NASCAR Race Mom

Monday, February 5, 2018

William Byron's Speed on Display in First-Ever Cup Test

Before January 31st, William Byron had never driven a lap inside of a NASCAR Cup Series car.

By lunchtime on that Wednesday, he had already jumped to the top of the standings during this week's test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Had a really productive couple days of testing in Las Vegas, just getting back home and I can’t wait for Daytona. We have a great group of guys it’s gonna be fun @LibertyU @Axalta @TeamHendrick pic.twitter.com/JNuWifil1V
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) February 2, 2018

Byron posted the fastest speed in the morning sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday, and he said the new No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 "has been really good so far."

The afternoon session has begun, and @WilliamByron was the fastest from the morning on Day 2 of the @NASCAR test with a lap of 28.529 seconds at 189.281 mph. Yesterday's fastest, @KyleLarsonRacin, was second at 28.552/189.129. pic.twitter.com/J8wErpouT8
— Las Vegas Motor Speedway (@LVMotorSpeedway) February 1, 2018

"It’s shown the speed, and that’s good, and also we feel like we’ve got it driving pretty good," Byron said. "So, hopefully that’s a good thing when we come back here."

The 20-year-old driver said the experience of finally getting inside his new Cup Series ride has been, in a word, "awesome."

"It’s been really a dream come true to get in one of these cars and have Hendrick Motorsports behind me – it’s really cool," he said. "It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a blast.”

Byron noted that the test has already been tremendously helpful as he continues to build his relationship with the No. 24 team and crew chief Darian Grubb.

“Honestly it was just exciting just to get in the car and be able to experience this for the first time," the driver said. "It’s been a lot of fun just learning the guys and just being in the car, really. So, I’m enjoying it and just trying to take it all in.”

"Young William Byron WILL win a [Cup] race in his first season ..."

Do you agree with NASCAR #RaceHub's Andy Petree?

Retweet - YES, he will!
Like - No, not this year. pic.twitter.com/Y9sZH6JzDj
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 4, 2018

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Sunday, February 4, 2018

DAYTONA 500 Memories - 1990s

Some of our most historic DAYTONA 500 wins came in the 1990's including Dale Earnhardt's 1998 win on his 20th attempt.

The first DAYTONA 500 at Bill France Sr.’s newly constructed 2.5-mile tri-oval superspeedway took place on Feb. 22, 1959. Famously, the race ended in a three-wide photo finish with Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp seemingly in a dead heat for the win.

Moving over the next six decades, we take a look at the other 59 years of DAYTONA 500 history.

1990-1999

The 1990s provided some of the most exciting and memorable moments in the history of “The Great American Race.”

In 1990, Derrike Cope completed one of the greatest upset victories in NASCAR history, passing Earnhardt on the last lap in Turn 3 to win the 1990 DAYTONA 500. The following year, Earnhardt was once again passed late in the race, this time by Ernie Irvan in only his third career DAYTONA 500 start.

Both Davey Allison and Dale Jarrett came from a tremendous racing heritage, with the likes of Davey’s father Bobby and Dale’s father Ned. Davey captured his lone DAYTONA 500 in 1992 four years after finishing second to his father Bobby, while Ned Jarrett called all three of his son’s DAYTONA 500 victories (1993, 1996, 2000) as a member of the CBS broadcast team.

From 1994-95, Sterling Marlin in the No. 4 Chevrolet became the first driver since Cale Yarborough in 1983-84 to win back-to-back DAYTONA 500s.

On Feb. 16, 1997, 25-year-old Jeff Gordon claimed his first DAYTONA 500 victory, becoming the youngest winner in race history. In a field that included 27 drivers older than 35 years and 16 drivers at least 40 years old, Gordon introduced the racing world to the next era of NASCAR. Proving that his victory was no fluke, Gordon claimed his second DAYTONA 500 victory in 1999 and would go on to ultimately win three DAYTONA 500s and four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championships in a legendary 23-year career.

After several close calls and late-race disappointments, Daytona International Speedway’s all-time winningest driver finally captured the one race that had eluded him for years. Dale Earnhardt, the driver of the famous black No. 3 Chevrolet, won his lone DAYTONA 500 in 1998 on his 20th attempt.

Most Victories

2 (tied) – Dale Jarrett (’93, ’96), Sterling Marlin (’94, ’95), Jeff Gordon (’97, ’99)