ThePitcrewOnline

Blog

  • Ka-chow: Daniel Suárez wins Atlanta race in three-wide Pixar-esque photo finish

    Ka-chow: Daniel Suárez wins Atlanta race in three-wide Pixar-esque photo finish

    The Disney Pixar Cars movie intro came to life on Sunday night when Daniel Suárez edged Ryan Blaney by 0.003 seconds and Kyle Busch by 0.007 seconds in a three-wide finish in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to take his second Cup series win of his career and his first oval win.

    Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, to win the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
    • Suárez wins
    • Blaney and Busch
    • Front Row Motorsports vs Team Penske
    • Rest of race recap
    • Full race results
    • Points standings

    6 min read

    In what had been a thrilling and intense restrictor plate race, with dynamic hypercompetitive pack racing all race long, came down to a five-lap shootout that Suárez lost control of on the restart as Blaney retook the lead, only on the final lap coming out of turn four for Kyle Busch and Suárez to pull up alongside Blaney, with Suárez surging ahead with side drafting and momentum on the top lane to win the third closest NASCAR Cup series race in history.

    Suárez said: “It was so damn close. It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric also was doing a great job giving pushes. In the back straightaway he didn’t push me because he knew I was going to [screw] his teammate, but man, what a job. We wrecked [on] lap two. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car.”

    Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

    Suárez was caught up in an Atlanta record-breaking 16-car crash on lap two when Front Row Motorsport’s driver Todd Gilliland checked up to let teammate and polesitter Michael McDowell in on the top, causing a large stack up behind, pinballing Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace sideways, taking Josh Williams out of the race and later Noah Gragson as he would retire the car at the end of stage one as a result of the crash.

    Suárez recovered from the crash but would narrowly escape further carnage when with 21 laps to go, Chase Briscoe boldly made it four-wide with Suárez on the bottom entering turn three resulting in Denny Hamlin collecting Briscoe, taking them both out of contention.

    Suárez would find himself on the row front row inside of 30 laps to go, and would battle for the lead until taking the checkered flag.

    It’s Suárez’s second Cup win, his first coming in the 2022 Sonoma road course race, both with Trackhouse Racing.

    Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

    Reigning Cup series champion and race runner up Ryan Blaney was one of the cars to beat throughout the race, leading six times for 31 laps, including duelling with Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson for the lead in the first half of stage one, and staying up front for the second half of stage two, before leading for much of the final 40 laps prior to the checkered flag.

    Blaney said: “I thought I laid back enough in [turns] one and two to not let both lanes get that big of a run. What a cool finish. Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That’s always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-wide finish to the end. Happy for Daniel. Fun racing with Kyle. I can’t complain; I’ve won them by very, very little too, so I can’t complain too much when I lose them by that much.”

    Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

    Third place Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch had an up-and-down race being involved in three crashes including when Denny Hamlin spun off Busch’s front end as he came down on him with nine to go in stage one, at the beginning of stage three when Kaz Grala ran Busch very tight on the bottom of turn one before being collected by Busch as a result, and escaping the four-wide melee crash with Briscoe with Busch up top.

    Busch even had to come from a lap down in the final stage after a serving a drive through speeding penalty under green but after getting the free pass, he found himself charging to the front inside of 50 to go through a four-wide manoeuvre and would fight to the checkered flag to try to claim his third Atlanta Cup win.

    Busch said: “Typically whoever is behind getting into [turn] three prevails at the start finish line with the side draft and everything, so I was second to the 12 [Blaney] right there, and the 99 [Suárez] was the furthest back, and he made the ground back up with the side draft and stuff. It’s good to see Daniel get a win. We were helping each other, being Chevy team partners and working together there.”

    The finishing order may have been different if Bubba Wallace, who is close friends with Blaney, had been able to lock bumpers and push Blaney in turns three and four on the final lap but instead washed up the race track and lost touch with the front three.

    The race featured a record 48 lead changes amongst 14 different drivers. Suárez led twice for nine laps. The race saw 10 cautions for 65 laps of the 260 lap 400-mile race.

    Front Row Motorsports vs Team Penske

    It was a bittersweet day for Front Row Motorsports after competing with Team Penske for the top positions in the race.

    Front Row’s Todd Gilliland led a career high of 58 laps, the most of anyone, on six separate occasions while Michael McDowell would lead five times for 27 laps including winning stage one in a one-lap shootout.

    Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Benebone Ford, lduring the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

    Team Penske’s Joey Logano was due to start second but the reigning race winner was sent to the rear for the start of the race and had to serve a drive through penalty under green due to wearing a webbed left glove during qualifying that NASCAR deemed illegal due to violating NASCAR rule 14.3.1.1 governing driver protective clothing and equipment. It is possible that Logano wore the glove to gain a competitive advantage due to being able to manipulate the airflow more on the drivers side.

    To Logano’s fortune, he was serving the drive through penalty as the 16-car crash on lap two happened, so was able to stay on the lead lap.

    Stage two was a fierce battle between the two teams, as Gilliland led the opening segment with Logano behind, and McDowell inside the top five.

    Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, and Todd Gilliland, driver of the #38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

    The second half of stage two saw Front Row’s race become undone as they first drifted back as their cars became tight before McDowell, during the green flag pit stop, wheel hopped entering pit road and collided with last week’s Daytona 500 winner William Byron, sending them both spinning into and off the wall. The race miraculously stayed green and both were able to continue with McDowell just one lap down after repairs.

    After the green flag pit stop cycle, it was the Penske trio of Austin Cindric, Logano, and Blaney out front but Logano drifted back with a few laps to go and coming off turn two on the final lap crashed into the wall as his car got very tight, collecting Chris Buescher.

    Cindric won stage two. Logano would finish the race several laps down following multiple repairs.

    Front Row fell short in the final stage as despite Gilliland leading the start of stage three and again later, Gilliland had to pit for damage late on, and was forced to pit under green inside of 15 laps to go for right side tyres, taking him out of contention.

    Todd Gilliland, driver of the #38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

    McDowell gambled to stay out longer than most of the field in stage three to regain track position but was forced to pit with 35 laps to go as he began slipping down the order. McDowell still recovered to an eighth place finish.

    Rest of race recap

    Ross Chastain sent Georgia’s Chase Elliott for a spin as he pushed Elliott in the rear in turn three with 65 laps to go, as Chastain was fighting with Wallace for the free pass who was just one car length ahead.

    Elliott rescued his car with a sideways drift in the turn three grass reminiscent of Lightning McQueen’s save at the end of the Cars movie.

    Elliott was then caught up in Josh Berry’s crash with 12 to go spinning down the backstretch, but was able to recover to a 15th place finish.

    Denny Hamlin, despite being involved in multiple crashes including with Busch and Buescher, led parts of the final stage, only to receive heavy damage in the Briscoe crash with 21 to go.

    Hamlin’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. would lead parts of the final stage also, fighting Kyle Larson for control of the race.

    The next race is the Pennzoil 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday 3rd March with the race starting at 3:30pm ET (8:30pm UK time).  

    Full race results 

    1. Daniel Suárez
    2. Ryan Blaney
    3. Kyle Busch
    4. Austin Cindric
    5. Bubba Wallace
    6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    7. Ross Chastain
    8. Michael McDowell
    9. Chris Buescher
    10. Ty Gibbs
    11. Harrison Burton
    12. Martin Truex Jr.
    13. Corey LaJoie
    14. Kaz Grala
    15. Chase Elliott
    16. Ryan Preece
    17. William Byron
    18. Daniel Hemric
    19. Carson Hocevar
    20. Justin Haley
    21. John Hunter Nemechek
    22. Austin Dillon
    23. Denny Hamlin
    24. B.J. McLeod
    25. Erik Jones
    26. Todd Gilliland
    27. Alex Bowman
    28. Joey Logano
    29. Josh Berry
    30. Tyler Reddick
    31. Chase Briscoe
    32. Kyle Larson
    33. Brad Keselowski
    34. Christopher Bell
    35. Zane Smith
    36. Noah Gragson
    37. Josh Williams

    Points standings

    *=win -=playoff cut line

    1. Kyle Busch – 77
    2. William Byron* – 76
    3. Austin Cindric – 76
    4. Bubba Wallace – 74
    5. Ryan Blaney – 69
    6. Chase Elliott – 65
    7. Daniel Suárez* – 64
    8. Ross Chastain – 62
    9. Alex Bowman – 60
    10. Martin Truex Jr. – 60
    11. Kyle Larson – 58
    12. Corey LaJoie – 57
    13. John Hunter Nemechek – 53
    14. Ty Gibbs – 50
    15. Chris Buescher – 49
    16. Christopher Bell – 47
    17. Erik Jones – 47
    18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 44
    19. Denny Hamlin – 44
    20. Michael McDowell – 40
    21. Daniel Hemric – 40
    22. Chase Briscoe – 37
    23. Harrison Burton – 36
    24. Ryan Preece – 35
    25. Tyler Reddick – 31
    26. Noah Gragson – 29
    27. Zane Smith – 29
    28. Justin Haley – 29
    29. Carson Hocevar – 26
    30. Kaz Grala – 24
    31. Josh Berry – 20
    32. Todd Gilliland – 19
    33. Joey Logano – 18
    34. David Ragan – 17
    35. Austin Dillon – 16
    36. Brad Keselowski – 16
    37. Jimmie Johnson – 9

    Featured image: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, to win the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

  • Ambetter Health 400 race preview

    Ambetter Health 400 race preview

    Following on from the closest Daytona 500 finish ever, this weekend sees NASCAR returns to its moonshining roots in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    3 min read

    The NASCAR Cup Series will race around the 28 degree banked 1.54-mile superspeedway oval for 260 laps (400 miles), with stage lengths of 60, 100, and 100 laps.

