Daytona

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Austin Dillon Plank

July 4, 2015

By Jeff Olson
NASCAR Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Austin Dillon led just nine laps Saturday night, including the one that mattered most.

Dillon, grandson of legendary team owner Richard Childress, outlasted Elliott Sadler and Chase Elliott during a green-white-checkered finish to claim the crash-filled Subway Firecracker 250, the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

“This is Daytona, man,” Dillon said during the post-race celebration. “There are so many family memories here. … I’m just happy for my grandfather. He told me once when we were here in Victory Lane with Dale Earnhardt that you’ll have this opportunity one day. It means so much to be here.”

A multi-car crash on Lap 96 of the 100-lap race took out Brian Scott, who led 84 laps and was in front when the crash started. Scott moved to the outside line to block Elliott Sadler, but was spun out, collecting several cars. Dillon slipped through the crash, then stayed ahead of Elliott after the final restart.

Sadler recovered from the crash and surged past Elliott as the field reached the checkered flag to finish second. Afterward, he blamed Scott for the crash.

“Either Brian’s spotter or Brian tried to make the move too late to block us,” Sadler said. “We were already up to his right rear door. It wrecked us, man. This is Daytona. It’s a shame. We had a car good enough to win.”

Scott admitted the move was aggressive and poorly timed, but said he thought Sader could have given him room.

“I told myself I was going to be aggressive, and I was going for the win,” Scott said. “I was trying to time that run. I knew the outside lane was coming. Obviously I mistimed it a little bit, but I still felt like I gave them room to split me and go high. Instead of going high on me, he turned me into the wall.”

Dillon scored his third XFINITY Series win of 2015 and fifth of his career, putting a smile on his grandfather’s face.

“It’s cool any time you win here at Daytona,” Childress said.

A 12-car pile-up with 10 laps to go collected the top two in the XFINITY points standings – Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon – and set the stage for a restart with five laps remaining. Scott restarted ahead of Sadler and Austin Dillon.

Sadler fell behind in the outside line but regained momentum and appeared to be ready to pass Scott, who was leading the inside line. Scott moved up to get in front of Sadler, but didn’t have enough room and was turned into the wall.

The crash left only nine cars on the lead lap. Dillon restarted ahead of Dakoda Armstrong and Chase Elliott for the green-white-checkered finish, and Elliott quickly moved into second on the low line. He finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne, Benny Gordon and Armstrong.

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NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Subway Firecracker 250
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Saturday, July 04, 2015
1. (7) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 104, $87386.
2. (10) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 104, $74133.
3. (11) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 104, $52880.
4. (21) Kasey Kahne(i), Chevrolet, 104, $35703.
5. (20) Benny Gordon, Chevrolet, 104, $31248.
6. (17) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, 104, $34335.
7. (3) David Ragan(i), Toyota, 104, $27584.
8. (5) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 104, $32135.
9. (35) Harrison Rhodes #, Chevrolet, 104, $32005.
10. (34) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 103, $31274.
11. (18) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 103, $23769.
12. (13) Chris Buescher, Ford, 103, $29214.
13. (8) Ryan Reed, Ford, 103, $28684.
14. (4) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 103, $22154.
15. (1) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 103, $32427.
16. (40) Peyton Sellers #, Chevrolet, 102, $27674.
17. (15) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 102, $27549.
18. (22) Blake Koch, Toyota, 102, $27423.
19. (23) John Wes Townley(i), Chevrolet, 101, $27296.
20. (28) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 101, $27670.
21. (30) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, 101, $27019.
22. (26) Bobby Gerhart, Chevrolet, 101, $20887.
23. (2) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 101, $32137.
24. (39) Eric McClure, Toyota, 100, $26585.
25. (9) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 100, $26608.
26. (6) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 100, $26333.
27. (32) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, Accident, 97, $26181.
28. (36) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 97, $26004.
29. (25) David Starr, Toyota, Accident, 96, $25879.
30. (38) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Accident, 95, $26052.
31. (24) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 95, $25621.
32. (37) Cale Conley #, Toyota, 95, $25485.
33. (31) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 95, $25369.
34. (14) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, Accident, 90, $25258.
35. (19) Aric Almirola(i), Ford, Accident, 90, $19135.
36. (16) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, Accident, 90, $23288.
37. (12) Scott Lagasse Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 58, $22288.
38. (33) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Accident, 15, $21288.
39. (29) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Overheating, 10, $14288.
40. (27) Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, Vibration, 6, $13288.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 132.804 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 57 Mins, 28 Secs. Margin of Victory: Caution.
Caution Flags: 7 for 24 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Suarez # 0; B. Scott 1-6; D. Suarez # 7-12; B. Scott 13-16; R. Chastain # 17; B. Scott 18-55; J. Logano(i) 56-59; A. Dillon(i) 60; B. Scott 61-96; A. Dillon(i) 97-104.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Scott 4 times for 84 laps; A. Dillon(i) 2 times for 9 laps; D. Suarez # 1 time for 6 laps; J. Logano(i) 1 time for 4 laps; R. Chastain # 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: C. Buescher – 560; C. Elliott – 526; T. Dillon – 517; R. Smith – 493; E. Sadler – 489; D. Wallace Jr. # – 472; B. Scott – 453; R. Reed – 441; B. Gaughan – 438; D. Suarez # – 437.

