Tag: Daytona 500

Pitbull shouts out NASCAR, his new racing team in latest single, ‘Where the Country Girls At’

Pitbull dropped a new single collaborating with country singers Trace Adkins and Luke Bryan.

Pitbull dropped a new single this week — a collaboration with country singers Trace Adkins and Luke Bryan — and at one point, he shouts out NASCAR, the Daytona 500 and his new Cup Series team, Trackhouse Racing.

And in this latest song, Where the Country Girls At, the international superstar musician references his experience in NASCAR so far, which included being the Grand Marshal for the Daytona 500, the series’ biggest race of the year.

Pitbull officially joined the NASCAR world in January, when he announced his ownership stake with the new premier series team, which is co-owned by Justin Marks with Daniel Suárez behind the wheel of the No. 99 Chevrolet.

The team made its NASCAR debut in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, and at the time, Pitbull said he views NASCAR, like music, as a universal language because “everybody loves a fast car and a great story.”

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Just after the two-minute mark in the song, Pitbull’s shoutouts are in the third verse following Adkins’ and Byran’s verses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl4Uq8qadwI

The NASCAR-related lyrics are:

I’m at the NASCAR epicenter, Daytona 500
Grand Marshal, Trackhouse represent
White cones at the stage, I’m in the suite
Next to the greatest of all time, baby, MJ

Pitbull is, of course, talking about Michael Jordan, the other international superstar who recently joined NASCAR’s ownership ranks with 23XI Racing, co-owned by driver Denny Hamlin with Bubba Wallace behind the wheel of the No. 23 Toyota.

The 40-year-old musician nicknamed Mr. Worldwide has been spotted at NASCAR races throughout the 2021 season, and he always seems like he’s having a great time.

Here are some highlights, starting with the pump-up speech he gave Trackhouse Racing before the Coca-Cola 600:

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Joey Logano says he and teammate Brad Keselowski haven’t talked about Daytona 500 wreck, but ‘we will fix it’

“It’s probably best to cool you jets a little bit before the conversation happens,” Joey Logano said about wrecking with Brad Keselowski on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

It’s been a little more than four days since the 2021 Daytona 500 ended just after midnight ET on Monday, and according to Joey Logano, he and his teammate, Brad Keselowski, have yet to talk about how the race ended.

On the 200th and final lap of the season-opening race, the two Team Penske drivers were in position to win, which would have been Keselowski’s first Daytona 500 checkered flag or Logano’s second. But after they tangled and sparked a huge last-lap wreck, Michael McDowell swooped in for an upset victory — the first of his career now in his 14th season.

For our first Feud of the Week of 2021, here’s a quick breakdown of what happened on that last lap, what both drivers have said since and where they’re at now.

Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski literally ignite last-lap Daytona 500 wreck

It’s never a good thing when you and your teammate wreck, but it’s especially not ideal on the last lap of the biggest race of the year. And they took out their other teammate, Austin Cindric in the No. 33 Ford.

Logano was out front leading the pack, while Keselowski, McDowell, Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott were immediately behind him on the backstretch of Daytona’s 2.5-mile track. Running out of time, Keselowski tried to make some moves to pass Logano, but the No. 22 Ford driver kept successfully blocking him – at first.

Going into Turn 3 for the last time, Keselowski got a push from McDowell in the No. 34 Ford, and it looked like the No. 2 Ford driver had enough momentum to pass Logano on the inside of the track and possibly take the checkered flag. But as Logano tried to block Keselowski, the two cars made contact and bounced back in opposite directions. FOX Sports’ Jamie McMurray — who finished eighth in the Daytona 500 — explains what happened in further detail:

After they set off a fiery, eight-car crash, NASCAR threw the caution flag, and because McDowell had the lead over Elliott at the time of the caution, he was officially declared the winner. All the drivers involved in the wreck were OK.

What Logano and Keselowski had to say immediately after the Daytona 500

There’s no question Keselowski was absolutely furious after the race, and he took some of that frustration out on his destroyed car and chucked his helmet at it.

After being cleared from the infield care center, Keselowski told FOX Sports:

“I had a big run down the backstretch, went to make the pass to win the Daytona 500, and it ended up really bad. I don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everybody else’s car, so frustrating. The Discount Tire Ford was not the fastest, but [crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the whole team did a great job of keeping us in position and right then we were in position.

“It’s exactly where I want to be running second on the last lap at Daytona with this package and had the run, made the move and it didn’t work out.”

