2014 NASCAR Thread

[GM Franchise]

NASCAR is starting back today with the Sprint Unlimited so I think it's time for the arrival of the 2014 NASCAR Thread.

[GM Franchise]

Austin Dillon on pole for Daytona 500

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/10466782/austin-dillon-puts-no-3-pole-daytona-500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With the famed No. 3 on his car and memories of the late Dale Earnhardt fresh in his mind, Austin Dillon took the fabled number out of hibernation and straight to the top at Daytona.

Austin Dillon won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500 driving the No. 3 Chevrolet -- a car Richard Childress has refused to field since Dale Earnhardt's fatal accident.

Dillon reawakened the days of The Intimidator and proved he can handle the spotlight thrust on his ride in the 3, winning the pole Sunday for the season-opening Daytona 500.

He took the top spot with a lap at 196.019 mph in NASCAR's season opener in a car Richard Childress has refused to field at NASCAR's top level since Earnhardt's fatal accident on the last lap of the 2001 race.

But with his 23-year-old grandson ready to move to the Sprint Cup Series, Childress allowed Dillon to use the number widely associated with the seven-time champion. Earnhardt won 67 races, six championships and the 1998 Daytona 500 driving the No. 3.

Dillon was a kid when he posed for a picture with Earnhardt in Victory Lane following his breakthough 1998 win.

He'll have many more memories from this milestone, like the congratulatory handshake he received from Richard Petty when qualifying ended.

NASCAR's family roots run deep, so Childress never had to leave the family tree to find the right driver for the number.

Dillon has been using it in NASCAR national competition since 2009, when he made his Truck Series debut in the No. 3. He won the Truck championship in 2011 driving the No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, and the Nationwide title last season in the same number.

Sign Of Things To Come?
Austin Dillon is the second straight rookie -- and just the fifth Rookie of the Year candidate -- to win the Daytona 500 pole. But none of the previous four have finished higher than 8th in the race.

Rookie of the Year Candidates
To Win Daytona 500 Pole
Year   Driver   Race Finish
2014   Austin Dillon   ?
2013   Danica Patrick   8th
2002   Jimmie Johnson   15th
1997   Mike Skinner   12th
1994   Loy Allen   22nd
--ESPN Stats & Information
So Childress knew -- he always knew and has insisted that Earnhardt gave his blessing long before his death -- that Dillon could use the number if he ever made it to Cup.

Dillon doesn't take the responsibility lightly.

"Everybody wants to see this number perform well, and that's what my goals are," Dillon said. "I love getting in that race car and driving it. I think once we get through some of these races here at the beginning of the year, everything will sink in and I'll get comfortable and be able to have some fun."

It's the fourth time the No. 3 has won the pole for the Daytona 500. Buddy Baker did it in 1969, Ricky Rudd in 1983 and Earnhardt in 1996.

Martin Truex Jr., driving a Chevrolet for Furniture Row Racing, qualified second with a lap at 195.852 mph. Truex's engine is built by Earnhardt-Childress Racing, giving the company a sweep of the Daytona 500 front row.

"Obviously, without that thing under the hood, we wouldn't be where we are," said Truex, who won the Daytona 500 pole in 2009 with an ECR engine when he drove for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

The rest of the field is set Thursday through a pair of qualifying races, but Childress and the ECR engines are strong: They had five cars in the top 12 on Sunday.

Childress knew he had a shot at the pole, if not with Dillon then from another one of his four Richard Childress Racing entries. All were fast in January testing, and again in two Saturday practice sessions.

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But it was Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., the first driver to make his qualifying attempt, who set the pace early and held down the provisional pole for most of the session. RCR drivers Brian Scott and Paul Menard failed to bump Earnhardt, and it was surprisingly Ford driver Greg Biffle who finally did it as the 33rd driver to take his turn.

Ryan Newman then took his shot for RCR and missed, and Dillon was the next driver out.

He shot to the top of the board and his grandfather pumped his fist in celebration. He then nervously watched as the final 10 drivers made their runs, and gave another fist-pump in celebration.

"We wanted to come down here and put on a good show with the 3, and to have another ECR engine with Furniture Row on the front row, we couldn't be more proud," Childress said.

So could he finally relax?

"The pressure is always on when you've got grandsons racing for you," said Childress, who thanked all the sponsors who "believed in this young kid, who took a chance on him."

