NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES – COKE ZERO 400 POWERED BY COCA-COLA, SATURDAY, JULY 6, 7:30 P.M. EDT ON TNT
Defending Coke Zero 400 Winner Stewart Hard To Bet Against
Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart continues to seek his first Daytona 500 title. But in July, when Daytona International Speedway is a completely different challenge, Stewart is a hard competitor to bet against. The defending winner of Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola has won four of the past eight summer races at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Stewart was the last driver to win both the Daytona summer classic and the NASCAR Sprint Cup title in the same season (2005).
Kenseth Dominated Restrictor-Plate Racing A Year Ago
Red-hot Matt Kenseth is this season’s first competitor to win four NASCAR Sprint Cup races. The 2012 Daytona 500 winner finished third in last July’s Coke Zero 400 and posted a phenomenal 2.0 average finish in the year’s four restrictor-plate races. Kenseth has yet to win Daytona’s July race but has finished among the top 10 in seven of his last eight starts in the event. His No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was fourth in last year’s race driven by Joey Logano. JGR’s three victories are the most by any organization during the most recent eight editions of the Coke Zero 400.
Junior Yet To Replicate Last Decade’s Daytona Success
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Inc. were untouchable at Daytona International Speedway with five victories from 2001 to 2004. Things haven’t gone quite as well at the track for Junior since his move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. Fifteenth in last July’s Coke Zero 400, Earnhardt’s best HMS summer performance is fourth in 2010 with an average finish of 17.0. He finished runner up to HMS teammate Jimmie Johnson in February’s Daytona 500. Johnson, however, remains winless at Daytona in July.
Patrick Hopes To Build On Daytona Speedweeks Success
Danica Patrick became the first female driver to win a Daytona 500 pole in February, ran at the front of the field throughout the race and recorded a solid eighth-place finish. Daytona in July is a different proposition but it remains that Patrick’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet comes from a stable with proven summer success at the track. SHR teammates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman finished first and fifth a year ago.
Logano’s Rise Continues As Reigning Champion Struggles
The reviews are mixed for Penske Racing with nine races remaining until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ field is set. Reigning champion Brad Keselowski dropped out of the top 10 for the first time this season, losing four spots to a ranking of 13th following a finish of 33rd at Kentucky Speedway. First-year teammate Joey Logano, however, continues his climb up the standings reaching 10th after recording his fifth top-10 finish (fourth) in the past six races. Logano failed to win a Chase berth in four full seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing.
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