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In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 3rd Place – Joey Logano – 5034 pts By the Numbers: 2 Wins in the First 4 Races – Joey Logano might have one of the bigger beefs with the COVID-induced 10-week break from racing in 2020. The first 4 pre-pandemic races went very well for Joey, as he won at both Las Vegas and Phoenix. His next win didn’t come until Race 33 at Kansas 2, and he was plagued with inconsistency, perhaps due to the lack of practice that was necessary to keep the season rolling. 7.60 Average Finish in the Playoffs – Logano had a decent stretch near the end of the regular season, but really turned things on in the playoffs. His total average finish for the entire season was 11.89 (his 6th best of 12 Cup Series seasons), but his playoff average was 7.60. There is something to be said about peaking at the right time, and by that metric, Joey Logano earned his place in the final 4. 15 Career Races @ Las Vegas – Ranking best of all current Cup Series drivers, in 15 career Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Joey Logano has the best average finish, and it’s not all that close. With an 8.40 average finish, which includes two wins, his next closest competitor in that category is Ryan Blaney, a full 1.27 spots behind him. 84.4% Laps in Top 15 – Behind only Cup Champion Chase Elliott, Logano had the 2nd most laps spent in the top 15. It really is a curious statistic. Kevin Harvick finished with an average finish almost 5 spots better than Logano, and is seen to have dominated most of the 2020 season. However, Joey Logano spent 2% more time in the Top 15 than Harvick did. 6.5 Average Starting Position – Despite the grievance Logano may have had with the COVID-19 break from racing, the post-pandemic qualifying procedure really gave him every opportunity to succeed. Once qualifying was no longer possible, NASCAR substituted it with a math formula that prioritized speed and finish from the previous race, as well as owner points. Joey Logano had the best Average Starting Position in 2020, with 6.5 – though unfortunately that didn’t translate to a similar finishing position. Joey Logano will return to the Team Penske No. 22 Ford in 2021. Being a part of one of the top-tier teams, he can expect to be a contender in each race, and may even have a shot at repeating his trip to the Final 4. Coming up in two days – Brad Keselowski Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 4th Place – Denny Hamlin – 5033 pts By the Numbers: 7 Wins in 2020 – Kevin Harvick might have been the cream of the crop this year when it came to wins, but Denny Hamlin was a close second. He collected 7 wins over the course of the season, a feat he had only bested once before, when he scored 8 in 2010. 9.31 Average Finish – Despite one less win than in 2010, Hamlin had a much more consistent year in 2020. This year he had a 9.31 average finish, while 2010’s was 12.94 – a difference of 3.63 spots. This year’s average finish was the best of his career, but 2010 – despite an extra win – was only his 8th best season. 4th Best Career Win Percentage – Denny Hamlin has racked up 44 wins over the 542 starts he’s had in his Cup Series career. Only 3 drivers have a Winning Percentage better than Hamlin’s 8.12% – Brad Keselowski (8.23%), Kyle Busch (10.00%), and Jimmie Johnson (12.10%). In other words, Denny Hamlin wins, on average, every 12.32 races he starts. 59.4% Quality Passes – By far the worst of the Final 4 drivers, Denny Hamlin’s Quality Pass Percentage was 59.4%. This means that for each of Denny Hamlin’s passes under green, only 59.4% of them were done in the Top 15. Some of this may boil down to strategy, as Denny often elected to spend the majority of his time at restrictor plate tracks at the back of the field, moving forward nearer to the end of the race in an attempt to stay away from wrecks. 1 DNF – Denny Hamlin’s lone DNF (Did Not Finish) came at the 16th race of the season, at Indianapolis. Most DNFs have a lot to do with the driver, but many can be caused by defects in the vehicle (either as a result of damage or not). Not many drivers have the good fortune to drive for a top-tier team for their entire Cup Series careers, as Denny Hamlin has. Pair that with being a talented driver, and you have one of the best DNF rates of all drivers (7.6%) Denny Hamlin will continue his career with the same team that gave him his first shot at the Cup Series, Joe Gibbs Racing. He will return to the No. 11 Toyota in 2021. Coming up in two days – Joey Logano Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