[GM Franchise]

Crash pierces hole in Daytona fence



http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/10485146/multi-car-wreck-daytona-500-practice-pierces-hole-fence

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A seven-car accident in Sprint Cup practice pierced a hole in the grandstand fence at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday, harkening back to an accident at the end of last year's Nationwide Series season opener.

Parker Kligerman (30) goes over Paul Menard (27) during a multi-car wreck in the first practice session for Sunday's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway
Several spectators were injured at Daytona during last season's Nationwide race when a blocking incident between Regan Smith and Brad Keselowski sent rookie Kyle Larson's car careening into the fence where it spewed parts, including a wheel, into the seating area.

During Wednesday's first practice session, Matt Kenseth appeared to spark a wreck that sent Parker Kligerman's No. 30 Toyota on top of Paul Menard's No. 27 Chevrolet and then along the SAFER barrier, where it tore a hole in the fence that forced the cancellation of the rest of the practice.

A Daytona spokesman said the fence "performed the way it was designed to," but one steel cable and some mesh fencing would be replaced.

The track has received no reports of injuries.

Joey Logano blamed Kenseth for drifting up the track into the nose of his No. 22 Ford on Wednesday as he tried to exploit a gap.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been racing as hard as I was there in practice, but everybody was in a big pack there trying to make things happen," Logano said. "As soon as he came back up I checked up a little bit and then the [Trevor Bayne] hit me from behind and we spun out. It happens. That's Daytona for you."

Kenseth said Logano got too close and moved him and was spun once he corrected the car.

Kligerman blamed Logano for being overly aggressive.

"It's a shame. He's supposed to be a veteran," said Kligerman, a rookie. "You go up to the Sprint Cup Series and it's supposed to be the best of the best. You've got a guy in practice who's racing people like it's the end of the Daytona 500. Meanwhile, I came out of truck practice, and we were running 3 or 4 wide no problem.

"I don't quite understand that one. I'll have to talk him about that. I'm pretty upset about how that all went down."

[GM Franchise]

Chris Evans named grand marshal

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/10465455/actor-chris-evans-daytona-500-grand-marshal

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Daytona has called on Captain America to kick off "The Great American Race."

Actor Chris Evans will serve as grand marshal and give the command to "start your engines" for the Feb. 23 Daytona 500.

Evans stars in "Captain America: The Winter Solider," scheduled for release on April 4.

He joins a list of previous Daytona 500 grand marshals that includes Ben Affleck, Kate Upton, Matthew McConaughey and James Franco.

[GM Franchise]

Sprint Cup Power Rankings, Week 1

http://espn.go.com/rpm/powerrankings/_/season/2014/week/1/seriesId/2

Each week of the Sprint Cup season, ESPN The Magazine's Ryan McGee ranks the top 20 drivers in the series. Don't agree with McGee's list? Let him -- and the rest of the world -- know in the comments section at the bottom of the page. But remember, make your mama proud.

Biggest mover
Tony Stewart, from unranked to 10th.

Biggest losers
Joey Logano falls five spots, from sixth to 11th

RANK   DRIVER   TRENDING   TOP 10s   COMMENT

1   Jimmie
Johnson   
--

Last Week: 1   24   To describe the defending 500 champ I quoted Ric Flair in last year's final Power Rankings and in this week's Turn 4. Allow me one more. "You don't have to like me, but you'd better learn to love me!"

2   Matt
Kenseth   
--

Last Week: 2   20   If he could have a do-over on one Phoenix pit stop he'd be one spot higher. Regardless, don't expect the Wisconsin Kid to slow down in Year 2 at JGR. He's won two of the past five Daytona 500s.

3   Dale
Earnhardt Jr.   
--

Last Week: 3   22   The only negative about crew chief Steve Letarte leaving at season's end is that it's given the 88 fatalists something to complain about. And loudly. Otherwise, there will be zero impact on the team's effort.

4   Denny
Hamlin   8
Last Week: 12   8   He won last year's season finale at Homestead. He won all three segments of Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited. Dude can't lose! Oh, and his back feels good for the first time in, well, a long time.

5   Kyle
Busch   
--

Last Week: 5   22   On paper, the new win-and-advance Chase format should reward a banzai racer like Shrub. Then again, on paper, "Monuments Men" should have been an awesome movie.

6   Kevin
Harvick   2
Last Week: 4   21   A man free of The Intimidator's shadow paired with Rodney Childers, a crew chief who's finally getting to work with one driver all season. This has the potential to be huge.

7   Jeff
Gordon   
--

Last Week: 7   17   He says if he wins his fifth Cup he might walk right off the stage and into retirement. That would be so cool. But there's no way it would happen.

