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Lamborghini, Ford top Daytona IMSA test

The first IMSA-sanctioned test prior to the 2025 season – and only until the Roar Before the 24 – is complete. While there are never any clear-cut answers in testing because teams are working through different testing agendas and aren’t always …

First, Lamborghini Iron Lynx has made some strides, indicating that the pace the SC63 showed at Indianapolis wasn’t a fluke. The car didn’t race at Daytona last year, as Lamborghini chose Sebring as its competition debut, but it did show some potential at last year’s Daytona test. This time, Romain Grosjean set the fastest GTP time of the weekend, a 1m35.611s lap (134.043mph). Andrea Caldarelli backed that up with the fourth-fastest time of the test.

Acura Meyer Shank Racing seems set to pick up where it left off, with two of its drivers setting the third- and fourth-quickest times. New to the team, former BMW shoe Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 set a time 0.097s off Grosjean’s best and 0.197s better than teammate Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60.

“Working with the guys and girls here and at the shop and with MSR has been fantastic, and obviously with HRC,” said Yelloly following the test. “We’ve been ticking off everything we can do on our program. Working through, sticking to our own program and making sure we constructively test everything we need to before we come back here in January. So, everything’s gone smoothly.

“Lap time-wise, it’s always nice to see yourself further at the front, but it doesn’t matter until we go racing, to be honest. But, yeah it’s been fantastic. I think Mike [Shank] runs a great operation here, as do HRC and its friendly faces all the time. Nothing’s too big of a job. Everyone gets their heads down and works their tails off to chase our end goal, which is obviously to be at the front.”

From fifth to ninth, it was all BMW M Team RLL. Running the same four drivers in both cars, three of the drivers were accounted for in those five places. Marco Wittman was the quickest of the bunch in the No. 25 BWM M Hybrid V8.

Cadillac tested an updated version of its V-Series R. Richard Prince/Cadillac Photo).

Jack Aitken was the quickest of the Cadillac drivers – no surprise given his experience with the V-Series.R and Whelen Cadillac Racing – in 10th overall while Cadillac tested some updates and Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing worked to get up to speed with its new cars. CWTR’s Jordan Taylor was one of those getting familiar with the V-Series.R.

“It has been great coming back to Cadillac and driving the new V-Series.R,” he declared. “It definitely has its own driving style-wise: the way it feels, the way you attack corners, the set-up changes are different, the terminology is all different. It has been a lot to learn but nice to get a head start here in November, before the year ends. We should get a good head start from this test and go into the off-season with more ideas to come back to the Roar with.

“We are all excited to start the season next year. I think there is a lot of expectation on big results. Obviously, last year, we had two wins and the team would definitely like to increase that and I think we will have a great chance to with Cadillac.”

The quickest of the Porsche runners was JDC-Miller MotorSports’ Gianmaria Bruni, 14th overall and leading the Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963s. All three 963s were armed with updates for next season.

Ford topped the GTD timesheets. LAT Images/IMSA

Ford Multimatic Motorsports sextet of drivers dominated the GTD PRO proceedings. The Mustang GT3 held the top five and six of the top seven times, interrupted only by

Klaus Bachler in the AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in fifth. Dennis Olsen held the top spot with a 1m47.822s lap (118.862mph) in the No. 65 Mustang. Olsen, who raced the Mustang for Proton Competition in WEC in 2024, will be an endurance addition for the team in 2025.

“It’s definitely really nice to be back in IMSA,” noted Olsen. “I’m getting into the groove here with Multimatic and it’s very nice. The team is very new to me, and we are working to get the two cars communicating strongly together. We’re sharing everything and working together as a team and as a group.

“We’re working on all the systems trying to prepare for the big one. Still a lot left to do, and it’s definitely challenging, but we’ll keep on working and improving,” he added.

Malthe Jakobsen set the top time in LMP2 for CrowdStrike by APR as the team prepares for its return to competition after a hiatus in the latter half of 2024. Jakobsen’s 1m38.635s was the quickest of eight LMP2 teams at the test.

Elliott Skeer was quickest among the GTD drivers testing at Daytona, as Porsche pilots took the top three spots. Skeer turned a 1m48.221s lap in the No. 120 Wright machine to better Matteo Cressoni in the Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R, as well as teammate Loek Hartog. The fourth and fifth spots were occupied by Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evos; first was Andy Lally for Magnus Racing, followed by Valentin Hasse-Clot for new GTD entry van der Steur Racing.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams will embark on individual testing programs for the rest of the year before reconvening at Daytona for the Roar Before the 24 on Jan. 17.

