Stenhouse survives double overtime for first Daytona 500 title

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February 19, 2023

Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

In NASCAR’s longest-ever running of the Great American Race to commence the sport’s 75th anniversary of competition, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. muscled his way to win the 65th annual running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 19, amid two overtime attempts and a series of late carnages.

The 35-year-old Stenhouse from Olive Branch, Mississippi, rallied from a late pit road speeding penalty to take the lead from reigning series champion Joey Logano during the first of two overtime attempts. He then had to endure a second overtime attempt, where he nearly lost the lead on the final lap before a draft from Christopher Bell enabled Stenhouse to fend off Logano and remain ahead of him prior to a vicious multi-car wreck on the final lap that concluded the event under caution and sent the driver of the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team to Victory Lane. In total, Stenhouse led the final 10 of 212 over-scheduled laps.

The starting lineup was determined through two single-car qualifying sessions that occurred on Wednesday, February 15, followed by a pair of Bluegreen Vacations Duels that occurred on Thursday, February 16. For the third time in his career, Alex Bowman started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.686 mph in 49.536 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Kyle Larson, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 181.057 mph in 49.708 seconds. Joey Logano and Aric Almirola occupied the second row after both won their respective Duels. The only competitor to drop at the rear of the field was Kyle Busch in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during the second Duel event.

When the green flag waved and the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced, teammates Bowman and Larson dueled for the lead in front of two tight-packed lanes entering the first two turns. While Larson tried to pull ahead on the inside lane with drafting help from Logano, Bowman muscled away with the lead as he had a stronger draft on the outside lane followed by Almirola entering the backstretch. Larson then tried to pull even to Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the inside lane exiting the backstretch as he had Logano drafting him. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Larson managed to pull ahead and lead the first lap by a hair over Bowman as the field remained dead tight through two packed lanes.

Through the first five scheduled laps and with the field remaining in tight formation through two tight-packed lanes, teammates Bowman and Larson remained dead even for the lead followed by Almirola, Logano and Christopher Bell while Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Corey LaJoie were in the top 10. Behind, Chris Buescher occupied 11th while Todd Gilliland, Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith and Noah Gragson were running in the top 20.

At the Lap 10 mark, Bowman managed to break ahead with the lead followed by teammate Larson, while Almirola, Logano and Cindric were in the top five. By then, names like William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe and Austin Dillon were mired outside the top 20 while Conor Daly, Travis Pastrana, rookie Ty Gibbs and Jimmie Johnson were running towards the rear of the field.

Two laps later and just as Larson managed to break away from the pack with drafting help from Logano, Bell gained a strong run on both front-runners and made his move to the outside lane entering the frontstretch as he challenged Larson for the lead with drafting help from Bowman. He would prevail through the backstretch and clear the field with Bowman remaining right behind his No. 20 DeWalt/Rheem Toyota TRD Camry.

By Lap 25, Bell was scored as the leader despite remaining in a tight side-by-side battle against Larson amid two packed lanes. Bowman, Almiorla, Logano, Cindric, Blaney, Elliott, LaJoie and Keselowski were running in the top 10 while Johnson and Kyle Busch were scored in 26th and 33rd, respectively. A few laps later, Ty Dillon fell off the pace and took his car to the garage following a mechanical issue to his Spire Motorsports entry while the race remained under green flag conditions.

At the Lap 35 mark, Almirola ignited his challenge for the lead as he gained a draft from Cindric on the inside lane to lead a lap for himself ahead of Bell. By then, Conor Daly made a pit stop under green while names like Corey LaJoie, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin emerged in the top 10. A lap later, however, Bowman navigated his way back into the lead as he had LaJoie pushing him while battling Bell.

Then during the following lap, the Ford competitors led by Almirola and Logano peeled off the track and on pit road for their first service of the event. A bevy of Chevrolet competitors led by rookie Noah Gragson and Bowman would pit during the following lap while the rest of the field that included a multitude of Toyota competitors and Chevrolet competitor Kyle Busch pitted during the following lap. During the final wave of pit stops, newcomer Riley Herbst locked up the front tires and spun his No. 15 SunnyD Ford Mustang behind Busch while trying to enter pit road, but the event remained under green flag conditions. Herbst, however, was assessed a pass-through penalty for a commitment line violation. Despite remaining on track to lead two laps for himself before pitting by himself under green, Pastrana was also penalized with a pass-through penalty for driving his No. 67 Black Rifle Coffee Toyota TRD Camry through too many pit boxes while exiting his pit stall.

By Lap 40 and with the first wave of pit stops being completed under green, Hamlin cycled his way into the lead followed by teammate Bell, Reddick, Briscoe and Almirola while Wallace, Cindric, Truex, Blaney and Kyle Busch were running in the top 10. Soon after, the field returned to competing within two tight-packed lanes as Briscoe drew himself in a side-by-side challenge against Hamlin for the lead.

On Lap 52, early trouble struck for Bubba Wallace, who moved up to the outside lane while battling with Briscoe for the lead before he got bumped by a fast-charging Truex on the backstretch as he slapped the outside wall. Despite keeping his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry straight, he dropped to the rear of the field, pitted under green and returned on the track as he would eventually lose a lap to the leaders. Amid Wallace’s issue, Truex moved into the lead followed by his Toyota teammates Hamlin, Bell, Tyler Reddick and Gibbs.

By Lap 60, Truex retained the lead ahead of a long line of competitors that included teammates Hamlin and Gibbs while Almirola and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top five. By then, Jimmie Johnson was in eighth in between Ryan Preece and Kevin Harvick while Reddick and Bell were mired back in 12th and 25th, respectively.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 65, Keselowski, who commenced a late drafting charge to the front before overtaking Truex during the stage’s final lap with drafting help from a multitude of Ford competitors, claimed the first stage victory of the 2023 season. Ford competitors Preece, Buescher, Harvick and McDowell followed suit in the top five while Gibbs, Johnson, Almirola, Truex and Todd Gilliand were scored in the top 10, all of whom received the first wave of stage points. By then, names that included Hamlin, Byron, Cindric, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Logano, Reddick and Blaney were running in the top 20 as 32 of 40 starters were scored on the lead lap. In addition, AJ Allmendinger received the free pass after managing to remain as the first competitor a lap down ahead of Wallace, Zane Smith and BJ McLeod.

Under the stage break, the entire field led by Keselowski pitted and Preece exited with the lead followed by Keselowski, Harvick, Almirola and McDowell. During the pit stops, Buescher had to back up to get into his pit stall while Hamlin and Logano nearly made contact against one another, with Logano running his car into the grass, while trying to exit pit road amid a tight scramble.

The second stage started on Lap 71 as Preece and Keselowski occupied the front row. At the start, Preece and Keselowski duked for the lead until Keselowski gained a draft from Almirola through the backstretch and moved in front of Preece’s No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang to lead a lap for himself. Almirola, however, was quick to challenge Keselowski on the outside lane as he had Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang drafting him while Keselowski remained in front of Preece and Harvick on the inside lane.

Through the first 80 scheduled laps, Keselowski and Almirola continued to duke for the lead followed by Preece, Cindric and Harvick while Byron, McDowell, Buescher, Truex and Gilliland were in the top 10. Behind, Kyle Busch, Logano, Erik Jones, Hamlin, Blaney, Johnson, Larson, Elliott, Haley and Reddick were running in the top 20 while Gibbs, Bowman, Stenhouse, Ross Chastain, Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Bell, Gragson, Allmendinger and Daniel Suarez were mired in the top 30. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was scored as the final competitor on the lead lap in 33rd while Wallace was still mired a lap down in 34th in front of Zane Smith and Pastrana.

Ten laps later, Keselowski continued to lead on the inside lane followed by Preece and Harvick while McDowell and Almirola battled for fourth place in front of two tight-packed lanes.

At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Keselowski retained the lead ahead of the pack and a long line of competitors running on the inside lane. By then, Preece remained behind Keselowski in the runner-up spot followed by Harvick, McDowell and Erik Jones while Johnson, Larson, Reddick, Stenhouse and Truex were running in the top 10. By then, Kyle Busch was trying to launch a second drafting lane on the outside lane as he was just scored outside of the top 10 while 33 of 40 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Eight laps later, a multitude of competitors led by Kyle Busch and including a majority of Chevrolet competitors pitted under green for a second time while the rest of the field led by Keselowski remained on the track. Following the first wave of pit stops, Busch was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. Shortly after, a small wave of competitors led by Keselowski pitted for service under green. A wave of Toyota competitors including Ford competitor Harvick, followed suit during the next lap before Logano led the final wave of competitors down to pit road by the Lap 110 mark.

Once the green flag pit stops completed, Logano cycled into the lead followed by Buescher and Blaney. All three, however, were quickly caught by the field led by Reddick entering the frontstretch and chaos nearly ensued when Blaney and Buescher tried to stall the run from the pack. Once the field settled through two packed lanes, Logano retained the lead followed by teammate Blaney while Truex, Gibbs and Larson were in the top five. By then, Erik Jones, Buescher, Byron, Reddick and Harvick occupied the top 10.

