CUP: Overheating Josh Bilicki loses draft, pulls out of Duel Race 1

PHOTO: David PeQueen, @CarSDS2078

Josh Bilicki finished last in Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #52 Wisconsin Lighting Lab Ford fell out with overheating problems after 14 of 60 laps.

The difficult 2020 season saw Bilicki participate in more NASCAR races than any previous season in his career. He made seven starts in the XFINITY Series for B.J. McLeod Motorsports, the road racer earning his best finishes on the infield road courses at Daytona (12th) and Charlotte (13th). Five more starts came in the Truck Series with Reaume Brothers Racing, capped by a season-best 19th at Texas. He would have finished even better that day had he not been wrecked by Ben Rhodes on the final lap.

Bilicki was busiest in the Cup Series, competing in a career-high 22 of the season’s 36 races – all of them affiliated in some way with Rick Ware Racing. He first drove for Tommy Baldwin Racing, who leased cars from Ware, made two starts for Spire Motorsports (associated with Ware’s merger with Premium Motorsports), and made at least one start in each of Ware’s own three cars. While he finished no better than 25th at both Indianapolis and Kansas, he only failed to finish twice, and completed 88.7% of the laps he attempted.

Late in the offseason, it was reported Bilicki would again driver for Ware – this time in his first attempt to make the Daytona 500. He would drive the #52, a car number that briefly disappeared from the RWR lineup after the Premium merger, replacing the #27 that sponsors had requested at the time. Sponsoring the effort were the Wisconsin Lighting Lab served as primary sponsor, joined by several associates: Palermo’s, Custom Fiberglass Molding, DITEC Marine Products, Junction Fuels, FOX Nation, and longtime backer Insurance King.

Bilicki ran just three laps in Wednesday’s opening practice and ranked next-to-last, just 0.085 second ahead of teammate Cody Ware in the #51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet. Bilicki then turned the slowest completed lap in qualifying, but ranked 42nd as both Derrike Cope and Noah Gragson, who didn’t run. This put Bilicki 22nd and last on the grid for Race 1.

On race night, Bilicki briefly surrendered the last spot to a penalized Tyler Reddick, whose team changed transmission on the #8 Lenovo Chevrolet. When the green flag dropped, Reddick jumped to the outside lane and began to advance, dropping Bilicki to last. Bilicki slotted in behind Ware on the inside lane, but was immediately losing ground to the pack. By the end of Lap 1, Bilicki was 0.527 second back of Ware and Quin Houff, who formed a trailing three-car pack behind the leaders.

By Lap 3, Bilicki had completely lost the draft, and was 3.051 seconds back of the lead. The driver reported his car was overheating, and soon said “Might have to get a different radiator for Sunday.” By Lap 12, with the race still under green, Bilicki was 33.326 seconds back of the leader, and he went a lap down on the 15th circuit. By then, he’d made a pit stop, but was caught for speeding, and had to serve a pass-through. Now three laps down, he pulled down pit road, then into the garage. He was reported out by NASCAR on Lap 26 due to the overheating issue.

Bilicki was the only driver who failed to finish the race. Cody Ware finished four laps down, the same circuit as Daytona 500 polesitter Alex Bowman. Bowman felt like he had a problem with the engine, but returned to the track with the hood up on pit road. One lap ahead of Bowman was Timmy Hill, whose #66 VSI Racing Ford dropped off the lead lap, then was rolling off pit road as the leaders took the white flag. Quin Houff rounded out the group, two laps down in StarCom Racing’s #00 Mane ‘n Tail Chevrolet.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the third straight year that a Rick Ware Racing entry finished last in at least one of the Duel races. In 2019, Cody Ware and B.J. McLeod swept both races while J.J. Yeley’s wreck in the #54 Ford came in Race 2 last year.

*Bilicki is the first driver to finish last in a Duel due to overheating issues since February 16, 2060, when Hermie Sadler’s #00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Ford dropped out after 12 laps of Race 1.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

22) #52-Josh Bilicki / 14 laps / overheating

21) #51-Cody Ware / 56 laps / running

20) #48-Alex Bowman / 56 laps / running

19) #66-Timmy Hill / 57 laps / running

18) #00-Quin Houff / 58 laps / running

CUP: B.J. McLeod spins out of danger, pulls out early in Duel Race 2

PHOTO: David PeQueen, @CarSDS2078

B.J. McLeod finished last in Thursday’s (and Friday’s) Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #78 NASCAR Heat 5 Ford fell out with crash damage after 35 of 63 laps.