    This will be the fifth NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the track reconfiguration in 2021 turning the track into a steeper banked, repaved, ‘mini-Daytona’ type racing track, with the cars using a superspeedway package like at Daytona and Talladega.

    Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 King’s Hawaiian Ford, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

    For large parts of the race, drivers will be racing in high-speed packs, utilising the draft and pushes to get to the front, especially on restarts. As the tires begin to wear more into a run, cars will begin to spread out and large packs will break up, racing more like a traditional 1.5-mile speedway race.

    Last year’s Ambetter Health 400 saw Joey Logano achieve his childhood dream by winning the race after outduelling former Penske teammate Brad Keselowski in the final laps of the race, partly due to a helpful push from Christopher Bell down the backstretch to clear the pack.

    Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

    Michael McDowell earned his first ever Cup series pole today with a lap time of 30.999 seconds (average speed of 178.844mph). With 467 Cup races under his belt, it’s the most start’s by a Cup driver before securing a pole since J.D. McDuffie’s 404 Cup starts before securing a pole at the 1978 Delaware 500 at Dover Motor Speedway.

    Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Benebone Ford, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

    Josh Williams will make his fourth Cup series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for Kaulig Racing, qualifying 30th.

    This follows a memorable 2023 spring Xfinity race at Atlanta where Williams grabbed the headlines after parking his No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet at the start finish line and walking across the track to the garage after refusing to accept NASCAR’s ruling for him to park his car for the race, due to multiple yellow flags coming out for debris off his car following race damage.

    It led to a surge of fan, garage, and sponsor support for Williams, who is known to be a big personality, and unafraid to express himself in NASCAR, being a ‘what you see is what you get’ type character, as well overachieving in his equipment, leading to a full-time Kaulig Racing ride in the Xfinity series this season as well as a part-time Cup schedule with them including at Atlanta this weekend.

    Since the reconfiguration in 2021, last week’s Daytona 500 winner William Byron has won two of the first four Atlanta races, including the first race in the spring of 2022, and the summer 2023 race. Chase Elliott won the 2022 summer race and Joey Logano won the 2023 spring race.

    HAMPTON, GEORGIA – JULY 09: William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 09, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Other active drivers to have won at Atlanta Motor Speedway pre-2021 reconfiguration include two-time winners Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, as well as reigning Cup series champion Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin.

    Tune in Sunday for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this with the race beginning at 3pm ET (8pm UK time).

    Full qualifying results 

    1. Michael McDowell
    2. Joey Logano
    3. Kyle Busch
    4. Todd Gilliland
    5. Kyle Larson
    6. Ryan Blaney
    7. Chris Buescher
    8. Austin Cindric
    9. Chase Brisoce
    10. Austin Dillon
    11. William Byron
    12. Martin Truex Jr.
    13. Denny Hamlin
    14. Josh Berry
    15. Noah Gragson
    16. Harrison Burton
    17. Alex Bowman
    18. Bubba Wallace
    19. Tyler Reddick
    20. Ryan Preece
    21. Ross Chastain
    22. Christopher Bell
    23. Daniel Suárez
    24. Brad Keselowski
    25. Ty Gibbs
    26. Daniel Hemric
    27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    28. Chase Elliott
    29. Zane Smith
    30. Josh Williams
    31. Justin Haley
    32. Corey LaJoie
    33. Kaz Grala
    34. John Hunter Nemechek
    35. Carson Hocevar
    36. B.J. McLeod
    37. Erik Jones

    Featured image: HAMPTON, GEORGIA – MARCH 19: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Menards/Knauf Ford, and William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

  • William Byron wins Daytona 500 in closest finish ever

    William Byron wins Daytona 500 in closest finish ever

    After surviving a 23-car wreck with nine laps to go, William Byron went on to win his first Daytona 500 on Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary via a four-lap shootout, when the yellow came out on the final lap for a Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric wrecking on the frontstretch.  At the moment of caution, Byron had his nose ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman to be 0.006 seconds in front, making it the closest finish in Daytona 500 history, and a Hendrick Motorsports one-two, on Monday night.

    5 min read

    Hendrick anniversary celebrations

    It was William Byron’s second Cup win at Daytona having won the 2020 summer race, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and his 11th Cup series win.

    Byron said: “I’m just a kid from racing on computers and winning the Daytona 500. This is so freaking cool.”

    Byron gave Hendrick Motorsports their ninth Daytona 500 win, tying them with Petty Enterprises for most Daytona 500 wins.

    William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning he NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Team owner Rick Hendrick said, “I’m telling you, you couldn’t write the script any better. We win this on our 40th to the day, so that’s awesome.”

    It was the 40th anniversary to the day as NASCAR was forced to move the race to Monday due to bad weather all day Sunday.

    Hendricks Motorsports made their NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 1984 Daytona 500 when Geoff Bodine took their No. 5 Chevrolet to an eighth place finish.

    Three-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon, who won the Great American Race with Hendrick Motorsports in 1997, ’99, and ’05 with the No. 24 Chevrolet, and now is Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports was ecstatic about the win.

    Gordon said: “I might not have been driving the car tonight, but I felt like I made every lap with our guys, especially with the 24 and with William in those closing laps when he was out front. To me, when I found out that they had won, I honestly was about as excited as I was when I was driving. It is 2024, and the 24 is always going to be very, very special to me. But what I loved the most is seeing him make it his number.”

    Jeff Gordon celebrates his win in the Daytona 500 (Photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

    Alex Bowman very nearly ended Byron’s chances of winning the Daytona 500 on lap 192 when down the backstretch he bumped an already loose Byron that sent him veering to the left into Brad Keselowski’s right rear setting off the 23-car wreck. Both Bowman and Byron managed to escape the wrecking field unscathed.

    Chastain, Busch, and Logano

    Ross Chastain had led 14 laps of the Daytona 500 and been duelling at the front for much of the final stage of the race, including on lap 192 when the 23-car wreck occurred behind him.

    Chastain, after already making aggressive blocks earlier in the final stage on Joey Logano, as the field took the white flag on the frontstrectch, from the second row Chastain bolted for a closing gap between Austin Cindric and William Byron but Chastain got collected by Cindric before both spun down into the grass and back into the pack, bringing out the yellow, ending the race one-lap early.

    Speaking to the media afterwards, Chastain said: “I took the gap, I don’t apologise for that. Too aggressive though, and when you don’t finish.” Chastain wound up 21st.

    Polesitter Joey Logano, going for his second Daytona 500 win, led a race high of 45 laps but was taken out by Brad Keselowski in the lap 192 big one and finished 32nd.

    AJ Allmendinger, driver of the #16 Celsius Chevrolet, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Nasty Beast Toyota, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

    Kyle Busch went into Monday’s Daytona 500 as the driver who had led the most laps in the Daytona 500 race in history without a Daytona 500 win. Busch led in all three stages of the races and was in the mix in the final 10 laps but was unable to draft up to the front in the closing laps and had to settle for 12th.

    Kyle Busch had an eventful race as in stage three during the stage break, a loose lug nut led to a tyre puncture forcing him to limp round and get a new set of tyres, only to take back the lead of the race with less than 60 laps to go.

    The after falling back through the pack, Busch would bounce off the turn two wall in the mid pack on lap 172.

