LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Race Preview: Daytona International Speedway II - Speedway Digest

Race Information

–Round: NASCAR Cup Series race No. 26 of 36

–Track Location: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.

–Race Name: Coke Zero 400

– Broadcast: Saturday, August 26th at 7:00 PM ET live on NBC (TV), MRN (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90

–Team Entrants:

No. 42 | Josh Berry & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Josh Berry, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Daytona International Speedway Stats

-NXS: Starts: 4; Best Start: 5th (2022), Best Finish: 16th (2022); Laps Led: 24

NCS Career Stats (2021-2023)

-Starts: 11; Best Start: 17th (Phoenix, 2023); Best Finish: 2nd (Richmond, 2023); Top 5’s: 1; Top 10s: 3

–About Sunseeker Resort:Opening in 2023, Florida’s newest luxury resort located in Charlotte Harbor is the first resort property of Sunseeker Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company. Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor occupies over 22 waterfront acres with 785 guest rooms, including 189 Signature Sunsuites™. Set upon the Peace River and Florida Gulf Coast, this premier resort offers 20 original food and beverage concepts; including seven stand-alone restaurants, eleven bars and lounges, two poolside offerings and a 25,000-square-foot multi-dining experience. Additional hotel amenities include a waterfront promenade, two unique rooftop and waterfront pool experiences, 60,000-square-feet of combined convention space, full-service spa and salon, a 7,100-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness center with four group exercise studios with specialty instructor lead classes, three retail and market shops, and an 18-hole championship level golf club exclusive to hotel guests only. The resort is conveniently located within a short drive of Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg-Clearwater, and Tampa airports. For more information, visitwww.sunseekerresorts.com. Follow us on Instagram:@sunseekerresortsand like us on Facebook:@sunseekerresorts.

First Timer: Josh Berry will make his first start at Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday night. He has 11 total starts in the NCS so far in his career, eight of which came this season when he filled in at Hendrick Motorsports in the Nos. 9 and 48 Chevrolets. Berry also drove the No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 6.

Lambert at Daytona: Crew Chief Luke Lambert has called 19 NCS races at Daytona with five different drivers resulting in two top-five and six top-10 finishes. He has four NXS starts with two different drivers resulting in two top-five and three top-10 finishes, including one start on the front row at the superspeedway.

Quoting Josh Berry: “Making my first Cup Series start at Daytona is definitely a dream come true. It’s what every racer dreams of and I get to do that this weekend. Not long ago I thought I was going to be a career short track racer, so to know that I get to make my first start at Daytona in a Cup car just shows that you should never give up.”

What are your expectations for the race?

“It’s going to be a learning curve to start the race, especially without practice. These cars draft differently than the Xfinity cars do and we’ve seen drivers be able to tandem a little bit to gain momentum and move forward. If we can just keep it clean and be there at the end, that is our plan.”

What has this week been like preparing for this event?

“It’s definitely been a little easier preparing for Daytona knowing ahead of time that I would be in the No. 42. Being able to sit in the car beforehand, get everything where I need it, is key. I have been able to lean on Dale Jr, Erik (Jones) and everyone over at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to figure out what to expect this weekend, so I feel as ready as can be to get to Daytona.”

Will you learn anything from the Xfinity Series race on Friday night that can translate over to Saturday’s Cup Series event?

“There’s not too much that will translate over from the Xfinity car to the Cup car but I’ll be able to feel how the track transitions at different times of the evening and how the cars react to the weather. The line changes a little bit depending on the sun and when it sets, so it’ll be nice to see what lane is preferred on Friday before hopping in the Cup car on Saturday.”