The 2020 season saw B.J. McLeod bring his growing XFINITY Series team, B.J. McLeod Motorsports, into the Cup Series for the first time. Leasing cars from Rick Ware Racing, who he drove for in many of his first series starts, McLeod debuted his #78 Christensen Arms Chevrolet in the series return at Darlington. One of his best runs came just four rounds later at Bristol, where he was challenging for a Top 25 when he was collected in a wreck between leaders Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. Further sponsorship came from Axele.com, which came as Vic Keller eyed starting a Cup team of his own.

Over the offseason, McLeod announced that he would once again run his #78 in Cup for 2021, but this time under a new banner – Live Fast Motorsports. He also had a new business partner in Matt Tifft, the former Front Row Motorsports driver whose racing career had been on hiatus since a seizure suffered at Martinsville in 2019. The team would run Fords instead of the Chevrolets from a year earlier, and had welcomed the video game NASCAR Heat 5 as one of their inaugural sponsors for the Daytona 500. Also unlike in 2020, the team would have a guaranteed starting spot as they acquired Go FAS Racing’s Charter from the #32 team. The Archie St. Hilaire owned program has scaled back to a part-time operation for 2021.

In opening practice, McLeod ran 41st of the 44 entrants, then ran 38th in qualifying with a lap of 180.054mph. This put him 19th on the grid for Race 2 of the Duels.

The final two starters in Race 2 each failed to complete a lap in qualifying. Taking 21st was Derrike Cope, competing in the Duels for the first time since 2011, driving a second StarCom Racing entry with one of Rick Ware Racing’s Charters. Cope’s #15 Jacob Companies Chevrolet had electrical issues, and pulled out of line to replace the battery. As for 22nd-place Noah Gragson, the #62 Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet didn’t make it to the grid, having failed pre-qualifying inspection three times. On the night of the race, they’d be joined by 20th-place Joey Gase, who dropped to the rear for unapproved adjustments on the #53 Page Construction / FOX Nation Ford.

When engines fired following a lengthy rain delay, Kaz Grala was late rolling off pit road in his #16 Hyper Ice Chevrolet due to radio issues, requiring the team switch helmets. Cope, meanwhile, was dealing with fog on the inside of his windshield, which cleared up on the first pace lap. By the time the field addressed the starter’s stand, Cope was alongside McLeod. Cope ran the high lane with McLeod down low, and remained side-by-side through Turns 1 and 2. Cope pulled ahead down the backstretch, but McLeod caught and passed him the next time by.

On Lap 3, Cope moved to the high lane while McLeod hitched a draft on the inside line. At that point, Cope said “We’re off the ground a bit,” and like Bilicki in Race 1 gradually lost touch with the pack. By Lap 6, he was 1.839 seconds back of McLeod, and by Lap 15 was completely by himself, in danger of losing a lap. The spotter advised Cope to stay low, letting the field race by two-wide to his outside down the backstretch. He was two down by Lap 33, when he pitted by himself, then incurred a pass-through penalty for speeding in Sections 11 and 12. He was now three laps down when an accident changed the last-place battle.

McLeod had pitted around the same time as Cope, and had just been overtaken by the leaders. Coming off Turn 2 on Lap 37, Chase Briscoe’s #14 High Point Ford broke loose off Turn 2, triggering a multi-car pileup that collected fellow rookies Kaz Grala and the #38 Speedy Cash Ford of Anthony Alfredo. McLeod, some distance behind the wreck, spun out off the exit of Turn 2. While his car appeared to avoid serious damage, the driver reported he was worried about the engine temperature, so the team pushed the #78 behind the wall on Lap 39. McLeod took last from Cope on Lap 40, and was declared out along with Alfredo with 17 laps to go. Cope climbed to 17th by the finish, and slowed on the apron of the backstretch on the final lap, dropping him a fourth lap down.

The rest of the Bottom Five was filled by the night’s second wreck on Lap 57, when Brad Keselowski’s #2 Discount Tire Ford made contact with Garrett Smithley’s #13 Trophy Tractor Ford. The two collided near the entrance of Turn 1, collecting Gragson’s #62, plus Ross Chastain in the #42 Clover Chevrolet and outside-polesitter William Byron in the #24 Axalta Chevrolet. Byron, Chastain, and Gragson rounded out the Bottom Five. Gragson and Smithley joined Timmy Hill and Ty Dillon from Race 1 as the four drivers who won't be in the Daytona 500 field. 