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during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Duh!

1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 6th
2 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 23rd
3 15 Clint Bowyer 5-Hour Energy Toyota 2015 Owner Points – 16th
4 27 Paul Menard NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 12th
5 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 2015 Owner Points – 28th
6 38 David Gilliland Florida Lottery Ford 2015 Owner Points – 30th
7 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Better Than Bouillon Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 24th
8 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 2015 Owner Points – 29th

HAVE A LISTEN, WON’T YOU?

THE FINAL LAP WEEKLY #365 – RYAN REED – DAYTONA COKE ZERO 400 PREVIEW

^^CLICK ^^
9 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 8th
10 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips/Shark Week Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 9th
11 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Twisted Tea Ford 2015 Owner Points – 25th
12 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 5th
13 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 2015 Owner Points – 21st
14 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX Play It Safe Ford 2015 Owner Points – 33rd
15 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 22nd
16 42 Kyle Larson Coca-Cola Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 17th
17 31 Ryan Newman Grainger Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 14th
18 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 2015 Owner Attempts
19 20 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Made in USA Toyota 2015 Owner Points – 10th
20 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 2nd
21 51 Justin Allgaier TradeMark Nitrogen Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 32nd
22 40 Landon Cassill(i) Snap Fitness Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 36th
23 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 11th
24 19 Carl Edwards Subway Toyota 2015 Owner Points – 18th
25 16 Greg Biffle Cheez-It Ford 2015 Owner Points – 20th
26 33 Brian Scott(i) Shore Lodge Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 34th
27 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 19th
28 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 4th
29 35 Cole Whitt Speed Stick Ford 2015 Owner Points – 31st
30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 2015 Owner Points – 27th
31 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 26th
32 2 Brad Keselowski Alliance Truck Parts Ford 2015 Owner Points – 7th
33 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 2015 Owner Points – 3rd
34 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 1st
35 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 2015 Owner Points – 13th
36 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 2015 Owner Points – 15th
37 7 Alex Bowman Golden Corral Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points – 35th
38 32 Bobby Labonte C&J Energy Services Ford 2000 Past Champion
39 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota 2015 Owner Attempts –
40 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Toyota 2015 Owner Attemps –
41 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Dustless Blasting Toyota 2015 Owner attempts –
42 98 Josh Wise Heat Treating Inc./Royal Teak Ford 2015 Owner Attempts –
43 62 Brendan Gaughan(i) Vydox Plus Chevrolet 2015 Owner Attempts –

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The Final Lap Weekly Podcast LogoSHOW #365 – Guest: Ryan Reed – Recap road course racing from Sonoma, the iconic rainbow #24 returns, Jeff Gordon on a bus, Fox is out, NBC is in, Chevrolet at Daytona Rising, a full Daytona preview, Drivers Say What, Fantasy Racing and fun. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie (bet those other shows don’t add the fun!)

