2019 Daytona 500
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Spent some time chatting with Denny Hamlin this morning, who took some time out to discuss his thoughts on how today will pan out.
Will we see an alliance between the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas and one of the Chevrolet teams to attempt to thwart the Ford armada?
Back to the racing tactics we'll see today.
Logano pulled his ace move at Turn 1 of the last lap on Thursday night. And just look at the advantage he managed to maintain by the final corner…
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang Shell Pennzoil, Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1, Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Smithfield, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry FedEx Express, Kurt Busch, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Monster Energy
Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / LAT Images
Yet the Duels, as well as Saturday’s Xfinity race, featured a lot of single-file racing, with passing only possible if you get a run, then side-draft the car in front. This stalls out your rival’s pace, because you dump your dirty air on to his rear spoiler, but then you have to pull up back in line quickly or you risk losing the draft yourself.
Here's our story on what Dale Earnhardt Jr had to say on the matter.
Another aspect that everyone is talking about is the style of racing we’ll see today. Friday night’s Truck Series race was utterly chaotic, with only nine making the checkered flag! This one did not...
Clay Greenfield, Clay Greenfield Motorsports, Chevrolet Silverado shows damage after a wreck
Photo by: Logan Whitton / NKP / LAT Images
One livery that got people talking this week was Corey Lajoie’s Go FAS Mustang – which has his own face on the hood! John Harrelson of NKP/LAT Images got this amazing image from Duel 2. Talk about a faceful of sparks…
Corey LaJoie, Go FAS Racing, Ford Mustang Old Spice
Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / LAT Images
Thursday night's Duel races have set the rest of the grid. In the first, Kevin Harvick took a commanding win after a super-fast pitstop by his Stewart-Haas Racing team. Then Joey Logano pulled off a stunning last-lap pass for victory in race two, thanks to his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney. So two from two for Ford’s new Cup Mustang.
Forty cars are lined up on the pre-grid, led by William Byron’s Hendrick Chevrolet. His pole speed was 194.305mph, much slower than the speeds we’ll see in the race today thanks to the draft. By the way, as a fan, this is how you execute the perfect poleman selfie at Daytona!
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Axalta
Photo by: Logan Whitton / NKP / LAT Images
Today’s race will be run over 200 laps of the legendary 2.5-mile superspeedway, and we’ve seen speeds nudge over the 200mph average in practice. Today’s race is a sell-out, so that’s over 100,000 fans in the huge grandstand, plus those who are camping out in the infield.
Hello and welcome to the 2019 Daytona 500, the 61st running of the great American race, and the opening round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
By: Charles Bradley, David Malsher