IMSA Daytona test concludes with progress from new and improved GTD entries

Van der Steur Racing is no stranger to the IMSA paddock, with a presence dating some twenty years. Most recently, the team founded by former racer Gunnar van der Steur has competed in the Grand Sport (GS) class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. …

Van der Steur Racing is no stranger to the IMSA paddock, with a presence dating some twenty years.

Most recently, the team founded by former racer Gunnar van der Steur has competed in the Grand Sport (GS) class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. For 2025, VDSR will move to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship side of the paddock as it steps up to campaign the No. 19 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class.

They’ll compete in all five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events, and possibly select sprint races as well, with drivers Rory van der Steur and Valentin Hasse-Clot.

Van der Steur Racing is making maximum use of the resources that Aston Martin Racing and its partner Prodrive have to offer in terms of technical and engineering support. Hasse-Clot is an Aston Martin factory driver who teamed with Rory van der Steur to finish fourth or better in four of the five Michelin Pilot Challenge races they ran together in 2024 in van der Steur’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

His best result of the season was achieved in the sprint race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where he teamed with Scott Andrews for a second-place finish.

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The No. 19 Aston Martin missed the Saturday morning session of the three-day IMSA-sanctioned test, but got up to speed quickly, with Hasse-Clot setting the third quickest GTD time in the Saturday night session.

Maxime Robin, van der Steur, Eric Filgueiras and Brady Behrman also ran laps in the car over the course of the weekend, with Robin running P3 in the first Sunday session. The team’s full 2025 driver lineup has not been finalized.

“It’s obviously a huge move for the team, and for my teammate Rory, who is discovering everything about GT3,” commented Hasse-Clot during the test. “They made the right decision by hiring people from the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) factory, so it’s going to be a smooth transition, I think. We’re all here to support them in this move.

“I’m feeling good,” he continued. “I’m very familiar with the car and the mechanics and engineers and everyone around the team. Saturday was our first roll-out with the car and with the IMSA systems on board the car, and we’ve sorted everything. All positive!”

Fast start for Iron Dames Porsche

While there were other highlights, a sixth-place GTD class finish in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona remained the best result of the 2024 season for the all-female Iron Dames program in the No. 83 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

For 2025, the pink Iron Dames livery and the No. 83 stay the same, but the driver lineup is evolving and the team has opted to trade the Lamborghini for a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). It’s a homecoming of sorts, because Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy drove a similar Porsche to a historic first all-female win at the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain.

“Clearly we had a difficult year in 2024, so we chose to look for more reliability, for more consistency, and we found a partner within Porsche,” said Frey. “We already had some experience with that brand in Europe and thought it would be a nice idea to also make the move to Porsche for IMSA in 2025. We very much look forward to that.”

The 2025 Iron Dames WeatherTech Championship lineup is yet to be announced, but Frey was in the car for the test along with Karen Gaillard and team co-owner Claudio Schiavoni. Matteo Cressoni, a driver and engineering advisor for the related Iron Lynx organization, also drove the No. 83 Porsche at Daytona and set the second fastest GTD time of the week on Sunday afternoon.

Frey was pleased coming off her track time at Daytona.

“Whenever we jump in the car it gives us a smile, so we love the car very much,” she said. “The test for us was very positive, so I can’t wait to get it started in January.”

New horizons for DXDT

DXDT Racing has plenty of experience with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The North Carolina-based team was the first to earn a major victory with the new-for-2024 GT3 version of the iconic American sports car.

This year, DXDT is tackling a new challenge by competing full-time in the WeatherTech Championship’s GTD class. With the 2025 driver lineup not yet announced, those at the test sharing seat time in the No. 36 Corvette were Alec Udell – who competed with the team this past season in GT World Challenge America – Salih Yoluc, Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood, and two-time IMSA champion and GM driver Pipo Derani.

Udell is looking forward to his first full season in the WeatherTech Championship.

“IMSA has the highest competition in the U.S. for any form of sports car racing,” he said. “The level of operations, the team strategy and all the execution … you have to be perfect. There’s no wiggle room with the packed fields. The events bring in a ton of fans and are really a show. It’s a fantastic place to race.

“We’ve had the goal of getting everything to gel together and building momentum to grow this program,” he added. “The focus was always to build up to the IMSA championship.”

The DXDT Corvette completed 343 laps over the course of two days at Daytona.

“Everything is coming together smoothly,” Udell reported. “We’re bringing a lot of talented minds together and I think that’s what it takes to have a successful program.”

The 2025 WeatherTech Championship season opens with the annual Roar Before the Rolex 24, January 17-19, leading into the Rolex 24 At Daytona, January 23-26.