While Logano said he was happy for McDowell — and he congratulated the first-time winner afterward, as well – he was obviously disappointed by the wreck too. When FOX Sports asked him what happened on the last lap, Logano said:

“Pandemonium, I guess. Chaos struck. [Keselowski] kept trying to back up, trying to get a run. I was trying to back up to him to keep the runs from being too big and … it ended up being a really big run coming at me. And it seemed like we all just collided in one spot. So a real bummer that none of the Penske cars won, but at least a Ford won, and I’m really happy for McDowell.”

Did Logano and Keselowski tweet about their last-lap Daytona 500 wreck?

They tweeted about their respective heartbreaks with Logano finishing 12th and Keselowski 13th. Regardless of how upset they were immediately afterward, it certainly seemed like they calmed down by the time they got on Twitter.

But the Team Penske drivers still haven’t talked this out

It doesn’t appear that Keselowski has publicly addressed the incident since his post-race tweets, but For The Win reached out for comment.

Logano had a press conference Friday and compared the situation to a marriage.

As teammates, Logano said the pair has no choice to work it out, even if they still haven’t talked about it yet. As to why the two haven’t talk yet, Logano said: “I think it’s probably best to cool you jets a little bit before the conversation happens.” He explained he doesn’t “think anyone did anything wrong,” and wrecks like this are part of racing.

He continued:

“When you have conflict or you have a difference of opinion, you have to talk about it. You can’t just roll it up under the rug. It’s just not gonna work. It’s not healthy. … We’re still teammates. We will have to figure this out. We may not have to agree on everything, but we at least have to find a way to move forward.”

What’s next for Logano and Keselowski?

While the Team Penske drivers haven’t talked things over yet, Logano was clear that they’ll have to do that before Sunday’s race on Daytona’s road course. And the idea of on-track revenge isn’t an option — an opinion Keselowski likely would agree with.

“The goal is to move on and not say, ‘You raced me hard, so I’m gonna race you hard,’ and now we’re beating the doors off of each other every week, and it grows and grows and grows. That’s the goal that you can’t have. You can’t seek revenge or just, ‘Well, you made my life hard, so I’m gonna make your life hard.’ That’s childish. We’re adults. We’re not doing that.”

The next NASCAR Cup Series race is Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on the Daytona road course (3 p.m. ET, FOX).

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Underdog Michael McDowell went from 0-for-357 to Daytona 500 winner: ‘It’s just overwhelming’

What a win for the NASCAR vet.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Veteran NASCAR driver Michael McDowell was 0-for-357 races across his 13 Cup Series season. No wins and just three top-5 finishes in more than a decade at the sport’s top level.

But in Sunday’s Daytona 500, the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford driver opened his 14th year by pulling off an incredible upset, taking his first career checkered flag in the series’ season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He did it despite only leading the biggest race of the year for part of the final lap, which included a fiery, eight-car wreck.

And he said he didn’t know for the whole cool-down lap that he actually won it.

“When I came across the [finish] line, I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, is this possible?’” McDowell said. “I mean, ‘It’s possible that we just won the race. I don’t know if it is.’ And then immediately, it sunk in that if we didn’t, I’m going to be so upset.”

Luckily for the 36-year-old driver, it didn’t come to that. But the brief mystery over who won the race was the result of a caution flag coming out on that final victorious lap.

With less than a lap to go, McDowell was running third behind then-leader Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. But when Keselowski went to make a move on the backstretch, he and Logano violently wrecked going into Turn 3, allowing McDowell to capitalize and pull ahead.

Because McDowell was the leader when NASCAR threw the caution flag out for the multi-car crash, he was declared the winner, edging out reigning Cup Series champion Chase Elliott and 2018 Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon.

“It was a long [cool-down] lap,” said McDowell, who’s in his fourth season with Front Row Motorsports. “And it really became a blur when they said that we won and to go to the start finish line. It really was. It’s just overwhelming.”

Understandably, McDowell was in disbelief, at first, after the race.

But his crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, credits him for knowing how to position himself in superspeedway races — which can be chaotic with multi-car wrecks — to at least contend for a strong finish.

Although this was McDowell’s first win, he’s had some success before at Daytona with teams that don’t typically contend for checkered flags. Previously at the track, he had six top-10 finishes and two top-5s, most recently finishing fifth in the 2019 Daytona 500 behind Denny Hamlin.

“Michael has done a really good job his entire career at [superspeedway] racing of wedging himself in with probably a sub-par car and making sure he was there at the end,” said Blickensderfer, who also won the 2009 Daytona 500 with driver Matt Kenseth. “And that never wins races, but he’s always come out on the better part of that.”

Well, never until just after midnight Monday, following a nearly six-hour rain delay after only the first 15 laps Sunday.