    Rest of race recap

    After Logano and 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell led the field to green for the 66th running of the Daytona 500, a multi-car crash on lap six transcended when Keselowski pushed John Hunter Nemechek in the rear, turning him down into Harrison Burton and rookie Carson Hocevar, ending both their races, as well as collecting Kaz Grala, Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan Preece in the melee.

    Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, and Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

    Fans saw two and three-wide action in all the stages, with pit stop strategies mostly aligning with the manufacturer’s.

    David Ragan and Ryan Preece tried to win stage one without pitting for fuel for a second time but were caught by the Kyle Busch led pack with three laps to go, that ended with Chase Elliott winning stage one, and with the four Hendrick Motorsport’s drivers inside the top five.

    Stage two saw Joey Logano lead the opening 20 laps of the stage and Kyle Busch led much of the last 15 laps, overcoming a pit road penalty for having too many pit crew members over the wall. It was reigning Cup series champion Ryan Blaney who won the stage.

    Three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin took the lead on lap 152 and would lead again from 154-162, while Busch would bounce off the turn two wall in the mid pack on lap 172.

    Also taken out in the lap 192 big one was last year’s Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Thursday night’s duel one winner Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney.

    The next race is the Ambetter Health 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday 25th Feb with the race starting at 3pm ET (8pm UK time).  

    Full race results 

    1. William Byron
    2. Alex Bowman
    3. Christopher Bell
    4. Corey LaJoie
    5. Bubba Wallace
    6. AJ Allmendinger
    7. John Hunter Nemechek
    8. Erik Jones
    9. Noah Gragson
    10. Chase Briscoe
    11. Kyle Larson
    12. Kyle Busch
    13. Zane Smith
    14. Chase Elliott
    15. Martin Truex Jr.
    16. Daniel Hemric
    17. Ty Gibbs
    18. Chris Buescher
    19. Denny Hamlin
    20. David Ragan
    21. Ross Chastain
    22. Austin Cindric
    23. Ryan Preece
    24. Riley Herbst
    25. Josh Berry
    26. Justin Haley
    27. Anthony Alfredo
    28. Jimmie Johnson
    29. Tyler Reddick
    30. Ryan Blaney
    31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    32. Joey Logano
    33. Brad Keselowski
    34. Daniel Suárez
    35. Todd Gilliland
    36. Michael McDowell
    37. Austin Dillon
    38. Kaz Grala
    39. Harrison Burton
    40. Carson Hocevar

    Points standings 

    1. William Byron – 54
    2. Alex Bowman – 50
    3. Christopher Bell – 44
    4. Chase Elliott – 42
    5. Bubba Wallace – 39
    6. John Hunter Nemechek – 37
    7. Kyle Larson – 37
    8. Kyle Busch – 37
    9. Erik Jones – 35
    10. Corey LaJoie – 33
    11. Austin Cindric – 33
    12. Denny Hamlin – 30
    13. Chase Briscoe – 29
    14. Zane Smith – 29
    15. Noah Gragson – 28
    16. Martin Truex Jr. – 24
    17. Ross Chastain – 24
    18. Tyler Reddick – 24
    19. Ty Gibbs – 23
    20. Daniel Hemric – 21
    21. Chris Buescher – 21
    22. David Ragan – 17
    23. Ryan Blaney – 17
    24. Daniel Suárez – 17
    25. Ryan Preece – 14
    26. Josh Berry – 12
    27. Justin Haley – 12
    28. Jimmie Johnson – 9
    29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 9
    30. Joey Logano – 9
    31. Brad Keselowski – 8
    32. Carson Hocevar – 8
    33. Harrison Burton – 7
    34. Todd Gilliland – 2
    35. Michael McDowell – 1
    36. Austin Dillon – 1
    37. Kaz Grala – 1

    Featured Image: William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, leads Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, to the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

  • 2024 Daytona 500: preview, schedule, lineup

    2024 Daytona 500: preview, schedule, lineup

     

    NASCAR are racing on a Monday to get the Cup Series’ super bowl season opener underway at Daytona International Speedway, Florida, for the 66th running of the Daytona 500.

    4 min read

    • Preview
    • Schedule
    • Lineup

    Forty V8 Gen 7 stock cars will compete in the Great American Race in front of a sold out crowd at speeds over 200mph, on the high 31 degrees Daytona banking, inches apart from each other for 200 laps, in a bid to win one of NASCAR’s most prestigious prizes, the Harley J. Earl Trophy and forever immortalise themselves into the history books on stock car racing’s biggest day.

    The Daytona 500 relinquished the usual Sunday race date due to heavy rain all day yesterday but it’s clear skies ahead for today’s running of NASCAR’s crown jewel event.

     

    Last year saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win the Great American race for the first time with JTG Daugherty Racing in a double overtime finish after marching through the field from 31st with 20 laps to go.

    There are seven active Daytona 500 winners in this year’s edition of the race including three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Schedule

    The Daytona 500 race starts at 4pm ET (9pm UK time) with American actor and pro wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson giving the command to fire engines.

    The race will be broken down into three stages of 65, 65, and 70 laps totaling 200 laps (500 miles). There is a grand purse of over $28 million up for grabs to be shared out amongst the 40 drivers and teams, making victory lane a very wealthy place to find yourself in post-race.

    Grand Marshal Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson speaks to the media during a press conference after the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 was postponed due to weather at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

    It is likely we will see an overtime finish given five of the last six Daytona 500 races have had an overtime finish; where NASCAR reset the laps to two laps to go if there is a yellow flag brought out too close to the finish but before one lap to go, in an attempt to end the race finish under green racing conditions, with the race leader needing to take the one lap to go white flag at the start finish line to make the race end official regardless of whether or not the yellow flag comes out on the final lap. If the white flag isn’t taken due to a yellow flag being brought out, the field of cars are restacked and another NASCAR overtime will commence.

    Lineup

    2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano secured the pole position for Team Penske on Wednesday night in the brand new Dark Horse Mustang, the first Daytona 500 pole for Team Penske, with fellow Ford driver and 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, lining up alongside him for Front Row Motorsports, the first time Ford have swept the front row for the Daytona 500 grid since 2012 and ending Chevrolet’s 11-year streak of taking pole.

    Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, (R) winner of the Daytona 500 pole award and Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, Front Row second fastest winner pose for a photo during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

    Lining up on row two are the two duel winners, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell from Thursday night in the brand new Toyota Camry XSE, where rows 2-20 were decided for the 500 via two 60-lap heat races with a 42-car field split in half to compete in either heat.

    Row three sees NASCAR’s most popular driver and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott start 5th alongside 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric.

    Row four is composed of three-time Daytona 500 pole winner Alex Bowman starting 7th and 2016, ’19, and ’20 Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin lining up 8th.

    Row five sees breakout star and rookie Carson Hocevar lineup 9th in his first Daytona 500 start, with John Hunter Nemechek lining up 10th making his second Daytona 500 start, now driving for Legacy Motor Club.

    2006 and 2013 Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson will start 23rd after narrowly qualifying for the Great American Race in Thursday night’s duel race passing rival qualifying challenger J.J. Yeley coming off turn four on the final lap to secure his spot in today’s race, with Yeley going home.

    Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #84 Carvana Toyota, and JJ Yeley, driver of the #44 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

    Full lineup 

    1. Joey Logano (2015 Daytona 500 winner)
    2. Michael McDowell (2021 Daytona 500 winner)
    3. Tyler Reddick
    4. Christopher Bell
    5. Chase Elliott
    6. Austin Cindric (2022 Daytona 500 winner)
    7. Alex Bowman
    8. Denny Hamlin (2016, ’19, ’20 Daytona 500 winner)
    9. Carson Hocevar
    10. John Hunter Nemechek
    11. Erik Jones
    12. Harrison Burton
    13. Daniel Suárez
    14. Zane Smith
    15. Ty Gibbs
    16. Brad Keselowski
    17. Kyle Larson
    18. William Byron
    19. Chris Buescher
    20. Chase Briscoe
    21. Ross Chastain
    22. Justin Haley
    23. Jimmie Johnson (2006, ’13 Daytona 500 winner)
    24. Bubba Wallace
    25. Ryan Preece
    26. Kaz Grala
    27. Martin Truex Jr.
    28. AJ Allmendinger
    29. Corey LaJoie
    30. Josh Berry
    31. Todd Gilliland
    32. Ryan Blaney
    33. Austin Dillon (2018 Daytona 500 winner)
    34. Kyle Busch
    35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023 Daytona 500 winner)
    36. Riley Herbst
    37. Daniel Hemric
    38. Noah Gragson
    39. Anthony Alfredo
    40. David Ragan

    Featured image: Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, lead the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

  • Extreme E: Acciona Sainz Secure Desert XPrix Win

    Image courtesy of Extreme E
    FEBRUARY 18: Laia Sanz (ESP) / Fraser McConnell (JAM), Acciona | Sainz XE Team celebrate , 1st position during the Saudi Arabia on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro / LAT Images)

    Acciona Sainz recorded their first win of the season at Round 2 of the Desert XPrix this afternoon.