RESULTS

Yelloly leads Saturday daylight runs at Daytona for Acura Meyer Shank Racing

Speed is seldom the primary objective of pre-season testing, although any of the 31 participants in the IMSA test at Daytona International Speedway would take pride in topping the timing screens. For most teams and manufacturers, the November test …

Speed is seldom the primary objective of pre-season testing, although any of the 31 participants in the IMSA test at Daytona International Speedway would take pride in topping the timing screens.

For most teams and manufacturers, the November test is mostly about integrating new personnel and learning how their cars react to changes in chassis setup and atmospheric conditions. There’s no substitute for time on track when it comes to learning.

Cars from all four classes that contest the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship shared the 3.56-mile road course Saturday, a marathon day of testing that spread 10 hours of track time through three sessions, including two hours of night running. The test concludes Sunday with two three-hour sessions exclusively for the GTD and GTD PRO classes.

Prior to the Saturday night session, Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian’s pair of Acura ARX-06 were the pacesetters overall and for the GTP class. Nick Yelloly’s 1m35.708s lap in the Saturday morning session in the No. 93 car was best of all, narrowly ahead of Tom Blomqvist’s 1m35.905s set Friday afternoon in the No. 60.

Those times were about three seconds off the GTP lap record set by Pipo Derani in qualifying for the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

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Yelloly is new to the MSR Acura effort this year, having spent the last two years racing in the GTP class for BMW M Team RLL.

“We’ve been ticking off everything we can do on our program, making sure we constructively test everything we need to before we come back here for the Rolex 24 in January,” Yelloly said. “Everything has gone smoothly. We had a test last week at Sebring. That was my first impression of the car and the team. Here at Daytona, it’s always nice to kind of see what you’re like in terms of just general drivability compared to the competition.

“Lap time-wise, it’s always nice to see yourself further at the front, but it doesn’t matter until we go racing, to be honest. Solid couple days, and it will be nice to feel what the car is like at night. Obviously, this car has very different tendencies to what I’ve been used to. We’ve got traffic here, so I’ve been seeing where I can or can’t overtake, or if it’s different to what I’ve been used to. Working with the guys and girls here at Meyer Shank and with HRC (Honda Racing Corporation USA) has been fantastic.”

Among GTP competitors, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 6 Porsche 963 completed the most laps in every of the first four sessions, a total of 487 circuits. That was a robust 171 laps more than the next-best total of 316 turned by the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, and more than BMW M Team RLL managed with both of its BMW M Hybrid V8s (390).

While BMW was lacking in terms of mileage, its cars were solidly on the pace. They ran in the top three in each of the first three sessions, before a reduced workload Saturday afternoon saw the No. 24 car run only 10 laps. Also showing speed was the No. 63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63, which was fastest on Friday morning in the hands of Andrea Caldarelli and ran P2 on Saturday afternoon driven by Romain Grosjean.

Dennis Olsen led the way in GTD PRO with Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ Mustang GT3. Michael Levitt/Lumen

Mustangs off to solid start in GTD PRO

In the GT classes, the Ford Mustang GT3 showed steady improvement throughout the 2024 season, culminating in a pair of podium finishes. The Mustang program continued its upward trend at the Daytona test, as Dennis Olsen led all GT-class runners in the No. 65 GTD PRO Mustang GT3 fielded by Ford Multimatic Motorsports.

Olsen was timed at 1m48.177s in the Saturday afternoon session, edging teammate Seb Priaulx in the No. 64 Mustang by 0.019s with a time also set in Session 4.

Eliott Skeer’s Saturday afternoon best was fastest in the GTD class and third among all GT runners at 1m48.438s.

“It’s definitely really nice to be back in IMSA,” said Olsen, who drove a Mustang for Proton Competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2024. “I’m really enjoying being back driving on Michelin tires in the best championship in the world.

“I’m getting into the groove here with Multimatic and it’s very nice. The team is very new to me, and we are working to get the two cars communicating strongly together. We’re sharing everything and working together as a team and as a group.

“We’re working on all the systems trying to prepare for the big one,” he added. “Still a lot left to do, and it’s definitely challenging, but we’ll keep on working and improving.”

Malthe Jakobsen turned the fastest lap of the test for the LMP2 class at 1m38.635s on Friday afternoon.

IMSA-sanctioned testing at Daytona wraps up Sunday.

RESULTS

Daytona IMSA testing offers first look at what’s new for 2025

This weekend’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway provides competitors in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship their first chance to work with new equipment or personnel as they begin preparations for the 2025 season. …

Major changes in the GTP class include Wayne Taylor Racing’s move to Cadillac; the return of Acura Meyer Shank Racing to the WeatherTech Championship after a year’s break; modified driver line-ups at Porsche Penske Motorsport and Cadillac Whelen; and the first IMSA appearance for the Aston Martin THOR Team Aston Martin Valkyrie built to FIA Le Mans Hypercar specifications.

