For the second straight year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself the bridesmaid in the biggest race of the year. His frantic charge on the last lap that came up short, ending in a second place finish in the Daytona 500 behind teammate Jimmie Johnson.
When the caution came out with nine to go, Jimmie Johnson was just a nose ahead of Brad Keselowski, able to choose his line on the restart. He would choose the outside lane and would hold the field off to win the 2013 Daytona 500.
Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. Johnson, making his 400th career start, held off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin after the final restart with six laps remaining.
Under a pit stop with 20 to go, Kyle Busch would take fuel only and have a solid pit stop to come off pit road in the lead. He would lead the rest of the way to win his first Budweiser Duel in four years. It also marks the second fastest Duel in NASCAR History with Busch completing the race with an average speed of 193.966 mph.
When the field came up on Brian Keselowski to put him a lap down on lap 38, Kevin Harvick used it to his advantage as he made the pass on Greg Biffle to take the lead. Harvick would then hold the lead through pit stops and on the final restart with three to go to take the victory in the first Budweiser Duel at Daytona International Speedway.
Kevin Harvick would take the lead on lap 38 and hold serve through the pit stops to win the first Gatorade Duel. It gives Harvick his second win in a row after winning the Sprint Unlimited last Saturday night.
Danica Patrick backed up her two fast practice speeds that she had on Saturday with a slightly faster speed during her second qualifying lap on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
When the season started, there were some concerned that Kevin Harvick would not have a good season after announcing that he would leave Richard Childress Racing at season's end to make the move over to Stewart-Hass Racing.
Kevin Harvick ran two very impressive practice sessions in preparation for the Sprint Unlimited this evening. He was the fastest in the first session and backed up that speed with a fourth quickest time in the final practice for the race to put his average at 2.5 for the weekend.
Elite Motorsports is riding high into the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex, bringing a surge of momentum, recent victories, and a deep-rooted history to the team's defining hometown race.
The 35-year-old Poole from The Woodlands, Texas, will part ways with Alpha Prime Racing following a three-year campaign at the conclusion of the 2026 NASCAR season.
The 2023 Cup Series champion from High Point, North Carolina, rallied from an early pit road speeding penalty and a slow pit service amid a stumble to notch his third top-five result in a row in recent weeks during the Chase and trail the points lead by 85 points approaching the final four-race stretch of the 2026 Cup Series season.
The initial tests of the new NTT INDYCAR SERIES IR-28 chassis took place in August and September on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and oval, two circuits known for their billiard-table smooth asphalt.
