Tony Stewart has all of the momentum right now, as he is coming off his first win of the season, as he took home the checkered flag on Sunday at Sonoma. Assuming that he finishes the season in the Top 30 in points, the win grants him a spot in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. He will look to win his second race of the season this weekend at Daytona, a track that he has four wins at in his career.
Weekend Schedule (All times eastern)
Thursday, June 30
First Practice: 3:00 p.m. - 3:55 p.m.
Final Practice: 5:00 p.m. - 5:55 p.m.
Friday, July 1
Qualifying: 4:10 p.m.
Saturday, July 2
Race - 7:45 p.m. (160 laps, 400 miles)
Weekend notebook
- This weekend marks the first time this season that NBC will broadcast a race as all of the races from here through Homestead will be broadcast on an NBC network. The company got favorable reviews for their coverage last season, which was their first season in years. The announcers for this season will include Rick Allen as the lead announcer, and Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will be analysts.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs a win soon in order to be able to relax during the rest of the season, and this weekend is the perfect opportunity for him to get that win. He also has four career wins at Daytona, including being the defending winner of the Coke Zero 400, although this year he can do without watching Austin Dillon fly into the catch fence on the last lap.
- This weekend is the final time that Stewart can win at Daytona as he will retire at the end of the season. Stewart now has 49 career wins, with four wins at Daytona. He has led 369 total laps in his July races at Daytona. If he makes the Chase, there is a chance that he will do what Jeff Gordon did last season, and race for a championship in his final race.
- NASCAR announced on Wednesday that all of the cars will feature a special decal to honor the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting that took place recently. The decal can be seen below, courtesy of NASCAR Media Relations.
- Denny Hamlin is coming into the race with a chip on his shoulder, as he passed Stewart on the final lap last week. but in the last turn, Stewart re-passed Hamlin for the win. Hamlin does have one thing going for him, and that is the fact that he won this season's Daytona 500, although it was by .010 seconds, the closest margin of victory in the race's history.
- One driver who has never won at Daytona is Brad Keselowski, although he has had considerable success at the only other restrictor-plate track on the circuit, which is Talladega, where he has four career wins. His best finish at Daytona was a third place finish in the 2014 Daytona 500.
- Xfinity Series driver Matt Tifft announced this week that he was going to be out indefinitely after doctors found a slow-growing tumor on his brain. In a press release, Joe Gibbs Racing said that he would undergo a procedure soon, and would then enter rehabilitation. All of us here at VAVEL NASCAR wish him a speedy recovery.