McDowell said his disbelief shifted to a more humble train of thought about 90 minutes after the race, after he finally had some time to consider how he etched his place in NASCAR history after so many years of pushing through grueling, nine-month seasons with a zero in the win column.

“When you show up to the race track,” McDowell explained, “and you know that you’re — I don’t even know how to say it — you’re just in the way, taking up space, it’s hard to do that year after year and week after week. So you’ve got to have a bigger purpose than that. For me, it was knowing that I would get an opportunity eventually.”

With the checkered flag, McDowell and the No. 34 Ford team are automatically qualified for the 16-driver, 10-race playoffs in the fall.

And at least some of his competitors acknowledged he earned the win. Of course, winning any NASCAR race — and especially one as prestigious and challenging as the Daytona 500 — takes a little bit of luck, like McDowell had in avoiding the massive, 16-car wreck on Lap 14.

But as Hamlin — who dominated with a race-high 98 laps led before finishing fifth — noted, McDowell’s win “was no fluke,” considering some of his success on superspeedways, particularly Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval. Logano congratulated him too.

Disappointment from finishing second aside, Elliott also credited McDowell for grinding forward, especially when he’s behind the wheel of a car that can seldom compete with the powerhouse teams.

“He certainly has stuck around over the years and battled hard through the course of his career,” Elliott said. “You can’t help but respect the fact that he’s still pushing and trying to have success here at this level. Yeah, I respect it. I’m happy for him, and I hope he enjoys it.”

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NASCAR driver makes a pit stop at Panda Express during Daytona 500 rain delay

Apparently NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe got a little hungry.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The 2021 Daytona 500 was halted not long after it started Sunday afternoon, and one driver made the most of his down time.

First, there was a massive, 16-car wreck that unfolded after just 14 of 200 scheduled laps at Daytona International Speedway, and it eliminated several key drivers, including pole-winner Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman and Daniel Suárez.

Of course, the caution flag came out for the crash. But then one lap later, NASCAR threw the red flag to press pause on the season-opening race because of lightning and rain, significantly delaying the event because of the time it takes to dry the track.

And apparently, NASCAR Cup Series rookie Chase Briscoe got a little hungry during the delay. The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford made a trip to Panda Express during the rain delay, according to a funny photo of him in the drive-thru that his wife, Marissa Briscoe, tweeted.

The best part? Chase clearly didn’t even bother to ditch his fire suit before getting a quick snack.

Not sure Panda Express is the best choice when there are still about 462 miles left in the day’s race — weather permitting, obviously. But maybe Briscoe will pick up a new sponsor because of this mid-race pit stop.

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One car astonishingly avoided the massive, 16-car wreck at the Daytona 500

Whoa.

Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway brought upon a short day at the track for many drivers when a massive, 16-car wreck unfolded just 14 laps into the NASCAR Cup Series race.

But you really have to appreciate the effort from Ryan Preece in the No. 37 Chevrolet to not get caught up in the wreck.

Replays of the crash showed Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet and Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Ford slam the wall literally right in front of Preece. And while the crash did involve 16 cars, Preece — who has just 77 Cup Series races in his career –somehow cleared all the mayhem unscathed.

Keep an eye on Preece (the blue and white car on the left).

Now, that’s some driving!

The Ryan Preece Racing Twitter account had an appropriate reaction to that close call.

Indeed. That’s one way to keep your Daytona 500 hopes alive.

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A massive 16-car Daytona 500 wreck unfolded after just 14 laps

An early BIG ONE!

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — “The Big One” — a massive, multi-car crash that’s all but guaranteed at Daytona International Speedway — in the Daytona 500 usually doesn’t occur too early on in the 200-lap, 500-mile race.

But on Lap 14, one small move triggered a huge wreck, and several cars were collected in it with a few shooting through the soggy grass of the infield.

Up near the front of the field, Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota appeared to give his teammate, Christopher Bell in the No. 20 Toyota, a little push as they were racing in the inside lane of the 2.5-mile track. But it was too much because Bell made contact with Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Ford right in front of him, and Almirola’s car shot to the right and into Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Chevrolet.

Almirola and Bowman slammed into the wall and bounced back into the cars running behind them. All this happened behind race leader Kevin Harvick, but created absolute chaos for a big chunk of the field.

Nearly half the field was involved in the 16-car pile up.

In addition to Almirola and Bowman, other drivers involved included Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman, William Byron, Matt DiBenedetto, Daniel Suárez, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher and David Ragan.

Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet was rolling on two wheels at one point, while Ryan Preece in the No. 37 Chevrolet masterfully escaped through the mess.

