Earnhardt notches fastest lap in final Daytona 500 practice

– The pick for Cup champion is… It’s been a sight to see everything unfold for the 58th running of the Daytona 500 as NASCAR embarks upon another year of racing. We have fast race cars, we qualified well, our cars drive well and they have a ton of speed.

It was a remarkable comeback story.

Here are some facts you can use to impress your fellow Daytona 500 viewers and hopefully contribute to your knowledge of the race.

“We know that our core fans are engaged quite a bit with these (social and digital) platforms, and we know younger, more diverse fans are users of these platforms”, Gregory said. As a result, drivers starting near the back have the highest ceiling, and in the NASCAR.com game, these same drivers also have the least to lose.

NASCAR will not issue punishments via a class system like it does for technical infractions. Thirty-six teams were granted charters, guaranteeing them entry into each of the season’s 36 races. Michael McDowell earned the spot in the first race, while Robert Richardson Jr. earned the final transfer spot.

Race-car drivers are a greedy, needy, demanding lot.

The “overtime line” in a green-white-checkered finish means a restart is valid only after the leader passes that spot (which will usually be somewhere on the backstretch). The block led to Whitt spinning and bringing out the only caution of the first race. The race will continue until there is a valid attempt. Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle is coming off consecutive winless seasons for the first time in his career. He’s retiring at the end of the season. Tony Stewart is sidelined after fracturing his back in an accident on an all-terrain vehicle. He is expected to return some time during the season.

Richardson always had a fondness for it, from his days camping out when Texas Motor Speedway opened in 1997 and eventually beginning his racing career in 2002 with the speedway’s Lone Star Legends circuit.

Elliott, a rookie in the Cup series, will start the Daytona 500 on the pole Sunday. Waltrip has won the big race twice, but it was a long time ago and in far better equipment than he will have Sunday, but it might be worth a small wager. But the odds makers somehow roll the dice, cast the chicken bones, consult the crystal ball, and come up with an educated guess as to who has the best chance of standing in victory circle when the dust clears. You just got to be selfish.”. So who will qualify?

Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, and Wood Brothers Racing’s Ryan Blaney drafted together throughout the session, putting their Fords at the top of the leaderboard behind Earnhardt. Martin Truex Jr., last season’s Cinderella story, should be there.

Kasey Kahne was third, followed by Elliott Sadler and Austin Dillon.

Who will be the Final Four at Homestead in November? With Dale Earnhardt Incorporated still a force in the sport (instead of eventually going out business) would NASCAR have felt the need to make so many changes to compete with football for attention?

Before Johnson owned either a 500 or a series title, he had already won 18 races and finished second in points twice. This season, Logano will not be denied.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who captured the third starting slot by winning the first qualifying Duel race on Thursday night, will attempt to add to the family’s legacy of success at Daytona, where the Earnhardts have won more than 50 races.

Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch scored preliminary Cup Series wins in Speedweeks.

Now, with a Daytona 500 victory in his backpack, about the only thing left on the becoming-better program would be a series championship.

Junior is a superspeedway beast (10 wins combined at Daytona and Talladega), but his success on the biggest tracks has never been enough to put him in serious contention for a championship.