Then on Lap 118, the caution flew when Harvick bumped and got Reddick’s No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry loose in Turn 4 as he clipped Blaney while barely missing Truex before both veered sideways and hit the outside wall. While the oncoming competitors behind scrambled to avoid the carnage, Erik Jones veered sideway below the apron along with Larson before he spun backwards and was hit by Elliott while Suarez also made contact against Elliott. While Blaney continued despite falling off of the lead lap category, top names that included Elliott, Jones and Reddick were eliminated from contention. During the caution period, some led by Buescher pitted while others led by Logano remained on the track.

With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green as Logano and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Logano rocketed away with the lead on the inside lane followed by Truex while Chastain was locked in a battle with AJ Allmendinger for third place. A lap later, Chastain drew his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 alongside Logano as he proceeded to lead a lap for himself before Logano returned the favor during the next lap. Chastain would then manage to reassume the lead and have both lanes to his control while Bowman and Logano dueled for second.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 130, Chastain edged Bowman by 0.015 seconds to claim the second stage victory. Logano settled in third while Stenhouse, Logano, Cindric, Truex, Byron, Allmendinger, Buescher and Bell were scored in the top 10 as the field fanned out to three lanes while streaking across the start/finish line.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Chastain, except for Wallace, pitted for service and Almirola exited with the lead after only opting for fuel followed by Buescher, Byron, Larson and Cindric. During the caution period, Chastain was penalized for speeding while entering pit road along with Gragson, who was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Bell was also penalized for running over his air hose.

With 63 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Wallace and Almirola occupied the front row. At the start, Wallace jumped ahead with the lead as he had both lanes to his control through the first two turns. Through the backstretch, he moved from the bottom to the top lane to remain in front of Byron. This, however, allowed Almirola to gain the draft and move into the lead on the inside lane followed by Buescher as Larson also moved up to third.

Two laps later, the caution returned due to debris in the form of a right-front tire that came off in Turn 2 and off of Blaney’s damaged No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang. During the caution period, names that included Larson, Byron, Briscoe, Logano, Gragson, Truex, Cody Ware, Allmendinger, Stenhouse, Gilliland, Zane Smith, Bowman, Logano and Kyle Busch pitted, mainly for fuel. During the pit stops, Bowman endured a slow pit service to have his car repaired after making contact with Gragson while trying to enter his pit stall.

During the following restart with 57 laps remaining, Wallace and Almirola dueled for the lead for a second time before Almirola quickly pulled away on the inside lane as he was being drafted by Buescher and Harvick while Wallace had Cindric drafting him. During the following lap, Cindric along with a majority of competitors running on the outside lane overtook Wallace as Wallace lost the draft while being stuck in the middle of three packed lanes and fell back to 16th. Meanwhile, a side-by-side action for the lead was occurring between Almirola and Buescher.

With 50 laps remaining, Buescher was leading ahead of teammate/owner Keselowski followed by Almirola, Hamlin and Harvick while LaJoie, Cindric, Haley, Preece and Johnson were in the top 10. Shortly after, Hamlin drew his challenge for the lead beneath Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang, but the latter remained within contention.

Under the final 40 scheduled laps, the top-33 competitors on the track were separated by less than two seconds and within two packed lanes as Buescher continued to lead with drafting help from Keselowski while Almirola, Cindric and Preece settled in the top five ahead of Harrison Burton, McDowell, Hamlin, Suarez and Larson.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Buescher retained the lead followed by a long line of competitors running on the outside lane, which included seven Fords occupying the top-seven spots that included Keselowski, Almirola, Cindric, Preece, Burton and McDowell. A lap later, Wallace pitted for fresh tires and fuel under green.

Then with 25 laps remaining, a wave of competitors led by Buescher pitted under green, mainly for fuel, as Suarez took over the lead. The Toyota competitors led by Hamlin and Truex would pit during the following lap before a group of five led by McDowell pitted during the ensuing lap. More competitors led by Suarez would then pit with 21 laps remaining as Burton emerged with the lead. Shortly after, Burton pitted along with a handful of competitors including Logano. During the pit stops, Stenhouse was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

Then with 19 laps remaining, the caution flew when a stack-up on the outside lane entering Turns 1 and 2 resulted with McDowell hitting and sending Preece sideways as Preece spun below the track and hit the right side of Johnson’s car before he shot back up to the wall and ignited a multi-car wreck that collected Truex, Briscoe, Gibbs and Harvick. At the moment of caution, Burton, who had just pitted under green, cycled into the lead followed by Logano, Byron, Kyle Busch and Larson while Austin Dillon, Suarez, Allmendinger, Keselowski and Gragson were running in the top 10.

Down to the final 13 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Burton and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Burton and Logano battled dead even for the lead. As Burton tried to pull ahead through the backstretch, Logano gained the upper hand on the inside lane as he assumed the lead followed by Byron, Allmendinger and Larson. Then through the frontstretch, Logano’s car dipped below the double yellow lines. This caused a brief stack up as Byron was left in the middle of a three-wide battle and began losing spots after losing the draft. Then through the backstretch, Allmendinger forced his way below Logano as he took the lead followed by Larson as Logano was losing spots on the outside lane while nearly making contact with Burton.

As the field fanned out and jostled for positions toward the front with 10 laps remaining, Keselowski cycled his way back into the lead followed by Buescher, Allmendinger, Larson and Busch. Busch would soon move up to third followed by teammate Austin Dillon and Byron while Allmendinger was slowly losing ground after losing the lead pack.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Keselowski was leading teammate Buescher while Busch settled in third as he had teammate Dillon and Byron drafting him while Stenhouse, Logano, Cindric, Bell and Larson in top 10.

Then with four laps remaining, Busch dropped the hammer through the backstretch as he moved to the outside lane and was drafted into the lead followed by Dillon, Byron and Stenhouse while Keselowski and Buescher were stuck on the inside lane with no additional help as they dropped to fifth and sixth. Then as Busch led the field towards the frontstretch with the start/finish line within sight, the caution flew with two laps remaining and the event was sent into overtime when Suarez got turned and spun towards the frontstretch before getting his No. 99 Tootsies Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stuck on the frontstretch grass.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Busch, who started on the outside lane alongside Dillon, jumped ahead before crossing over in front of Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to get the draft from his Richard Childress Racing teammate while Logano tried to rally on the outside lane. Logano would gain the upper hand through the backstretch as he had Stenhouse, Larson and Bell pushing him while Busch had to save his No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from going off the track after getting bumped by Dillon. Then, Stenhouse moved to the inside of Logano as he took the lead followed by Larson. Not long after, however, the caution returned and the field was sent into a second overtime attempt when Dillon got bumped and turned by Byron exiting the backstretch as he bumped into Hamlin before sending himself and Byron for a spin. Both Dillon and Byron then veered back up the track and ignited another multi-car pileup in Turn 3 that involved Haley, Gilliland, Cindric, Burton, Gragson, Chastain, Zane Smith, Herbst and Johnson, whose strong run came to an end with a wrecked race car. In the midst of the carnage, Busch, who lost his teammate and drafting partner, fell back to sixth behind Logano and Allmendinger.

At the start of the second overtime attempt, where Stenhouse and Larson occupied the front row, Stenhouse retained the lead despite receiving pressure from Logano, Larson, Busch and a pack of cars through double lanes through the backstretch and entering the frontstretch.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Stenhouse remained as the leader before being overtaken by both Logano and Larson exiting the frontstretch. Entering Turns 1 and 2, however, Stenhouse received a push from Bell on the inside lane to mount his way back to the front and draw himself alongside Logano. Then through Turns 1 and 2, Pastrana got bumped by Almirola as he clipped Larson and sent Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 head-on into the outside wall. The contact triggered a massive wreck on the final lap that included Busch, Blaney, Cindric, Wallace, Keselowski, Hamlin and Allmendinger. The wreck on the final lap was also enough for NASCAR to conclude the event under caution and Stenhouse, who was low on fuel in overtime, emerged as the winner as he was out in front when the caution was displayed ahead of Logano and Bell.

With the victory, Stenhouse became the 42nd different competitor to win the Daytona 500 as he notched his third NASCAR Cup Series career victory and snapped a 199-race winless drought, with his last victory occurring at Daytona in July 2017. He also recorded the second Cup career victory for JTG-Daugherty Racing, which celebrated a Daytona 500 pole with Stenhouse in 2020, as co-owners Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty became the first female and African-American duo as co-owners of a car to win the 500. Stenhouse’s victory also occurred in his first race being reunited with veteran Mike Kelley, who led Stenhouse to back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2011 and 2012.

“I think this whole off season [period], [crew chief] Mike [Kelley] just preached how much we all believed in each other,” Stenhouse, who celebrated by climbing the frontstretch catchfence, said on FOX. “[The team] left me a note on the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done tonight. I made a few mistakes. We were able to battle back. This Kroger/Cottonelle team worked really, really hard this off-season. Great pit stops, Hendrick engines, glad a Chevy won. Man, this is unbelievable. This is the sight of my last win back in 2017. We worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but man, we got it done. Daytona 500.”