    Their victory means the Spanish team move into second in the championship – just two points behind reigning champions RXR.

    In a day full of excitement, here’s how the action unfolded.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 1:

    Yesterday’s race winners, RXR, kicked off qualifying in Round 2, as they faced off against McLaren, Veloce, and Legacy Motor Club.

    Championship newcomers, Legacy Motor Club, got away the best off the line, moving into first position ahead of RXR. Veloce were initially right on RXR’s tail, but they dropped off as the teams started the second lap.

    After the switch, RXR looked to close back up to Legacy – eventually taking them for first on the final lap.

    RXR won the first heat of the day, followed by Veloce, and McLaren. Legacy dropped down to fourth after they were awarded a 17s time penalty for leaving the switch zone too early.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 2:

    The remaining four teams – Acciona Sainz, JBXE, SUN Minimeal. and Andretti, completed the first qualifying session.

    Acciona Sainz took an early lead, as Andretti and SUN Minimeal battled it out behind them. After initially dropping behind SUN Minimeal, Andretti were able to get through into second place.

    And that was pretty much all for Qualifying 1. Acciona Sainz took the win, followed by Andretti, SUN Minimeal, and JBXE.

    Qualifying 2 Heat 1:

    The first heat of Qualifying 2 got underway with Veloce, McLaren, JBXE, and Andretti all looking to secure a place in the final.

    It was McLaren who led after turn one, after experienced racer Mattias Ekstrom took a very wide entry and used his superior traction to speed past his rivals. Veloce came out of the first turn in second, closely followed by McLaren.

    There would be no moves before the switch zone, but Veloce were able to jump McLaren after the iconic team suffered a slow stop.

    Andretti were next to try their luck with the McLaren team. And despite some incredible defensive driving from Gutierrez in the McLaren car, Andretti were eventually able to get the move done.

    Andretti then made light work of the Veloce car, moving up into first place, and taking the win. McLaren also got Veloce on the line, finishing second.

    Overall Qualifying Classification:

    1. RXR – 20 Points
    2. Andretti – 18 Points 
    3. Acciona Sainz – 16 Points
    4. Veloce – 14 Points
    5. McLaren – 14 Points
    6. Legacy Motor Club – 12 Points
    7. SUN Minimeal – 10 Points
    8. JBXE – 8 Points

    Redemption Race:

    The bottom four qualifiers looked to salvage some points from the round in the Redemption Race.

    Off the start line, JBXE’s weekend went from bad to worse. Light contact with the McLaren saw the JBXE machine dig into the sand and role over. The driver, Dania Akeel, was able to get out okay, but they would take no further part in the race.

    A brief red flag for the incident meant a three-car, three-lap shootout. Legacy took the lead off the line, closely followed by SUN Minimeal in second and McLaren in third.

    There would be no changes to the order before the switch zone, but it wouldn’t take long after it for McLaren to close up on SUN Minimeal. Though it took a few attempts, McLaren were able to move into second place, and start chasing down the Legacy Motor Club car.

    And close down the Legacy Motor Club team, McLaren certainly did. In the final corner, McLaren sent a move up the inside and took the Redemption Race win.

    Final:

    The final race of the weekend saw the top four qualifiers battle it out for a place on the podium. And if yesterday’s final was a cracker, today’s was a bit of a damp squib.

    Acciona Sainz took the lead off the start, with Andretti not far behind. RXR had found themselves in third place, but Veloce were able to get through.

    And that is how the final would finish. Acciona Sainz took home the first placed trophy, putting them right into the championship fight. Andretti recorded their best result of the season so far, with a second place, and Veloce rounded out the podium.

    Overall Round Classification:

    1. Acciona Sainz
    2. Andretti
    3. Veloce
    4. RXR
    5. McLaren
    6. Legacy Motor Club
    7. SUN Minimeal
    8. JBXE

    Championship Standings:

    1. RXR – 41 Points
    2. Acciona Sainz – 39 Points
    3. Veloce – 33 Points
    4. Andretti – 31 Points 
    5. McLaren – 30 Points
    6. Legacy Motor Club – 18 Points
    7. SUN Minimeal – 10 Points
    8. JBXE – 10 Points

    An exciting weekend concluded with victories for RXR and Acciona Sainz.

    New entrants Legacy Motor Club also made a good account of themselves, taking the Continental Traction Challenge in Round 2.

    Extreme E returns in July with a European race yet to be confirmed. It is sure to be an exciting weekend, and – as ever- we will be there to take you through all the action.

  • Rally Sweden 2024 – Sunday’s Report

    Rally Sweden 2024 – Sunday’s Report

    The final day dawned then of the only snow and ice round of the world championship and could Esapekka and Janne hold on and take a very popular victory? Having been in this position at Rally Finland in 2017, they certainly knew what was needed to get their car over the line.

    The other question was could Elfyn and Scott pass Adrien and Alex for second place? Of course, the points were reset to the Sunday points table and the M-Sport crew had secured second place points at the end of Saturday’s stages.

    First up was SS16 Västervik 1 – 25.50 km and with the sun rising as the crews started, Kalle came through to win the stage from Elfyn and Takamoto. Adrien was sixth fastest in the stage and this meant that Elfyn passed the Frenchman for second place overall, now five seconds behind the Toyota crew. In WRC2 the top three fastest were Oliver, Roope and Sami. The young Swede continued to lead the category, now leading second placed Sami by a minute and eighteen seconds.

     

    A couple of hours later the crews lined up for the second run of SS17 Västervik 2 – 25.50 km and this time it was Elfyn setting the pace from Thierry and Adrien. The Welshman jumped to the head of the standings for Sunday’s points as well, which was important to the points standings. In WRC2 Sami was fastest from Emil and Georg, whilst Oliver was still leading the category from Sami and Georg.

    The final stage then, SS18 Umeå 2[Power Stage] – 10.08 km to decide the rally and Sunday’s points. Kalle set the early pace, going faster than Ott. His teammate was up on the splits as well and as Elfyn came through his Yaris bounced off one of the snowbanks and was ultimately one tenth of a second behind Kalle. Thierry was third fastest, Ott fourth and Takamoto fifth Meanwhile, EP came through finally and took his second victory. A brilliant Oliver set the fastest time in WRC2 from Georg and Roope, winning the category from Sami and Georg.

    Let’s take a look at the final positions and hear from the drivers.

    Final Overall Classification – Rally Sweden

    1 E. Lappi J. Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 2:33:04.9
    2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +29.6
    3 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +47.9
    4 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:46.3
    5 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +5:04.2
    6 S. Pajari E. Mälkönen Škoda Fabia Evo +6:23.9
    7 G. Linnamäe J. Morgan Toyota GR Yaris +6:26.4
    8 R. Korhonen A. Viinikka Toyota GR Yaris +6:48.1
    9 M. Heikkilä K. Temonen Toyota GR Yaris +7:25.7
    10 L. Bertelli S. Scattolin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +7:37.7

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Esapekka Lappi

    “This feels so good right now. I have been hunting for this second victory for quite a while. I have to say a big thanks to Cyril for keeping me in the team after a difficult second half of my 2023 season; this moment is such a huge contrast to that. A massive thank you to the team, and to my family at home as well. We are all here to win and when you achieve it, it is the best feeling in the world. It has been a brilliant rally – it could have been more entertaining with fewer retirements, but the snowbanks can be your friend or your enemy. This week they were my friend; I paid them well.”

    2024 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 02, Rally Sweden
    15-18 February 2024
    Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
    Photographer: Dufour Fabien
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Thierry Neuville

    “It is good to get another victory for the team. It’s important even if the performance wasn’t the greatest, especially on the first passes. However, two victories in three weeks is great motivation for us – we only had two wins in the 2023 season. We had to get through without any mistakes, and I think we might have been the only crew who didn’t have any. We had to accept the situation of Friday and we hoped for a better Saturday, where we managed to climb up the rankings. I’m happy to be at the end with decent points.”