Two teams particularly surprised in this second qualifying race. Bubba Wallace came within a few seconds of scoring the win in the new 23XI Racing entry, his #23 Doordash Toyota passed in the tri-oval by Austin Dillon. Like Wallace, Corey LaJoie was in and among the leaders for much of the race, giving a fine showing for Spire Motorsports’ new second entry, the #7 Youtheory Chevrolet. LaJoie crossed the line in 7th – his first finish better than 16th in the Duels.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This was McLeod’s second last-place finish in the Duels. He finished last in Race 2 on February 14, 2019 while driving Rick Ware Racing’s #51 Jacob Companies Chevrolet, three laps down at the finish.

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #78 in the Duel races.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

22) #78-B.J. McLeod / 35 laps / crash

21) #38-Anthony Alfredo / 35 laps / crash

20) #42-Ross Chastain / 56 laps / crash

19) #24-William Byron / 56 laps / crash

18) #62-Noah Gragson / 56 laps / crash

CUP: Martin Truex, Jr. wrecks out of the lead after Custer rebounds

PHOTO: @NASCARONFOX

Martin Truex, Jr. finished last in Tuesday’s Busch Clash at the Daytona Infield Road Course when his #19 DeWalt Toyota was involved in a single-car accident after 27 of 35 laps.

The 2021 season marks Truex’s third year with Joe Gibbs Racing. Last year, he won the June race at Martinsville, but for the first time since 2016 did not make the Championship Four. The deciding race came in the return to Martinsville on November 1, where he led 129 of the first 456 laps. He was still running second to Chase Elliott in the final laps when a loose wheel forced him to pit road, knocking him out of the title hunt.

When the series arrived at Daytona, Truex was among the favorites to take the first running of the Busch Clash on the track’s infield road course. While Elliott had won the last four points-paying Cup races on road courses, Truex had won the two most recent races at Sonoma, plus the 2017 round in Watkins Glen. Carrying sponsorship from DeWalt, which had previously backed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate in the #20, Truex drew the 18th spot in the field of 21.

Taking 21st and last was Aric Almirola in the #10 Smithfield “10 Years In Racing Ford.” He wouldn’t hold the spot for long as he’d be joined by none other than 7th-place starter Chase Elliott, whose #9 Llumar Window Film Chevrolet was cited for unapproved adjustments in inspection. “Be patient,” Elliott was told on the radio. “We’ve got plenty of time to get up there.”

When the race started, Elliott made quick work of Almirola in the first corner and was working his way past Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the #47 Kroger / NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet. By the backstretch chicane, both Almirola and Stenhouse had moved past Austin Dillon, whose #3 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Off Road Chevrolet now brought up the rear. Dillon held the spot at the stripe, 7.531 seconds back of the lead and 0.312 back of Almirola in 20th.

By Lap 3, the field had already kicked up a patch of dirt and mud at the exit of the backstretch chicane, making the transition back onto the banking particularly treacherous. First to find this out was Kevin Harvick, whose #4 Busch Beer Ford was running behind Ty Dillon in the debut of 23XI Racing’s #23 Root Insurance Toyota. When Dillon kicked up more dirt, Harvick spun into the infield grass and plummeted to last place. On Lap 5, he was 9.204 seconds back of Austin Dillon, and 27.722 back of the lead.

Joey Logano then took his turn in last on Lap 6 after his #22 Shell / Pennzoil Ford, damaged after an early ride over the “turtles,” was the first to hit pit road under green. Three laps later, NASCAR threw the caution to address the dirt on the backstretch. Logano pitted again, only to incur a penalty for too many men over the wall. Stenhouse was docked for one of his crew members coming over the wall too soon, and on the Lap 11 restart the pair rolled off in the final two spots.

Once again, Harvick found trouble on the restart, spinning into the grass off Turn 1 as the leaders fought to slow for the corner. This again put the #4 in last place, during which time NASCAR reported he’d returned to minimum speed. He held the spot until the end of the stage, when Stenhouse retook the spot with his Lap 18 stop under yellow. In doing so, Stenhouse pitted too soon, and the redundant penalty kept him 21st.