“I knew I was gonna take the top [lane for the second overtime],” Stenhouse added. “I was hoping [Logano] was gonna follow and he did. He was able to push us out. I went to the bottom [lane]. [Busch] and [Logano] got a huge run. [Larson] split me in the middle, but another fellow dirt racer with Bell gave me a good shot down the little short chute into [Turn] 1. Man, we were out front when the caution came out. We were out of fuel, so the fuel light was going crazy, but man, I hope you all [fans] had fun. That was a heck of a race!”

While Stenhouse celebrated the victory, Logano, the reigning series champion, settled in a disappointing second place while Bell, Buescher and Bowman finished in the top five.

“Second’s the worst, man,” Logano said. “You’re so close. Leading the white flag lap there, I was up front. Kyle gave me a good push and you’re watching in the mirror and you’re three wide across there…You think you’re racing to the checkered flag and you put yourself in the best position to try to win at the start/finish line, and just caution came out. You wish you could race to the end. Obviously, you can’t when they wreck that much. Congratulations to Ricky. There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why it stings so much finishing second, but still proud of the team, still proud of the effort coming off the championship last year and bringing this Shell/Pennzoil Mustang back toward the front and getting a Ford close to the front. Wish it was in Victory Lane, though.”

“If you would’ve told me pre-race I was gonna run third, I would’ve jumped up and down and smiling ear to ear,” Bell said. “I am very happy and very, very thankful that I would get this Rheem and DeWalt Camry a good solid finish, but man, just so close to a crown jewel. I feel like if [the race] would’ve stayed green, I would’ve been on offense. Who knows, who knows, but very proud and thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing. That’s really cool. Very, very happy for Ricky.”

Allmendinger, who was involved in the final lap multi-car melee, rallied to come home in sixth place while Suarez, Blaney, Chastain and Riley Herbst achieved top-10 results. Notably, Pastrana finished 11th in his Cup debut, Harvick finished 12th in his 22nd and final Daytona 500 career start in front of Zane Smith, Hamlin fell back to 17th while Larson, Kyle Busch, Wallace, Almirola, Keselowski and Cindric ended up 18th through 23rd, respectively, after wrecking on the final lap. In addition, Conor Daly and Johnson ended up 29th and 31st, respectively, in the final running order.

There were 53 lead changes for 21 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 38 laps. At 212 laps (530 miles), this season marked the longest-ever running of the Daytona 500 in distance.

Following the first event on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Joey Logano leads the regular-season standings by two points over Chris Buescher, four over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., eight over Christopher Bell, 11 over Alex Bowman and 14 over Ross Chastain.

Results.

1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 10 laps led

2. Joey Logano, 12 laps led

3. Christopher Bell, 20 laps led

4. Chris Buescher, 32 laps led

5. Alex Bowman, 12 laps led

6. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

7. Daniel Suarez, three laps led

8. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

9. Ross Chastain, six laps led, Stage 2 winner

10. Riley Herbst

11. Travis Pastrana, two laps led

12. Kevin Harvick, one lap led

13. Zane Smith

14. Cody Ware

15. Martin Truex Jr., 13 laps led

16. Corey LaJoie

17. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

18. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, six laps led

19. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, six laps led

20. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, five laps led

21. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident, 16 laps led

22. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident, 42 laps led, Stage 1 winner

23. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

24. Noah Gragson, two laps down

25. Ty Gibbs, two laps down

26. Harrison Burton, two laps down, nine laps led

27. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

28. Michael McDowell, four laps down

29. Conor Daly, six laps down

30. BJ McLeod, eight laps down

31. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, Accident

32. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

34. William Byron – OUT, Accident

35. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident, five laps led

36. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident, four laps led

37. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

38. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident

39. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

40. Ty Dillon – OUT, Engine

With the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season underway, the competitors and teams will be embarking on a three-race West Coast swing, beginning at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, which will mark the sport’s final competition at the two-mile speedway venue. The event is scheduled to occur on next Sunday, February 26, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

CHEVROLET NCS AT DAYTONA: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

By

Official Release

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February 19, 2023

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE
FEBRUARY 19, 2023

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st – Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
5th – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
6th – AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
7th – Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Auto Club Speedway with the Pala Casino 400 on Sunday, February 26, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 1st

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., it has been a long time coming. The one difference? Mike Kelley, your crew chief, is back. You won two championships together, and now you won the Daytona 500. Was it just magic together that made the difference here?

“Yeah, I think this whole off-season Mike just preached how much we all believed in each other. They left me a note in the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done tonight. I made a few mistakes. We were able to battle back.

This Kroger / Cottonelle team worked really, really hard in off-season. Great pit stops, Hendrick engines. Glad a Chevy won.

Man, this is unbelievable. This was the site of my last win back in 2017. We’ve worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but man, we got it done, Daytona 500.”

You have a knack for this style of racing, and we went into overtime, so you had to do it a couple of times and earn it. What were those moments like, and what were you watching, what made the difference initially at the end?

“Yeah, when the 8 went to the bottom there I was able to push the 22 and the 5. We had a huge run. I was hoping we were going to get to the white there, and we didn’t, so I knew I was going to take the top. I was hoping the 22 was going to follow, and he did. He was able to push us out.

I went to the bottom, the 8 and the 22 got a huge run. The 5 split me in the middle, but another fellow dirt racer with Bell gave me a good shot down the little short chute into 1, and we were out front when the caution came out. We were out of fuel so the fuel light was going crazy.

I hope y’all had fun. That was a heck of a race.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 5th

“It’s the Daytona 500 and we know how to crash some stuff. It was just super aggressive and a lot of pushing. You know you have to do it and sometimes they go wrong and crashes happen. Just proud of my team and glad we were able to make it out clean.”

Do you have momentum going to California?

“I think so. Just starting the year off strong on the right foot. Not only here but at the Coliseum as well. I enjoy California, it’s been hit or miss for me, but looking forward to getting back there.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 6th

“I’m really pleased with the finish we had. Any time you get to start the season with a top-10 in the Daytona 500 it’s a big deal. Felt like our car handled very well, just tough racing, very track-position oriented. When we got out front, we just lacked a little bit of speed to stay up there; that was the toughest thing. But overall, our guys did a great job and fought hard through the day, and you just have to be there at the end. We had a shot to win the Daytona 500. That’s pretty freaking cool. I wish we could have done it, but all you can ask for is having a real opportunity and we did tonight. That’s pretty special.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 7th

How was your Daytona 500? It looked wild from your view?

“It was a little bit crazy, but I told the team they did a hell of a job. We lacked track position most of the day, and when it mattered the most, we had it. We just spun out there and I was just struggling with loose balance when people would get to the rear bumper for some reason. That one, the 2 came very close to me, very tight and the car behind me came very close as well and got me loose. We recovered and we are getting better at this kind of racing and we are going to get one of these one day.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENTHEALTH CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 9th

“We got the Stage 2 win in our AdventHealth Chevy. That was 10 more points than we left here with last year. With 13 laps to go I was thinking they were going to wreck again, but they didn’t and I was working to get caught up. Then coming to the white flag, they wrecked. I was a little off on my guessing on when they were going to wreck and when they weren’t (laughs). Proud of everybody at Trackhouse with a top-10 finish. It’s a whole lot better than last year, that’s for sure.”

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 19th

Walk us through those last couple of laps.

“I don’t know. I just tried to keep it straight as much as I can and wait for when it’s going to happen and eventually it does, and it did again today. So, I tried, and I don’t know what else to do. Come up short. Let lap 200 and wish it was still 1998 rules.”

Does this get you excited for the season when you see how well RCR did here this afternoon?

“Yeah, definitely excited for the start of the season and getting to the real racetracks.”

NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 WENDY’S CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 24th

“I thought we had a decent run until the end. We put ourselves in position in the top 10 and then made a couple of mistakes and got caught up in the big wreck at the end with the last caution. Thankful for the opportunity. We’re going to continue to work hard and grow as a team. Really proud of Luke Lambert (crew chief) and the boys for the adversity we had. Never quit. We’re not going to quit. Just very thankful.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 84 CARVANA CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 31st

“All in all, just a great day. I hate that we didn’t get to the finish line, but we got a lot closer than I thought. If I would have taken a bet before the race started, I would have thought some issues earlier than that, but we had a great day. The Carvana car was awesome. Very, very proud of this race team. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the finish line.”

JUSTIN HALEY, NO. CIRKUL CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 32nd

“We had a great run going there for a while. We were unfortunately just caught up in what was ultimately just one of those green-white-checkered deals that are inevitable at superspeedways. We struggled a little bit all weekend. This package is pretty tough to pass with, but it was fun to be up there battling in the top 10 there for a bit.”

AUSTIN DILLION, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CLUB CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 33rd

What happened?

