. \u201cEven when they say, \u2018It\u2019s the Good Ole Boy Club,\u2019 no, it\u2019s the opposite of that where these guys are truly excited to have someone new and assuming that I will do my job. Everyone is equally as excited to help me because they don\u2019t want me to cause the big one. And I appreciate that.”<\/p>\n

POWERBALL is New NASCAR Official Partner<\/b><\/p>\n

Powerball will now be the official lottery game of NASCAR marking the brand\u2019s first foray into major sports league sponsorship. The partnership not only includes its official partner status, but Powerball will also be joining forces with NASCAR in a season-long promotion that will ultimately award a single lottery player with a $1 million prize during the Nov. 3-5 NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Making the announcement alongside a giant Powerball lottery machine filled with numbered balls, Powerball Product Group Chairman Drew Svitko said he was proud of the partnership with NASCAR saying, \u201cwe are two brands used to creating thrilling moments and bringing people together.”<\/p>\n

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Daryl Wolfe noted that the organizations are more similar than not \u2013 both making their business in high stakes, high energy avenues.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASCAR and Powerball have shared in the goal of providing exhilarating excitement for decades while also giving back to the communities we are a part of,” Wolfe said. \u201cPowerball creates millionaires every year and we can\u2019t wait to see the different winning opportunities this partnership will bring to our loyal fans throughout the country.”<\/p>\n

Short Strokes\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series drivers Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez are beneficiaries of contract extensions with their organizations\u2014Hendrick Motorsports and Trackhouse Racing, respectively. Bowman, 29, and sponsor Ally inked a deal that will keep Bowman behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet through 2026.<\/p>\n

Suarez, 31, signed a multiyear extension with Trackhouse, though the terms of the deal were not specified. The driver from Monterrey, Mexico, won his first Cup race last year at the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway road course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain and Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service  Kyle Busch discusses his odds in the DAYTONA 500 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Kyle Busch\u2019s star-crossed history in the DAYTONA 500 isn\u2019t lost on the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. As Busch approached the dais Wednesday during DAYTONA 500 Media Day, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":41420,"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":[42,287,16],"class_list":["post-41415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-daytona-500","tag-daytona-international-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/GettyImages-1466475807-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-aLZ","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41415","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=41415"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41423,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41415\/revisions\/41423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}