Kurt Busch in the #1 Advent Health Chevrolet was next to find trouble, again in the first corner. Busch overdrove the turn, locked the brakes, then made a lengthy turn back onto the track again. By then, he’d dropped to last place behind Stenhouse. He’d hold the spot until Lap 22, when 6th-place running Cole Custer appeared to miss the chicane entering the tri-oval. Custer stopped his #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, apparently serving a stop-and-go, but the car wouldn’t re-fire. A small fire then started behind the rear axle, and smoke filled the cockpit, forcing Custer out of the car. The car was brought behind the wall at a nearby garage entrance, and the team was informed they could return to the race if they effected any repairs. By then, they were two laps down with just over 10 laps to go. On Lap 25, their work was complete, and by the next time by, Custer was on the track, four laps down.

Meanwhile, Truex was having an up-and-down day of his own. Twice he’d have to charge up from the back of the pack, including a penalty for missing the trioval chicane under caution. With seven laps to go, he’d worked his way back to the lead, and was looking to open his advantage as he headed down the backstretch. But the exit of the chicane was as muddy and treacherous as it had been for Harvick. Truex hit the patch and spun out, slamming the backstretch wall hard with the left-front corner of his car. Truex limped to pit road, but had broken the steering. By pulling behind the wall, NASCAR deemed him out under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy.” Custer continued on to the finish, dropping Truex to last on Lap 32.

Kurt Busch and Ty Dillon took the next two spots in the Bottom Five with Brad Keselowski rounding out the group after his #2 Money Lion Ford also had trouble in the same spot as Truex. Truex’s car was the only one listed out of the event.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #19 in the Busch Clash.

*This was the third-straight Clash where a Joe Gibbs Racing team finished last. Each has been with a different team: Kyle Busch in the #18 in 2020, and Erik Jones in the #20 in 2019. The fourth JGR entry, the #11 driven by Denny Hamlin, has yet to finish last in the event.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

21) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. / 27 laps / crash / led 2 laps

20) #41-Cole Custer / 32 laps / running

19) #1-Kurt Busch / 35 laps / running / led 1 lap

18) #23-Ty Dillon / 35 laps / running

17) #2-Brad Keselowski / 35 laps / running / led 1 lap

PREVIEW: Breaking down the dizzying number of Cup team, driver, and Charter changes in 2021

PHOTO: Charlie Langenstein, @wrenchtwister00

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

CUP Exhibition Race

The Busch Clash at Daytona Infield Road Course

2020 Last-Place Finisher (Oval): Kyle Busch

ENTRY LIST

This year marks the first time the Busch Clash moves from the oval to the infield road course, where Chase Elliott won a points race last August. What was originally planned to be the final race for the “Gen 6” cars before the NextGen was to be introduced in the Daytona 500 was also changed due to the pandemic.

A further change came in November – because only the first five races of 2020 had qualifying, the field would also include drivers who competed full-time in 2020 and (1) won the Busch Clash before, (2) won the Daytona 500 before, or (3) won the pole for the Daytona 500 before, plus last year’s Playoff drivers, race winners, and even stage winners.

The result saw 24 drivers qualify – including Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth, who effectively retired at the end of last season. The remaining 21 drivers are as follows. This will mark the debut of not only Erik Jones for Richard Petty Motorsports and Alex Bowman running Johnson’s #48, but also the team debut for 23XI Racing. Ty Dillon, who won Stage 1 on the Charlotte Roval last year, will drive the team’s #23 Root Insurance Toyota, then run for the Gaunt Brothers in the 500 (see below).

#1-Kurt Busch

#2-Brad Keselowski

#3-Austin Dillon

#4-Kevin Harvick

#6-Ryan Newman

#8-Tyler Reddick

#9-Chase Elliott

#10-Aric Almirola

#11-Denny Hamlin

#12-Ryan Blaney

#17-Chris Buescher

#18-Kyle Busch

#19-Martin Truex, Jr.

#21-Matt DiBenedetto

#22-Joey Logano

#23-Ty Dillon

#24-William Byron

#41-Cole Custer

#43-Erik Jones

#47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

#48-Alex Bowman

Thursday, February 11, 2021

CUP Exhibition Races

Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona, Races 1 and 2

2020 Last-Place Finishers: Daniel Suarez, J.J. Yeley

ENTRY LIST

As of this writing, the official entry list for the Daytona 500 has still yet to be posted. Most reports indicate a list of 44 drivers for 40 spots, meaning four drivers will fail to qualify after Thursday's qualifiers. For all the storylines coming into this race, this is still just one more team than was entered in the 2020 race. Regardless, there is much to cover. UPDATE: The entry list was posted Friday with the same 44 teams.