Unable to continue racing, Almirola, Blaney, Suárez, Jones, Bowman and Newman were all evaluated and cleared by the infield care center. Afterward, Almirola said he’s “fine” and added:

“We were just getting pushed too hard too early. It’s a long, long race. Man, we were in a fine position, just sitting there riding around in the top two, three. And [Bell] just came with a big run and hit me really hard in a bad spot, and it turned me to the right and tore up our race car and ended our Daytona 500 way too early.”

Bowman — who won the 2021 Daytona 500 pole but was collateral damage in the early wreck — called his early exit a “bummer” because of how fast his car was, while Newman said after:

“Somebody crashed in the outside row in front of us, and we had nowhere to go. And I got hit from some place. I had the wreck missed, but got hit from some place and that was the end of our day.”

Almost immediately after the wreck, the race was red flagged because of rain and lightning.

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Daytona 500 live stream, NASCAR Cup Series, start time, TV channel, starting lineup and more

The Daytona 500 will take place on Sunday afternoon from Daytona International Speedway, don’t miss the action and stream it here live.

What a week we’ve had for NASCAR making its debut for the 2021 season and we won’t have to wait any longer as The Daytona 500 is here.

Alex Bowman will start on the pole and will be looking for his first Daytona 500 win since 2014 while Denny Hamlin will look to make it three in a row, which is unprecedented in NASCAR. This will be a fantastic race for NASCAR fans and one that you won’t want to miss as we start our 2021-22 season.

Here is everything you need on how, when, and where to watch the NASCAR 500 on Sunday.

Daytona 500

  • Date: Sunday, February 14
  • Race Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: FOX, FOX Deportes
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

Daytona 500 Starting lineup

1. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet.

x-2. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet.

3. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford.

4. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.

5. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota.

6. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota.

7. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford.

8. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford.

9. (22) Joey Logano, Ford.

10. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.

11. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet.

12. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet.

13. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet.

14. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford.

15. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet.

16. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet.

17. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford.

18. (36) David Ragan, Ford.

19. (77) James McMurray, Chevrolet.

20. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet.

21. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet.

22. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford.

23. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford.

24. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.

25. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.

26. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota.

27. (41) Cole Custer, Ford.

28. (53) Joey Gase, Ford.

29. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet.

30. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford.

31. (43) Eric Jones, Chevrolet.

32. (15) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet.

33. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet.

34. (42) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet.

35. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet.

36. (38) Anthony Alfredo, Ford.

37. (52) Josh Bilicki, Ford.

38. (78) BJ McLeod, Ford.

39. (33) Austin Cindric, Ford.

40. (16) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet.

NASCAR Odds and betting lines

Want some action on NASCAR? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ, and WV at BetMGM.

Denny Hamlin (+500)

Chase Elliott (+900)

Bubba Wallace (+1800)

For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

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See Bubba Wallace’s ’emotional’ new Toyota ad before it airs during the Daytona 500

Bubba Wallace’s first race in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota is Sunday’s Daytona 500.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Just about everything is different for Bubba Wallace going into the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The 27-year-old driver is behind the wheel of a new No. 23 car with a new team, 23XI Racing, which is owned by fellow Cup driver Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. And after driving for Richard Petty Motorsports the last few seasons in Fords and Chevrolets, Wallace is back in a Toyota with his new team and qualified sixth for Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500.

Previously, Wallace competed in six second-tier Xfinity Series races in a Toyota between 2012 and 2014 for Joe Gibbs Racing — the team Hamlin races for which has a technical alliance with 23XI Racing.

In the third-tier Truck Series, Wallace ran 44 total races in a Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports between 2013 and 2014, taking five checkered flags.

Promoting his return to the manufacturer, Toyota will run what Wallace described as an “inspiring, emotional” ad during the Daytona 500. Called “The Dream,” it tells the story of a young Black girl who wrecks while racing go-karts and is hesitant to get back behind the wheel, before being inspired by Wallace to return to the track.

In a statement about the spot, Wallace said:

“To be back with Toyota this season and be a part of the Toyota Racing family means a lot to me. What they do on the track is top notch, but it goes beyond the track too. It’s really cool to be a part of things like ‘The Dream’ and their initiatives off the track that align with my own beliefs and how I want to influence the next generation. ‘The Dream’ show others, no matter the circumstances or who you are, to keep fighting and follow your dreams. It may not always be easy, but it will be worth it. It’s a pretty special piece. It’s inspiring, emotional and something that I’m proud to be a part of.”

While the 60-second ad will air during the Daytona 500, it’s actually the shortened version. Toyota will release the full video Sunday morning on social media.

The season-opening Daytona 500 is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

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