-- Roush Fenway Racing Press Release -- ADVANCE NOTES Buescher in the Clash Buescher makes his second start in the annual Clash event on Tuesday, and first since 2017. The 2021 field is limited to 2020 pole winners, past Clash winners who competed full-time in 2020, Daytona 500 Champions who competed full-time in 2020, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full time in 2020 and 2020 NCS Playoff drivers, race winners and stage winners. Newman is coming off a fifth-place run in the exhibition race a season ago after starting on the pole following a random draw. He has four top-five results in the Clash all-time, including second in 2005, third in 2011 and fourth in 2003. The 2021 edition of the Clash moves to the Daytona Road Course, where the NASCAR Cup Series competed at for the first time last summer. Newman ran 19th in that event. Tuesday’s race serves as a primer for the newly-established second race of the NCS regular season, when the series heads right back to Daytona for a points event on the road course. The random draw to determine Tuesday’s starting lineup will take place Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. Luke Lambert in the Clash Lambert makes his sixth start in the Clash on Tuesday atop the box, after four prior appearances with Newman and one with Jeff Burton. Lambert has two finishes of eighth – one with Burton in 2011 and again in 2014 with Newman. QUOTE WORTHY Buescher on racing in the Clash: “Just getting back to the track in general is very exciting, and we’re ready to kick this thing off after a busy offseason. Hitting the road course at Daytona will be quite different for this format, but I’m a fan of road course racing and feel good about where we are, especially coming off the top five there last summer. We’re looking forward to it, and hopefully it gives us a solid plan for week two.” On the Car Fastenal returns to the fold at Roush Fenway for its 11th season in 2021. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping to the No. 17 Cup Series entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011. About Fastenal Fastenal [Nasdaq: FAST] is North America’s largest fastener distributor and a ‘one-stop’ source for hundreds of thousands of OEM, MRO and Construction products. With more than 2,600 stores worldwide, the company supports B2B customers with tailored local inventory and dedicated personnel, who visit regularly, quickly respond to emergency needs, and provide efficient inventory management solutions. Fastenal’s service-oriented business network includes the world’s largest industrial vending program, 14 regional distribution centers, 8 custom manufacturing facilities, thousands of delivery vehicles, and industry-leading sourcing, quality and engineering resources.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is fast approaching, and its predictions season. With the Daytona 500 almost a week away I went week by week, race by race, and I predicted the winner of every single points paying race of the 2021 Cup Series Schedule. Daytona 500- Denny Hamlin....Could anybody else really win this race? Daytona Road Course- Chase Elliott...DUH! Homestead- Denny Hamlin... As long as this race isn't the championship race Denny Hamlin has a good shot of winning here. Las Vegas 1- Joey Logano... Logano has won this race two years in a row, so I wanna gamble on Logano making it three in a row. Phoenix 1- Kevin Harvick... The Desert King gets his crown back, Harvick eventually has to win another at Phoenix. Atlanta 1- Kevin Harvick... 20 Years after the passing of Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick is the perfect driver to win this race. Bristol Dirt- Christopher Bell... HOT TAKE ALERT... Christopher Bell is the best sprint car racer in the world, sorry Larson fans, but Bell won't lose another dirt race to Larson this year. Martinsville- Chase Elliott... Chase will pickup his dominance from last fall from Martinsville. Richmond 1- Brad Keselowski... Brad, and Team Penske were the best on the flatish short tracks, and I think this dominance will happen again. Talladega 1- Ryan Blaney... If he wins a third race here in the last three years we're renaming it Tallablaney. Kansas 1- Joey Logano... Joey Logano goes back to back at Kansas. Admittedly this race was one of the hardest to predict. Kansas is very wide open this year. Darlington 1- Denny Hamlin...Dennis is one of the best of this era at Darlington surely if NASCAR goes there twice a year he can snag one. Dover- Alex Bowman... We've seen Bowman do well here, as well as the famed 48, and I think he's a favorite to win here. Circuit Of The Americas- Chase Elliott... If the track has left AND right turns its the place for Chase. Charlotte- Alex Bowman... He was the best early on in last years 600, and I think Alex Bowman could very easily win that race. Sonoma- Martin Truex Jr.... For his sake I hope we can finally go back to Sonoma. Nashville- Kyle Busch... A new track to the Cup Series, but in its hay day Kyle Busch dominated this track. Pocono 1- Denny Hamlin ... He's arguably the best to ever do it here, and if he wins one of the two races he's the all time Pocono wins leader. Pocono 2- Denny Hamlin... Read the line above. Road America- Chase