When Ty Gibbs entered the Super Start Batteries 188 at the Daytona Road Course the 18-year-old had never competed in a NASCAR Xfinity race nor had he ever driven one of the series’ cars.
Yet, the …
FEATURE STORY, NASCAR »
Daytona 2021 Becomes The Home Of First-Timers
Christopher Bell leads Joey Logano en route to his first ever Cup Series victory. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Winless seasons such as the one Christopher Bell experienced in 2020 can adversely affect a race car driver’s confidence and breed self-doubt, but those feelings are easily erased by a victory.
Such was the case for Bell on Sunday at the Daytona Road Course when the 26-year-old scored his first-ever NASCAR Cup victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253. Bell’s 2.119-second victory over Joey Logano meant that for just the third time in NASCAR Cup Series history the season’s first two races were won by drivers claiming their inaugural victory. Michael McDowell opened the season a week earlier with his first Cup victory in the Daytona 500. The other two years in which the feat was accomplished were 1949 and 1950.
“This is the happiest moment I’ve had in a very long time,” Bell said. “2020 was one of the hardest seasons I’ve ever had in my racing career. I think I won a race at the Chili Bowl and that was it for the rest of the year. That’s, obviously, up against the Cup guys and on the dirt side. 2020 was a really, really low point for me. To be able to come back in ’21 and win in the Cup Series this early on a road course is something that I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life.”
After two full seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series where Bell collected 16 victories, he moved into the Cup Series full time last year with Leavine Family Racing. In his first Cup season, he recorded seven top-10 finishes, two of those in the top five.
When Ty Gibbs entered the Super Start Batteries 188 at the Daytona Road Course the 18-year-old had never competed in a NASCAR Xfinity race nor had he ever driven one of the series’ cars.
Yet, the …
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
When NASCAR’s Cup Series receives the green flag Sunday on the Daytona Road Course the event ushers in a part of the premier division’s schedule unlike anything ever seen previously.
This …
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – During Michael McDowell’ childhood the Arizona native dreamed of becoming a race car driver, but the 36-year-old NASCAR competitor never thought about being a Daytona 500 champion.
However, that is now the …
By Jonathan Ingram | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There was a new feel to NASCAR and its Cup Series at this year’s Daytona 500. New team owners like former NBA star Michael Jordan and hip …
Journyman driver Michael McDowell won his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday and it was a biggie.
With a group of wrecking and burning cars just behind him, McDowell was awarded the victory in the …
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By Jonathan Ingram | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
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By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
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By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla – Austin Cindric’s mission was quite simple after a pit road speeding penalty cost him a lap in Thursday night’s first Bluegreen Vacations Duel – make sure …