NASCAR Cup Series revs up for Daytona 500 with new ride, new teams, new look

AP photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack / Alex Bowman (48) leads the field during the start of the second Daytona 500 qualifying race Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway.
AP photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack / Alex Bowman (48) leads the field during the start of the second Daytona 500 qualifying race Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Brad Keselowski knew his father was losing his battle with cancer when he promised him he would win last year's Daytona 500.

That effort ended in a fireball when Keselowski was involved in a last-lap crash while racing for the victory.

"I knew he was pretty sick, and his prognosis was he wasn't going to make it through the summer. I said, 'Dad, we're going to win the Daytona 500,'" Keselowski said. "It's bittersweet that it didn't happen while he was still alive."

Bob Keselowski died in December, and his son is back at Daytona International Speedway still trying to fulfill his promise. Keselowski will try to snap an 0-for-12 streak in the NASCAR Cup Series season opener with his new team.

He left Team Penske a month before his father died to join the ownership group of Jack Roush's organization. The rebranded RFK Racing team swept both Daytona 500 qualifying races to put the 38-year-old Keselowski - the 2012 Cup Series champion - next to 29-year-old teammate Chris Buescher in the second row of Sunday's starting lineup. Thursday night's wins were the first in any race since 2017 for a Roush organization in need of Keselowski's engagement to return to the ranks of NASCAR's elite.

And after a Hendrick Motorsports rout in Daytona 500 time trials made Chevy look like the dominant manufacturer, the Ford fleet has bounced back by showing it's ready to race. Ford drivers swept the top four spots in Thursday night's first qualifying race, then filled the top three in the second.

"I'm excited internally for us, what we believe we have, the capability we have and the opportunity ahead of us for the rest of the weekend and the rest of the year," Buescher said.

The Ford camp absolutely has its strategy figured out for Sunday, when all of its drivers are expected to work together to ensure a car with the blue oval emblem makes it to victory lane. That's proven to be the most effective approach at Daytona among the manufacturers, but it's more important than ever this year as Sunday marks the official debut of NASCAR's new ride.

The Next Gen car is designed to cut costs, help the smaller teams compete with the powerhouse organizations, improve the on-track product and give the manufacturers more brand identity. The Next Gen also provides an affordable entryway for potential new owners, two of whom will be part of the Daytona 500 for the first time.

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. is expected to be at the track when his No. 50 Chevrolet for The Money Team Racing makes its debut with Kaz Grala at the wheel, and Jacques Villeneuve - the former Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner - will make his first Daytona 500 start for European startup Team Hezeberg.

In addition, businessman John Cohen got into the race with Greg Biffle, who at age 52 will be the oldest driver in the field when he makes the start for NY Racing. Cohen and Mayweather are both Black and representative of NASCAR's push to increase diversity.

Last year, NBA legend Michael Jordan formed a team with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace - the only Black driver on the top circuit - made his first Cup Series career win the first victory for 23XI Racing, which has added a second driver this season in 2004 season champion Kurt Busch.

The entertainer Pitbull also joined an ownership group last year, and Cohen now has a partnership with the competition arm of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity Program. NY Racing hopes to build a full-time program around an up-and-coming Black driver.

And on Sunday, Jusan Hamilton will become the first Black race director to call the Daytona 500 in its 64th running.

"I hope it sets a positive example for others that, regardless of race and background, if you work hard and have a mindset toward your goal, it is achievable," the 31-year-old Hamilton said.

photo AP photo by David Graham / Chris Buescher, right, takes the checkered flag to win the second Daytona 500 qualifying race Thursday night.

FanDuel lists both three-time Daytona 500 winner Hamlin and reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson of Hendrick as 19-2 favorites to win the race. Larson will lead the field to the green flag after his pole-winning run Wednesday. He'll start alongside teammate Alex Bowman, who earned a front-row start for the fifth time in his career, and Hendrick drivers will have early control of the race for the seventh time in eight years.

Larson led a race-high 34 laps starting from the pole in his Thursday night qualifier before fading behind the Fords to finish seventh, two spots behind teammate Chase Elliott. Hamlin finished 15th in the second qualifier, far behind his organized Toyota teammates who finished fourth through seventh in the same race.

"There's good parity across the cars - we saw the Chevys were fast in qualifying, and in practices, different cars, different teams and different (manufacturers) have been fast," said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Racing.

Rushbrook also noted the strong showing from Keselowski and the "reenergized" RFK Racing group, which had lagged far behind other Ford teams and last qualified a driver for the playoffs in 2019.

"That team has been working so hard for so long, and they had success for so long," Rushbrook said. "They've certainly had some hard years. To see the smiles (after the qualifiers), not just Jack Roush in victory lane they want to win on Sunday. They want to win through the rest of the season. I think they can do it."

The race sold out more than a month in advance, and NASCAR expects at least 120,000 spectators. Track officials limited attendance last season because of COVID-19, and its last packed house was the 2020 Daytona 500 - four weeks before the coronavirus shut down sports in the United States. Donald Trump was the grand marshal that day, and the presence of a U.S president meant there were Secret Service checks to enter both the garage and the fan zone, creating a bottleneck of irritated folks waiting in long lines.

First-year track president Frank Kelleher said the Daytona staff has worked closely with vendors to prepare for the race and participated in several job fairs to ensure it had a large enough workforce.

"We're not immune to the crisis when it comes to labor and supply chain," said Kelleher, who noted the track hosted more than 160,000 in November for a four-day rock music festival. Last month's Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race also avoided any notable problems.

"We've been hosting numerous job fairs, and if you need 700 employees, let's make sure we have 1,000 on deck," Kelleher said. "We're ready to roll this weekend."

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