Новости за 13.02.2019

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones was made available to the media in Daytona: ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Were you surprised at how The Clash race played out? “I was somewhat surprised. It was a cool day, so I didn’t think the racing was going to be too crazy with everybody’s cars driving really good. It was odd that the bottom could never really get rolling. I was surprised that everybody got on the top so quick so it will be interesting to see how the Daytona... Читать дальше...

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Ford Mustang -- YOU ARE A CAR GUY AND A RACER. WITH THE GEN-7 CAR LOOMING, BALANCING THOSE TWO THINGS, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? “More manufacturers. Is that an option? It will take a lot of work. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I haven’t been privy to anything on the car for whatever that thing is being called, Gen-7 or not. It is going to require a lot of creative thinking. When it comes to those things, I can pie-in-the-sky dream about it all I want but at the end of the day I don't have the knobs. Читать дальше...

“I don’t think so. I don’t think the Supra is going to be that big of a difference from what the Camry was. With the composite bodies and all sorts of that stuff with the way the rules are and the overall shape of how the body has to be between all the makes, there’s really not a lot of differences from the old one. Just the nose is going to be the biggest thing. What the nose does and how it separates the air from the beginning and going over the car. That’ll be a learning car and then in and out of traffic will be a learning curve... Читать дальше...

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Ford Mustang -- TALK ABOUT TOMORROW: “What is tomorrow? The twins? Well, I think tomorrow is qualifying races for the Daytona 500. I am looking forward to getting that car to the Daytona 500. That is the trickiest thing about the 150’s is that it is a race. We are race car drivers and anyone that competes wants to win. That is an opportunity to win a race and all the while there is a lot at stake and a lot on the line if you get your car wiped out. You are going to end up having... Читать дальше...

Last year’s dramatic last-lap win of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 produced one of the most talked about finishes in recent memory. Driving the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for his grandfather Richard Childress – the same car that the late Dale Earnhardt won the 500 with in 1998 – Austin Dillon maneuvered past final-lap contact to take the checkered flag.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - How optimistic are you about the Daytona 500? “Pretty optimistic. I would say about the same as usual to be honest with you. I thought The Clash kind of gave us an indication that we were able to kind of get up front even starting last. We got up front in a timely manner. No surprises really from that, so there’s no reason to think otherwise that we can’t win.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang -- DO YOU FEEL THE NEED FOR REDEMPTION HERE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN THE JULY RACE? “From July redemption? The only issue I had with July is we didn’t win. I could care less what the perception of everybody else is. I’m gonna go out and run our race the way we normally run. We followed our next speedway up at Talladega with a top-five finish and battling for the win there, so I like our process, I like the aggressiveness that we have.

“Really good. It’s been a nice transition. Toyota is kind of home for me because that’s where I got my start in NASCAR with Toyota. Comfortable, good to be back working with a lot of the same folks there. New crew chief with Mike Wheeler coming over so pretty incredible leadership at the team. It’s all good, all the right people.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Ford Mustang -- DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS RACE MIGHT BE YOUR SHOT TO GET A WIN BEFORE THE SPEEDWAY RULES CHANGE? “Last year, as strong as we ran in both the 500 and the July race it gave us a lot of confidence. We led a lot of laps, ran up front. Daytona is our opportunity to try to win a race and there will be more opportunities this year with this rule package, for sure. This plays into our hands well. I hadn’t really thought about the rules changing for the superspeedways as well. Читать дальше...

MATT TIFFT, No. 36 Ford Mustang -- WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN THE DAYTONA 500? “It would be amazing. It would be awesome to be in position at the end of the race and have a shot. That is the first goal, to have a chance at the end. You have to be there to have a shot. I am going to try to be smart all day. It will be my first 500-mile race. We are trying to be strategic and smart with our strategy. You never know what might happen.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Ford Mustang -- YOU SPENT THE DAY AT DISNEY YESTERDAY, HOW WAS IT? “It was fun. We did all the parks yesterday. We had a guy walking us around. I like that stuff. We saw the makings of Star Wars Land. I can’t wait for that. We didn’t get to go there but there is Toy Story Land now and one of the rides you can kind of see over the fence into Star Wars Land and it looks amazing. I wanted to jump over the fence. It opens in December of this year. I might stay down there next year. Читать дальше...

JRM at Daytona: In 68 NXS starts at Daytona International Speedway, JR Motorsports has scored five wins, 21 top fives and 32 top 10s. The organization is not only the defending race winner with Tyler Reddick taking the checkered flag in last year’s season opener, but JRM has also driven into Victory Lane at Daytona once every season for the last three years

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang -- DANIEL HEMRIC IS GETTING HIS CUP START AT 27 YEARS OLD. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR YOU TO START AT THAT AGE? “It’ll be a little easier than what it was for me when I was 18 (laughing). It’s just different. I think, in a way, that’s probably good for him because a lot of times, I know just from my experience, if you start too early and you make a name for yourself the wrong way or you don’t make it and you get put back down to XFINITY or Trucks, that’s usually it. Читать дальше...

Timothy Peters on Racing at Daytona: “I’m really looking forward to kicking off the 2019 season this Friday in the Friends of Jaclyn Silverado,” said Peters. “Everyone at Niece Motorsports has worked hard and I can’t wait to hit the race track! I enjoy superspeedway racing and winning at Daytona in the past always helps with momentum going back.”

After an aggressive offseason of building race trucks and preparing for their first race of the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) season, Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 provides an opportunity for CFR to strut their stuff at the historic Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series head to Daytona International Speedway this weekend to kick off the 2019 season.

Sunday’s Daytona 500 single-car qualifying set only the front row for the “Great American Race” — Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron (Busch Pole Award) and Alex Bowman will lead the field when the green flag drops Feb. 17 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Nemechek joins the GMS Racing stable full-time for the 2019 season and will compete for Xfinity Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

Stewart Friesen returns for his second full-time NGOTS season with Halmar Friesen Racing.

The reigning ARCA Series champion will compete for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors with GMS Racing in his first full-time NGOTS season. Creed led 35 laps and finished third in the 2018 ARCA Series event at Daytona.

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Daytona, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 31.0 and an average finish of 22.1.

The 61st running of the Daytona 500 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway (2:30 p.m. Eastern on FOX) and it will feature the points racing debut of the new NASCAR Mustang. Ford has won the Daytona 500 a total of 15 times, including four of the last eight. Team Penske driver Joey Logano is the defending series champion while Ford looks to build off a 2018 season that saw it lead the series with 19 victories and claim the manufacturers’ title.