DAY 1 RESULTS

MSR is back, and back on top

Meyer Shank Racing regrouped and reorganized their IMSA racing team in 2024. Now, back in partnership with Acura and Honda Racing Corporation USA, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian is re-energized for a two-car attack on the GTP class.

“Being here makes the world come right again,” co-owner Michael Shank said Friday during a break at Daytona. “The earth is on the right axis. I was convinced at the end of 2022 we had the right group to do this. I know we still do, and they’re all here with us.”

Shank’s team was extremely successful with its 2023 driver duo of Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist, but lost out on the GTP championship due to circumstances both within and outside the organization’s control. Shank saw enough promise in that pairing to call the decision to bring them back to drive Acura MSR’s No. 60 Acura ARX-06 for 2025 “a no brainer.” Renger van der Zande moves from Cadillac Racing to the new Acura MSR No. 93 car, joined by former BMW factory driver Nick Yelloly.

Blomqvist paced Friday’s action at Daytona in the No. 60 Acura, lapping the 3.56-mile road course in 1m35.90s in the afternoon session.

This marks the first time MSR has fielded two full-time entries in IMSA’s top prototype class. As part of a new arrangement, HRC US is supplying staff to race engineer the No. 93 car, while the engineering of the No. 60 car remains in-house.

“Certainly, Tom and Colin deserve a real run at the championship,” Shank said. “David Salters (HRC US president) and I talked and we really liked Nick, and Renger is plug-and-play.

“It’s tricky,” he said. “One car seems like a vacation right now. Running two cars ramps things up exponentially. You’re continually trying to keep the two groups talking and communicating,” said Shank. “It’s a unique way of doing things and different than anyone else in the paddock, but I love it.”

Wayne Taylor Racing’s Cadillac is now a full factory effort for Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens. Michael Levitt/Lumen

Changes at Cadillac

Wayne Taylor Racing was one happy family when Wayne’s sons Ricky and Jordan drove a Cadillac to IMSA’s DPi class championship in 2017. Much has changed since then.

Both of the junior Taylors joined factory programs and won additional IMSA titles (Ricky shared the 2020 DPi crown with Helio Castroneves and Acura Team Penske, while Jordan won consecutive GTD PRO crowns in 2020 and ’21 with Antonio Garcia and Corvette). Ricky returned to the home team in 2021 and when WTR expanded its technical capability and fielded a pair of GTP-class Acuras in 2023, Jordan followed.

Now thanks to its renewed association with Cadillac and an increased emphasis on sports car racing at General Motors, Wayne Taylor Racing is a full-fledged factory team, with a driver line-up of IMSA champions that includes Filipe Albuquerque (teamed with Ricky in the No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R) and Louis Deletraz (co-driver with Jordan in the No. 40).

There’s also change at Cadillac Whelen as Earl Bamber, who drove for Cadillac in the FIA World Endurance Championship the last two years, joins Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R run by Action Express Racing in the WeatherTech Championship.

“I’m really excited, and it’s great to be back in the IMSA paddock,” Bamber said. “Action Express is an understated team, but you just have to look at the back of the hauler to see how many IMSA championships they have won. That shows the pedigree. They won the (GTP) championship in 2023 and it’s almost forgotten, but they’re a world-class organization.

“I love the series, and it’s great to see what the top prototype class has grown into,” he added. “The numbers and the level of competition between the manufacturers is phenomenal. I think it’s a golden era of motorsport and sports car racing in America, and I’m eager to sink my teeth into it.”

Aston Martin’s Valkyrie made its debut at Daytona in the hands of Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis. Brandon Badraoui/Lumen

Aston Martin arrives with Heart of Racing

One car attracting plenty of attention at the Daytona test is the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie prepared by Aston Martin Heart of Racing Team.

If the car looks a bit different than the other eleven GTP class prototypes present at the test, that’s because it’s built to FIA Le Mans Hypercar specifications, rather than the customary-in-IMSA LMDh platform. The Valkyrie is the first LMH-spec vehicle to participate in IMSA-sanctioned activity. Through Balance of Performance adjustments, both LMDh and LMH platforms are eligible to compete in the WeatherTech Championship and the WEC.

The Heart of Racing is no stranger to IMSA, as the team has competed for several years in the GTD and GTD PRO classes, claiming the 2022 GTD championship with driver Roman De Angelis and coming up coming up just four points shy of this year’s GTD PRO title with driver Ross Gunn.

