NASCAR Cup Series

Speeds over 200 mph. Three wide racing to the end. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had time at the front. So did Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Excellent announcing on FOX. Nice weather. What was there not to love about the Daytona 500?

NASCAR suffers from two dark clouds over the sport as two of its most talented drivers are absent.

Stewart-Haas Racing has named Regan Smith interim driver of its No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend Feb. 26-March 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He was just a kid when Joey Logano moved to Atlanta with his family to pursue a career in professional auto racing. At just 10 years old, the youngster from Middletown, Connecticut began building his resume with a Bandolero Bandits Series championship on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s “Thunder Ring,” setting a track record with 14 consecutive wins.

2015 Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano, crew chief Todd Gordon and car owner Roger Penske took part in the annual Champions Breakfast held at Daytona International Speedway in the Daytona USA museum. Logano’s winning 22 car was placed into the museum until next years 500 while all three men spoke to media members.

For a 21-year-old driver running in just his third career Sprint Cup race, Ryan Blaney showed poise aplenty in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. And his Jeremy Bullins-led team passed a couple of pit-road tests with flying colors, even as the final results didn’t reflect the positives of the overall performance of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.

Racing in his first-career Daytona 500, Ty Dillon drove Circle Sport Racing No. 33 Cheerios/Kroger Chevrolet SS to a 28th-place finish at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Dillon, who qualified 31st for the 57th running of the Daytona 500, started 29th after two teams in front of him were relegated to the back of the field as a penalty for making unapproved changes to their cars.

Richard Childress Racing teammates Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman finished 14th, 25th, and 38th, respectively.

Ryan Blaney’s roller coaster first Daytona 500 came to an end when the engine of his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion let go late in the race after battling his way back from early-race contact with the Daytona International Speedway wall.

After an incredibly eventful Speedweeks, here is what was surprising and not surprising from NASCAR’s first and one of the biggest races of the season, the 57th annual Daytona 500.