“We had a strategy there and it just didn’t play out. We weren’t as good as some of the Fords to be able to tandem and get hooked up. The 6 car just drove through the 24, and that is just what he does. His car is just good enough to where he can just drive through who he needs to and push them out of the way, or wreck them. That is the desperation that they are in right now. I hate it because I was wanting to get Kyle Busch in victory lane here at Daytona. Looking back I should have been a little more selfish at that point. I wish we would have just tried to block both lanes, truthfully. It was one of those deals that is a hard position to be in. I also wish it had gone to the white flag in the position we were in. Unfortunately not, and hopefully Kyle (Busch) can still make something happen from sixth. RCR as a whole, it was pretty cool to get to where we got there and be 1-2 at the Daytona 500 with two laps to go. It sucks because you are so close to winning a second Daytona 500 and your teammate was really close to winning his first ever. We will take it and move on and we did it with not the fastest cars truthfully. It was just execution and we didn’t finish off the last part.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 34th

“I got into the 8 and we just got off center somehow and I wrecked him. Once he got off center, I tried to back up but I had the 6 in the back of me trying to push as well. Yeah, unfortunate because we were trying to put ourselves in the right position and we were in a really good spot there with about two to go and running third before that caution. It seemed like when they did the teammate restart it really checked up the bottom lane and I had made my bed of trying to take that lane to have momentum off of turn two. That was unfortunate.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Guns N’ Roses Camaro ZL1

Finished: 37th

Jones on the accident that ended his race early:

“It was hard to tell. It looked like the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) got turned around, but I couldn’t see how it happened. Regardless, we spun out there on the bottom when I was trying to get around it and then I got hit on the left side hard enough to take out the left rear and end our day.

It is what it is. We were up there; we were racing and we were doing all we could. We were just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. I wish we could have been a little ahead of him.”

Are you surprised the first on-track came at the end of Stage Two?

“No, not really. Everybody was racing hard, but everybody was doing a good job of just keeping in line and doing what they needed to do. There were a couple of moments.. a couple of aggressive and bad pushes, but nothing that was too crazy. I don’t know what sprung that one off, but I thought everybody was doing a good job at that point. It started to get pretty aggressive up until that wreck and I was getting antsy about being up there and getting into something. We were kind of in a bad spot in the pack to get caught up in something. But yeah, I wasn’t surprised it took that long.”

Obviously, it’s a superspeedway, so there’s not a ton you can take from this weekend. But what did you learn this weekend that you can apply for when we get to either Atlanta (Motor Speedway) or Talladega (Superspeedway) later on?

“I thought our No. 43 Guns N’ Roses Chevy was good; it just needed some more speed. We had it driving pretty good, but just didn’t have it quite fast enough. I was having to carry a lot of throttle for too long to stay up and be aggressive with the pack with the pushes the way I wanted to, so we need to get a little more speed out of it moving forward. Hopefully we can find a way to do that.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

Finished: 38th

Elliott on the accident that ended his race early:

“It looked like some guys got tangled up, upfront. Those of us in the back were just scattering to kind of miss it. It looked like the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) and the No. 43 (Erik Jones) kind of went to the apron. By the time we got slowed up, they were coming back across the track and I was the lucky winner to get there first. It’s a bummer.. long ways to go. Hate to end the day, but it is what it is.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – NCS Daytona Post-Race Report – 02.19.23

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Official Release

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February 19, 2023

BELL EARNS CAREER-BEST DAYTONA SUPERSPEEDWAY FINISH
Travis Pastrana Finishes 11th in Inaugural Cup Series Start

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 19, 2023) – Christopher Bell completed his goal – as he finished his first Daytona 500 and scored a strong run finishing third after battling for the win in multiple overtime restarts. Extreme sports legend Travis Pastrana rallied to an impressive 11th in his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the Great American Race.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Daytona International Speedway
Race 1 of 36 – 500 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.*
2nd, Joey Logano*
3rd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
4th, Chris Buescher*
5th, Alex Bowman*
11th, TRAVIS PASTRANA
16th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
17th, DENNY HAMLIN
20th, BUBBA WALLACE
25th, TY GIBBS
39th, TYLER REDDICK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DeWalt – Rheem Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you tell us about your race?

“If you would have told me pre-race that I was going to run third, I would have jumped up and down and been smiling ear-to-ear. I’m very happy. I’m very, very thankful that I could get this Rheem and DeWalt Toyota Camry a good solid finish, but just so close to a crown jewel. I feel like if it would have stayed green, I would have been on offense – but who knows. I’m very proud and thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.). That’s really cool. I’m very happy for him.”

What was your perspective on those last couple of laps?

“I don’t know. I’m very thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing driving this Rheem, DeWalt Camry. I hate superspeedway racing. It has been my Achilles heel for a number of years now, so just running third at the Daytona 500 is a really big deal, and I’m sure tomorrow I will be really happy – but right now, I’m just bummed because I feel like we were in position there, but overall – I’m really happy for Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.). He’s won multiple speedway races and been very close at others. Happy for him and can’t wait to go to Auto Club.”

TRAVIS PASTRANA, No. 67 Black Rifle Coffee Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 11th

Will you wake up tomorrow morning and feel good about how this race went for you?

“Honestly, just to be in the hunt at the end. We weren’t in the hunt for the win, but to be in the top-10 on that last restart, this exceeded all my expectations. Obviously, it’s disappointing now because you want to do the best you can. I was really trying not to crash and unfortunately when things got tight in there, I wasn’t able to control it on the top with the push.”

What was it like to lead a lap at the Daytona 500?

“I led a lap (shouting), but it was by mistake. They said, ‘Come in, no stay out.’ I’m like, ‘I’m already out.’ I led a lap at the Daytona 500 and finished top-20. The car is not a complete write off, so the kid’s college fund is intact. It was a win, and it was awesome.”

Would this make you want to come back and race something else or come back and race the Daytona 500 again next year?

“This exceeded all of my expectations as far as results. These are the best drivers in the world. I’m not a great rear-wheel driver, I’m not a great pavement driver. Restrictor plate racing is a little different. We had a great team with this 23XI Toyota team, and it was an honor to be on the track with these guys. It was amazing that we were able to put it in the top-20. I’m proud of everyone involved and so thankful to be here.”

So was this a ‘one and done’ situation for you?

“One and done. Now if Cody (Efaw) from Niece Motorsports calls me up and says, ‘Hey, what are you doing this weekend?’ I’ll jump in, but I’m not good enough to be the best at this sport with my skill set. The amount of time that this would take right now and I’m trying to slow down. The reason I’m here right now is because I feel like this is the best I’ve ever been as a driver. We’ve been winning championships on the dirt, and I just wanted to experience the whole Daytona Speedweeks.”

What happened in the wreck at the end of the race?

“It’s tough just because you can’t really see what’s going on in front of you so when the two cars in front of you connect, they really take off quick, but when you’re pushing them, you’re worried about having happen what happened to me where you kind of spin the guy in front of you. My car had been pretty tight even off of (turn) four so I was super surprised that it got as loose as it did and we’d been a little loose on the top and we were all the way up on the top. Just disappointing.”

What was going through your mind on the final restart when you lined up in the top-10?

“It’s funny, I know how to drive a car so just drive. No expectations. Let’s see how far we can get up. I really wanted to give my teammate more help, but once he locked on the bumper of whoever was in front of him and I wasn’t on his bumper, I kind of left him so that was disappointing, but still made a pretty good run coming across the white flag. When that top started going, I thought, we might be top-five here.”

Was this an emotional day for you?

“As excited as I am right now, I might sleep for the next week. I am mentally and physically completely drained. Even the Truck race, my heart rate was 170 in a three-wide pack. 182 was my high. That’s just on adrenaline. So, anyone that says NASCAR is boring, they’re full of crap. They’ve definitely never been in a car because this was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done.”

What is one moment you’ll remember and look back on in this entire process?

“This was one of the greatest if not the greatest weeks or couple of weeks of my life. Just coming here and even to go down to Volusia and camping with (Matt) Crafton and all the fans that came down there. Then realizing there were three guys that did the Clash and flew the red eye. These guys just love to drive. The Blocks came here just to watch me qualify and I’ve got all my friends and family here.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 39th

Are you okay? What happened?

“Yeah, actually it wasn’t too bad at all. Just hate it for the Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD. I really felt like we could push really well, and we could really make progress through the pack. I just haven’t really been in the lead much at all today – that was the first time I was getting any pushes in the lead and the car seemed a little unstable down the back straightaway into three. Kevin (Harvick) was trying to push me, and I just lost it. If I would have known that earlier in the day, I would have been more careful about that, but that was the first time I’ve had that experience all day long with that.”

Kevin Harvick said he felt like he may have hit you wrong, but you didn’t feel much of a hit?

“I don’t know. Down the back when he got to my rear bumper it just didn’t really seem – when I had clean air there – that my car was really stable. I thought it moves around a little bit down the back, I’ve had this before, but yeah, I was kind of caught off guard by what happened in the corner. Unfortunately, it was the first time I’ve been put in that situation, I got loose and unfortunately took out some other good cars.”

It looked like the accident started with you or around you. What could you see?
“It definitely started with me unfortunately. I really thought our Monster Energy Camry TRD could push really well. I just didn’t have a lot of clean air all day long and I was never a lead car until Kevin (Harvick) was really pushing on me there. The car just unfortunately didn’t have the stability that it needed to have. It was dancing around a little bit down the back straightaway and a little bump into turn three I would be okay. The car just came around right away and now our car is out of the race and took out a lot of other good cars too.”

Were the Fords the strongest cars on track from your vantage point?

