NASCAR Cup Series

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, fresh off a strong run in the Advance Auto Parts Clash, are set to officially kick off their 2019 campaign in Thursday’s Gander RV Duel qualifying races.

The Daytona 500 is coming up this Sunday, a time for new beginnings and a time for bringing things to an end. After 15 years and over a thousand columns of various incarnations, this edition represents my final regular contribution to this site.

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang -- WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS YEAR? “The expectations for this year and the team has been very strong and I know what I’m capable of doing and everything looks extremely good. The reality is we have to be patient. We have to walk before we run and that’s something extremely important for myself. We know that the results are gonna get there, but we have to be patient and be smart in all of the decisions. Billy Scott, my crew chief, and the rest of the guys have been nothing but great working with me and bringing in the new fresh air and new fresh energy, and I can tell you that I’m extremely excited to what the future is holding for us.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Ford Fusion -- HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE DUEL RACE AND NOT WANTING TO WRECK YOUR PIECE FOR THE 500? “I think for me, my mindset is to go race. You have an opportunity to go and learn how your car is going to drive and be in the draft and make sure that your competitors and everybody knows you have a fast car and your car is driving good and all those things.

PARKER KLIGERMAN, No. 96 Toyota Camry, Gaunt Brothers Racing - Can you describe how this all came together to try and qualify for the Daytona 500? “Marty Gaunt has been a huge supporter of mine the last year and a half. I feel like I get along with him because we have very similar ideas about how to create a team."

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing How do you feel about your brother, Ryan, getting the opportunity to race his way into the Daytona 500? “I’m excited for him to have the opportunity."

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang -- DANIEL HEMRIC IS GETTING HIS CUP START AT 27 YEARS OLD. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR YOU TO START AT THAT AGE? “It’ll be a little easier than what it was for me when I was 18 (laughing). It’s just different. I think, in a way, that’s probably good for him because a lot of times, I know just from my experience, if you start too early and you make a name for yourself the wrong way or you don’t make it and you get put back down to XFINITY or Trucks, that’s usually it. It’s over and that’s the end of your Cup career, most likely. But for him he’s more prepared, he’s more ready, he’s more mature. He’s been through some stuff in his racing career where he’s more ready to make the big step, which I think is probably a smart move on his part.”

Adam Maqboul from AmericanTrucks (AT) brings you an episode of AT’s YouTube series “The Haul” featuring 7 must-have parts for your Silverado work truck. Utility-style builds are different than any other type of vehicle build commonly seen on AT’s YouTube channel where form can sometimes proceed function.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones was made available to the media in Daytona: ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Were you surprised at how The Clash race played out? “I was somewhat surprised. It was a cool day, so I didn’t think the racing was going to be too crazy with everybody’s cars driving really good. It was odd that the bottom could never really get rolling. I was surprised that everybody got on the top so quick so it will be interesting to see how the Daytona 500 plays out.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Ford Mustang -- YOU ARE A CAR GUY AND A RACER. WITH THE GEN-7 CAR LOOMING, BALANCING THOSE TWO THINGS, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? “More manufacturers. Is that an option? It will take a lot of work. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I haven’t been privy to anything on the car for whatever that thing is being called, Gen-7 or not. It is going to require a lot of creative thinking. When it comes to those things, I can pie-in-the-sky dream about it all I want but at the end of the day I don't have the knobs. There is one group holding the controls and it is all up to them at the end of the day which way they want to twist and turn them. I made a concerted effort going forward that I am not going to put that much thought into that stuff and let them figure it out.”