Qualifying for the DRIVE4COPD 300 is complete at Daytona International Speedway. With a red flag flying only six minutes from the end of Segment 1, the TriStar Motorsports Toyota Camrys were parked on pit road and car covers were put on.

When the green flag flew once again, all of the TriStar Motorsports cars decided not to return to the track and kept their fastest lap time from the beginning 19 minutes. At the end of Segment 1, the rain returned to Daytona International Speedway and the remaining two Segments were cancelled.

Below are the following results for the DRIVE4COPD 300 qualifying:

Jeff Green and the No. 91 Support Military Foundation Toyota Camry qualified eighth for tomorrow's race with a fastest speed of 190.783 and a best time of 47.174.

"I am proud of our team effort and I believe that we showed today that TriStar Motorsports has a lot to offer this season," said Green. "I am proud to have the Support Military Foundation on board this week and look forward to tomorrow's race."

David Starr and the No. 10 BYF.org Toyota Camry qualified 10^th with a fastest speed of 190.722 and a best time of 47.189.

"I cannot thank my sponsors and my team enough for giving me a fast racecar," exclaimed Starr. "I am so happy and honored to be driving for Mark Smith and TriStar Motorsports and I cannot wait to get in the car tomorrow and race!"

Blake Koch and the No.44 Son of God Toyota Camry qualified 11^th for the DRIVE4COPD 300 with a fastest speed of 190.674 and a best time of 47.201.

"I am really happy with my qualifying run and it was fun to have the group of TriStar Motorsports Toyota Camrys making a pack run," said Koch. "We out ran some of the higher dollar teams who have more resources than us and I couldn't be more proud of my guys who gave me a great car this weekend."

Mike Bliss and the No.19 Tweaker Energy Shot Toyota Camry qualified 12^th for tomorrow's race with a best speed of 190.646 and a best time of 47.208.

"The Tweaker Energy Shot Camry was really fast in the pack and I couldn't be happier that all of the TriStar Motorsports cars are starting in the top-15," said Bliss. "I greatly appreciate Tweaker Energy Shots for coming back on board this season and look forward to tomorrow's race."

Eric McClure and the No.14 Hefty® /Reynolds Wrap® Toyota Camry qualified for the DRIVE4COPD 300 in the 13^th position with a best time of 47.213 and a best speed of 190.625.

"I am really happy with the way all five TriStar Motorsports Toyota Camrys qualified today," said McClure. "All of our Toyota Camrys have great speed and it should be a great race tomorrow!"

TMI PR

Valvoline^TM, a leading marketer, distributor and producer of quality branded automotive and industrial products and services, today announced that it has entered into a multi-year sponsorship agreement with JR Motorsports. The sponsorship will kick off at the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

The Official Lubricants Supplier of JR Motorsports beginning in 2014, the Valvoline brand will be featured as an associate sponsor of the team’s Chevrolet Camaro race cars. The company will utilize Nationwide Series drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Regan Smith and Chase Elliott to promote Valvoline premium motor oil products. In addition, JR Motorsports will use a specially designed Valvoline racing formulation in its Chevrolet racing engines.

“The Valvoline team is thrilled to serve as the technology partner to JR Motorsports,” said Heidi Matheys, senior vice president of Valvoline’s Do-It-Yourself channel. “This is a great opportunity to feature our innovative American brand of motor oil and extend our racing heritage and relationship with the Hendrick Motorsports family.”

“We welcome this Valvoline partnership with open arms because it is an innovative American brand that has a great racing heritage and a winning motor oil race history,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports. “The Valvoline brand fits well within the fabric of our company.  We have a great respect for its history in our sport and its impact in the automotive industry.”

Valvoline PR

Today, MAKE Motorsports announces it will debut veteran driver Travis Kvapil with a new sponsor the Fallen Linemen Foundation at the Fox Sports 1 televised Nextra Energy Resources 250. Veteran crew chief Randy Dean will be calling the shots for the MAKE Motorsports team. The race will take place at the Daytona International Speedway this Friday, February 21st.

The 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck series champion Travis Kvapil will drive the #50 International Lineman Museum honoring the Fallen Lineman Foundation. The #50 Chevrolet will sport their logo, and associated graphics on the hood and rear-quarter panels.The partnership with the International Lineman Museum is to bring awareness to the museum as well as support to the Fallen Lineman Foundation.