DRIVER AND NUMBER CHANGE: #5-Hendrick Motorsports (former #88)

DRIVER CHANGE: #48-Hendrick Motorsports

For the first time since November 19, 2017, Rick Hendrick will field the #5 in the Cup Series, the number with which he started his team in 1984. Taking the wheel is a returning Kyle Larson, who was reinstated by NASCAR on January 1st. NationsGuard leads off the team’s late-arriving sponsors in the Daytona 500, with as yet just four additional races sponsored. The #5 returns while the #88, previously driven by Alex Bowman, will be discontinued. Bowman will instead move to the #48 Ally Bank Chevrolet vacated by the retired Jimmie Johnson.

NEW TEAM: #7-Spire Motorsports

TEAM CLOSED: #13-Germain Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing

NEW TEAM: #23-23XI Racing

LOST CHARTER: #32-Go FAS Racing

LOST CHARTER: #37-JTG-Daugherty Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #43-Richard Petty Motorsports

NUMBER AND DRIVER CHANGE: #52-Rick Ware Racing (former #27)

TEAM UPDATE: #71-Tommy Baldwin Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

RETURNING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports (formerly B.J. McLeod Motorsports)

TEAM CLOSED: #95-Leavine Family Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing

NEW TEAM: #99-Trackhouse Racing

One major shuffling of rides involved the shutting down of both Germain Racing's #13 and Leavine Family Racing's #95 at the end of 2020. Christopher Bell, who drove for Leavine last year, brings his Rheem sponsorship to Joe Gibbs’ #20, replacing Erik Jones, who moved to the #43 in place of Bubba Wallace, who now drives for the highly-anticipated Michael Jordan / Denny Hamlin effort, “Twenty-Three-Eleven Racing.” Armed with the Charter from Germain Racing and Leavine's Toyota contract, Wallace’s #23 has sold out all sponsorship for 2021 with McDonald’s, Dr. Pepper, Doordash, Columbia Sportswear, and Root Insurance. Jones in the #43 will run R.P. Funding as sponsor in the Clash, then Armor All with associate STP backing for the 500. The closing of Germain Racing left Ty Dillon without a ride before he landed at Gaunt Brothers Racing, taking the place of Daniel Suarez in the #96 Toyota. Bass Pro Shops and Black Rifle Coffee will sponsor Dillon in the 500. Suarez and the Charter previously held by Spire Motorsports' #77 went to Justin Marks' new team, Trackhouse Racing, which since welcomed recording artist Pitbull as co-owner. Trackhouse’s #99 Chevrolet will carry multiple sponsors this year, starting with iFly at the 500. Josh Bilicki, who most recently ran Spire's #77 at Phoenix, replaces J.J. Yeley in Rick Ware Racing's former #27 team. Yeley is not entered in the 500, and the #27 has reverted back to the team's former #52. Wisconsin Lighting Lab joins Insurance King and Junction Fuels as sponsor of Bilicki's Ford. Running Spire's #77 in the 500 will be a returning Jamie McMurray, who hasn't raced in Cup since the Spire team's debut in 2019. He's locked in after the #77 acquired the Leavine team's Charter. Spire also bought a second Charter from JTG-Daugherty Racing's #37 team, meaning Ryan Preece will run as an "open" team this season. Preece only has enough sponsorship for 24 of the 36 races, and will need more backing to attempt the full season. With Preece's Charter, Spire will field a second car, the #7, for Corey LaJoie. Tommy Baldwin Racing, which ran the #7 part-time in 2020, is not entered, but has again selected the #71 for future starts. LaJoie previously drove for Go FAS Racing's #32 Ford, which has now scaled back to a partial schedule, and will not run the Daytona 500. Go FAS' Charter was sold to B.J. McLeod, who partnered with Matt Tifft to form Live Fast Motorsports. McLeod, who leased cars from Rick Ware last year for a few races under the “B.J. McLeod Motorsports” banner, will run the full season in Fords, still carrying his familiar #78. NASCAR Heat 5 has come aboard as a founding sponsor.