“When I was pushing the 17 (Chris Buescher), I could stay on his back bumper pretty good. (Kevin) Harvick could push me pretty good. Things were working out okay, but I was kind of sandwiched in the middle with my Toyota. I would say there was a point in time there where all the Toyotas were lined up and I thought we had a pretty good head of steam and momentum going, but the bigger pack ran us down and we used pit strategy a little bit. Once all of our Toyotas got together, we were working well together. The Fords are pretty good too. I thought the Toyotas drove really good on the speedways so far.”

How was it working with the other Toyotas this season versus the Chevrolets last year?

“I really had a blast with it. I feel like strategy-wise in the past it was a total disaster for me on the speedways and it just never seemed to work out. Every single cycle here it seemed to work out and we gained track position. I don’t really know what other Toyotas I tore up, hopefully none. But I thought it was going really, really well. I just hate that the day ended where it did as I thought we were working good together.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 20 electrified options, with more in showrooms later this year.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Ford Performance – Daytona 500 Post-Race Quotes

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Official Release

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February 19, 2023

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona 500 | Sunday, February 19, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:
2nd – Joey Logano
4th – Chris Buescher
8th – Ryan Blaney
10th – Riley Herbst
12th – Kevin Harvick
13th – Zane Smith
14th – Cody Ware
21st – Aric Almirola
22nd – Brad Keselowski
23rd – Austin Cindric
26th – Harrison Burton
27th – Todd Gilliland
28th – Michael McDowell
35th – Chase Briscoe
36th – Ryan Preece

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang (Finished 2nd) – “Second is the worst, man. You’re so close. Leading the white flag lap there, I was up front. Kyle gave me a good push and, yeah, you’re watching in the mirror and you’re three wide across there. I felt like the three wide was going a hurt a lane; looked like Kyle was getting pushed ahead, and then Ricky started getting pushed ahead. I knew if I went to the bottom my car didn’t handle good enough. I already got pushed off the bottom once and I thought, if I go down there I’m probably going to get wrecked, and I don’t know if I can get down there in time to throw the block and so I didn’t want to wreck my car either. Then you don’t expect them to wreck either. You think you’re racing to the checkered flag and you put yourself in the best position to try to win at the start-finish line, and just caution came out — you wish you could race to the end. Obviously you can’t when they wreck that much. Congratulations to Ricky. There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why it stings so much finishing second. Still proud of the team, still proud of the effort coming off the championship last year and bringing this Shell-Pennzoil Mustang back toward the front and getting a Ford close to the front. Wish it was in Victory Lane, though.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang (Finished 4th) – ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED WITH 4TH WITH AS GOOD AS YOUR CAR WAS? “Yeah, at the end of the day, yeah. We were up front a lot of the day between both of our cars and there is a ton to be proud of. I can’t thank everyone back at RFK enough. The Fastenal Mustang was quick, and I love that. Just got a little behind there in the first overtime and survived the next one. Somehow we made it through all of that and picked up all kinds of spots. Ultimately even getting back to fourth, it should feel good, but I feel like we had more in us today and just weren’t able to hoist that trophy up.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Blue Def/Peak Ford Mustang (Finished 8th) – “You know, unfortunately getting tore up in the second stage and I thought we did a good job fixing it and staying in it and got a couple of laps back and were able to get it driving decent enough to where we lined up in the top-15 and were able to miss some wrecks and finish okay. I am really proud of the effort to fix it and make it driveable and get a finish. It is unfortunate that we couldn’t race for a win.

RILEY HERBST, No. 15 Sunny D Ford Mustang (Finished 10th) – “It was long and a lot of riding, not really racing. I was kind of biding my time and trying to get experience. To finish top-10 was really cool. I am thankful for the opportunity to be here in the Cup Series and really happy with the finish in our first 500.”

HARRISON BURTON, No. 21 Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford Mustang (Finished 26th) – “I am just disappointed. We were leading with 18 to go and I feel like we had a shot. It just didn’t go our way. The outside just didn’t really get rolling and we didn’t get organized very well and by the time we did it was just a little too late. I feel like when the 22 pulled up in front of me I tried to slow down to engage him and I got hit by the 8 really hard and send the 22 three-wide and we lost momentum again. I don’t know why I got out of shape off of four but I about wrecked off of four. Then you’re buried in the back trying to make moves to get back up and when they wreck you are just right in the way. It is frustrating. I felt like we executed our race well. Just sucks not to win for sure.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang – “Everybody was on green flag cycles. People trying to block the rows are trying to cycle in and I just want to focus on the fact that we had such a fast Haas Tooling Ford Mustang. This opportunity is exactly what I wanted, so it’s unfortunate because I felt like we were gonna put ourselves in position to give ourselves an opportunity to be in contention to win this race, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully, we keep unloading fast Ford Mustangs like we did this weekend and we’ll have some fun.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang – “We were coming off that pit sequence and everybody was such different speeds and you could definitely tell the intensity was ratcheting up. Everybody was just making really aggressive blocks trying to position themselves for the end. I don’t know. We just all checked up into one and it was a bad wreck for Stewart-Haas because all four of us were stuck in that. I just hate it. It felt like we were in position. We talked about what our plan was going into it and felt like we were executing that, but we just needed a little luck at the end to go with it. We’ll move on to California and see if we can improve. Obviously, we need to improve. We finished 34th again, so that’s what we’ll try to do.”

Multi-Platinum Entertainer Dierks Bentley To Perform Pre-Race Concert for NASCAR All-Star Race At North Wilkesboro Speedway

By

Official Release

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February 19, 2023

Bentley will perform a one-hour concert prior to the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 21 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on a festival-style stage prior to North Wilkesboro’s first NASCAR Cup Series races since 1996;
The concert is free for All-Star Race ticket holders

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (Feb. 19, 2023) – One of country music’s best-known performers, Dierks Bentley, is set to thrill race fans at the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 21 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The platinum-selling recording artist will perform on a festival-style stage at 2:30 p.m., adding even more excitement to one of the most hotly anticipated race weekends in recent memory.

Following the release of his 10th studio album GRAVEL & GOLD, available Feb. 24, Bentley will perform for North Wilkesboro’s capacity crowd with a one-hour set including fan-favorite hits and new music like his current Top 10 and climbing single, “Gold.”

A full All-Star Race weekend schedule will be revealed at a later date.

TICKETS:

A limited number of All-Star weekend (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) ticket packages including Sunday’s Dierks Bentley All-Star pre-race concert will go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 12:00 p.m. ET. A limited number of single-day tickets for the May 19 All-Star Friday presented by Raymer Oil Company – featuring NASCAR Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series practice sessions and concerts with Midland and Chase Rice – will go on sale Wednesday, Feb. 22, and a limited number of grandstand tickets will also be available for Saturday, May 20, which features the Tyson 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in addition to NASCAR All-Star Open and All-Star Race qualifying.

MORE INFO:

Fans can obtain the latest news and information surrounding NASCAR All-Star Race week by following North Wilkesboro Speedway on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or by visiting www.NorthWilkesboroSpeedway.com.

ABOUT Dierks Bentley:

There comes a time in any climb up one of Colorado’s famous 14,000-foot peaks when, after a few hours of striving, you pause on a ledge, turn around, and marvel at the vista and the ground you’ve covered. That’s where Dierks Bentley finds himself, 20 years into an exceptional career in 21st century Country music, with plans to release his 10th studio album GRAVEL & GOLD on Feb. 24. It’s a diverse, 14-track album including his Top 10 and climbing single “Gold,” about perspective and self-awareness at many levels from the personal to the professional. It’s also a testament to the many strains of country music Bentley has mastered and cultivated in his career, from the arena shaker to the barroom weeper to the bluegrass fireballer. The years since have revealed a rare consistency that’s fueled longevity – eight more albums that reached the top of the Country sales charts, resulting in 21 No. One songs, 8 billion streams, three CMA Awards, 14 GRAMMY® nominations and membership into the Grand Ole Opry. Trendy sounds have ebbed and flowed around him over these two decades, but fans have relied on Bentley for something more nourishing and individual. He also has created professional endeavors outside of the music with his Flag & Anthem lifestyle collection Desert Son, along with his “Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row” franchise hosting four locations. For more information and a list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.Dierks.com.

TEAM PENSKE AND DISCOUNT TIRE ANNOUNCE EXTENSION OF WINNING MOTORSPORTS PARTNERSHIP

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Official Release

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February 19, 2023

Leading Tire Retailer to Continue Sponsorship of 2022 Daytona 500 Winner Austin Cindric, NASCAR’s Ryan Blaney and Team Penske INDYCAR Program

MOORESVILLE, NC (February 19, 2023) – Team Penske and Discount Tire today announced an extension of their winning motorsports partnership as NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) driver Austin Cindric prepares to defend his historic 2022 Daytona 500 victory in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Under the new multi-year partnership agreement, Discount Tire – the world’s largest independent retailer of tires and wheels – will build on its tradition of success with Team Penske across both its NASCAR and INDYCAR programs.

