Showing posts with label Daytona 500. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daytona 500. Show all posts

Wow. Just. Wow.
A star-studded show culminating with the closes finish in Daytona 500 history (0.010 seconds). Now THATS how you get the party started. Check out all that went down in the exciting kickoff to the 2016 NASCAR season.

2016 Daytona 500


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Speedweeks has been great. Fantastic finishes, high-energry and the unvelining of the first motorsports stadium. But now it's time to Ready. Set. Race. 


All three series were on track Friday, and here's some of the best of what we saw:

2016 NextEra Energy Resources 250


Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.  
Jimmie Johnson will race in his backup car during Sunday's Daytona 500

A couple of exciting finishes last night, XFINITY series on track of the first time, truck racing tonight and the Daytona 500 just two days away. There's a TON going on at the World Center of Racing, but here's five things we have our eye on...

JGR's Got Speed
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards have been wicked fast. Hamlin was the only one of the team's cars in the first Duel and he finished a respectable fifth and actually battled Earnhardt for the lead much of the night. In the second Duel, Kenseth and Busch combined to lead all but two laps, with Busch taking the victory (click for more...)

The Replacements
Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr, and A.J. Allmendinger were forced into their backup cars this afternoon after last night's crash cost them their primaries. Johnson was the only one of the four who participated in the early practice round, and actually paced the field. All four made it out for the second session. (read more here)

Drivers Show Their Lighter Side
Speedweeks can be a long one! Coming off the Sprint Unlimited there's Media day, five days on track for five days and five races. We all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so it's good to see when they're able to let their hair down a little bit. Like Bubba Wallace getting all giddy over seeing a certain driver... (click to find out who)

Early Moneys On Logano
The Century Poll, which has 50 NASCAR media members and 50 who work in the garage, predicts that Joey Logano will win the 2016 Sprint Cup Series title. Logano received 30 votes, Kevin Harvick was second with 19 and six-time champion Jimmie Johnson was third with 13. Defending champion Kyle Busch tied for fourth with Carl Edwards at eight votes. Seven of Busch’s votes came from voters in the garage. We took our own poll earlier this week, see how we matched up.

McDowell, Richardson Make the '500'
We saw the new charter system play out last night in the Duels, with Michael McDowell and Robert Richardson Jr locking up two of the four open positions under the new system (which guarantees all 36-charter teams entry in NASCAR Sprint Cup Events). As you can tell from their post-race interviews; they're relieved.

Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.  
An early morning look at the midweek storylines surrounding Speedweeks in Daytona.

Rise and shine race fans! Media Day was a blast, and as the focus now turns to the track, there's been a ton of buzz and excitement heading into this weekend's Daytona 500. Here are a few things we picked up on from yesterday's time with the drivers...

Locked and Loaded for Thursday
Don't expect the race rubbing from Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited to have any kind of effect on the on-track action for Thursday's duels. Any concerns about taking saving equipment for Sunday were quickly dismissed by 2014 Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick. "It's a race," the No. 4 driver said. "We're competitive and when that green flag drops, any kind of plan goes out the window and you just want to win." Brad Keselowski took a break from singing Rush to weigh in on his approach to Thursday's duels. "I've never been in a race where I didn't want to get out front and (race to win)."

Singing Chase's Praises
Chase Elliott made history Sunday by becoming the youngest-ever Daytona 500 pole winner. But don't think that the rest of the field views Chase as a mere fluke. Teammate Jimmie Johnson knows that Hendrick has something special in the rookie; "He's got a very good pulse on things. We all see it, we all know it." Matt Kenseth, who as of today will start opposite of Elliott on the front row of Sunday's race, has also been impressed by what he's seen of the rookie so far. "I'm not worried about (his lack of experience) at all. He's proven his ability over the last several years." 

A Stacked Rookie Class
Chase isn't the only rookie with his hat in the ring for the 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, with Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing), Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports) and Brian Scott (Richard Petty Motorsports) ready to go head-to-head. With 13 NASCAR National Series wins and three Series championships between them, drivers think this could be one of the deepest and most talented rookie classes to date.

Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details. 
Join us throughout the week for exclusive content on and off the track.

Check out the week's schedule below to see whats happening on-track, and where we'll be when it is.


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12
5:00 PM       NSCS Sprint Unlimited Practice            FoxSports 1
6:30 PM     NSCS Sprint Unlimited Final Practice FoxSports 1


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13
10:30 AM NSCS Practice FoxSports 1
1:30 AM NSCS Practice FoxSports 1
8:15 PM NSCS Sprint Unlimited (LAPS, MILES) FOX

SPRINT UNLIMITED: A non-points paying race, the Sprint Unlimited is unique in its own way. With an eclectic field of former Sprint Unlimited champions,  2015 Chase drivers, Daytona 500 pole award winners and more- it'll be a wild ride. The format is 75 laps with a caution at lap 25, breaking the race into two segments.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14
1:15 PM NSCS Daytona 500 Pole Qualifying FOX

DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING: Qualifying sets and locks in the front row. It also determines the lineup for the Can-Am Duels. Drivers qualifying in odd number positions will compete in the first duel and drivers qualifying in the even number positions will compete in the second duel.


MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
We'll be hitting the road to Daytona. Add us on Snapchat @ririnsider and you can follow along our East Coast road trip and see the how RIR gets when we spend just a little too much time in the car together.


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16
DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY: Join us as we go inside Daytona 500 Media Day. We'll have our ear to the ground to fill you in on the buzz surrounding the start of Speedweeks.


WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17
5:00 & 6:10 PM NSCS Practice FoxSports 1

We'll be taking a closer look at everything that has gone into the incredible Daytona Rising project, and show you how it's going to change the game for everyone (including your favorite Short Track).


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18
Noon NSCS Duels Final Practice FoxSports 1

What do fans think about the new Daytona? Are they excited for the 2016 NASCAR season? The RIR team will be out and about talking with fans prior to the Duels later that evening.


7:00 PM NSCS Can-Am Duels (Two races, 60 laps apiece) FoxSports 1

CAN-AM DUELS: Get an early look at some heat-racing action! The Can-Am Duels lock in the rest of the field for the Daytona 500 with each race running 60 laps. The winner of the first Duel will start in third position and the winner of second Duel will start in fourth position. Drivers from the first duel will start in the odd number positions and drivers from the second duel will start in even numbers position.


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19
10:30 AM - 3:55 PM NXS & NSCS Practice FoxSports 1

We'll be in the pits and roaming the garages throughout the day. Be sure to follow us on social media and check out our blog for the complete RIR Insider experience.
4:30 PM NCWTS Pole Qualifying FoxSports 1
7:30 PM NCWTS NextEra Energy Resources 250 (100 laps) FoxSports 1


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
10:00 AM NXS Pole Qualifying FoxSports 1
12:15 PM NSCS Final Practice FoxSports 1
3:30 PM NXS PowerShares QQQ 300 (120 laps) FoxSports 1

POWERSHARES QQQ 300: Get your first glimpse of the 2016 XFINITY Series field. Rookie of the Year candidate Erik Jones, budding star Darrell Wallace and more will duke it out with Sprint Cup regulars in the first race of the XFINITY Series season - names are made here.


SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21
1:00 PM Daytona 500 (200 laps) FOX

DAYTONA 500: The countdown is over. The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season launches with the Daytona 500 - and we'll be front and center sharing the view.
Join us as we head to Daytona for Speedweeks

We're heading down to the Daytona for the exciting kick-off to the 2016 NASCAR season, and we're giving you an insider's look at everything going on at the World Center of Racing.

We'll cover all the Speedweeks story-lines, give a unique look at the Daytona Rising project, offer up fresh perspectives on the NASCAR season launch, showcase exclusive content from your favorite drivers and much, much more.

So bookmark our blog, follow us here and here, add us on Snapchat (@ririnsider) and check in regularly for content you won't get anywhere else!