MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES NEWS & NOTE'S

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

 

He’s Back. Dale Jr. Set To Return At Daytona

After missing the final 18 races of the 2016 season Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to his No. 88 Chevrolet for Sunday’s 59th running of the DAYTONA 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX).

 

Earnhardt, a two-time DAYTONA 500 winner, qualified second for Sunday’s race, a mere .002 seconds behind Chase Elliott. In 34 total starts at “The Birthplace of Speed,” he has four wins, 13 top fives and 19 top 10s.

 

Sunday’s race marks the sixth time an Earnhardt will follow a pole-winning Elliott on the starting grid. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt (Dale Jr.’s father) started second to fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott (Chase’s father) in five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, the last in 1995 at Phoenix.

 

Earnhardt leads active drivers with four runner-up finishes in the DAYTONA 500.

 

Hamlin Hopes For DAYTONA 500 Repeat

Denny Hamlin provided one of the most dramatic victories in the history of the DAYTONA 500 last season when he passed Martin Truex Jr. to take the checkered flag by the race’s closest-ever margin of victory (.010 seconds).

 

The No. 11 Toyota driver will attempt to become only the third driver to win back-to-back DAYTONA 500s: Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Martin (1994-95).

 

Chasing History: Jimmie Johnson Launches Drive For Eighth Title

Jimmie Johnson joined two titans of stock car racing last season when he tied NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

 

Now, he’ll try to pass them as he goes for his eighth title.

 

The 41-year-old Californian has shown no signs of slowing down. He’s won at least four races for the last five seasons and multiple races in all 15 of his full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series campaigns.

 

For his career, he boasts 80 wins, 218 top-five and 330 top-10 finishes.

 

Past Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champions Chase First DAYTONA 500 Win

Last season, three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart retired with every title you could think of – except DAYTONA 500 winner.

 

This year, three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champions will attempt to win their first DAYTONA 500s – Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

 

Despite not having a win in the 500, Busch leads active drivers with a 95.9 driver rating at Daytona International Speedway and claims one win, seven top fives and eight top 10s in 23 starts there.

 

Keselowski won last year’s July race at Daytona. In 15 starts at the 2.5-mile track, he has one win, three top fives and four top 10s.    

 

Kurt Busch boasts the fourth-best driver rating among active competitors at Daytona (89.9), but has never won at the Florida track. He’s posted 12 top fives, 10 top 10s and a 17.0 average finish in 31 starts there.

 

Stacked Sunoco Rookie Class Sets Sights On Daytona

In 2016, Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher both made NASCAR’s playoffs as rookie drivers. They joined Denny Hamlin as the only rookies to achieve the feat.

 

This season’s Sunoco Rookie class, consisting of Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and Ty Dillon is set to make some waves as well.

 

Jones, 20, has won 13 national series races. He led the NASCAR XFINITY Series with four wins last season. The Michigan native has made three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts (all as a sub in 2015) with a high finish of 12th at Texas.

 

Suarez, 25, captured the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship last season and won four national series races. He turned his performance up with no finish worse than fifth in the playoffs, including a win in the Championship 4 Round race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Sunday marks his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

 

Dillon, 25, claims four NASCAR national series wins. He has made 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts in the last three years and has a high finish of 14th (2014 at Michigan). Dillon has competed in the last two DAYTONA 500s, finishing 28th in 2015 and 25th in 2016.

 

Elliott Takes Coors Light Pole For DAYTONA 500

Chase Elliott will lead the field to green in Sunday’s 59th running of the DAYTONA 500 after pacing Sunday’s qualifying with a fast lap at 192.872 MPH (46.663). It marks the second consecutive season Elliott will start from the pole in The Great American Race.

 

Chase and Bill Elliott are the fourth father-son duo to win the Daytona 500 pole, joining Richard and Kyle Petty, Bobby and Davey Allison, and Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Elliotts are the first father-son duo to win consecutive Daytona 500 poles.

 

The pole win was the third straight Daytona 500 pole for Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson (Jeff Gordon, 2015; Elliott 2016-17), tying the record set by Chase’s uncle, Ernie Elliott (1985-87).

 

The DAYTONA 500 has been won from the pole nine times, last by Dale Jarrett in 2000. Bill Elliott won the race from the pole twice (1985, 87).

 

Can-Am Duels Set For Thursday

The drivers of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will take to the track at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday night for the Can-Am Duels. The Duels will determine who starts in the third through 40th positions in Sunday’s DAYTONA 500.

 

Thirty-eight teams are locked into the DAYTONA 500 (36 via charter and the two fastest open teams from Sunday’s qualifying – Elliott Sadler and Brendan Gaughan). The highest finisher in each Duel among the Open teams will make the Daytona 500. The other Open teams will be driven by Reed Sorenson, Corey LaJoie (both in Duel 1), and Timmy Hill or DJ Kennington (in Duel 2).

 

The highest finishers other than Chase Elliott (pole winner) in Duel 1 will fill the third through 39th starting spots on Sunday, while the highest finishers in Duel 2 other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. will line up in the fourth through 40th positions on Sunday.

 

Logano Wins The Clash

Joey Logano took the lead on the final lap and held on to win The Clash at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday.

 

He’ll attempt to match Denny Hamlin, who won both The Clash and the DAYTONA 500 last year. The other drivers who have won both races in the same season: Jeff Gordon (1997), Dale Jarrett (1996, 2000), Bill Elliott (1987) and Bobby Allison (1982).