1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon overcame damage in an early wreck at Daytona and finished 12th, maintaining the points lead. He leads Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by 27, as Hendrick drivers occupy the top three spots.
Aric Almirola was not favored to return the iconic 43 that Richard Petty won his 200th win the Independence Day weekend thirty years ago, but he did. The rains that delayed the action for a day, and delayed it again early on Sunday, returned to finally put a wash to the proceedings prior to the three-quarter mark. The man in front was the 30-year old Tampa, Florida native, recording his first Cup victory in 125 starts.
Almirola captured the first win for the No.43 car since Martinsville in April of 1999 with John Andretti behind the wheel. To just add some icing onto the cake, birthday cake that is, Petty also just celebrated a birthday. With all this you have to see the magic of it all and there is no denying that it was just meant to be.
The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway has been delayed from its original green flag start time of 7:57 p.m. Saturday evening due to heavy rain. The race has been rescheduled to Sunday at 11 a.m. ET and will be televised on TNT.
In Friday night's Nationwide Series race, Ryan Seig made the most of the restrictor plates being the "the great equalizer" as he pushed Kasey Kahne to victory, scoring a third place finish. It marks Sieg's best career finish and his second top-10 at Daytona International Speedway.
This weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400, Brian Vickers' Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing will feature a special paint scheme, featuring Florida State University.
Throughout the race, Kasey Kahne could be found no where near the front of the field leading laps with his JR Motorsports teammates. However on the final restart with three laps to go, Kahne cut his way through the traffic after starting third and at the line, was only 0.021 seconds ahead of Regan Smith en route to grabbing the victory in the Subway Firecracker 250.
Everybody expects the likes of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing or Roush Fenway Racing to be on the pole for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway - however, Front Row Motorsports? Really? That's exactly what happened on Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway as David Gilliland put the underfunded team on the pole with a lap of 45.153 seconds.
The distance run and the sponsors may have changed, but for thirty years the gateway to summer race at Daytona was known as the Firecracker 400 (250 for its first four runs). It might not be as big as the 500 or have the glamour of the Southern 500, but winning this one means something. Its name should mean something as well.
As if Maddi Gordon wouldn’t have been excited enough to race at Sonoma Raceway for this weekend’s 38th annual DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge
Joey Logano is the lone Ford Cup driver with a victory on the track after winning the 2024 All-Star Race while Chandler Smith is the defending winner of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event.
Wheels America Racing’s Max Stallone – racing in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin with support from PT Autosport – endured another difficult race weekend, caught up several incidents not of his own making.
