Duel 2 at Daytona | Daytona Duels
Duel 1 at Daytona | Extended Highlights
Chase Elliott & Ryan Blaney tangle on final lap, Kyle Busch wins
Alex Bowman and William Byron Qualify on the Front Row of the 2021 DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2021) – Alex Bowman swapped car numbers for the 2021 season – from 88 to 48 – but has certainly retained his Daytona magic, earning the pole position for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver a record fourth consecutive front row start in the NASCAR Cup Series season-opener.
Bowman, 27, went out late in the qualifying order (38th of 44 drivers) Wednesday night – the first night-time pole qualifying session in race history – but his Chevrolet handily set the pace with a lap of 191.261 mph (47.056 secs.), taking the top-spot from Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron by more than a quarter-second during DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger.
“It was fast,” Byron said, smiling about Bowman’s pole-winning lap.
(more…)It’s Busch in the Busch Clash! Kyle Wins on DAYTONA Road Course After Elliott, Blaney Collide Coming to Checkered Flag
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2021) – Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch may carry the nickname “Rowdy” but it was a couple of his competitors acting that way that allowed him to move into the lead out of the final turn and earn his second career Busch Clash victory Tuesday night.
Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led only the length of a football field en route to the checkered flag – the only time he was out front all night at the exciting 14-turn Daytona International Speedway Road Course. But it was enough – earning the former champion his first victory with new crew chief, Ben Beshore, in the annual non-points exhibition that kicks off Daytona Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth.
Race runner-up Chase Elliott had been fighting with then-race leader Ryan Blaney for the lead as the cars went into the final sequence of turns – called the bus stop. They collided. Blaney’s pole-sitting No. 12 Ford hit the wall. Elliott was able to recover enough to head to the finish line but Busch had already gotten around them both to take a .765-second victory.
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