NASCAR Cup Series

Camry driver Denny Hamlin won Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion (Finished 2nd) – “It was crazy like normal right? What a great race. I had a great Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion and we kept working our way up from the back and it was hard for us to get that lead. We had a decent start and the 20 was pushing me well and we were trying to get the right push. Larson and I worked really well together all day. I got him there at the end right behind me and I don’t know what started that crash there at the end. We were so close, right next to the 11 when they started crashing there. It is a good start for the weekend and I am proud of what we did. I want to get out there for the 500 now and try to get another big trophy.”

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 PEAK ANTIFREEZE/MENARD CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD - WAS IT AS WILD FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT AS IT WAS FOR THE FANS?“It was a lot of fun. We struggled with speed by ourselves, but the car just drafted really well. I picked some wrong lanes and I picked some right lanes and in the end, the middle worked pretty well. It was a wild race and a lot of fun.”

Denny Hamlin opens the season in victory lane. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 39 laps on his way to scoring the victory in the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway. He overcame an early race incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win the race.

"I think the most frustrating part of it for me was not to finish this first race back. But these guys have done so much and worked hard and gave me a great car. Not gonna get 'em tonight. We’ll have to get 'em in the Daytona 500."

Joey Logano found his way to the top of the charts. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.934 and a speed of 195.933 mph. Brad Keselowski was second in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 45.954 and a speed of 195.848 mph.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens the NASCAR season at the top of the charts in the first Daytona 500 practice. The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.364 and a speed of 194.116 mph.

t was announced Friday that Brian Vickers would be filling in for Tony Stewart in the Sprint Unlimited as well as the Daytona 500. It’s an exciting prospect for Vickers whose NASCAR career has stalled due to a medical condition that requires him to periodically take blood thinners. It’s also an opportunity that could lead to re-establishing Vickers as a marketable driver.

It’s a big shock to me. I have been trying to word a column about Wood Brothers Racing which came from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour a couple of weeks ago, and then the news of the Charter system came down and everything said just went away.

Crew chiefs drew their drivers' starting positions for the race on Friday -- the Sprint Unlimited (75 laps, 187.5 miles) is set for the green flag Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Crew chief Chad Knaus landed the prime position for Jimmie Johnson, who will start from the pole position. Johnson has visited Victory Lane at the 2.5-mile track three times in his career.