This was LaJoie’s ninth career start in the Daytona 500, but his 17th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona. His best Daytona finish remains fourth, earned in last year’s Daytona 500.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is a back-to-back DAYTONA 500 Champion – marking the first time a driver completed the feat since Denny Hamlin in 2019-2020.
Tyler Reddick (second), Jimmie Johnson (third), Chase Briscoe (fourth) and John Hunter Nemechek (fifth) gave Toyota four of the top-five finishers in the rain delayed season-opening Daytona 500 on Sunday evening.
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Peak Ford Mustang Dark Horse – (Finished 7th) - “Honestly, we did a good job fixing it after we got turned on the backstretch off of Turn 2"
Toyota rookie drivers Taylor Gray (fifth) and Dean Thompson (eighth) kicked off the season with strong top-10 finishes in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
The four-time world champion for Tony Stewart Racing has been a model of consistency through 18 races and it’s a major reason why he’s the points leader and on the verge of a fifth world title heading into this weekend.
Penultimate event in The Chase, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series postseason that features the top ten drivers in the regular season standings competing for the 2026 championship.
In 31 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has seven top-20 results and a best finish of 12th earned by Michael McDowell in March 2025.
In 14 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has earned one win, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
Trevor Huddleston (No. 50 High Point Racing / Racecar Factory Ford) heads into the ARCA Menards Series West finale, the NAPA Auto Parts 150 Presented by West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway
The MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas is the 19th race on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race schedule