Entering its 14th season as a Team Penske partner in 2023, Discount Tire will continue to serve as the primary sponsor for Cindric and the No. 2 Ford Mustang team for multiple NCS races this season – including the Daytona 500. Discount Tire will also sponsor the No. 12 Ford Mustang driven by Ryan Blaney in select NCS races this season and into the future, under the new agreement. The partnership will also continue with Team Penske’s winning NTT INDYCAR SERIES program as Discount Tire and Tire Rack will return as associate sponsors of the No. 2 Chevrolet driven by two-time series champion Josef Newgarden, along with the No. 3 Chevy driven by former series Rookie of the Year Scott McLaughlin and the No. 12 Chevrolet raced by 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner and reigning series champ Will Power.

“We are proud of Team Penske’s partnership with Discount Tire and the success we have had together over the years, including multiple championships and a victory in the Daytona 500,” said Roger Penske. “Our companies share many of the same core values and this is a partnership that continues to deliver, both on and off the race track. We are excited to build on our success together in 2023 and into the future.”

Team Penske welcomed Discount Tire as team partner prior to the 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) season as the No. 22 Discount Tire team won six races, established a new series record with 26 top-five finishes and earned Team Penske’s first-ever NASCAR championship with the NXS title. Following a successful run of four NXS Owner’s Championships from 2013-2015 and again 2017, Discount Tire transitioned to the No. 2 Ford Mustang for the 2018 Cup Series season. Last season, Cindric delivered one of Discount Tire’s biggest victories with a win in the “Great American Race” on his way to claiming NCS Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

“Discount Tire is grateful for our partnership with Roger Penske and Team Penske,” said Michael Zuieback, executive chairman of Discount Tire. “For more than a decade, this partnership has allowed our people, our customers and our race team to dream bigger and we look forward to celebrating more championships together with Team Penske in the future.”

Discount Tire and Team Penske have teamed up to produce 36 race victories across NCS and NXS competition, with 10 combined championships and the historic 2022 Daytona 500 win. The 36 wins represents the second-highest total among all NASCAR primary sponsors in Team Penske history.

About Team Penske
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 600 major race wins, over 670 pole positions and 43 championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 57-year history, the team has also earned 18 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win, victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a win in Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 race. In 2023, Team Penske will compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the NASCAR Cup Series under the “Team Penske” banner. With a new Team Penske global partnership, Porsche Penske Motorsport will also compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the World Endurance Championship this season. For more information about Team Penske, please visit www.teampenske.com.

About Discount Tire

Discount Tire, based in Scottsdale, is a leading independent retailer of tires and wheels. Founded in 1960 by Bruce Halle, the company serves customers at more than 1,100 stores in 38 states. The company does business under the trade name Discount Tire in most of the U.S. and America’s Tire in parts of California. Discount Tire acquired Tire Rack, a direct-to-consumer tire retailer and distributor, in 2021. Treadwell, Discount Tire’s proprietary online tire-buying guide uses decades of data and individual driving habits to recommend the right tires for each driver’s unique needs. Discount Tire is a primary sponsor of the No. 2 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series. For more information, visit www.discounttire.com.

Blaine Perkins Daytona Post Race Report

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Official Release

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February 19, 2023

Promising Start Halted By Early Contact

Daytona International Speedway | Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300
Team: No. 07 AUTOParkIt.com Chevrolet Camaro
Driver: Blaine Perkins
Start: 27th
Finish: 37th; Out-Accident (19 | 120 laps completed)
Driver Points Position: 36th | Owner Points Position: 37th

Race Recap: Taking the green flag in the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300 in the 27th position, Perkins wasted no time in heading to the front. The first caution of the evening came out on lap 8. The 07 team would stay out under caution and would restart the race in the 14th position. Perkins would crack the Top 10 for the first time on lap 17. Unfortunately, the night would come to an end on lap 19 after contact in the left rear would turn Perkins into car #11 before sliding into the inside wall.

Blaine Perkins Quote: “An unfortunate way to end our season opener at Daytona. The SS GreenLight Racing guys brought me a real fast 07 Chevy. Really want to thank AUTOParkIt.com for coming on board this weekend. I was really looking forward to putting them out front today when we were caught up in wreck that wasn’t really anything of our doing. We just have to put our heads down and move on to the west coast swing and have a really good next few weeks. We’ll put this one behind us…32 races to go.

Next Up: Production Alliance 300 at Auto Club Speedway on Sat., February 25, 2023, live on FOX Sports 1 | Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 90.

Follow on Social Media: To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, visit www.BlainePerkins.com or connect with Blaine Perkins on Facebook (OfficialBlainePerkins), Twitter (@BlainePerkins21) or Instagram (@blaineperkins21).

Follow SS GreenLight Racing on Social Media: Keep up with SS GreenLight Racing news, notes, information, exclusive content and much more! visit www.ssgreenlight.com or connect on our social media channels. Follow along on Facebook (SSGreenLightRacing), Twitter (@SSGLR0708), Instagram (@ssgreenlightracing) and TikTok (SS GreenLight Racing)

About SS GreenLight Racing..Since entering the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2015, the Mooresville, N.C. ,-based team has made 380 starts with multiple drivers. These include Cole Custer, Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe. SS GreenLight Racing has collected one win (Fontana 2022), eight top-fives, and 23 top-10 finishes.

Austin Hill survives dramatic finish for second Xfinity win at Daytona

By

Andrew Kim

-

February 18, 2023

From starting at the rear of the field to claiming the lead at the moment of caution, Austin Hill commenced a new season of NASCAR Xfinity Series competition on a thrilling note by winning the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 18.

The 28-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led four times for a race-high 39 of 125 over-scheduled laps in a season opener that started off on a rough note, when Hill was forced to surrender his pole-winning spot to resolve radio issues to his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro. Starting at the rear of the field, he managed to methodically carve his way to the front and claim the first stage victory. He then spent the majority of the event running within the lead pack and managed to withstand the field during an overtime attempt to emerge victorious under caution amid a multi-car wreck on the final lap and win the opener at Daytona for a second consecutive season.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Austin Hill, the reigning Xfinity rookie of the year and the reigning Daytona opener winner, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 182.563 mph in 49.298 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Parker Kligerman, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 182.441 mph in 49.331 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that included Blaine Perkins, Gray Gaulding, Kyle Sieg and Joey Gase dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Ryan Ellis also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change while Stefan Parsons also fell back to the rear after replacing an ill Caesar Bacarella in the No. 45 Alpha Prime Racing entry. Jeb Burton would also start at the rear of the field after making a pit stop to replace a battery to his No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing entry.

Then, just as the start of the event was approaching, Hill peeled off the track and pitted after dealing with radio issues to his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing entry. With Hill having to drop to the rear of the field, this allowed the third-place starter Cole Custer to start alongside Kligerman on the front row.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Kligerman, the new full-time driver of Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 entry, shot out with an early advantage on the outside lane by Sheldon Creed through the first two turns. Kligerman continued to lead through the backstretch until Custer fought back on the inside lane followed by Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek. Maintaining both lanes to his control, Custer proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 00 Has Ford Mustang before Allgaier launched his bid for the lead on the inside lane. Through the backstretch, Allgaier was able to break away from the pack and move up the outside lane with drafting help from Nemechek as he went on to lead the second lap followed by Nemechek and Riley Herbst while Brandon Jones served as the lead competitor on the inside lane.

Through the first five scheduled laps and as the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes, Allgaier was leading by a hair over Nemechek followed by Brandon Jones, Herbst and Daniel Hemric while Custer, Kligerman, Justin Haley, Sam Mayer and Creed were in the top 10. By then, rookie Chandler Smith was in 11th followed by Anthony Alfredo, Hill, Jade Buford and Josh Berry while Jeb Burton, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Brett Moffitt and Myatt Snider were running inside the top 20.

Two laps later, the first caution of the event flew when smoke billowed out of the No. 4 JD Motorsports entry piloted by Bayley Currey past the frontstretch. During the caution period, a multitude of names that included Herbst, Custer, Mayer, Berry, Burton, Snider, Parker Retzlaff, Jeremy Clements, Brennan Poole, Kyle Sieg, Kaz Grala, Ryan Ellis and Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by new leader Nemechek remained on the track.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Nemechek received a push from Kligerman to shoot to an early lead until Allgaier fought back on the inside lane through the first two lanes and the backstretch. As the field fanned out to three lanes, Nemechek and Allgaier continued to duel for the lead in front of Haley and Hill.

By Lap 15, Nemechek and Allgaier remained dead even in a tight battle for the lead and in front of a tight pack of cars, with Nemechek running the outside lane in front of Hemric while Allgaier remained on the inside lane in front of Haley.

At the Lap 20 mark, the caution returned when Mayer made contact with Blaine Perkins by turning Perkins into Hemric as Perkins proceeded to spin and hit the inside wall towards the pit wall entrance while Hemric limped his No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro back to pit road with extensive right-front damage. The incident on the frontstretch was one that ended Hemric and Perkin’s run early. During the caution period, a multitude of names that included Buford, Creed, Kligerman, Moffitt, Custer, Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Clements, Grala, Brandon Jones, Mayer, Snider and Retzlaff pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

With the event restarting under green on Lap 25, Allgaier and Haley dueled for the lead until Haley was drafted into the lead on the outside lane following a push from Hill. During the following lap, Hill made his move beneath Haley to contend for the lead as he received drafting help from Allgaier on the inside lane. He would then prevail entering the frontstretch and proceed to fend off challenges coming through both lanes.

