Tuesday, July 5, 2016

RACE RECAPS- DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY


Race Recap

Coke Zero 400
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona, Fla.
Saturday, July 2, 2016

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski
Age: 32
Team: No. 2 – Detroit Genuine Parts Ford
Owner: Team Penske
Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER -- “Those guys were doing a heck of a job.  Kyle (Busch) and Kurt (Busch) worked together really well, and my teammate Joey Logano was a huge part of this today.  We had two great cars here with Team Penske and worked together really well.  Joey has won here and he’s really a pro, especially on that restart.  He gave me that push I need to get to the front and here we are at Daytona in Victory Lane.  I don’t care if it’s not the 500.  It’s Daytona.  This is huge.  I love this place and here we are in Victory Lane with the Detroit Ford.” 
-       Brad Keselowski

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·         Brad Keselowski won the 35th annual Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night. For Keselowski, it was his 20th win in 250 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  It is his third victory of 2016, tied for his third-most wins in a season (6 in 2014, 5 in 2012, 3 in 2011).
 
·         This is Keselowski’s first win and fourth top-10 finish in 15 races at Daytona International Speedway.  It was his 10th top-10 finish of 2016 and his seventh in the top-5, including his fourth top-5 finish in the last five races.
 
·         Tonight’s win marked Keselowski’s fifth victory in a restrictor plate race, with each of the previous four coming at Talladega Superspeedway.
 
·         Keselowski led 115 of the 161 laps of tonight’s race, including each of the final 17.
 
·         The win for Keselowski represented the 100th Cup win for Team Penske in this, the 50th anniversary of the organization.
 
·         Kyle Busch (second) posted his eighth top-10 showing in 23 races at Daytona International Speedway.  It was his 11th top-10 finish of 2016 and his 10th in the top-5.
 
·         Trevor Bayne (third) posted his best finish of the year, surpassing his previous high of 5th at Bristol on April 17.  In fact, today’s finish was his third top 5 in 111 career Sprint Cup races.  His best finish occurred on February 20, 2011 when he won the Daytona 500.
 
·         Joey Logano (fourth) compiled his fourth straight top-5 finish.
 
·         Four of the top five drivers in tonight’s race were Ford drivers, a group which also included Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (fifth), who tied a season-high finish tonight that he also attained on March 26 at Auto Club Speedway.
 
·         Ryan Blaney (14th) was the highest finishing rookie tonight. 
 
·         Kevin Harvick (565) leads the 2016 Sprint Cup points standing by 15 points over Brad Keselowski (551).  The following are the top five drivers in points through the first 17 races:


Driver                                           Wins               Points
1.    Kevin Harvick                             1                      565
2.    Brad Keselowski                        3                      551
3.    Kurt Busch                                  1                      545
4.    Joey Logano                               1                      531
5.    Carl Edwards                              2                      527

·         Ten drivers have qualified for the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a list which includes Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., all of who have taken checkered flags this year. Tony Stewart, who won at Sonoma on June 26, would also qualify so long as he finishes in the top-30 in points after the season’s 26 regular season races. Stewart currently sits in the 30th spot with 212 points, three ahead of Brian Scott (209), who is in 31st, and nine points in front of Regan Smith (203 points, 32nd).  The Chase culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship race on November 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
 
·         In eight career Sprint Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Keselowski has recorded three top-10 finishes and two top 5s.  He celebrated the Sprint Cup Series title following the 2012 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Starting this year, the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will feature championship races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19 (NXS) and November 18 (NCWTS).  Four drivers will compete amongst a full field for their respective title. Attached is a race recap from this weekend’s XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.  The Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend (Please refer to the attached race recap graphic for more information):


·         Aric Almirola won the 15th annual Subway Firecracker 250 Powered by Coca-Cola XFINITY race at Daytona International Speedway.  Almirola won in a green-white checkered finish, NASCAR’s overtime format.  The win was the second with which Almirola has been credited in the XFINITY series and his first since June 23, 2007 in Milwaukee.
 
·         Prior to Friday, Almirola’s most recent victory in any series occurred in 2014 Coke Zero 400 Sprint Cup race on July 6.
 
·         The following are the points leaders in the Camping World Truck Series through nine races:


Camping World Truck Series
 
Driver                                           Wins                    Points
1.    William Byron                          3                                 226
2.    Matt Crafton                             2                                  225
3.    Timothy Peters                          0                                  221
4.    Daniel Hemric                           0                                  216
5.    Johnny Sauter                         1                                  204
6.    John Hunter Nemechek          1                                  192
7.    Ben Kennedy                             0                                  192
8.    Tyler Reddick                             0                                  191
9.    Christopher Bell                       1                                  185