“It’s an incredibly proud moment for everybody at The Heart of Racing and Aston Martin to see the car out here in the first official capacity for the IMSA series,” said team principal (and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver) Ian James. “Just seeing it coming by on the high Daytona banking put a big smile on my face. It’s been a lot of hard work, I won’t deny that. But this has been the realization of a dream. Thanks to [team co-founder] Gabe Newell’s vision, we’re here today. We couldn’t be more excited to go into 2025, not only continuing to be a part of IMSA, but also in the top class.”

Aston Martin and Heart of Racing have not announced when the Valkyrie will make its IMSA and worldwide race debut during the 2025 season.

“We’ve done some durability testing and a little bit of development testing into the performance testing,” James said. “But now we’re also trying to integrate all the IMSA-specific requirements onto the car and running systems checks. We’ll start to look for a bit more speed as these two days go on and as the season progresses.”

The Aston Martin completed 96 laps on Friday, including 65 in the afternoon session. The car’s lap times generally improved by a tenth or two with every run in the afternoon, ending with a cumulative 1.1-second gain over the morning.

“It’s pretty hard to get track time at Daytona,” said James. “It’s important to be out here with everybody else for the first time in the car with any traffic – we’ll be with the GT classes tomorrow – just to get a better read on what we need out of the car.”

Notes:

Andrea Calderelli set the fastest time in the morning session at 1m35.930s in the No. 63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63.
BMW M Team RLL was on the pace all day, running second and third fastest in each session.
Porsche Penske Motorsport is rotating six drivers over the weekend as its Nos. 6 and 7 cars pursue different test programs. The team’s full-time 2025 WeatherTech Championship drivers Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet (No. 6) and Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy (No. 7) are joined at Daytona by IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup pilots Julien Andlauer and Kevin Estre.
Friday’s fastest LMP2 class entries were Paul Di Resta (No. 22 United Autosports ORECA LMP2 07) in Session 1 and Malthe Jakobsen (No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07) in Session 2.

Testing at Daytona continues for the GTP and LMP2 contestants Saturday, including a two-hour night session. A dozen GTD and GTD PRO entries join the prototypes on Saturday before having the track for their exclusive use on Sunday.

Wallace and Chastain face make-or-break regular season finale

Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain are the only two drivers on the outside looking in who can mathematically make the NASCAR Cup Series postseason on points. The regular season comes to an end next weekend at Darlington Raceway and three spots remain …

Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain are the only two drivers on the outside looking in who can mathematically make the NASCAR Cup Series postseason on points.

The regular season comes to an end next weekend at Darlington Raceway and three spots remain unclaimed. Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher sit in those positions.

Wallace is the first driver below the cutline going into Darlington at a 21-point deficit. Chastain is 27 points below a transfer spot.

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“You have one [23XI Racing] car fighting for a regular season championship and another car right around the bubble,” Wallace said after finishing fifth at Daytona. “It’s unacceptable. I’ll take all of that weight on my shoulders – should have won multiple times this year and we haven’t. We don’t deserve to be here, and we are.

“I’ve got to go win next week. That’s it.”

Harrison Burton pushed Wallace further behind in the hunt by winning at Daytona and moving into a spot on the playoff grid. Entering the weekend, Wallace was one point behind Chastain.

Chastain finished 12th, salvaging the night after being involved in an early crash.

“I look at it like we have another chance to go win the Southern 500,” the Trackhouse Racing driver said. “That’s what I’m focused on this week. The points, they give them out at the stages and end of the race. If you run well, they give you a lot of them. I just get excited for a chance to go win the Southern 500.”

Wallace and Chastain both made the postseason last year.

The playoff grid battle going into Darlington:

14: Martin Truex Jr. + 58

15: Ty Gibbs + 39

16: Chris Buescher + 21

Those in a must-win situation to make the postseason include Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

McDowell, Berry go for wild rides at Daytona

Michael McDowell and Josh Berry had two of the most intense incidents in Saturday night’s in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. McDowell’s occurred first with nine laps to go at Daytona International Speedway. The polesitter was leading the field into Turn 1 …

Michael McDowell and Josh Berry had two of the most intense incidents in Saturday night’s in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

McDowell’s occurred first with nine laps to go at Daytona International Speedway. The polesitter was leading the field into Turn 1 on the outside lane when he was tagged by Ford teammate Austin Cindric and sent spinning to the left. McDowell’s car was perpendicular to the field when hit in the driver’s side door by Joey Logano and lifted off the ground.

Fortunately, the car did not flip and came back down on all four wheels. McDowell was checked and released from the infield care center and said he felt fine. The incident, McDowell said, was a “wrong angle at the wrong time” event, but he didn’t want to place blame.

McDowell led 26 laps. He was classified 30th.