Andy Price, Founder of the International Linemen Museum, says "We are raffling a 2014 Harley Davidson Street Glide to benefit the International Lineman Museum and Hall of Fame located in Shelby North Carolina. This partnership with MAKE is to announce this raffle as well as honor fallen lineman. You can buy tickets online at linemanmuseumride.com

MAKE Motorsports PR

Five days filled with drama, worry and apprehension came to a happy conclusion for the Wood Brothers and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane race team Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway. With the pressure squarely on his 23-year-old shoulders, Trevor Bayne drove one of his best races ever, avoided a last-lap collision in the second of two Budweiser Duels and earned the team a cherished starting spot in the 56th annual Daytona 500.

Team co-owner Len Wood said he couldn’t have been more proud of Bayne and the entire Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.

“I hugged him about five times after the race,” Wood said. “He did exactly what he had to do. We were in a tight spot, and the last thing I said to him before the race was: ‘It’s on you, bud.”

And it truly was.

In many a recent season, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team had the luxury of a fast qualifying time to fall back on in case there was an issue in the 150-lap qualifying Duel.  This year, the team had no such assurance as Bayne was just 26th fastest in last Sunday’s pole qualifying session. That meant a top-15 finish in the Duels was the key to putting the iconic No. 21 Ford Fusion in the starting field for the Great American Race.

Then the drama ratcheted up a notch on Wednesday when a crash in practice damaged the front end of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion.

Crew chief Donnie Wingo led the way in making the necessary repairs and put Bayne on the track for Thursday night’s Duel with a car that had the speed needed to jump from his 13th starting position to seventh in just four laps.

As the 60-lap race continued to unfold, Bayne dropped back a bit but kept his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion in a transfer spot most every lap. One of the key moments of the race came with 24 laps remaining when Bayne headed to pit road for his only stop of the race.

“We knew the critical part of the race was going to be the pit stop,” Wood said. “Trevor nailed it. He didn’t slide the tires, he didn’t speed, and he did a good job getting on and off pit road. And the crew did their part too. It was a great stop.”

As the laps wound down, Bayne began moving forward, and was inside the top 10 on the final lap when a multi-car crash erupted just behind him. With the race ending under the caution flag, Bayne was credited with sixth place and will start the 500 from the 14th position.

“It was more than nerve-wracking,” Bayne said. “I was waiting on what happened off of [Turn] Four to happen a lot earlier. Fortunately, we just happened to go to the bottom.”

“I can’t take credit for any of that. That’s just being at the right place at the right time, and I’m just so thankful for this team.”

Bayne said that like his car owners and the rest of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew he too has felt the pressure the past few days.

“I’m not going to lie,” he said. “I kind of take it for granted all the time when we qualify good and don’t have to worry about these Duels, but we did it when it mattered, and I’m really proud of these guys.”
 
“They’ve worked hard on this car and deserve to be in the 500.”

There will be one extra special person in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane pit area when the green flag drops on Sunday. As soon as Thursday’s Duels were over, team co-owner Eddie Wood took off for Stuart, Va., to pick up his father, the team’s founder and family patriarch Glen Wood. They will drive back to Daytona for Glen Wood’s 68th consecutive Speedweeks, a stretch that dates back to the era when races were held on the old beach-road course.

“He’s been coming here since 1947,” Len Wood said. “The first time he came to be with his hero Curtis Turner.”

Since then, Glen Wood has gone on to a NASCAR Hall of Fame career and has been associated with many racing heroes at Daytona. His cars have won the 500 five times, most recently with Bayne, the 2011 winner who will begin Sunday’s race from his highest Daytona 500 starting spot yet.

 Donnie Wingo, the veteran crew chief, figures the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion is back to the superspeedway form that Glen Wood has come to expect over the years.

“It’s been nerve-wracking, but I think everything is good now,” Wingo said.

Wood Brothers Racing PR

Race Highlights:

    Brian Scott started sixth in the second 60-lap Daytona Duel
    A fifth-place finish secured a 12th-place starting position for Scott to make his first Daytona 500.
    Next up for Scott is Sunday's Great American Race. The Daytona 500 airs February 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX.  

 

Brian Scott Captures Daytona 500 Starting Position after a Fifth-Place Finish in the Daytona Duel at Daytona International Speedway  

 

Brian Scott had one goal in mind when starting the second Duel race at Daytona International Speedway, earn a spot in one of NASCAR's most prestigious events -- the Daytona 500. Scott rolled off sixth in his No. 33 Whitetail Chevrolet to begin the 60-lap segment. The 26-year-old native of Idaho chose the top line around the track and it paid off. It was the fastest line and the team immediately shot to the fourth position joining a single-file freight train. Crew chief Nick Harrison brought Scott to pit road for a gas-and-go stop on lap 36 and the Whitetail crew quickly returned Scott to the track with 24 laps to go. As the field cycled through pit stops, the No. 33 driver was in sixth place. Scott, racing and learning from veteran Sprint Cup drivers, demonstrated complete control. His skills enabled him to take the checkered flag in the fifth position. In only his second Sprint Cup start, Scott will line up 12th for the 56th running of the Daytona 500.

