NASCAR celebrates 75th anniversary beginning with Daytona 500
As NASCAR’s diamond anniversary season prepares to hit high gear at Daytona InternationalSpeedway, the sport’s biggest race looms as a microcosm of the many stories that will be toldthroughout a season that culminates once again with Championship Week at Phoenix Raceway.
We’ve come a long way from racing on the sandy shores of Florida and the trading of fistsbetween Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough, but the prestige of winning the Great AmericanRace remains.All eyes will be on Tucson-born Alex Bowman, who missed five races at the end of last seasondue to a wreck that spurred concussion-like symptoms. Speedweek in Daytona started off onthe right foot for the 29-year-old, after Hendrick Motorsports announced on Wednesday they’dbe extending the driver of the No. 48 to a contract extension through 2026.But it didn’t stop there.
In single-car qualifying, Bowman laid down a blistering fast lap around the World Center ofRacing and clocked in at 49.536 seconds (181.686 mph) — 0.172 seconds quicker than thenext-fastest driver Kyle Larson — which was more than enough to earn him his third pole for theDaytona 500.In scoring the preferred starting position, Bowman made history by recording his sixth-straightfront-row start in the Great American Race.
“It’s special to have a record like that,” Bowman said. “I think it’s really cool to have the mostfront row starts (in the Daytona 500) and to have six in a row is incredible, but it really just goesdown to the people building the race cars and working on them.“If you’re ever going to win a pole throughout the year, this is the one you want. I’m glad to be apart of it and to have done it the last six years, and with the contract extension, who knows howlong it can go.”While the Chevrolets showcased raw speed, it appears Ford may be the manufacturer to beat Sunday in the 65th running of the 500 (11:30 a.m., Fox).
The “blue ovals” swept both 60-lap qualifying races on Thursday night, which foundreigning champion Joey Logano picking up where he left off and 38-year-old Aric Almirolarelaying to the competition why he opted out of retirement towards the end of last year.Another Ford to keep an eye on will be Kevin Harvick, who announced he would be retiring atthe end of the season and transitioning to the Fox Sports booth next year. The future Hall ofFamer is sitting at 60 wins and seeking a second Daytona 500 victory in his 22nd and finalattempt.“My mentality heading into our last Cup season is to do the exact same things we’ve done forthe last 22 years,” Harvick said. “That’s be competitive and make sure that every week youshow up at the racetrack and do all that you can do for your teammates. We’re going to laughand pat each other on the back and tell each other how much we’ve enjoyed the beginning daysall the way through to the end.”As one career prepares to come to a close, two new ones begin as Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbsduke it out for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. This will undoubtedly be one of the mostintriguing storylines to follow all season, seeing as both drivers have had a history ascombatants with a knack for dominance racing in NASCAR’s developmental series.The incoming rookies won both NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Phoenix in 2022 — Gragson inhis first of an eventual series-high eight victories, and Gibbs in the season finale, where he wascrowned champion.
“I’m excited to chase the Rookie of the Year title,” Gragson said. “I think it’s going to be intenseand exciting, but I’m not out there just to beat Ty every weekend. I’m out there to try and bebetter each and every weekend and drive the car as best as I can. It’s a great opportunity andI’m really excited for it.”Whether a rookie or a seven-time champion, the Daytona 500 is anyone’s race, as madeevident by last year’s winner of NASCAR’s Super Bowl and reigning Rookie of the Year AustinCindric.Speaking of seven-time champions, Jimmie Johnson headlines the list of four drivers who werenot locked in to qualify for the Great American Race. NASCAR’s GOAT returns from histwo-year stint racing in IndyCar as a part-time driver and co-owner of Legacy Motor Club(formerly Petty GMS Racing).Joining Johnson are three drivers making their first Daytona 500 start: motorsports legendTravis Pastrana driving for Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing, IndyCar regular Conor Dalycompeting for Floyd Mayweather’s The Money Team Racing and current NASCAR CraftsmanTruck Series Champion Zane Smith.While the stacked quartet of open drivers have as good a shot as anyone to make some waves,there will be a plethora of drivers racing for new teams full time hoping to make a good firstimpression.Most notably, Kyle Busch has moved from the No. 18 at Joe Gibbs Racing to the No. 8 atRichard Childress Racing and is back in a Chevy after 15 years. Others looking to make astatement are Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 with 23XI, Ryan Preece in the No. 41 forStewart-Haas Racing and A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 16 for Kaulig Racing, who returns tofull-time competition at NASCAR’s top level for the first time since 2018.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NASCAR celebrates 75th anniversary beginning with Daytona 500