NUMBER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management (former #49)

Garrett Smithley will make his first attempt at qualify for the Daytona 500, taking the wheel of the second “open” entry from Motorsports Business Management that was entered as the #49 with Chad Finchum in a handful of races last year. Trophy Tractor will sponsor the Ford, which will be joined by Timmy Hill in the primary #66 (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #14-Stewart-Haas Racing

In place of a retiring Clint Bowyer comes Chase Briscoe, who goes for Rookie of the Year after a breakout XFINITY Series season last year. Among the team’s sponsors is High Point, which follows Briscoe from the XFINITY Series.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing / StarCom Racing

One of the most surprising developments of the offseason was the return of Derrike Cope to the Daytona 500, a race he hadn’t started since 2004, nor attempted since 2011. StarCom Racing’s team owners had coordinated with Rick Ware Racing, acquiring their Charter to enter a second car StarCom built. Jacob Companies will sponsor Cope (alongside a returning Quin Houff in the #00 Mane ‘n Tail Chevrolet). Cope takes the place of Brennan Poole, who ran the #15 under the Ware banner last fall at Phoenix. Future driver plans for the #15 are to be determined, though Poole has reportedly parted ways with the team.

RETURNING: #16-Kaulig Racing

Matthew Kaulig will enter a Cup car in his second consecutive Daytona 500, but this time will enter Kaz Grala in the #16 Chevrolet. This team is expected to run both the superspeedways and road courses as a part-time “open” team in 2021 with sponsorship to be announced.

CREW CHIEF CHANGE: #18-Joe Gibbs Racing

CREW CHIEF CHANGE: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing

Following a lackluster season for Kyle Busch, Adam Stevens will move from the #18 to the #20 team, which will be driven by Christopher Bell (see below). Taking over on Busch’s pit box is Ben Beshore, who was previously the team’s engineer.

TEAM UPDATE: #21-Wood Brothers Racing

NEW TEAM: #33-Penske Racing

Matt DiBenedetto will have one more year to try and score the Wood Brothers’ 100th victory and the first of his own career. It was already confirmed last season that Austin Cindric, last year’s XFINITY Series Champion, will take his place in 2022. Cindric will make a bid at making this year’s 500 field as an “open” team as Penske Racing will field the #33 Ford with Verizon as sponsor.

CREW CHIEF CHANGE: #24-Hendrick Motorsports

In addition to Jimmie Johnson’s retirement, Chad Knaus was promoted out of his position as William Byron’s crew chief. Now leading the team is Rudy Fugle.

RETURNING: #36-Front Row Motorsports

Looking for another attempt at the Daytona 500 is David Ragan, whose strong 4th-place finish in last year’s Daytona 500 was overshadowed by Ryan Newman’s serious accident. Ragan will again run the #36 for Front Row as he did that night with Select Blinds as returning sponsor. Ragan enters the race as an "open" driver this time around, so qualifying and the Duels will prove decisive.

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-Front Row Motorsports

John Hunter Nemechek parted ways with FRM one week after the Phoenix finale, and will return to the Truck Series to drive Kyle Busch Motorsports’ #4 Toyota full-time. Taking Nemechek’s place is Anthony Alfredo, who turned heads in his limited XFINITY run last year, and will compete for Rookie of the Year. Dude Wipes, a former Go FAS Racing sponsor, is one confirmed sponsor for at least six races, starting with Homestead.

DRIVER CHANGE: #42-Chip Ganassi Racing

Ross Chastain’s rollercoaster career continues. Just three years after DC Solar’s collapse cost him a full-time XFINITY ride with Chip Ganassi, Chastain will now run the #42 full-time in Ganassi’s Cup effort, taking the place of a retiring Matt Kenseth. Advent Health is the first listed sponsor for the team.

TEAM UPDATE: #44-NY Racing Team

Reports over the offseason indicated Jonathan Cohen once again would field a Cup Series entry this season, just over two years after their #7 Ford for J.J. Yeley didn’t make the trip to Daytona. He was reportedly to run the #44, which he previously ran with Yeley and other drivers, with Johnny Sauter to drive, but Sauter himself had no knowledge of such a deal.

TEAM UPDATE: #50-The Money Team Racing

The last new update from the Floyd Mayweather effort in NASCAR was a possible partnership with Spire Motorsports, but no new information has since come out. If true, Spire’s decision to expand to two cars this season (#7 and #77) could play a role in what happens next.

