Ken de la Bastide column: Where are the teams for Daytona 500?

Still looking for his first Cup Series win, the 2016 Rookie of the Year is among the “young guns” taking over the sport with the potential for incredible careers.

The 20-year-old ran the fastest lap (at an average speed of 201.681 mph) during Saturday’s second practice before finishing fifth in Sunday’s qualifying.

Pocono, however, is not one of those tracks, so when Ryan Blaney drove by Kyle Busch and held off Kevin Harvick in the final laps it felt big. Our team now moves from operating at the International Motorsports Center to setting up shop in Daytona International Speedway for the weekend.

Don’t be fooled, however. That said, we were really slow by ourselves. Aric Almirola missed the summer race here last year, but in three races over the last two years he has been very consistent with finishes of 4th, 15th, and 12th but has a lower DK average due to much better qualifying.

Fox Sports worked closely with NASCAR and ISC to provide aerial drone coverage of the Daytona 500. It was just 13 weeks ago that Martin Truex Jr hoisted the Cup Series championship trophy.

His career in NASCAR dates to 2008. Look for him to show he’s worthy of being called Champion. It’s good to know I have a few friends out there already. Everybody was struggling to put the funding and sponsorship to run. It was a slim crowd, by historical standards for the two Thursday races (an estimated 35,000), and this current youth movement is created to reverse the current attendance trends. I also get asked about the Racing Virginia logo we have on our apparel. Christopher Bell was last year’s series champion, but has graduated to a full-time Xfinity Series ride and will not be defending his title. “It’s probably the most stress on a relationship, with a team”. Blaney: Well I was born in OH but moved to North Carolina when I was about four or five, when my dad started racing in NASCAR.

NASCAR has a means to strip a team of its ownership charter if it files bankruptcy but elected not to in the case of BK Racing.

Quite frankly, is there such thing as bad racing at Daytona? In Blaney’s case, you have to think he’ll pick up fans who gravitate to the “racer’s racer” types as his dad Dave made his biggest headlines in the World of Outlaws.

If those last names – with the exception of Byron – sound familiar, they should: All are legacy drivers.

Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, was diplomatic in discussing the game plan of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. I think from a playoff standpoint and from a stage standpoint, those are two of the best changes that we’ve made throughout the years, and I think that’s what keeps it fresh and exciting. I love what I do, and I love my job. It’s a pretty cool spot. The Richmond Raceway team is in Daytona, Fla., for Speedweeks, so that might have a little to do with the spring weather. Some might have given up, but Truex has learned all about the power of persistence from example set by his Cup championship-winning brother.

However, it’s going to take a while for Keselowski to join up with Logano and Blaney since the No. 2 vehicle is 31st on the starting grid, but once he joins his teammates at the front, the driver in his 10th season will pose a threat.

Fixing them will actually make a real difference. His peers believe he’ll replace Earnhardt in fan voting for NASCAR’s most popular driver, and Hendrick gave him a boost this year by switching Elliott’s auto number to No. 9 so the driver can honor his Hall of Fame father, Bill.