    Ott Tänak

    “It has been tricky this weekend to have the pace we needed to be fastest. Obviously the mistake on Friday was frustrating and afterwards even more so. We felt better in the car on Friday when the roads were a bit more slippery but when the grip improved we just weren’t comfortable. From my side, definitely too many mistakes to start the season but we know we can be a lot better. We’re looking forward to having a clean rally in Kenya.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Elfyn Evans

    “It’s been a very up-and-down weekend. It wasn’t looking so good on Friday when we had a difficult job with our road position. But we managed to get through it which I think was important and gave us the opportunity to climb back up the leaderboard. When conditions were suiting us, our pace was quite OK and today we managed get some good points in the end. I think we probably should have won the Power Stage but made a couple of mistakes at the end. Still, from where we were earlier in the weekend and to come out of it with a good haul of points, I think we can be reasonably happy.”

    Kalle Rovanperä

    “Our only goal today was to help the team to get some points and I’m pleased that we were able to do that, and we also tried to help Elfyn where we could. Of course, I’m not satisfied with our weekend because we came here to win. Sorry and thanks to the team, because everyone did a really good job in our preparation, the car was fast enough to win, and we just couldn’t bring it all together. At least we could bring some points at the finish, and we will look forward to the next opportunity.”

    Takamoto Katsuta

    “Today I wanted to try and take some points, but it was not easy with our road position, and the very different lines that we had to follow in the Power Stage. It has been a difficult weekend for me. We had good performance and the car had very good potential, I was just not able to take the result from it. I need to think about how I can learn from this and do better next time so that I can take these chances when they come. The next event in Kenya has been good for me before, and I just need to reset and go with the right approach for that rally.”

     

    M-Sport Ford WRT

    Adrien Fourmaux

    “Really great to get my first podium at the top level in Sweden, my fourth rally on snow and the second of the 2024 season. We are now third in the championship, which is really positive and gives a lot of confidence and motivation to the whole team who have been working really hard. We can be really proud that we’re working all together, and it’s been working perfectly. We want now to just enjoy the podium, it’s been brilliant, and hopefully there are more podiums coming!”

    Grégoire Munster

    “We learned a lot here in Sweden and improved throughout the weekend. The gaps per kilometre were getting smaller and smaller, and that was the goal. Unfortunately, we made the small mistake on Saturday evening, but getting stuck in a snowbank is part of the experience of Rally Sweden! I think every driver who has done the rally has had that experience at some time. It was unfortunate as it makes extra work for the mechanics, but they fixed everything so it could go again on Sunday to give us even more experience, which I’m very glad to have had.”

    William Creighton, 14th WRC2

    “I’m happy to get all the kilometres in and to get to the finish. I’ve learned a lot and I just need to keep working on my side with the driving to try and get the most out of these cars. It’s not going to happen overnight, so I just need to keep working on it.

    “It’s been great working with M-Sport, with the support of the Motorsport Ireland Academy, here at Rally Sweden and it has been so much fun with these conditions. The last two weekends have been very different and I’m really looking forward to the next event to try to keep on improving and see where we go.”

    WRC2

    Oliver Solberg

    “What can I say? It’s been a fantastic event. For my first (first points scoring) WRC2 round of the season, to win with Škoda like this is something very special. Škoda Motorsport is building a very special car with the Fabia RS Rally2 and it was a big pleasure to drive it here.

    “The conditions were not easy – on Friday the snow was really deep in places and then on Saturday we were having some gravel coming through and all the time you had to be thinking about the tyres and trying to protect them.

    “I think we showed the good pace on the first day and it was really cool to finish third overall, that was a pretty amazing feeling for me and to share that with the home fans and so many of my family… I was stoked for that.

    “Saturday and Sunday was more about driving with the control. We had a lot to lose if we pushed too hard. We were sitting in fifth overall and with the good lead [in WRC2], so we didn’t want to take any big risks.

    “Congratulations to the organisers for making a rally with such a special atmosphere and I want to say a big thanks to Elliott and the whole team for helping me to make this an amazing event.”

     

    2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
    After round two

    1 T. Neuville 48
    2 E. Evans 45
    3 A. Fourmaux 29
    4 S. Ogier 24
    5 O. Tänak 21
    6 E. Lappi 19
    7 T. Katsuta 12
    8 K. Rovanperä 11
    9 O. Solberg 8
    10 A. Mikkelsen 6

     

    2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
    After round two

    1 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 87
    2 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 87
    3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 47
    2024 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 02, Rally Sweden
    15 – 19 February 2024
    Esapekka Lappi
    Photographer: Austral
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Summary

    Well, what an amazing rally we were treated to and what a popular winner as well. Esapekka and Janne completely deserve this victory in Sweden and with it have matched the teams success from last season in terms of victories. Four stage wins for the Finns showed their pace at the front of the field.

     

    For Elfyn and Scott, they recovered really well after their push to the front of the field for the last two stages on Friday. There was the 360 spin that they recovered from and took two stage wins along the way.

    A first ever podium for M-Sport duo Adrien and Alex showed how far they had come since they last competed in this rally two years ago. During that rally they ran in fifth overall for quite a while before getting a penalty for being late to a time control and then having to retire with a mechanical issue. This year they set some top three times and added a stage win as well. It was a great drive from the French duo.

    Finally let’s discuss the points awarded following this rally. The new points system meant that Elfyn and Scott who finished in second place actually took more points than Esapekka and Janne who of course won the rally. Now surely that can’t be right?! It’s a completely bizarre situation and I do wonder if the FIA will look again at this method of awarding points. We shall see.

    Next rally on the calendar is the Safari Rally Kenya to be held from the 28th to 31st of March, much earlier this year and in its more traditional time of year near Easter. It will be spectacular!

  • Rally Sweden 2024 – Saturday’s Report

    Rally Sweden 2024 – Saturday’s Report

    The second full day of competitive stages in Sweden would see the crews tackle 126km’s over seven stages. Ott Tanak and Kalle Rovanperä returned to the action and the Estonian would open the road.

    First up was SS9 Vännäs 1 – 15.65 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn, who was looking to close the gap to Oliver and Adrien who held third and fourth ahead of the Welshman before the stage. Adrien passed Oliver for third overall in this one. At the front of the field, Takamoto had a small nibble of time from EP, the gap now just nine tenths of a second between the leading pair of cars. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Sami and Mikko and the young Swede continued to lead Georg and Sami who held second and third place respectively in the category.

    Into SS10 Sarsjöliden 1 – 14.23 km, and Kalle was fastest from Ott and Elfyn was third. The Welshman’s pace took him ahead of Oliver and into third place, whilst Adrien was also on the move up and gained second place. This was due to Takamoto sadly sliding out of second place after getting stuck in a snowbank. He and Aaron tried to dig the car out, but it was to no avail. They were out for the rest of the day. EP remained in the lead and had a huge lead of a minute and a half. In WRC2 Oliver was leading and Georg remained in second with Sami still third.

    Next up, SS11 Bygdsiljum 1 – 28.06 km was won by an inspired Adrien from Thierry and Elfyn. The Frenchman increased his lead over Elfyn to 16.2 seconds. Meanwhile, Thierry gained one position and was now into fifth place overall. In WRC2 Oliver was still leading, but we had a change behind the Swede, with Georg dropping from second to fourth place after the Estonian had a spin in his Yaris Rally2. Sami was now up into second place and Roope up to third.

    After the lunchtime service break, SS12 Vännäs 2 – 15.65 km Elfyn was fastest from Adrien and Esapekka, whilst Thierry was also on the move, passing Oliver for fourth place. The stage was rutting up and getting quite messy and all the crews were remarking on this at the end of the stage. In WRC2 Oliver was still leading, although managing the gap over Sami who was fastest in the stage from Roope and Georg.

    The second run of SS13 Sarsjöliden 2 – 14.23 km saw an even more rutted stage and Thierry was fastest by just two tenths of a second from Elfyn and Adrien third. The gap between Adrien and Elfyn was brought down to 13.2 seconds. In WRC2, Jan was fastest from Oliver and Mikko.

    Onto the penultimate stage then, SS14 Bygdsiljum 2 – 28.06 km and Thierry was again fastest from Elfyn and Thierry. Meanwhile, Georg was fastest from Sami and Oliver in WRC2, and the Estonian moved back into third place in the category and seventh overall.

    The final stage then of the day, SS15 Umeå 1 – 10.08 km and Thierry was again fastest from Ott and Kalle. There was drama though for both M-Sport crews. Gregoire was near the end of the stage when his Puma went straight on at a left-hand corner and into a snowbank. He and Louis jumped out and with assistance from a marshal dug their car out. However, they lost a huge amount of time, but at least they made the finish. Adrien also had a slide at the same corner and somehow managed to keep his Puma out of the snowbank, just clipping the outer edges of it. Somehow the Frenchman still ended up faster than Elfyn, as the Welshman really struggled with his tyres on the stage surface.

    Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

    Classification after Saturday

    1 E. Lappi J. Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 2:03:52.0
    2 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:06.3
    3 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:23.0
    4 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +2:22.1
    5 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +4:01.1
    6 S. Pajari E. Mälkönen Škoda Fabia Evo +5:15.1
    7 G. Linnamäe J. Morgan Toyota GR Yaris +5:15.3
    8 R. Korhonen A. Viinikka Toyota GR Yaris +5:35.1
    9 M. Heikkilä K. Temonen Toyota GR Yaris +5:51.2
    10 L. Joona J. Hussi Toyota GR Yaris +6:29.3

     

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Esapekka Lappi

    “I am feeling satisfied, we are in the best position possible, but it has not been really enjoyable to drive in this situation. We were trying to manage the lead and not take any risks in a bid to save the tyres for the final stages, but we did it. Today was clearly very demanding for the tyres, especially the first and last stage of the loops which were very abrasive. We are not finished yet and I don’t want to celebrate too early. There are still three stages to go, and two long stages in particular where anything can happen. I am happy we are in this situation, but it isn’t over yet.”

    2024 FIA World Rally Championship
    Round 02, Rally Sweden
    15-18 February 2024
    Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
    Photographer: Dufour Fabien
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Thierry Neuville

    “Things were getting better this afternoon but there was also a lot more gravel, and I felt more comfortable in the car. We have changed a lot of settings trying to find a good compromise for tomorrow, which will be an important day. I wouldn’t say I am satisfied but I at least I found a bit more traction. Hopefully that will continue to work on the first pass tomorrow. It’s always a challenge to look after the studs on our tyres, but I’ve always been good here in Sweden on the conditions in the second pass, especially if there is a lot of gravel. Hopefully we have found the necessary feeling and speed we need for tomorrow morning.”

    Ott Tänak

    “Not an easy day. In winter rallies it is always a bit ‘next level’ to open the road, particularly in the second loop. It is easy to get frustrated, but this is the penalty we have for what happened yesterday, so it is fair play. In these conditions you can’t really find a rhythm, you’re always fighting to keep the car on the road and it’s hard to be smooth as you need to be to protect the tyres. Hopefully the road condition tomorrow will play to our favour because we need to take as many points as possible.”

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Elfyn Evans

    “This morning was going quite well until a bit of a clumsy error on one junction in the last stage of the loop, where we took on some snow in the front of the car and lost quite a bit of power. I’m a bit disappointed with that as it cost us quite dear in the fight for second place. In the afternoon it was far more difficult to claw back time. On the second pass with a lot of gravel coming through, the tyre wear is high, and you have to try and save the studs: I had no rear grip left for the last stage. Tomorrow will be a big push for the whole day to score as many points as we can.”

    Kalle Rovanperä

    “It was nice to restart this morning, with much nicer conditions with the sun out. It’s not always easy to come back and push again after something like what happened yesterday, but we just tried to enjoy the driving and I could have a good feeling after the first stage of the morning. Being second on the road was not optimal, especially this afternoon on the second pass. There was not much of a clean line to follow, but overall, it was quite OK. Tomorrow we will try to do our best to help the team bring some more points: that’s our goal.”

    Takamoto Katsuta

    “This morning we were fighting for the lead and pushing hard. We had a good first stage and got much closer to the lead, and I wanted to continue pushing to try and gain more time. Unfortunately, in one corner in SS10 I was probably carrying a bit too much speed and I lost the rear, hit the snowbank and we got stuck there. I feel very disappointed and I’m really sorry for the team, because it could have been a very good weekend. I just need to learn from this kind of thing, and we still have tomorrow to see if we can gain some points.”

    Oliver Solberg

    “We didn’t have the same amount of snow from yesterday, but today was still a tricky day in its own way. I’m really happy to have extended the lead in WRC2, this is the priority for me.

    “It felt like the car was quite sideways at times, but that’s understandable with so much snow still around. For me, I’m in that tricky position with a good advantage and a lot to lose and not so much to gain from pushing to the maximum. Today was about driving, trying to save some tyres and making sure everything was good with the car.

    “Again, it’s been amazing to see so many Swedish flags out there and so many fans at the side of the road. When the sun comes out, the place is just beautiful. The priority is to bring everything home tomorrow. Like always, me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] want to do that with a smile on our faces.”

    Sunday

    The final day of this event will see the crews tackle 61km’s over three stages. Can EP hold on and secure what will be a popular second victory? Can Elfyn overtake Adrien and secure the points for second fastest on the final day? We shall see.

  • Extreme E: RXR Pick Up Where They Left Off With Round 1 Win

    Image courtesy of Extreme E
    FEBRUARY 17: Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky (SWE) / Johan Kristoffersson (SWE), Rosberg X Racing celebrate , 1st position during the Saudi Arabia on February 17, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro / LAT Images)

    Two-time Extreme E champions, Rosberg X Racing (RXR), got their title defence off to a flying start today, as they won the opening round of the Desert XPrix.

    The former F1 world champion’s team saw off close challengers McLaren to take almost maximum points from the round.

    In an entertaining first day, here’s how the day’s action unfolded.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 1:

    McLaren, Veloce, SUN Minimeal, and JBXE got the first competitive session of the new season underway, with Veloce starting the better of the four teams to take the lead.

    Though the pack stayed close together, there was little in the way of overtaking in the first qualifying heat.

    It wasn’t all plain-sailing for Veloce, however. The team were initially awarded a time penalty for a switch zone infringement. The penalty was later revoked.

    Veloce won the heat, taking ten classification points and setting themselves up nicely to make the final. McLaren finished second, closely followed by debutants SUN Minimeal. JBXE rounded up the grid.

    Qualifying 1 Heat 2:

    The remaining four teams – Legacy Motor Club, Andretti, Acciona Sainz, and RXR – competed in the second heat of qualifying one.

    As the lights went out it was Andretti who got off the line quickest.

    Their lead wouldn’t last long, however, as Johan Kristofferson pulled off a trademark move around the outside to put RXR into first place.

    After that initial excitement, the cars started to spread out as they attempted to negotiate the ruts in the sand left by the previous heat.

    RXR won the heat, with Andretti not too far behind in second. Last season’s runners-up, Acciona Sainz, finished third and Legacy Motor Club rounded out the heat.

    Qualifying 2 Heat 1:

    The second qualifying session started with Legacy Motor Club, Veloce, Acciona Sainz, and JBXE all looking to seal their place in the final.

    Acciona Sainz got the best start and took an early lead, but not before Legacy Motor Club had attempted an unsuccessful move up the inside.

    Not wanting to miss out on all the action, Veloce went side-by-side with Legacy Motor Club for second place. An initial move around the outside couldn’t quite get the job done, but a lunge up the inside into the next turn saw Veloce move into second.

    Acciona Sainz won the first heat in Qualifying 2, with Veloce coming in second. Legacy finished third and JBXE once more rounded out the grid.

    Qualifying 2 Heat 2:

    The final qualifying race of the round was contested between SUN Minimeal, RXR, Andretti, and McLaren.

    SUN Minimeal took an early lead, and looked good out front as the other three teams scrapped it out behind them.

    After a lap of chasing down the lead, Andretti were close enough to force their way up the inside of SUN Minimeal and move into first place.

    But it was in the switch zone that this heat was won. RXR were quicker on release than SUN Minimeal and were able jump up into second place, just behind leaders Andretti.

    RXR then used their hyperdrive on the pit exit to leapfrog into first – a lead they would not relinquish.

    Behind them, though, the battle for second was still well and truly on. McLaren chased down Andretti, and were eventually able to wrestle second place off of the American team.

    RXR won the race, comfortably securing their spot in the final, alongside McLaren. Andretti finishing third meant they dropped down into the redemption race.

    Overall Qualifying Classification Points:

    1. RXR – 20 Points
    2. Veloce – 18 Points
    3. McLaren – 16 Points
    4. Acciona Sainz – 16 Points
    5. Andretti – 14 Points
    6. SUN Minimeal – 10 Points
    7. Legacy Motor Club – 10 Points 
    8. JBXE – 8 Points

    Redemption Race:

    The bottom four qualifiers – JBXE Legacy Motor Club, SUN Minimeal, and Andretti – all looked to rescue some championship points in the redemption race.

    As the lights went green, Andretti got the best getaway and sailed into an early lead.

    Behind them, Andreas Bakkerud in the JBXE machine made an audacious move around the outside to go from the back of the pack into second.