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“It was going over,” McDowell said. “I had my eyes closed, but whoever hit me, it felt like it set me back down because I had that moment where it got real light and it got real quiet and then I got hit, and then I was back on the ground. I haven’t seen the replay, but I’m just glad Josh Berry is okay. That one looked definitely worse than mine.

“It’s the end of a Daytona race and these things happen. Everybody is pushing hard and we had guys up there that had to win, so you know everybody is going to go for it.”

By the time McDowell was cleared and doing interviews, he watched the final wreck of the night occur involving Berry. The field was two-by-two going down the backstretch with two laps to go when there was contact between Kyle Busch and Cindric. It sent Cindric, who was leading the inside lane, into the driver’s side of Berry’s car, who was leading the outside lane.

Berry spun left to the apron and his car lifted into the air and flipped onto its roof. While on its roof, the car slid to the inside wall and hit with the front end. The impact sent Berry, still upside down, into multiple rotations before finally coming to a stop. NASCAR safety workers turned the car back over, and Berry immediately climbed out.

“Yeah, I’m all good,” the Stewart-Haas Racing driver said. “It actually wasn’t as bad as it looked. But, man, I’m bummed because we had a hell of a night going. Just such a great job by Rodney [Childers] and this whole 4 team; the car was so strong and we were in position.

“I’m really proud of the job I did tonight and really proud of the job the whole team did because we were in contention. That could have been our day. But it didn’t work out. I just want to thank everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford and NASCAR for building safe race cars; Eero for coming on board tonight. It’s disappointing, but whether we would have won or flipped, we’re going to go to work Monday and try to win next week.”

Berry led nine laps but finished 26th. Although he flipped over, Berry noted that NASCAR’s decision to remove the grass on the backstretch after Ryan Preece’s crash in the same race last year kept him from barrel-rolling.

“As bad as it looked, they made a big improvement over what Ryan had last year,” Berry said. “I just can’t believe we flipped two of our Stewart-Haas cars in a row like that.”

Burton holds off Busch for Wood Brothers’ 100th win at Daytona

In one of the most dramatic races of the season, 23-year-old second-generation driver Harrison Burton made a last lap pass on two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch in overtime at Daytona International Speedway to earn his first career …

Big wrecks, amazing passes, and ultimately one of the most memorable and popular victories of the year characterized a busy, busy Coke Zero Sugar 400 on the Daytona high banks that had tremendous effect on the NASCAR Playoff outlook now with only a single race left to decide which 16 drivers will advance to championship contention.

Burton got a huge push on the backstretch from a first-time NASCAR Cup Series starter, Parker Retzlaff, allowing Burton’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford to pull alongside and ultimately by race leader Busch who stayed on Burton’s bumper to the finish line, but was unable to pass him back.

HARRISON BURTON WINS AT DAYTONA! #NASCAR | NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/cEEClLuHi9

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 25, 2024

The win is an automatic ticket for Burton into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after not even being among the top 20 in points coming into the race. It was a hugely popular victory for the young driver with many of his competitors coming by to congratulate him on pit road and in victory lane.

“That is what the sport is about,’’ Burton’s father, NBC Sports broadcaster and former NASCAR Cup Series standout Jeff Burton said after high-fiving his colleagues in the television booth, overcome with emotion watching his son claim his first major race victory.

Harrison Burton was equally as emotional — claiming his win by a fraction of a second — 0.047s – over the two-time series champion Busch.

“I cried the whole victory lap,” Burton said. “I obviously got fired from this job and wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers I could; they’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life and to give the 100th [win] on my way out is amazing. We’re in the Playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.’’

On Saturday night, the question, was “what didn’t happen?” The race featured 16 leaders and 40 lead changes. The winner only led a single lap. There were two versions of the Daytona “Big One” — multi-car accidents that, on this night, eliminated one race leader after another. Only five cars took the checkered flag without being involved in some sort of incident.

Burton and Busch got the chance to settle the trophy after an accident at the front of the field with only two laps of regulation remaining forced the overtime period.

Late race leader, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric was pushed from behind causing his No. 2 Ford to move into Josh Berry’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford alongside him. The side impact launched Berry’s Mustang airward sending it on a wild ride on the backstretch.

Berry, who led eight laps, earned his first stage win of the season and contended for the victory all night, climbed out of the car on the backstraight with the help of the safety team, then waved to the crowd and received a huge round of applause.

“I’m all good. Actually it probably wasn’t as bad as it looked,’’ Berry said after being checked in the infield medical center. “But man, I’m bummed. We had a [great] night going. We were in position and really proud of the job I did tonight and the team did tonight. We were in contention.’’