Elliott... He's gonna win over half of these road course race, its just predicting which ones. Atlanta 2- Brad Keselowksi... When it was the second race of the season Brad traditionally dominated here, and I expect him to win one of these two races. New Hampshire- Brad Keselowski... Bad Brad goes back to back this time in the 750 HP package proving he's a title threat. Watkins Glen- Chase Elliott... Fun fact after Chase wins here Watkins Glen is deemed the Dawsonville of the north. Indianapolis Road Course- Chase Briscoe... He will probably have the most laps here of any driver in the field. The winner of the inaugural Xfinity Series race here Chase wins at home. Michigan- Kevin Harvick... He swept Michigan last year, and I expect him to be trimmed out and fit to win again. Daytona 2- Erik Jones... This race should be crazy so why not make a crazy pick. Playoff Drivers In On Wins: Chase Elliott- 5 Wins (Daytona RC, Martinsville 1, COTA, Road America, and Watkins Glen) Denny Hamlin- 5 Wins (Daytona 500, Homestead, Darlington 1, Pocono 1 &2) Kevin Harvick- 3 Wins (Phoenix 1, Atlanta 1, Michigan) Brad Keselowski- 3 Wins (Richmond 1, Atlanta 2, New Hampshire) Joey Logano- 2 Wins (Las Vegas 1, Kansas 1) Alex Bowman- 2 Wins (Dover, Charlotte) Martin Truex Jr.- 1 Win (Sonoma) Kyle Busch- 1 Win (Nashville) Ryan Blaney- 1 Win (Talladega 1) Christopher Bell- 1 Win (Bristol Dirt) Chase Briscoe- 1 Win (Indianapolis Road Course) Erik Jones- 1 Win (Daytona 2) Playoff Drivers In On Points: Kyle Larson William Byron Kurt Busch Aric Almirola Playoff Races Round 1 Darlington 2- Denny Hamlin... Break out the brooms here comes the sweep. Richmond 2- Brad Keselowski... Another sweep... if Brad gets to Phoenix he's gotta be the favorite right? Bristol- Kurt Busch... Might as well make his yearly win a big one at his best track. Round 2 Las Vegas 2- Kyle Busch... Back to back Busch brothers win at home... neither have dominated this track, but it changes here. Talladega 2- Alex Bowman... An underrated superspeedway racer Bowman uses the improved Chevrolet engines to win a wild one at Talladega. Charlotte Roval- Chase Elliott... Luke Combs said best, "Some things just go better together together, and probably always will," okay okay he didn't write it about Chase and the Roval, but he could've. Round 3 Texas- Christopher Bell... He comes back with a significantly better car this time, and he dominates his "home" track. Kansas 2- Denny Hamlin... Denny has won a race at Kansas each of the last two seasons, and he keeps the streak alive. Martinsville 2- Chase Elliott... Tick tock tick tock Chase gets another Grandfather Clock. Championship 4 Chase Elliott Alex Bowman Denny Hamlin Christopher Bell Phoenix 2- Alex Bowman... He wins a title at his hometrack... someone call Hollywood here's your movie script. Champion: Alex Bowman... He uses the spirit of Jimmie, and an improved Chevrolet engine package to dominate the playoffs and win the Cup championship.

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 5th Place – Kevin Harvick – 2410 pts By the Numbers: 13 Years – Not only was 2020 Kevin Harvick’s best season, it was the best season any driver has had for 13 years. With his 7.33 average finish (Nearly two whole spots better than Denny Hamlin, who came in 2nd in that category this year), Harvick made history. Strangely enough, the last time something like this happened was in 2007, when Jeff Gordon scored an identical 7.33 average finish. Even stranger still, just like Harvick, Gordon didn’t win the championship that year, either. 20 Top 5s – Kevin Harvick’s 2020 numbers are insane. He scored 20 Top 5s, which is more than Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and William Byron have in their entire careers. 33 Lead Lap Finishes – Not only was Kevin Harvick the only driver to not have a single DNF (Did Not Finish) in 2020, he also finished on the lead lap 33 times. At each of Martinsville 1, Homestead, and Texas 2, he finished just a single lap down. This means that Kevin Harvick finished the entire season completing all but 3 laps. 9 Wins in 2020 – With over 58% of races being won by just three drivers (Harvick, Denny Hamlin and eventual winner Chase Elliott), Kevin Harvick had the most of 2020 with 9. The last time a driver won 9 races in a single season was when Carl Edwards did it in 2008. Since then, 4 drivers (including Harvick once in 2018) managed to score 8 wins in a single season, but 9 is much more rare. 3 Starts – Near the beginning of his career, it only took Kevin Harvick 3 starts to earn his first ever win in the NASCAR Cup Series, in a season he wasn’t even planning to run in the first place. With the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500, Harvick (who had planned on running the full season one tier down in what was then called the Busch Series) was tapped by Richard Childress Racing to take over the car. In his 3rd start, he scored his first ever win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It may be difficult to have a better year in 2021, but Kevin Harvick will get the chance when he returns to Stewart-Haas Racing in the No. 4 Ford. At 45, Harvick will be the oldest driver in the field, some 24 years older than 2021 Rookie of the Year contender Anthony Alfredo. Coming up in two days – Denny Hamlin Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