( Roughly 48:00 mins)

Continue reading “The Final Lap Weekly #365 – Ryan Reed – Daytona Coke Zero 400 Preview”

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Daytona Rising_062215_FINALDAYTONA BEACH, Fla.– International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select Market: ISCA; OTC Bulletin Board: ISCB) (“ISC”) and Chevrolet today announced a multi-year partnership that will make Chevrolet a Founding Partner at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) as part of its DAYTONA Rising redevelopment project.

The historic $400 million DAYTONA Rising project, encompassing the Speedway’s nearly one-mile long frontstretch, will be complete by January 2016. DAYTONA Rising will transform DIS into the world’s first motorsports stadium, with premium amenities and attractions.

Beginning in 2016, the multi-year agreement will provide Chevrolet with naming rights for one of five fan injectors. The massive, new and redesigned entry includes over 20,000 square feet of Chevrolet new vehicle displays and a fan engagement experience that vertically spans four concourse levels. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Chevrolet has been an integral part of the ISC family for many years and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship,” said ISC Chief Executive Officer Lesa France Kennedy. “As part of their activation at DAYTONA Rising and other ISC facilities, Chevrolet will represent its iconic automotive brand through interactive experiences with fans.”

Chevrolet will also have branding rights for one of the “neighborhoods” located near its injector.
Each football field-sized neighborhood will be located throughout the new frontstretch and feature retail and dining areas, as well as dozens of video screens.

Additionally, Chevrolet will serve as an official partner of “The Great American Race,” the DAYTONA 500®, and receive official pace car rights in select years.

“Chevrolet’s commitment to racing originated more than a century ago with Louis Chevrolet and remains strong today as we solidify our presence at ‘The World Center of Racing’ by partnering with International Speedway Corporation, Daytona International Speedway and the DAYTONA Rising project,” said Alan Batey, president GM North America. “We look forward to enhancing the experience for race fans here in Daytona with the new Chevrolet injector entrance and neighborhood.”

In addition to the Founding Partner status with DAYTONA Rising, Chevrolet extended its pace car rights at several ISC facilities including Darlington Raceway®, Phoenix International Raceway® and Watkins Glen International® for various NASCAR and IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) events.

“We’re excited to showcase Chevrolet’s legendary brand at DIS as part of DAYTONA Rising,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III. “Their activation will elevate the race day experience at the new motorsports stadium, and continue to make them an integral part of the Speedway experience.”

About DAYTONA Rising
DAYTONA Rising is a $400 million reimagining of an American icon – Daytona International Speedway. Five expanded and redesigned entrances, or “injectors,” will lead fans to a series of escalators and elevators, transporting them to three different concourse levels. Each level features spacious social areas, or “neighborhoods,” along the nearly mile-long frontstretch. At the conclusion of the redevelopment, Daytona International Speedway will have approximately 101,000 permanent, wider and more comfortable seats, twice as many restrooms and three times as many concession stands. In addition, the Speedway will feature over 60 luxury suites with track side views and a completely revamped hospitality experience for corporate guests. DAYTONA Rising: Reimagining an American Icon, expected to create 6,300 jobs, $300 million in labor income and over $80 million in tax revenue, will be completed in time for the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona and DAYTONA 500. Construction of DAYTONA Rising was recently cited as a primary source of expected growth in the Deltona, Fla., MSA as part of ManpowerGroup’s Employment Outlook Survey.

Barton Malow is serving as the design-builder for the project. In addition to DAYTONA Rising, Barton Malow has renovated the University of Michigan “Big House” and the Rose Bowl.

ROSSETTI, an award-winning architectural design and planning firm for the past 40 years, which headed the design for Ford Field NFL Stadium, University of Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena and five Major League Soccer Stadiums, is leading the master planning of the DAYTONA Rising site.

Race fans can follow the progress of the DAYTONA Rising project by visiting http://www.DAYTONARising.com and connecting with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Also, fans can see the construction project up close by taking one of the daily tours available at the Speedway on non-event days throughout the year. Visit http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/tours or the Speedway Ticket and Tours Building for more information. For tickets and more information on Daytona International Speedway events, visit http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.