Only seven laps earlier there was a 14-car crash at the front of the field that eliminated another race leader – pole winner Michael McDowell, whose No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford launched airborne, turned sideways and came back down on all four tires, the melee collecting frontrunners Joey Logano — who led a race best 34 of the 164 laps on the night, Justin Haley, Kyle Larson and championship points leader Tyler Reddick, among others.

Bubba Wallace, who is in a tight three-car battle for the final Playoff points position, was involved too, but his 23XI Racing team was able to make quick repairs and return to the track. He finished sixth but is still on the outside looking in for a Playoff position.

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With Burton’s win, Wallace now finds himself ranked 17th in the standings – 21 points off the pace of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher, who is holding down that 16th and final Playoff position after earning a 10th place finish Saturday.

Ross Chastain, the third driver in tight contention for the final Playoff position based on points, rallied to finish 12th. He is ranked 18th, 27 points behind Buescher.

Busch, who now has top-five finishes in the last three races, is essentially in need of a victory next weekend in the regular season finale at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. He is 106 points below the cutoff line despite his recent string of strong finishes.

“Just frustrating, you know?’’ the Richard Childress Racing driver Busch said of just missing out on the win, which would not only have punched his Playoff ticket but also extended his streak of 19 seasons with at least one victory.

“We win races here in Daytona going into the last restart but haven’t been able to pull off the victory. Not sure what I’m doing wrong or missing,’’ Busch said, explaining, “I wanted to get up in front of the No. 21 [Burton] because I knew the momentum was coming there, but I knew the No. 20 [former teammate Christopher Bell] was a better friend [behind]. Just didn’t work out, as usual.’’

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bell finished third, followed by Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware and JGR’s Ty Gibbs. Wallace was sixth. Brad Keselowski was seventh, followed by Retzlaff in his series debut, Daniel Hemric and Buescher.

The first round of drama happened on lap 61 when 17 cars were involved in an accident exiting Turn 4.

Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet triggered the accident in tight-quarter racing. It collected Chastain and forced numerous pit stops for the Floridian who is trying to earn one of the last points positions in the Playoffs.

It also involved championship frontrunners Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson to varying degrees.

Elliott and Hamlin had to retire their cars with the damage and were scored 36th and 38th respectively. Reddick still managed to finish 28th. Larson, who was involved in multiple incidents on the night, finished 21st.

Heading to the regular season finale next weekend, Reddick maintains a 17-point edge atop the standings over Larson. Elliott is now 18 points back. The regular season champion earns a valuable 15-point bonus to carry with him through the 10-race Playoffs.

The regular season concludes with next Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at the historic Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Larson is the defending race winner.

RESULTS

Busch lacked last-lap energy for Daytona win charge

Kyle Busch lost his drafting help on the final lap Saturday night in Daytona and, besides wrecking Harrison Burton, had no other card to play. Busch led the field at the white flag but lost the momentum from Christopher Bell through Turns 1 and 2 – …

Kyle Busch lost his drafting help on the final lap Saturday night in Daytona and, besides wrecking Harrison Burton, had no other card to play.

Busch led the field at the white flag but lost the momentum from Christopher Bell through Turns 1 and 2 — a push that gave the Richard Childress Racing driver a few car lengths clear in the lead. But without momentum behind him, Busch fell into the clutches of the field off Turn 2 as Harrison Burton and Parker Retzlaff took a run on the outside to go to the front of the field. Burton was pushed clear of the No. 8 into Turn 3 and blocked Busch’s last-ditch efforts coming to the finish line.

“Unfortunately, [Bell], something happened off of Turn 2,” Busch said. “Or he got squirreled up and wasn’t to my rear bumper and then he was below the yellow line and I don’t know what was going on. It completely killed the bottom lane and the outside just rolled.

“Once we got to Turn 4, there just wasn’t enough energy with enough cars from behind me. I was relying on my own draft to try and pass [Burton], and that happened so slow that Ray Charles could block that. Besides wrecking him, there was nothing I could do.”

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A wreck with two laps to go in regulation gave Busch the race lead in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. He was the second car on the inside lane when there was contact at the front of the field. Austin Cindric spun from in front of Busch and Josh Berry was collected from the outside lane.

Busch chose the inside lane for the overtime attempt.

“I could have jumped up in front of [Burton] and probably taken that, but I don’t know that he would have kept straight on me,” he said. “I had more trust in [Bell] there, being a better ally, but didn’t work out.”

The two-time series champion remains winless on the season and without a spot in the postseason. Saturday night was his second consecutive top-five finish and fourth on the year.

“We did a lot of things right, had a lot of luck on our side missing a lot of those wrecks, which was really cool,” Busch said. “I’m glad to not get torn up and beat up more than I have already this year. A good day for the Cheddar’s team, everybody on this Chevrolet Camaro — they did a great job. Randall [Burnett] and the guys brought a fast car, so I hate that I wasn’t able to get the job done, but it is what it is.”