    As the teams entered the switch zone, Andretti had pulled out a comfortable gap to JBXE, who remained ahead of SUN Minimeal and Legacy Motor Club.

    An mechanical issue on the third lap for SUN Minimeal meant they would, unfortunately, not get to complete their first ever round. As they went past, fellow debutants Legacy Motor Club gave the stricken car a wave.

    Not content with third place, Legacy Motor Club pushed hard to close the gap to JBXE. When they were close enough, a smart move around the outside saw the team jump into second.

    Andretti cruised to victory in the redemption race, taking 12 crucial championship points. Legacy Motor Club gave a good account of themselves on debut, finishing second in the race (6th overall). Last to finish were JBXE, still ahead of SUN Minimeal who recorded a DNF.

    Final:

    The final race of the round proved to be the best race of the round – as the top four qualifiers did battle.

    RXR got the best getaway and took an early lead, but Mattias Ekstrom in the McLaren car refused to be outwitted. Taking a very wide line, Ekstrom was able to put their power down much earlier than his competitors and he sailed by into first position.

    RXR were not to be beaten, however. On the second lap, Nico Rosberg’s team went down the inside of the McLaren and made the move stick.

    The teams entered the switch zone neck and neck – RXR just edging out McLaren, Veloce, and Acciona Sainz.

    The McLaren-RXR battle continued as their female drivers took the wheel, with several points of contact causing minor bodywork damage to both cars.

    Then, on the final lap of the race, McLaren regained the lead. Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky in the RXR machine kept the pressure on the McLaren, though, and managed to force the Gutierrez to go deep. Ahlin-Kottulinsky took the opportunity to sweep back into the lead to win the race by just one tenth of a second.

    RXR completed an almost perfect first round, just missing out on the points for the Continental Traction Challenge. McLaren finished second, with Veloce rounding out the podium.

    Acciona Sainz recorded a DNF as the car rolled on its side on the final lap. McConnell was able to get out of the car okay.

    Overall Round Classification:

    1. RXR
    2. McLaren
    3. Veloce
    4. Acciona Sainz
    5. Andretti
    6. Legacy Motor Club
    7. JBXE
    8. SUN Minimeal

    Championship Standings:

    1. RXR – 27 Points
    2. McLaren – 18 Points
    3. Veloce – 18 Points
    4. Acciona Sainz – 13 Points
    5. Andretti – 12 Points
    6. Legacy – 8 Points
    7. JBXE – 6 Points
    8. SUN Minimeal – 4 Points

    The season kicked off with an exciting day of action. The series returns tomorrow for what is sure to be another entertaining couple of races.

  • Rally Sweden 2024 – Friday’s Report

    Rally Sweden 2024 – Friday’s Report

    The first full day of this amazing rally and the stages, of which there were seven, with 107km’s of competitive kilometres ahead of the crews, what would this day give them in terms of challenge?

    We had a short stage on Thursday evening to get things going and coming out of there, Kalle held the lead from Takamoto and Elfyn, giving Toyota a one-two-three at this point.

    First up then was SS2 #42 Brattby 1 – 10.76 km, with a nod to Craig Breen who won this stage last year. Kalle was fastest from EP and Ott. The Estonian moved up a position and into third place overall, whilst Elfyn fell to fifth place. EP was also on the move gaining three positions and was into fourth place. In WRC2, Oliver Solberg held the lead from Sami and Georg.

    Next up was SS3 Norrby 1 – 12.36 km and there was a full 360-degree spin for Elfyn in this one! Meanwhile, EP was fastest from Kalle and Takamoto. Of course, Thierry was opening the road and really struggling only able to hold seventh overall and now almost 26 seconds behind the leader. In WRC2, Oliver continued to take another stage win and led Sami and Georg was holding third.

    The final stage of the morning loop, SS4 Floda 1 – 28.25 km and there was huge drama in this one as first Ott and then Kalle went off the stage. They were both out of the rally and would not continue. The result of this was that Takamoto, who was fastest in the stage from Elfyn and Adrien, moved into the lead, EP was now in second and Elfyn was third. In WRC2, the top three in the stage matched the top three overall with Oliver in the lead from Sami and Georg.

    After the lunch break, SS5 #42 Brattby 2 – 10.76 km was next and the snow had continued falling and covered the stage in snow. Therefore, everyone was road sweeping. Fastest of the top class was EP, but even his time was beaten by five, yes, five rally2 cars, as Georg, Oliver and Mikko were the top three in the stage. Meanwhile Takamoto continued to lead, but with a reduced margin over EP of 5.3 seconds.

    Into SS6 Norrby 2 – 12.36 km and with the snow still falling, EP was fastest from Georg in his Rally2 Toyota and Takamoto third. There was drama for Thierry, who said his car did not want to start, and he was late to the time control by four minutes. He was given a forty-second penalty, but crucially it meant that his closest title rival Elfyn would now open the road for the remaining stages, even though Thierry remained able to complete the road sections. With Elfyn now opening the road he lost third overall to Adrien, now 7.1 seconds behind the M-Sport driver.

    The final proper stage of the day then, SS7 Floda 2 – 28.25 km and with Elfyn continuing to open the road, even though Thierry was still able to start the stage, the Welshman fell from fourth to sixth place. The conditions were really tricky out there with snow falling quite heavily on the stage. EP won the stage and took the lead of the rally with Takamoto falling to second place, whilst incredibly Oliver who was third in the stage, now moved up to third overall.

    The final stage of the day then, SS8 Umeå Sprint 2 – 5.16 km and there was a return to a more normal top three with EP winning from Takamoto and Thierry. Elfyn was fifth fastest and gained one position into fifth overall.

    Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

    Classification after Saturday

    1 E. Lappi J. Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 58:18.8
    2 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 3.2
    3 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Škoda Fabia RS +1:20.7
    4 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:26.3
    5 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:50.0
    6 G. Linnamäe J. Morgan Toyota GR Yaris +1:50.1
    7 S. Pajari E. Mälkönen Škoda Fabia Evo +2:05.8
    8 R. Korhonen A. Viinikka Toyota GR Yaris +2:08.6
    9 M. Heikkilä K. Temonen Toyota GR Yaris +2:19.0
    10 L. Joona J. Hussi Toyota GR Yaris +2:45.7
    11 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +2:46.0

    Hyundai Motorsport

    Esapekka Lappi

    “This has been one of the toughest snow afternoons for me – ever! I have never driven in conditions like this, it’s pretty extreme even for a Finnish driver. So far, we have been fastest, so I am hoping for even more snow. This rally needs a completely different kind of driving style; you have to back off 35-40% just to brake easily and go front first on the corners. You can’t throw the car sideways at all, and the line you need to keep the car in at all times is very narrow. If you don’t, you’re just a passenger. We’re expecting better conditions tomorrow but once again it will be difficult to attack aggressively.”

    2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 2, Rally Sweden, 15-18 February 2024
    Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 1 of WRC Rally Sweden 2024
    Photographer: Vincent Thuillier
    Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

    Thierry Neuville

    “Conditions have been far trickier than what we were hoping for at the beginning of the rally. Our target was to get through, but it wasn’t an easy day for us. We were fighting a bit with the car, and visibility wasn’t great this morning before our technical issue this afternoon. We managed to get the car fired up but we were four minutes late to the stage. After that, we were managing the problem for the whole loop. I just tried to get through the day and we ended it on a good note in the final stage. Now we are looking forward to a new day tomorrow, hopefully trouble-free and more enjoyable.”

    Ott Tänak

    “Normally the first loop is quite consistent and drivable, but we could see how much everyone was struggling today. We were feeling quite OK in the car this morning; we were definitely fast, but one pace note was perhaps a bit too optimistic. I hit the snowbank far too hard, and we spun, and that caused damage to the cooling package. We fixed it within the stage so we could drive out, and we managed to get the car back to service. It should be an easy repair and we expect to be back tomorrow.”

     

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

    Takamoto Katsuta

    “It’s been really tough today with the conditions. Even on the first pass this morning there was a lot of snow and it just got more and more during the day. This morning I just tried to find a rhythm where we felt comfortable. We avoided big risks and this paid off pretty well. Then this afternoon was very difficult as we expected, and it was hard to stay on the road sometimes. I was trying to follow the lines but sometimes there was no line at all. I had to push to not lose too much time with Esapekka being two cars behind us: in the end we couldn’t quite keep the position but we’re still pretty close to the lead with two days to go. Let’s keep pushing.”