 

                     Start - Sixth          Finish - Fifth          Laps Led - 0          Pts - N/A

Brian Scott Quote:
"The first part of the race we were just riding fourth and I thought it would be great if the whole race will go this way. I knew that pit stops would shake it up. We kind of committed to the bottom and we got the outside groove to go around us and we fell to the back. I knew it would get exciting there at the end. I'm just proud that we were able to get the Whitetail Chevrolet back towards the front and finish fifth and get us a good starting spot in the Daytona 500."  

RCR/Circle Sport PR

Race Highlights:

    Richard Childress Racing drivers Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon finished 10th and 19th in the first Daytona Duel. In the second 60-lap event, Paul Menard finished fourth

    Next up for the RCR NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams is Sunday's Great American Race. The 56th running of the Daytona 500 airs February 23 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.    

Austin Dillon Finishes in 19th Place in Duel at Daytona; Slated to Start Daytona 500 from the Pole Position on Sunday

Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing's No. 3 Dow Chevrolet SS to a 19th-place finish in the first of two Duel qualifying races contested at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday evening, after leading the field to the green-flag for the 60-lap event. Dillon chose the high line at the start of the race and led the first 13 laps before a pack of cars utilizing the inside line made a charge towards the front, causing Dillon to drop to eighth in the running order. The Welcome, N.C., driver pitted for right-side tires and fuel on lap 37. Dillon and his Gil Martin-led team played a conservative strategy, ultimately posting a 19th-place finish. They will start first in Sunday's 56th running of the Daytona 500.

Start - 1           Finish - 19       Laps Led - 13         Points - N/A   
 
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
"I can't say enough about Gil Martin and all of the guys on the No. 3 Dow Chevrolet Team. They have given me an extremely fast and well-handling car. We came out here tonight and did what we needed to do. We have the fastest car for Sunday and we sit on the pole."
 
2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards

Paul Menard Finishes Fourth in Duel 150 No. 2 at Daytona, Will Start 10th in Daytona 500

Paul Menard and the No. 27 Peak/Menards Chevrolet SS team of Richard Childress Racing had a task ahead of them before the green flag even waved over the 24-car field in the second Duel 150 at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday night. Despite posting the 10th-fastest time the previous Sunday in Daytona 500 qualifying, they were caught up in a multi-car wreck during practice on Wednesday afternoon forcing them to their back-up Chevrolet. The result was starting at the tail end of the field for the 60-lap race to determine the final starting line-up for this Sunday's Daytona 500. Menard utilized a conservative strategy for the early stages of the race to see how the back-up car was going to perform. When the field went single-file racing by lap eight, he was in 12he place. After making his only pit stop on lap 36, to only take on fuel, he returned to action in eighth place. During the white-flag lap, he worked his way to fifth and used some side drafting, decisive moves and ECR Engines power to take the checkered flag in fourth place. As a result, he will start 10th in the 56th running of the Daytona 500.

Start - 10th     Finish - 4th     Laps Led - 0    Points - NA

PAUL MENARD QUOTE: "The car was pretty solid and I was able to side draft pretty good with some cars out there, but not all of them. I'd try to make a run and the momentum seemed to stall out a little. When I went to make something happen to gain positions, it didn't' work out. But, we did well on our gas-only pit stop. I learned a lot of things we can use in Sunday's Daytona 500 and everybody at RCR - the fab shop, body shop, ECR engines - they build fast race cars as we have shown all Speedweeks.  All of our cars have been really quick."

  2011 CC Team Logo NSCS 31 CAT

Ryan Newman Finishes 10th in the First Daytona Duel and Will Start 19th in the 56th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway 

No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS driver Ryan Newman finished 10th in Thursday night's first Daytona Duel that helped determine starting positions three through 31 for Sunday's Daytona 500. Newman used the 60-lap, caution-free event to shake down his CAT Chevy for the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season. Shortly after the halfway mark, Newman raced in sixth position and reported no handling issues. The first, and only time, crew chief Luke Lambert called his driver to pit road was on lap 38 for two right-side tires and fuel. Newman returned to the track to draft with Chevrolet teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., for the final 20 laps and crossed the line in 10th place. The result secured the 19th-starting spot in the Daytona 500 for the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team.  


