DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Daniel Hemric was surprised. Actually, shocked might be a better description. But when Daytona 500 single-car qualifying shook out on Sunday, Hemric was fifth on the board, behind only the dominant Hendrick Motorsports quartet of Busch Pole winner William Byron, Alex Bowman, Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott. “We never got to do […]

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Rick Hendrick smiled widely and acknowledged that his team’s 1-2-3-4 sweep of Daytona 500 pole qualifying is as good an omen as his championship organization could hope for. He loves the historical significance and the present message about their preparation for the season’s biggest race. A couple hours later, he was […]

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Crew chief Chad Knaus may not have discovered the fountain of youth in “trading” 43-year-old Jimmie Johnson for a driver less than half his age, but there was definitely a bounce in Knaus’ stride as he hastened to congratulate his new charge, 21-year-old William Byron, on his Daytona 500 pole-winning run. […]

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Paired for the first time with crew chief Chad Knaus, sophomore driver William Byron put his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the pole for the Feb. 17 Daytona 500 on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), leading a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four […]

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Jimmie Johnson, who had crashed in the past six running of the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, found a way to win the 2019 version of the season-opening exhibition race—by helping to trigger a wreck that eliminated nearly everyone else. Moments before a rainstorm halted the action and […]