    Elfyn Evans

    “The conditions have been very, very difficult today. Even this morning, the visibility was low on the first stage and then after that there was a lot of loose snow and quite low grip. We had a high-speed spin in the second stage this morning and were quite lucky to get away with that as we did. It was looking a bit better for us at the end of the morning but then the weather took a turn for the worse this afternoon. The sheer volume of snow didn’t make it easy, especially once we were opening the road on the last three stages, because when conditions are this extreme it makes a big difference. Of course, we hope for better conditions tomorrow.”

    Kalle Rovanperä

    “It is a big pity that our day ended so early. We were having a good start to the rally and a good chance to fight for the win. The conditions were tricky with the heavy snowfall and the grip levels were changing quite a lot. We just went a bit wide in a right-hand corner. I think some drivers in front had already touched the bank so there was a big hole in it which just kicked us into a spin. We damaged the radiator and also picked up a puncture in the same moment, and although we could make some repairs we unfortunately could not continue today. I’m sorry for the team, but there are a lot of points available on Sunday and we will try to bring them home.”

     

    Oliver Solberg

    “What a day! It’s been a little bit crazy with the conditions sometimes. When the snow was coming really hard, the visibility was bad – it was like driving at night. You just couldn’t see, so you had to back off a little bit. Of course, with so much snow, the grip was not so high in many places.

    We just kept pushing. In some places I think I might have saved my tyres a little bit too much, but I am very happy at the end of the day. Of course, I understand the [Rally1] cars at the front are having the conditions worse and cleaning more of the snow away – but, still, I will take this place overall! It’s fantastic and so nice to be giving my home fans something to cheer for.

    “It looks like the conditions can be a bit more straightforward tomorrow.”

    Saturday

    The second full day of competition will see the crews tackle 126km’s over seven more stages. What will the day bring? We shall see!

  • Toyota triumph in duels: Johnson races into Daytona 500, Reddick and Bell victorious

    Toyota triumph in duels: Johnson races into Daytona 500, Reddick and Bell victorious

    After Toyota’s mediocre single car qualifying performance on Wednesday, the new Camry XSE triumphed in Thursday night’s duels with Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell each taking wins in each duel respectively while Jimmie Johnson secured his spot in a nail-biting finish, passing open challenger J.J. Yeley coming off turn four on the final lap.

    5 min read

    • Jimmie Johnson
    • Duel 1
    • Duel 2
    • Full race results

    Jimmie Johnson races his way into the Daytona 500

    Seven-time Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson started off his first Daytona race in his Legacy Motor Club Toyota strong by racing inside the top 10 in duel one, aggressively pushing the top line to the front, but following pit stops on lap 47 fellow Toyota driver Ty Gibbs went three-wide around Johnson seeing him go to the back of the pack to only have Daniel Hemric wreck in front of him as a result of an accordion effect that had started much further up the pack with Chase Elliott, sending Johnson spinning down onto the apron in turn three.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 47 Boost by Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 84 Carvana Toyota, and Daniel Hemric, driver of the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet, spin after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

    Johnson miraculously came away with no damage while others who were caught up in the wreck like Austin Dillon received bodywork damage while Hemric was out. After his inspection pit stop, Johnson started at the rear with six laps to go to catch NY Racing’s J.J. Yeley, who was starting 14th, to Johnson’s 18th, who was also trying to race his way into the 500, of who Johnson had to beat to get himself into the Great American Race.

    When Ross Chastain slowed in turn three on the final lap in front of both Yeley and Johnson, Yeley took his momentum to the top but stalled out while Johnson filled the gap and the middle lane carried him past Yeley who was left out to hang on the top, taking the two-time Daytona 500 champion to the finish line ahead, locking him into Sunday’s Daytona 500.

    Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #84 Carvana Toyota, and JJ Yeley, driver of the #44 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

    Johnson said: “It’s very stressful. I’m very thankful we got this Carvana Toyota into this race. I knew the first half of the race was going too easy. I knew there’d be a challenge thrown at us, and we got it just in time. Hats off to J.J. Yeley. He put up a heck of a fight in a very competitive car.”

    Duel 1

    In what would set rows 2-20 for the Daytona 500, Tyler Reddick’s 23XI Racing Toyota took the chequered flag in duel one but his day nearly ended early during green flag pit stops. A miscommunication between the Toyota drivers saw Martin Truex Jr. tag Reddick as he slowed down to enter pit road seeing him tank slap Ty Gibbs before straightening out and was able to carry on without cause for concern.

    Post-race Reddick said: “Great way to start off the weekend. This thing is a beast.”

    Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Nasty Beast Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Truex had been at the front with Reddick before pit stops but a slow stop due to running out of fuel and stalling saw him lose the draft until the yellow came out for the four-car wreck with Hemric.

    Duel 2

    Duel two saw young guns Riley Herbst and Noah Gragson lead the pack for the opening few laps until the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Bell and the 23XI Racing Toyota of Bubba Wallace went on the dominate the rest of the first green flag run.

    An 11-car crash brought out a yellow on lap 48, a few laps after pit stops when William Byron blocked reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney in the tri-oval causing Byron to slow as he drove up into the top lane. With Keselowski unaware of the move ahead, he pushed Kyle Busch into Byron sending the Hendrick Motorsports driver down into Blaney who was sent head on into the outside wall, with the incident collecting half the field in the process, and ending Blaney’s and Busch’s race.

    Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Menards/PEAK Ford, in flames after an on-track incident with Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Zone Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford, during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images).

    Bell’s teammate Denny Hamlin pole-vaulted from the back to the front though the green flag pit stop exchange but on the last lap Bell took a run to the outside of Hamlin on the and was able to fend of the Ford’s of Cindric and Burton to win the duel.

    Bell said: “Me and Adam Stevens, my crew chief, we have a running joke: I say these races are 100-percent luck. I know that’s not true, but it seems like we’ve been struggling to get to the end of it. I know I’ve been a common denominator in a lot of the wrecks. Feels good to do everything well today.”

    Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Kaz Grala came out on top in what was another last lap duel to the flag between him and B.J. McLeod for the last spot in Sunday’s Daytona 500 seeing Grala take it by 0.067 seconds over McLeod who suffered minor damage from being caught in the11-car wreck.

    McLeod had spent the first half of the race inside the top five, as high as third, but the unsponsored entry got caught out and dropped to the tail of the field shortly before pit stops, where he was unable to recover enough to beat Grala.

    Grala had his own set of hurdles to overcome, having blown an engine when accidentally downshifting when starting his single car qualifying run the night before, and a slow pit stop in the duel saw him lose the draft entirely before being saved by the yellow coming out for the 11-car wreck with less than 15 to go. A restack was enough to see him through.

    Grala said: “Just really proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. They worked so hard the last 24 hours to get the car ready to race today. Really cool to be able to get it in the show for them. Real big opportunity for me.”

    Kaz Grala, driver of the #36 Ruedebusch Ford, and David Ragan, driver of the #60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

    As a result of winning the duels, Reddick will start third, on the inside second-row, while Bell will start fourth, on the outside second row. Both front row cars including 2024 Daytona 500 pole-winner Joey Logano and front row starter Michael McDowell survived the duels, with McDowell having a close shave on lap 56, meaning they will lead the field to green on Sunday. The top 10 drivers from each duel received championship points with the winner receiving 10 all the way down to one point for 10th.

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Toyota, Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota, and Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

    Full race results below. Catch the 66th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday at 2:30pm ET.

    Full race results 

    Duel 1 

    1. Tyler Reddick
    2. Chase Elliott
    3. Alex Bowman
    4. Carson Hocevar
    5. Erik Jones
    6. Daniel Suárez
    7. Joey Logano
    8. Ty Gibbs
    9. Kyle Larson
    10. Chris Buescher
    11. Ross Chastain
    12. Jimmie Johnson
    13. Ryan Preece
    14. Martin Truex Jr.
    15. Corey LaJoie
    16. J.J. Yeley
    17. Todd Gilliland
    18. Austin Dillon
    19. Anthony Alfredo
    20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    21. Daniel Hemric

    Duel 2  

    1. Christopher Bell
    2. Austin Cindric
    3. Denny Hamlin
    4. John Hunter Nemechek
    5. Harrison Burton
    6. Zane Smith
    7. Brad Keselowski
    8. William Byron
    9. Chase Briscoe
    10. Justin Haley
    11. Bubba Wallace
    12. Kaz Grala
    13. AJ Allmendinger
    14. B.J. McLeod
    15. David Ragan
    16. Michael McDowell
    17. Josh Berry
    18. Ryan Blaney
    19. Kyle Busch
    20. Riley Herbst
    21. Noah Gragson

    Featured image: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #84 Carvana Toyota, and JJ Yeley, driver of the #44 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)