Zach’s Turn: To Say Goodbye
As I sit in my Airbnb on the final night of my Daytona 500 coverage, two words come to mind: I’m blessed.
As I sit in my Airbnb on the final night of my Daytona 500 coverage, two words come to mind: I’m blessed.
Just like that, another crazy and memorable Daytona 500 weekend is behind us. Daytona International Speedway is a place that is loaded with 60-plus years of history, and history continues to grow on from it with each race that’s held there. New storylines have come out of this season-opening weekend, from Austin Cindric’s maiden Cup Series win on Sunday to Myatt Snider’s scary flip on Saturday and everything in between.
The Daytona 500 is the biggest day of the year for NASCAR. This year, things were even more important since it was the very first points race for the NextGen car (which must be renamed soon because the name no longer makes sense). The race ended up being quite a bit different than I thought it was going to be: a lot more like a slower version of last year that somehow ended up with the same number of lead changes
After a challenging couple of years for NASCAR, the one unmistakable feeling as the green flag flew this past Sunday (Feb. 20) was that stock car racing was back.
Leave it to former USAC champion JJ Yeley to take the sanctioning body to task for their handling of an episode Friday involving young gun Briggs Danner.
The second race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season will feature 44 cars on its entry list.
After sporting a full field for the season-opening Daytona 500, the NASCAR Cup Series will feature just the 36 charted teams at Auto Club Speedway this weekend.
The 2022 Daytona 500 did not disappoint, an action-packed race ending with a rookie in victory lane. Austin Cindric took the checkered flag in just his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series start, capping off a wild finish in which he held off Bubba Wallace by just 0.036 seconds at the line. It was a far cry from rookie teammate Harrison Burton’s afternoon, flipping over on the backstretch in the day’s most serious incident as aggression produced several bump drafts gone wrong.
After the Next Gen’s debut in full-field, top-speed competition, what were the takeaways from the Great American Race? Stock Car Scoop hosts Bryan Nolen and Adam Cheek discuss their thoughts on everything surrounding Sunday’s (Feb. 20) NASCAR Super Bowl.
Austin Cindric won his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race in only his eighth career start and second in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20 by barely nipping out 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace by a nose. Following him to the line were Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola, who earned a top-five finish in his last Daytona 500 as a full-time driver.
Cindric is the first rookie to win the Daytona 500 since Trevor Bayne in 2011.
With several underdogs looking to capitalize on a golden opportunity in the 2022 Daytona 500, it was the defending champion who led the way once the checkered flag waved on the 64th Great American Race.
Michael McDowell proved just how special Daytona could be last year, reminding fans anyone in the field has a shot to take home the Harley J. Earl Trophy. The reigning winner started his effort to become only the second back-to-back 500 champion this century from the sixth position. He endured to earn a top-10 finish, winding up seventh for his best result since Circuit of the Americas last May.