February 16, 2019 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael Annett won a numerologist’s delight on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. After an offseason change from No. 5 to No. 1 on the sides and roof of his JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Annett held off teammate Justin Allgaier in the NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at the 2.5-mile superspeedway to claim his first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in his 230th start. “Eight years in the series—this is amazing,” said Annett, who struggled through a 2018 season that failed to produce a single top-five finish. “I couldn’t have done…

February 16, 2019 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dressed as he is most days at the race track in a pressed white button-down shirt, Wrangler blue jeans - a team radio typically tucked in a side pocket – and cowboy boots, Richard Childress can hardly walk a foot at Daytona International Speedway without stopping for a handshake, an embrace, a pat on the back or quick pose for a fan’s photo. His shirt, these days, has a special emblem sewn in - a bright golden 50 on it. This week’s season-opening Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on…

February 15, 2019 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – You could call Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 a battle of attrition, but that wouldn’t do justice to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season opener. It was more like a long, full-blown war. In a race at Daytona International Speedway that saw a record 11 cautions, a record 55 caution laps and just nine of 32 trucks running at the finish, Austin Hill took the checkered flag on the 11th lap of NASCAR overtime to win for the first time in the series—in the Hattori Racing Enterprises…

Notebook Items: • Wreck in Daytona Clash practice clobbers four high-profile cars • Almirola took the high road after 2018 Daytona 500-Now he's back • ARCA, Menards announce multiyear entitlement deal February 9, 2019 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service Wreck in Daytona Clash practice clobbers four high-profile cars DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Thirty-four minutes into Saturday’s opening practice for the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, a session that had been relatively benign to that point went haywire for four prominent drivers. Drafting in a pack of cars through Turns 1 and 2, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet…

February 4, 2019 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – In a move that is both dramatic and emphatic, NASCAR announced on Monday that, for the first time as an official policy, cars will be subject to disqualification for post-race inspection failures. And NASCAR will declare the official winner of races in its top three national series before leaving the track on race day. “We’re changing the culture,” NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell said during a meeting with reporters at the NASCAR Research & Development Center. “Going forward, post-race inspection will take place at…

February 1, 2019 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Three legendary drivers and two of stock car racing’s most influential owners were honored with well-deserved induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday night. In one distinct way, the 10th Hall of Fame class is unique. Either as owners or drivers, all five members of the class competed against each other at some points in their careers. Four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon headlines a 2019 class that includes two drivers whose careers—and tragic loss of life –are inextricably intertwined. Alan Kulwicki, the last privateer…