NEW SPONSOR / DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Rick Ware Racing

Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, specifically their migraine treatment Nurtec ODT, will sponsor Ware’s #51 team full-time in 2021. Cody Ware will get his first full-time effort in NASCAR’s top series, part of a massive expansion of the Ware effort into IndyCar and sports car racing. Ware takes the place of Joey Gase, who ran this team most recently last fall at Phoenix, though Gase is expected to drive Ware’s #53 with sponsorship to be announced. Gase takes the place of James Davison, who is not entered in the 500.

RETURNING: #62-Beard Motorsports

It’s been a challenging season already for the part-time Beard Motorsports team, which up until last summer’s Daytona Road Course event had exclusively run on superspeedways. Team owner Mark Beard, Sr. passed away over the offseason, and driver Brendan Gaughan appears to have followed through with his decision to retire at the end of the 2020 season. Taking the controls of the #62 – now entirely sponsored by Beard Oil Distributing – is XFINITY Series standout Noah Gragson. Gragson will seek to make his first Cup start as an “open” driver with Mark Beard’s name added to the roof rails.

MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

As in 2020, Timmy Hill will switch from Toyota for Ford for the Daytona 500, and will have to qualify for the Daytona 500 as an “open” entry since he will be competing for XFINITY Series points. Hill's name was the only one not listed on the entry list, though pictures from the team showed Hill as the driver. Hill also happens to drive the oldest car in the field - a 2018 model Ford.

MISSING DRIVERS FROM PHOENIX 2020: Clint Bowyer, James Davison, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, John Hunter Nemechek, Brennan Poole, J.J. Yeley

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (February 9, 1984): Tim Richmond finished last in the Busch Clash of ’84 when his #27 Old Milwaukee Pontiac lost an engine after six laps of the 20-lap sprint. This remains the only time the #27 finished last in the season-opening exhibition race.

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: “Derrike Cope: Unheralded”

Title and cover subject to change

As announced in a video posted earlier this morning, I am pleased to reveal my next book will be a biography of 1990 Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope. The working title is “Derrike Cope: Unheralded,” and it will be published as early as later this year. An official release date will be announced soon.

While I am making this announcement as Derrike prepares to make his first Daytona 500 start since 2004, this is not the announcement of a book I am merely planning to write. It is already nearly complete. I have written more than 50,000 words, and editing is ongoing. Over this past weekend, I’ve been drafting a new chapter to discuss the 2021 Daytona 500, which will be featured in the final product. I will not be at the track this week, but I will be following his story quite closely.

I first had the idea to write about Cope after our August 2018 book signing for “J.D.” in Watkins Glen. I felt this was another story that, like the life of J.D. McDuffie, is known but not very well understood. This is a theme that I plan to apply to my future books on NASCAR history, including my third book, which I have already started writing.

I reached out to Derrike and his wife Elyshia in the summer of 2018 and conducted my first interview with them during the Phoenix weekend that November. My latest interview with Derrike was just last year at Fontana, days before the start of the pandemic. Both of them have been tremendously helpful and supportive of the project, and I’m eager to share the finished product with everyone.

The book focuses not only on the 1990 Daytona 500, but other key moments in Cope’s racing career, both before and after that momentous day. As with “J.D.,” I was pleased to discover a rich and compelling story that helps explain why he has stayed involved in the sport for so long. I know you will enjoy reading it.

As you saw in the video, I have interviewed several others for this project, including Carroll Warner and Dave Fulton, who were key figures in funding Cope’s racing career, and his former crew chief Buddy Parrott. Special thanks also to Charlie Berch and Bryan Hallman, who have shared several photographs I plan to use in a photo chapter, and to Rick Houston and Steve Waid at The Scene Vault Podcast for providing materials of their own.

My original plan was to wait until I had a firm release date before announcing this project. However, the pandemic has made that much more difficult, and I have not yet signed with a publisher. Not wanting to leave it on the shelf, I am preparing a back-up plan to self-publish the book as I have with my LASTCAR season reviews on Amazon. I would like to have it available in paperback, eBook, and as an audiobook narrated by myself. Again, I hope to have that release date set soon, so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I am also open to additional interviews, stories, and materials to finish fleshing out the book. My DMs on Twitter are always open @LASTCARonBROCK, and you can also E-Mail me at brockbeard@gmail.com. I can’t guarantee everything will make the final cut, but I’m always open to new material on Derrike and his career.

Thank you for your attention and watch for more information on this exciting new book!