Power Rankings: Famous Daytona 500 finishes Welcome to the 2016 season's Power Rankings. As always, Power Rankings are far from a scientific formula. In fact, it's the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. Direct all your complaints to us at [email protected] and we'll try to have some fun. We're taking a bit of a detour this week. Since we only have a … [Read more...]

Why 74-year-old Morgan Shepherd is still racing DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There are as many ways to lose at Daytona as there are cars which have driven it. But it's tough to imagine a more frustrating way to lose than Morgan Shepherd suffered in the summer of 1989. Shepherd, driving the No. 75 Valvoline Pontiac, had the finest car on the track, no mean feat when the field included Dale … [Read more...]

Wrecks at Daytona can mean questionable backup cars DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—At Daytona, it’s not where you start, it’s what you’re starting in. Thursday night’s first Can-Am Duel was an exhibition of pure power, Dale Earnhardt Jr. swatting away all challengers with ease. The second Duel was a 200-mph freight train, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson proceeding through 59 and one-fourth … [Read more...]

Denny Hamlin predicted his Daytona 500 win in second grade Denny Hamlin's second grade prophecy has been fulfilled. His mother Mary Lou tweeted a picture of a note Hamlin wrote when he was a kid saying that he would be a Daytona 500 winner. Hamlin won Sunday's race over Martin Truex Jr. by .010 seconds. It's the closest finish in Daytona 500 history: This was written by @dennyhamlin in … [Read more...]

Quick takeaways from the Daytona 500 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Throughout 2016 we may have way too many quick thoughts for our post-race posts. So consider our new Takeaways feature to be the home of our random and sometimes intelligent musings. Sometimes the post may have a theme. Sometimes it may just be a mess of unrelated thoughts. Make sure you tweet us your thoughts after the race or … [Read more...]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes classic in new Goodyear ad There's nothing better than old-school NASCAR with an Earnhardt, and in this Goodyear video provided exclusively to Yahoo Sports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. reconnects with some old-school racing ... on Goodyear tires, of course. Enjoy. … [Read more...]

Tony Stewart offers updates on his condition, Daytona regrets DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Tony Stewart is watching the Daytona 500 from the same vantage point as you— the other side of a television — and he's not happy about it. Stewart called in twice to Fox Sports' Daytona 500 coverage on Sunday to offer updates on his condition two weeks after suffering a severe back injury while off-road … [Read more...]

Drivers continue calls for less grassy areas inside of tracks DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – Jimmie Johnson did a nice job keeping his car off the inside wall when he went sliding from contact on the backstretch during Saturday's Sprint Unlimited. But despite the lack of contact with the wall, Johnson's race was over. Why? He slid through the grass that's between the track and the inside wall at … [Read more...]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrecks out of Daytona 500 with 30 laps left DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It wasn't a great day for historic names at Daytona International Speedway. Chase Elliott, son of Hall of Famer Bill Elliott and polesitter for Sunday's Daytona 500, spun just 18 laps into the race. With 30 laps remaining in the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost control of his car and also spun, hitting … [Read more...]

Elliott and Patrick wrecks reaffirm requests for less grass at tracks DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – One of the dominant topics of Tuesday's pre-Daytona 500 media day was safety. And one of those safety-related topics concerned the presence of grass on the inside of NASCAR tracks. "It looks pretty but the grass is one thing that tears many race cars apart," AJ Allmendinger said Tuesday. During … [Read more...]