Race Weekend Central

Reel Racing: A Conversation with Michael Waltrip on 2019’s ‘Blink of an Eye’

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(Photo: Taublieb Films)

In 2019, the documentary Blink of an Eye premiered via Fathom Events in theaters around the country. Chronicling the career of Michael Waltrip and the fateful events of the 2001 Daytona 500, the one-night-only Sept. 12 showing gave way to a widespread release on streaming. Waltrip’s 0-for-462 winless streak in the NASCAR Cup Series came to …

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Christopher Bell Uses Late Charge to Win Daytona in 1st Cup Victory

Christopher Bell Celebrates his victory in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 253

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

It took until the final pair of laps, but Christopher Bell made it back-to-back first-time winners to kick off the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Bell passed Joey Logano in the waning laps of Sunday afternoon’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at the Daytona International Speedway road course, chasing down the No. 22 and cruising to …

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Justin Haley’s No. 77 Fails Inspection Twice Ahead of Daytona Road Course

Justin Haley prior to the Super Start Batteries 188

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The hours leading up to the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona International Speedway’s road course were essentially a mirror image of last week’s Daytona 500: one car failed inspection twice, forcing them to start at the rear of the field for the race that afternoon. NASCAR Cup Series team Spire Motorsports slotted Xfinity Series …

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Tracking the Trucks: Ben Rhodes Goes Back-to-Back at Daytona

2021 Trucks Daytona Road Ben Rhodes, No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota, Win (Credit: NKP)

Credit: NKP

In a Nutshell: Ben Rhodes completed a sweep of the two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Daytona International Speedway with a win Friday night, essentially dominating the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159 at the track’s road course configuration. A downpour prior to the race made for less-than-ideal driving conditions, but precipitation stayed clear of …

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Truckin’ Thursdays: Is Ben Rhodes in a Prove-It Year at ThorSport?

2021 Trucks Daytona Ben Rhodes, No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota, checkered flag (Credit: NKP)

Credit: NKP

A Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway isn’t exactly the best gauge for how drivers will perform the next week or, moreover, how a season will go for anyone in the field. But that doesn’t stop us from trying. In a race that literally started and ended with trucks wrecking across the …

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Michael McDowell Scores 1st Career Win in Wreck-Filled, Rain-Delayed Daytona 500

Michael McDowell Love’s at Cup Daytona I 2021 Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

A rain-plagued 2021 Daytona 500 ended nearly 10 hours after it began, after 12:20 a.m. ET on Monday (Feb. 15). For Michael McDowell, it was worth the wait. The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford driver earned his first career win at Daytona, taking the underdog team to victory lane in his 358th career start. …

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Massive Crash, Lightning Delay Mar Early Laps of 2021 Daytona 500

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

It didn’t take long for both the racing and weather Sunday (Feb. 14) to escalate in the 2021 Daytona 500. On lap 14, contact between Christopher Bell and Aric Almirola sent the latter sideways, crashing into Alex Bowman and taking nearly half the field with him. The massive pileup was followed by a lightning delay …

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Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Fails Pre-Race Inspection Twice Before Daytona 500

Bubba Wallace takes a few practice laps at the 2021 Daytona 500.

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

One of several teams in the garage making their NASCAR Cup Series debut, 23XI Racing didn’t start off Sunday’s 2021 Daytona 500 (Feb. 14) the way they planned. The No. 23 Toyota Camry, driven by Bubba Wallace, failed inspection twice prior to the race before passing on their third attempt. According to Jeff Gluck on …

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Jordan Anderson Evades Last-Lap Melee, Records 2nd Straight Daytona Runner-Up Finish

Jordan Anderson at Daytona, 2/12/2021

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Jordan Anderson was outside the top 10 when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series field took the white flag in Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250. He sat eighth when there was half a lap to go at Daytona International Speedway, mired in the middle of the pack, and lost another spot to David Gilliland when …

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NASCAR in the Time of COVID: Looking Back at Motorsports During a Pandemic

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(Photo: Getty Images/NASCAR Media)

On the now-infamous date of March 12, 2020, I was at work. I was sitting in a radio studio when the internet and various social media timelines began to light up with the cancellations of sports far and wide, of course a direct result of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Hitting closest to home was the …

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Christopher Bell Gearing Up for Sophomore NASCAR Cup Season, Debut in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20

Christopher Bell Homestead

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Christopher Bell enters 2021 as the driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s famed No. 20 Toyota, taking over for Erik Jones after spending his 2020 rookie season with Leavine Family Racing. Prior to jumping to the Cup Series, Bell spent two full-time seasons apiece in the NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck series, winning the 2017 …

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