8   Brad
Keselowski   
--

Last Week: 8   16   It seems that no one's talking about Bad Brad as we hit the season, and deep down I think he kind of digs that. The '12 champ and his overhauled pit crew do their best work with a chip on their shoulders.

9   Clint
Bowyer   
--

Last Week: 9   9   Issue No. 1: The new format rewards winning races and he won zero last year. Issue No. 2: How will Michael Waltrip Racing react to being forcibly downsized?

10   Tony
Stewart   11
Last Week: NR   8   Smoke looks great and says he feels great. But his admission that he was nervous about his leg during Saturday night's wreck tells us that there's some ground to make up, physically and mentally.

[GM Franchise]

These Duels packing drama



http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/10485937/nascar-kurt-busch-drama-just-one-many-reasons-duels-matter

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It's always complicated at Daytona International Speedway.

The 150-mile qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500 should be no different.

A new aerodynamics package forcing drivers to adapt quickly to the handling of their race cars in massive packs, and more weight than ever on a Daytona 500 win with a Chase for the Sprint Cup berth, likely an added benefit should assure that.

All indicators were such on Wednesday as the first of two practices preceding the 150-mile qualifying races were marred by two crashes, the second a seven-car melee that sent rookie Parker Kligerman's No. 30 Toyota tearing a hole in the grandstand catch fence near the flag stand and then onto his roof.

Mayhem began in the Sprint Unlimited, in which another seven-car crash eradicated several quality cars. Jimmie Johnson, who spun out by himself in wrecking his No. 48 Chevrolet, said negotiating the risk and reward of the Duels is always a tough bargain.

"That's my perspective this year," he said. "When you get through the Unlimited and you have a straight race car sitting there, you're much more relaxed and [can] have fun and forget about things. But it will be weighing on my mind the whole race that we could lose that car and put ourselves in a big hole for the 500."

Two drivers -- Brian Vickers and Cole Whitt -- are already forced to a backup car for the Daytona 500 after the Wednesday incidents that also included Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Kligerman and Ryan Truex. Dave Blaney was attempting to acquire a backup car. That pack would drop behind Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick and Bobby Labonte, who undertook unapproved engines changes after blowing motors in practice on Saturday.

1. Freaks come out at night: Daytona 500 qualifying races will be held at night for the first time in the 55-year history of the format, with a cooling 2.5-mile track increasing the grip and speeds and, almost certainly, the list of wrecked race cars.

2. Kurt Busch might not make the Daytona 500: He probably will. He certainly should. Team owner Tony Stewart entered the Duels worrying how to ensure such on his mind even as he worries about his own performance.

Kurt Busch has been a runner-up three times in the Daytona 500, but he may have some serious work to do to get into Sunday's race.

But it's not a given. The problem: The 2004 Sprint Cup champion is operating without the benefit of a statistical safety net, as his No. 41 Chevrolet did not exist at Stewart-Haas Racing and is therefore devoid of 2013 owner points.

Busch, a three-time Daytona 500 runner-up, must finish in the top 15 of 24 drivers in Duel 2 to advance automatically or begin following scenarios involving other drivers. He starts 14th, with two former Daytona 500 winners (Michael Waltrip, 17th, and Jamie McMurray, 19th) behind him. Busch could gain entry on qualifying time with the right cascade of circumstances, but he posted the 28th-best attempt. He could also gain entry with a past champion's provisional, but Stewart would be awarded it first -- if needed -- as a more recent titleist. With Stewart in the first Duel, Busch will know his path to the 500 better when he takes the green flag.

3. A recent Daytona 500 winner is in jeopardy, too: Trevor Bayne became the youngest Daytona 500 winner in 2011 when he captured the Harley J. Earl trophy one day past his 20th birthday. He's competed in the ensuing two, but a third is no guarantee.

The Wood Brothers' No. 21 Ford contested just 12 races last season, all with Bayne, and finished 41st in owner points. Like Busch, he could make the field on qualifying time but posted the 26th-best attempt. Being involved in the seven-car crash Wednesday slightly damaged the nose of the car.

"It's definitely a different Speedweeks for me right now," Bayne said. "Normally, here with the Wood Brothers, we qualify in the top 10 or so, even the top three a couple times, but we just had a bad headwind."

A top-15 finish in Duel 2 makes things simple and he starts, coincidently enough, on the same row with Busch at 13th.