Then on the final lap of the first stage, Chandler Smith launched a final corner attack to Hill’s outside as the field jostled and scrambled for positions towards the front. Hill, however, was able to pull ahead on the inside lane through the frontstretch as he claimed the first stage victory on Lap 30. Smith settled in second while Allgaier, Haley, Burton, Creed, Berry, Kligerman, Nemechek and Snider were scored in the top 10 as all received the first wave of stage points of the season. Under the stage break, some led by Hill pitted while the rest led by Creed remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 36 as Creed and Mayer occupied the front row. At the start, Creed received a push from Kligerman to maintain a slight advantage through the backstretch before Mayer fought back after receiving a draft from Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. As the rest of the field caught up to the two leaders, Creed and Mayer continued to duel for the lead before Herbst drew himself alongside Mayer to ignite his bid for the lead. By Lap 39, however, Mayer managed to pull away with a slight advantage over Creed and Kligerman.

Then on Lap 40 and as the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes through the frontstretch, the caution returned when Creed, who was getting bumped by Kligerman, got loose as he barely hit Hill before veering into the outside wall just past the frontstretch and with damage to his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. As the field scrambled to avoid the incident, Allgaier got loose as he also spun his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro from the bottom to the inside lane and just in front of Haley’s nose. Stefan Parsons also spun in the middle of the pack as he limped his car back to pit road with flat tires. During the caution period, some like Haley pitted while the rest led by Mayer remained on the track.

At the start of the following restart on Lap 45, Mayer prevailed on the outside lane with drafting help from Brandon Jones and in front of two tight-packed lanes. Kligerman would soon challenge Mayer on the inside lane as both engaged in a tight side-by-side battle for the lead. By the Lap 50 mark, however, Hill reclaimed the lead.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, Allgaier, who methodically carved his way back to the front following his spin, was scored as the leader followed by teammate Mayer, Moffitt, Hill and Jeb Burton.

When the second stage concluded at the halfway mark on Lap 60, Allgaier fended off teammate Mayer to claim the second stage victory on Lap 60. Mayer settled in second followed by Hill, Jones, Moffitt, Berry, Herbst, Nemechek, Custer, and Sammy Smith, who spun past the frontstretch after he got by Burton, who originally got bumped and turned by Alfredo.

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted while some that included Gray Gaulding, Poole, Joey Gase, CJ McLaughlin and Kyle Sieg remained on the track. All five competitors would eventually pit as Allgaier cycled his way back into the lead.

With 54 laps remaining, the final stage started as Allgaier and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead through the first two turns and they continued to battle dead even for the lead entering the frontstretch until Allgaier pulled ahead by a hair on the outside lane. He continued to lead the field as the event reached its final 50-lap mark.

Then with 45 laps remaining, a wave of competitors led by Allgaier pitted under green while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track. During the pit stops, Kligerman spun, but he managed to straighten his car without hitting the wall. Another lap later, another wave of competitors led by Nemechek pitted under green as Gaulding assumed the lead. Once the final wave of competitors led by Gaulding pitted with nearly 40 laps remaining, Josh Berry cycled his way into the lead followed by Hill, Allgaier, Mayer and Herbst while Jones, Custer, Moffitt, Nemechek and Snider were in the top 10. By then, Allgaier was back in 11th while Kligerman plummeted to 30th.

Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Berry was leading a 15-car breakaway ahead of Hill, Allgaier, Mayer, Herbst, Jones, Custer, Haley, Buford and Chandler Smith while Alfredo, Burton, Moffitt, Nemechek and Snider.

Three laps later, the caution flew when CJ McLaughlin and Sammy Smith wrecked on the frontstretch. During the caution period, names like Alfredo, Clements, Retzlaff, Parsons, Josh Williams, Kligerman, Jesse Iwuji, David Starr and Smith pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track.

With 26 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Berry and Hill dueled for the lead until Hill peaked ahead through the first two turns. Berry, however, prevailed on the outside lane as he received a draft from all three of his JR Motorsports teammates to reassume the lead through the backstretch. Then during the following lap, Hill, who was being drafted by Herbst through the first two turns, managed to slide in front of Berry to control the field exiting the backstretch. Soon after, a multitude of competitors settled in a long single-file line on the outside lane as Hill retained the lead followed by Berry, Allgaier, Mayer and Jones while Nemechek, Snider, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo and Jeffrey Earnhardt were scored in the top 10.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the top-26 competitors were separated by two seconds while running in a long line on the outside lane and as Hill was leading Berry, Allgaier, Mayer, Jones, Nemechek, Snider, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo and Earnhardt while Kligerman, Herbst, Retzlaff, Joe Graf Jr. and Jade Buford, Gaulding, Parker Chase, Josh Williams, Chandler Smith and Haley occupied the top 20.

A few laps later, Moffitt dropped out of the 26-car train after scraping the wall and limping back to pit road with a flat tire. Despite the contact, the race remained under green flag conditions as Hill continued to lead the JR Motorsports’ quadruplet. Then with 12 laps remaining, Kligerman made a bold move to the inside lane and back up to the outside lane, where he forced Earnhardt into the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2 as Earnhardt fell off the pace with a flat tire.

With 10 laps remaining, Hill continued to lead a long line of competitors followed by Berry, Allgaier, Mayer and Jones while Nemechek, Snider, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo and Kligerman were scored in the top 10. By then, Parker Retzlaff was in 11^th while Herbst, Graf Jr., Buford and Gaulding occupied the top 15.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Hill retained the lead ahead of the pack while the four JR Motorsports’ competitors remained in a single-file lane within the top five. Soon after, Kligerman, who was mired within the top 15, made the first move towards the inside lane as he tried to launch his bid to the front.

Three laps later, Allgaier initiated a move to the inside lane as he overtook Berry for the runner-up spot. Hill then moved back to the bottom of the track to block Allgaier as Jones opted to follow Allgaier. Then on the backstretch, Jones got turned by teammate Berry while running third as he spun his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro through the grass. The incident not only displayed the caution, but it also sent the field into overtime. Prior to overtime, however, Berry fell off the pace after his No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet Camaro ran out of fuel. This allowed Alfredo and Nemechek to move up the leaderboard within the top five behind Hill, Allgaier and Mayer.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Allgaier and Hill duked for the lead, with Hill receiving a draft from Alfredo while Allgaier battled back on the inside lane followed by teammate Mayer. Exiting the backstretch, Allgaier started to pull away on the inside lane as he placed a huge distance between himself and a side-by-side battle between Mayer and Hill.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier remained as the leader, but was far ahead of the pack that quickly caught back to him through the first two turns amid the draft. Through Turns 1 and 2, Mayer made a bold move to Allgaier’s outside to assume a brief advantage. Then entering the backstretch, he moved up in front of Hill’s front nose to block him while also bumping into Allgaier. This resulted with Mayer getting loose as Hill made contact and turned Mayer across the straightaway and into the outside wall. As a result, Mayer’s No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet Camaro hit the wall and overturned on its roof as he slid upside down amid a shower of sparks throughout the backstretch before flipping back on all four wheels in the grass. While a majority of the field dodged the carnage, additional names that included Kligerman, Alfredo, Buford and David Starr also wrecked.

With the event concluding under caution, NASCAR was left to determine the winner between a tight three-wide battle between Hill, Nemechek and Allgaier. Following an extensive review, Hill was declared the official winner as he emerged out in front of both Nemechek and Allgaier when the caution was displayed.

With the victory, Hill claimed his third career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and his first since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July 2022. He also became the first Xfinity competitor of this season to be guaranteed a spot for the 2023 Xfinity Playoffs while also recording the eighth Daytona Xfinity victory for Richard Childress Racing and the 50th overall for Chevrolet. By winning the opener at Daytona for a second consecutive year, he became the first competitor to win the opener at Daytona in consecutive seasons since Tony Stewart achieved four consecutive opener wins from 2008 to 2011.

“I have no idea [how I won],” Hill said on FS1. “I don’t know. I didn’t feel like the inside line was that great all day, for most of the day. I just wanted to choose the top [lane]. I knew [Alfredo] would stay with me. He was pretty committed. When I saw [Mayer] and [Allgaier] get together, I went to go squeeze him. [Mayer] came down. He started getting loose and then, you can’t lift. It’s the last lap. I hope Sam’s okay. That was a heck of flip there, but as soon as the caution lights came out, I thought I had it, but it’s so close. To get back to back [wins] here at Daytona, it’s really special. That’s three wins for me now [at Daytona]. I can’t thank everyone at [Richard Childress Racing]. Our Bennett Chevrolet was so good. We came from the back two different times. [I] Hoped everyone enjoyed [the race]. It was such a blast. I had so much. We won at Daytona! Let’s go!”

With Hill emerging as the winner, John Hunter Nemechek settled in second place followed by Allgaier, who led 36 laps before being overtaken on the final lap.