Start - 5         Finish - 10         Laps Led - 0         Points - N/A

 RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE:

"The outside lane won the race. The outside lane won the start of the race and the outside lane won the end of the race. I had a big run there at the end and I got blocked. From that point on, I just didn't want to take the risk and damage this CAT Chevrolet. It's a really good car. Like I say, my race isn't until Sunday and we will see how we do then. The guys had a good pit stop and I feel confident. All and all, I really feel good about our chances and I hope I can make another trip to Daytona's victory lane on Sunday."

RCR PR

Carsforsale.com is proud to announce a partnership with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Landon Cassill at Daytona Speedweeks.  As part of this exciting, new partnership, Carsforsale.com has become the primary sponsor for Hillman Racing's No. 40 Chevrolet SS starting in Thursday night's Daytona Duel No. 2 Qualifying Race, which leads into the 56th running of the Daytona 500.

"I'm just excited to have the opportunity to go to Daytona and compete in the biggest NASCAR race of the season," said Cassill, who on Thursday night will attempt to qualify for his second Daytona 500.  "Being from a family that is in the car business, it's a privilege to represent a company like Carsforsale.com, that sees a value in NASCAR.  We're hoping to reward them with a starting spot in the Daytona 500.  With everything we've done so far to prepare for Daytona – from testing in January through our 32nd-place qualifying run last Sunday – I believe we've put ourselves in a great position for a strong run in the Duels and to continue that on Sunday in the Daytona 500.  We acquired a superspeedway car from Richard Childress Racing complete with an ECR (Earnhardt-Childress Racing) engine.  Mike Hillman has invested a lot in his attempt to make the Daytona 500 for the first time as a car owner."

"Carsforsale.com is proud to sponsor the No. 40 car, driven by Landon Cassill this weekend," explained Sean Coffman, the CEO of Carsforsale.com. "For us, this is a way to say thanks to our subscribing dealers across the country.  Carsforsale.com has over 16,500 dealers that rely on us to drive even more leads to their inventory.  Our goal is to increase awareness of the Carsforsale.com brand, and this is another great opportunity to do that.  We are excited to see the Carsforsale.com Car circle the track throughout the weekend on national television, and we are confident of landing a starting position in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.  We hope for a fun and safe weekend for the drivers and millions of NASCAR fans across the country.  Most of all, best of luck to Landon in the No. 40 Carsforsale.com Car!"

Headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD, Carsforsale.com is one of the fastest-growing online automotive websites.  Carsforsale.com provides over 16,500 auto dealers with a full suite of tools, as well as means for private sellers to connect with buyers and sell their car for free.

Landon Cassill is a 24-year-old American stock car racing driver and former development driver for Hendrick Motorsports.  In 2008, Cassill won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year.  In addition, Cassill broke the track record at the world-famous Gresham Motorsports Park track on March 23rd, 2013.

Cassill will drive the No. 40 Carforsale.com Car at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel Qualifying Races, which make their primetime debut on Thursday, February 20th, 2014.  Daytona Speedweeks culminates with the 56th edition of "The Great American Race," which will air at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday, February 23rd.

Hillman Racing PR

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 13th in the first Budweiser Duel qualifying race Thursday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

The Budweiser Duel consists of twin qualifying races that set the 43-car field for the season-opening Daytona 500, and Patrick earned the 27th starting position for Sunday’s race. However, because the GoDaddy team changed an engine earlier in the week, per NASCAR rules, Patrick will drop to the rear of the field before the green flag drops on the “Great American Race.”

Despite having to drop to the rear of the field, Patrick and the GoDaddy team escaped any significant damage in the Budweiser Duel, a concern for drivers and teams every year.

“I think every time there is a chance that something could happen, then you worry that it could happen,” Patrick said. “From a couple of days ago, it was really more the mentality ‘Let’s just go out and race,’ and ‘Let’s just see if we can make something happen.’ ‘Let’s see what happens when we try various different things.’ That is kind of what I did out there. I kind of keep getting the same results when I try things as in like when I try this, this happens. When I try that, that happens. That’s all good information for Sunday, to be honest.”

Patrick knows she will have to come from the rear of the field but is confident in her ability to do it.

“It could be challenging, but I think if you get a few people behind you, I think it will be fine,” Patrick said. “I know my GoDaddy pit crew is really good, so I know when it comes to pit stops, they’ll help get cars behind me. They are awesome. I know that (crew chief Tony) Gibson will try strategy to get me track position. With those two things, we’ll get in the thick of it. From there it will be a matter of using those things that I have learned over the last week and put them to good use.”

TSC PR