After one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR history capping off one of the most dominating manufacturer performances ever, here's what was surprising and not surprising from the Super Bowl of NASCAR, the Daytona 500.
Martin Truex Jr. and his younger brother Ryan have shared many racing highs and lows over the years. But this weekend the two shared a major accomplishment, finishing runner up in their respective races at Daytona International Speedway.
The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota edged out the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. by 11 one-thousanths of a second to win the 58th running of the Great American Race.
Not satisfied with the pole for the Daytona 500, Chase Elliott held off Joey Logano coming to the line to score the victory at Daytona International Speedway in the XFINITY Series. Elliott, at 20 years, two months and 23 days, also became the youngest XFINITY Series winner at Daytona.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. topped the chart for the final practice session before the big race tomorrow. The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the final Daytona 500 practice session with a time of 45.655 and a speed of 197.131 mph.
As the field of trucks were hurdling down the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway with seven laps to go in the NextEra Energy Resources 250, Timothy Peters nudged Cameron Hayley out of place. This sent the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota up the track into the side of John Hunter Nemechek. Just as he got his car straight, he was turned again down through the grass.
With the No. 4 Toyota of Christopher Bell barrel-rolling through Turn 1 behind him, Johnny Sauter nosed ahead in his No. 21 Chevrolet and had more than a car-length lead when NASCAR called the final caution of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Kyle Busch won the second Can-Am Duel race at Daytona International Speedway Thursday night and the field is now set for the Great American Race. The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 35 of the 60 laps on his way to taking the checkered flag.
Daniel Hemric has been delivering his best performances of the season when it’s mattered the most. Over the last five races, the driver of the No. 19 Motion Industries Chevrolet Silverado RST
John Hunter Nemechek has seven NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega, where he has earned two top-10 finishes. He finished eighth in both races in 2020.
Garrett Mitchell (a.k.a. Cleetus McFarland) is back in the No. 4 Niece Motorsports Silverado for his third NCTS start of the season at Talladega Superspeedway.