4. Tony Stewart: In the Sprint Unlimited, the three-time series champion got his first wreck out of the way since breaking his leg last August, and he crawled out of his No. 14 Chevrolet without assistance. He continues to check boxes en route to his resumption of points racing, and the Duels should constitute the most realistic simulation yet.

5. Power up: Hendrick Motorsports engineers confirmed their initial diagnosis that the catastrophic engine failures of Bobby Labonte, Danica Patrick and Stewart were a results of an issue specific to its qualifying procedures, not a part.

That alleviated concerns of a company-wide malady that could impact not only Hendrick's customers -- Stewart-Haas Racing and Labonte's Phoenix Racing -- but its four-car fleet of defending series champion and Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne.

SHR had detuned the engines of Patrick and Stewart to ensure durability during qualifying on Sunday. With a subsequent 7 to 8 percent reduction, Patrick qualified 25th and Stewart 35th. Because of being penalized for illegal engine changes, they will have nothing to race for in the Duels but should have a reliable power plant under them.

[GM Franchise]

Matt Kenseth wins 1st Daytona duel

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/10492946/matt-kenseth-wins-1st-daytona-500-qualifying-race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Matt Kenseth nipped Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne at the finish line to win the first of two Daytona 500 qualifying races.

Cole Whitt and Alex Bowman both raced their way into the 43-driver field via the available transfer spots on Thursday night. Whitt and Bowman are both rookies.

Whitt battled back in a car that was damaged in Wednesday's practice and had to be rebuilt after teammate Parker Kligerman also wrecked. Kligerman needed a backup car, and Swan Racing only had one, so the team was forced to rebuild Whitt's Toyota.

Kligerman was in the same 150-mile qualifying race as Whitt, but finished 18th and didn't transfer into the Daytona 500. He had to wait for the second Budweiser 150 Mile to see if he made the field.

[GM Franchise]

Joe Gibbs Racing sweeps Duels

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/10492946/matt-kenseth-denny-hamlin-sweep-daytona-500-qualifying-duels-joe-gibbs-racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Denny Hamlin is undefeated on the season after winning the second Daytona 500 qualifying race, that ended with a violent last-lap crash in which Clint Bowyer's car flipped upside down.

The accident began when defending Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson's car ran out of gas as the field raced toward the checkered flag. It caused Jamie McMurray to run into the back of Johnson, turning Johnson sideways and both cars into the wall.

The entire pack began to spin around them, and Bowyer flipped upside down. Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip slid through the grass and hit hard into the inside retaining wall.

Hamlin cruised unscathed to the victory. He also won Saturday night's exhibition race to open Speedweeks.

Matt Kenseth won the first Budweiser Duel 150.

----

Second Duel is done: Denny Hamlin grabs victory in wild finish



http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/second-duel-is-done-denny-hamlin-grabs-victory-in-wild-finish-022014

Denny Hamlin captured the second of two Budweiser Duel 150 Daytona 500 qualifying races Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway, the race marred by a huge last-lap crash that took out six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Jimmie Johnson and sent Clint Bower on his roof.

There were no serious injuries, but Johnson, Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray and a handful of others destroyed their cars and will have to start the Daytona 500 at the back of the field.

The incident began in Turn 4 when McMurray turned Johnson into the wall. From there, it was chaos.

Truex, who qualified second for the Daytona 500, started on the pole for the second Duel in his Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet.  But Truex led only one lap before Brad Keselowski put his Penske Racing Ford out front.

Keselowski dominated the early going. Once he passed Truex, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion stayed out front throughout the first half of the race. At the halfway point, Keselowski led Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Brian Scott and Kurt Busch.

For most of the first half of the race, it was a single-file affair, the drivers clinging to the high line.

Keselowski pitted from the lead on Lap 37, bringing most of the field with him. But Keselowski was too fast on pit road and had to serve a pass-through penalty.

That gave the lead to Denny Hamlin, who won last Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited non-points race.

Things quickly got worse for Keselowski, who slid his tires on his stop-and-go penalty, which led to a flat tire after he pulled out of the pits. So after leading 34 laps, his chances of victory were ended for good.

Out front, Hamlin led Busch, Gordon and Johnson, with a freight train of Chevrolets behind him with 15 laps to go.

On the last lap, there was a huge crash on the backstretch, and with the field frozen, Hamlin won over Gordon, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard and Brian Scott.

[GM Franchise]

Here's the video of the Clint Bowyer airborne wreck

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/video?related=61cee696-5c4e-4c8b-8ec8-a79d6d811a51