Suarez sees Daytona dreams go up in flames

Daniel Suarez was the first driver out of Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway after his Chevrolet went up in flames on pit road. Suarez escaped without injury as the rear of his car burned. The bizarre incident happened after a …

Daniel Suarez was the first driver out of Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway after his Chevrolet went up in flames on pit road.

Suarez escaped without injury as the rear of his car burned. The bizarre incident happened after a round of pit stops when fuel that had spilled into the pit box was ignited from the backfire of Denny Hamlin’s car. All of this came from a chain of events with Suarez and Hamlin trying to leave their pit stalls but not being able to do so cleanly.

“I was doing my pit stop just like every single weekend,” Suarez said. “The No. 11 (Hamlin) was right behind me and the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) was right in front of me, so unfortunately, I got boxed in. We know that every single time we do a pit stop, we drop a little bit of fuel and that’s completely normal. Unfortunately, the No. 11 was leaving his pit stall right behind me, and because he was waiting for me to leave, his exhaust fired up the little fuel I dropped. Because I was still parked there, that went up the back of my car where the fuel cell is and it just grabbed it.

“It was a very unfortunate situation. I don’t know what we could have done differently. Just sad that we’re out of the race this way, but I’m glad I’m fine and the entire team was fine. The other crazy thing is that I was able to feel the heat, but because I don’t run a rearview mirror and only run the rearview camera, I couldn’t see it. The rearview camera is connected to the rear bumper, so I could see the smoke, but I couldn’t see the fire. I could feel the heat, but I couldn’t see how big it was.”

Blaney looking to end incessant streak of bad luck at Daytona

The last three times Ryan Blaney has been to Daytona International Speedway his race ended with an interview outside the infield care center. Somehow, the reigning Cup Series champion still loves the place. Blaney admitted before the Coke Zero Sugar …

The last three times Ryan Blaney has been to Daytona International Speedway his race ended with an interview outside the infield care center.

Somehow, the reigning Cup Series champion still loves the place. Blaney admitted before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Saturday, 7:30pm ET) that the opportunity to win at Daytona is special — a big deal whether it’s in February or in the summer. He does have a summer points win on his résumé (2021), as well as a Daytona 500 qualifying race triumph (2018), but Blaney’s highlight reel at Daytona has been hard to watch more recently.

“Daytona hasn’t suited me too well the last few times I’ve been here; I’ve ended up on the flatbed,” he said. “Hopefully we can just have a smooth night.

2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400: Blaney leads the race, running on the bottom, when Ty Gibbs gets bumped by Christopher Bell and turned into Blaney’s right rear. Blaney takes a nose-first hit into the outside wall.
2024 Daytona 500 Duel race two: Blaney runs side-by-side with William Byron for fourth place when Byron is bumped by Kyle Busch and sent into Blaney’s right rear. Blaney gets sent to the outside wall with the right-side nose, and the car spins and hits the wall with the left rear. The car catches on fire and gets hit on the left side by a sliding B.J. McLeod before coming to a stop.
2024 Daytona 500: Blaney is running near the sixth position down the backstretch when Brad Keselowski gets turned from the row in front of him. Blaney is one of 23 drivers listed as being involved in the crash.

“I put in my mind that these speedways, in general, you have to enjoy coming to these places,” Blaney said. “I know some people who just absolutely dread coming to speedways and that’s kind of a losing battle before you get here. I’ve always enjoyed these racetracks. I understand that a lot is out of your control. The last three times I’ve raced here — two out of the last three — I’ve gotten hooked in the right rear and had big hits, but that’s part of it, and you understand, ‘Well, it wasn’t really my fault,’ and move on.

“That’s why I always keep that in my head about looking forward to these places because I do enjoy them. I do enjoy the different style of racing that you need to do at a speedway compared to other racetracks, and you accept it and look forward to it. I try not to let past experiences sting too much because I feel like that’s the mindset you have to have.”

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Blaney qualified 14th for the penultimate race of the regular season. A night opposite of what he’s experienced recently at Daytona would go a long way in positioning for the postseason. He has an outside shot at winning the regular season championship — currently 82 points behind the lead — but every point matters.

NASCAR will award additional playoff points to drivers who finish the regular season in the top 10 in the standings. Blaney stays aware of who he is racing in the points, how he could move either way in the standings, and how much those points would be worth. He has 13 playoff points in the bucket going into Daytona.

“We’re in a couple of points battles with the regular season… You’re mindful of that,” Blaney said. “But [we’re] also trying to win.”