“[I’m] Really proud of everybody at JR Motorsports,” Allgaier said. “Our Chevy Camaros were absolutely blazing fast. This whole team’s worked their guts out. To have the adversity that we had tonight, to go to the back and have that spin, just battled our way through. It’s crazy how fast our car was tonight and how good we were in traffic. [I’m] Disappointed. I thought I could get enough of a draft off of [Berry] and maybe, they couldn’t catch me, but I just got too far out there. That was really all it came down to, but proud of our team. Really proud of the effort we put in. I think we got a lot to walk out of here with our confidence high. We’ll go on next week to California and I think we’ll be as equally fast.”

Rookie Parker Retzlaff and Myatt Snider finished in the top five while Herbst, Joe Graf Jr., Ryan Sieg, Custer and Haley came home in the top 10 in the final running order. Mayer, who ended up 27th following his final lap wreck, emerged uninjured.

There were 25 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 32 laps.

Following the first event of the 2023 Xfinity Series season, Austin Hill leads the regular-season standings by six points over Justin Allgaier, 18 over John Hunter Nemechek, 23 over Riley Herbst and 24 over Chandler Smith.

Results.

1. Austin Hill, 39 laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. John Hunter Nemechek, eight laps led

3. Justin Allgaier, 36 laps led, Stage 2 winner

4. Parker Retzlaff

5. Myatt Snider

6. Riley Herbst

7. Joe Graf Jr.

8. Ryan Sieg

9. Cole Custer, one lap led

10. Justin Haley, one lap led

11. Jeb Burton

12. Chandler Smith

13. Stefan Parsons

14. Brandon Jones

15. Josh Williams

16. Parker Chase

17. Jeremy Clements

18. Joey Gase

19. Sammy Smith

20. Gray Gaulding, one lap led

21. Kyle Sieg

22. David Starr, two laps led

23. Parker Kligerman, one lap led

24. Anthony Alfredo

25. Jade Buford

26. Josh Berry, 17 laps led

27. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident, 14 laps led

28. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

29. Brett Moffitt, one lap down

30. Jesse Iwuji – OUT, Electrical

31. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Accident

32. Kaz Grala – OUT, Engine

33. Brennan Poole – OUT, Engine

34. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident, five laps led

35. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

36. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

37. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Accident

38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Engine

With the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season underway, the competitors and teams will be embarking on a three-race West Coast swing, beginning at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, which will mark the series’ final competition at the two-mile speedway venue. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, February 25, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap — Daytona 2.18.23

By

Official Release

-

February 18, 2023

NEMECHEK EARNS RUNNER-UP FINISH IN CLOSE FINISH AT DAYTONA
Myatt Snider joins Nemechek inside the top-five

DAYTONA BEACH (February 18, 2023) – John Hunter Nemechek (second) missed his first Daytona triumph by mere inches as the caution came out on the final lap in Saturday evening’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event. Nemechek’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Myatt Snider, joined him inside the top-five finishers.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Daytona International Speedway
Race 1 of 33 – 300 miles, 120 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Austin Hill*
2nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
3rd, Justin Allgaier*
4th, Parker Retzlaff *
5th, MYATT SNIDER
16th, PARKER CHASE
19th, SAMMY SMITH
11th, SAMMY SMITH32nd, KAZ GRALA
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Could you see the caution lights at the end, and did you believe you were ahead of the 21?

“I thought we were ahead. The 31 (Retzlaff) gave the 21 (Hill) a good push on the outside but can’t thank everyone on this Mobil 1 GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Just proud of the effort. It’s been a long off season waiting to get to Daytona and just to be that close. Great points day, but our car was as fast as Xfinity 10G. Looking forward to moving on to Fontana and I’m glad that we got the year kicked off this way and hopefully we can go chase some more wins, I feel like there are some here in our future. Need to get our speedway program just a little bit better. Thank you for the opportunity from Coach (Gibbs) and I wish Coy (Gibbs) was here. Thank you to Heather (Gibbs) and the entire Gibbs family and everyone at Toyota and TRD for helping me move back up to the Xfinity Series after taking a gamble and moving up from the Truck Series after leaving the Cup Series. The plan is working, and the Lord is good.”

Can you describe the racing for the last few laps?

“Intense and fast just like Xfinity 10G. I can’t say enough about this team. I was hoping after we signed the deal to come to Daytona and get the season kicked off and to come out of here with a race car that’s in one piece with these awesome Mobil 1 colors. Definitely makes us proud. It was really close there when they threw the caution, I thought we were ahead. Just can’t thank Myatt Snider enough for working with me all day. We didn’t have the numbers with the Toyotas, it was definitely a Chevy type of day. But we worked well together, and we were able to come home in second and fifth. Just thankful for this opportunity from Coach (Gibbs) and wish Coy (Gibbs) was here to spend it with us. Glad that we came home second, and we can get our points run kicked off on the right foot. Looking forward to Fontana next week and the rest of the year.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

MYATT SNIDER, No. 19 Tree Top Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Can you describe those last few laps?

“It was pretty harrowing. They get pretty sketchy towards the end. The 1 (Sam Mayer) tried to throw that block, but I just have to credit Joe Gibbs Racing and Tree Top for bringing such a great Toyota GR Supra. It was really fun to be able to race with everybody. I love Daytona despite all of the things that have happened here. To go top-five in my first time out with JGR, is cool. Hopefully, we can get a few more races with them and get Tree Top out there.”

Wild finish, are you glad it wasn’t you on your roof this season?

“I don’t want anyone to flip at this race track. I can confirm it is not very fun, but what is fun is racing this Tree Top GR Supra here at Daytona. The boys from Joe Gibbs Racing brought me a really fast – just about as fast as Xfinity 10G – Supra, and it was really a lot of fun. I thought we had it there with John Hunter (Nemechek). I thought I pushed him to the win. I hate it that the 7 (Justin Allgaier) pushed him down below the double-yellow line. It was really, really close, but that’s what you deal with here. It’s spots and inches here. It is Daytona.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 20 electrified options, with more in showrooms later this year.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Connor Mosack Scores Second in Daytona Debut

By

Official Release

-

February 18, 2023

Driver of Mobil 1 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing Equals Career-Best ARCA Finish

Date: Saturday, Feb. 18
Event: Brandt 200
Series: ARCA Menards Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Length: 80 laps (200 miles)
Start/Finish: 1st / 2nd (Running, completed 80 of 80 laps)
Race Winner: Greg Van Alst of Greg Van Alst Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Overview:

Connor Mosack’s superspeedway debut in the ARCA Menards Series proved to be a memorable one. The 23-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, won the pole for the Brandt 200 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway with a time of 49.396 seconds at 182.201 mph around the 2.5-mile oval. And when the green flag waved on the 80-lap race, Mosack kept his No. 18 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry from Joe Gibbs Racing out front by leading the first 25 laps. He pitted on lap 32 and returned to the track in seventh, running among the lead draft until a bump from behind sent Mosack spinning down the backstretch and into the infield grass. With a dirty but undamaged racecar, Mosack headed to pit road to remove the dirt and grass that had accumulated on the grille. Mired all the way back in 31st, Mosack restarted the race on lap 51. But with veteran spotter Tony Hirschman in his ear, Mosack was undaunted. He drove back into the top-10 by lap 66 and was in third place as he took the white flag for the final lap. Unfortunately, time ran out and Mosack couldn’t muster a run on eventual winner Greg Van Alst, who beat Mosack to the stripe by .107 of a second.

Connor Mosack driver of the No. 18 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“Biggest thing was just listening to my spotter, Tony (Hirschman). He was guiding me through the whole thing and I was really just doing what he was telling me. Definitely was a little worried after we had that spin. It was pretty rough through the grass so I wasn’t sure if we had torn anything up underneath, but our Mobil 1 Toyota Camry was still really fast and we were able to slowly and methodically work our way back to the front. I wish we had one more lap to see if we could’ve made a move, but if we couldn’t win, P2 is about as good as it’s going to get. We got some good points for the owners’ championship going forward.”

Notes:

● Mosack’s second-place drive in the Brandt 200 equaled his previous best finish in the ARCA Menards Series, earned last year. His Daytona result was, however, Mosack’s best ARCA finish on an oval. Mosack finished second on June 4 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (road course) and third on June 11 at Iowa Speedway in Newton (oval).

● Mosack’s 25 laps led in the Brandt 200 were the most among all drivers.

● Mosack’s second-place finish marked his 10th top-10 in 14 career ARCA starts.

● This was the first of six ARCA races where Mosack will drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023. Joe Gibbs Racing won the ARCA owners’ title in 2021 with Ty Gibbs and again last year with Drew Dollar and Sammy Smith splitting driving duties.

Next Up:

Mosack’s next race comes Feb. 26 in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. He will drive in the TA2 division for TeamSLR during the series’ season-opening weekend at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. Mosack is a two-time TA2 race winner and a five-time pole winner. Mosack’s next ARCA start will be May 6 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. In between, Mosack will make four starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series beginning March 11 at Phoenix Raceway as part of his 20-race Xfinity Series schedule with Sam Hunt Racing.

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