Last week it was announced that Ty Dillon would be joining Gaunt Brothers Racing to attempt to make this year’s Daytona 500. My initial thoughts were that this could be a great opportunity for Dillon. After all, we all know any opportunity can lead to another, and any opportunity in NASCAR to race in the Daytona 500 is huge. We all know anyone has a chance at Daytona. I’m also a big fan of the “little guy”. Gaunt Brothers Racing is absolutely that. They’re a Toyota team with no factory support. Daniel Suarez drove for Gaunt Brothers Racing last season and you may remember that they failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. They did qualify and compete in the remaining 35 races last year. This season the team is looking to take a step back. Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press has reported they're looking to run 10 races this season. I’m hopeful that means that Ty Dillon can make the most of Daytona and drive however many races Gaunt Brothers Racing is able to run. This week it was announced that Dillon would be driving a partial schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series Beginning with the season opener at Daytona This is without a doubt a huge opportunity for Dillon. No matter anyone's opinions on the Gibbs stable there's no denying they have top equipment that can provide opportunities other teams simply can't. The problem is Joe Gibbs Racing has a log jam at the Cup Series level You have two Cup Series Champions and a 3 time Daytona 500 winner. Not to mention Christopher Bell who will be in his first full season in a Gibbs Car after satellite team Levine Family Racing shut down. You have to imagine he'll be given a lot of leeways to get his feet wet. There's absolutely nothing wrong with an Xfinity ride and it could always turn into more down the road. However, I can’t shake the belief that Ty Dillon deserves better. Dillon has driven full-time for Germain Racing since 2017. After Geico insurance announced their departure from the team, on top of the strain that the pandemic has put on every team, but especially small ones like Germain, they closed up shop. We saw numerous openings pop up during silly season. Richard Petty Motorsports passed on him, as did Chip Ganassi and countless others. I can’t help but wonder why? Perhaps most baffling of all is the fact that his grandfather, Richard Childress hasn’t done much to help his grandson’s prospects. All the while he has done everything to protect and ensure that Austin Dillon is the face of Richard Childress Racing. You could make an argument that up until 2020 that protection wasn’t deserved. How much success did he really have? Yes, he did win the 2018 Daytona 500 and that can never be taken from him. In this sport, Daytona is forever, just ask Trevor Bayne. He did also win at Charlotte in 2017. Once you get past that his results are simply just respectable. Don’t get me wrong, there are many drivers who like to have the success that Austin Dillon has had. However, his all to safe position sure seems to be due to some level of nepotism. I’m not trying to suggest that Austin Dillon isn’t talented. He absolutely is. I’m not even trying to suggest that he doesn’t belong at the Cup level. What I am trying to suggest is if he wasn’t the grandson of the owner of the team he would be under far more pressure to perform. Don’t believe me? How’d Daniel Hemric’s time at RCR work out? He was cut loose after just one season, his rookie year. I’m sure you’re sitting here reading this thinking something along the lines of “well Tyler Reddick needed a spot” Fair enough. How about Ryan Newman? He never finished lower than 18th in the standings during his tenure at RCR. Perhaps more importantly he finished 2nd in the standings in 2014, his first season at RCR. That’s something Austin Dillon hasn’t done. Once Newman left RCR why wasn’t Ty Dillon at the top of his grandfather’s list? Perhaps he was, but that doesn’t seem likely. It would have been a natural fit. Let’s not forget Germain Racing had a technical alliance with RCR. It’s always possible that Ty Dillon doesn’t want his grandfather’s help and doesn’t want to appear to only have a spot due to nepotism. If so, that is certainly commendable. No matter what, on the surface, it looks like Richard Childress has spent more time paying tribute to the legacy of Dale Earnhardt Sr then he has helped his other grandson in his NASCAR career in recent years. Before you think I’m suggesting something that I’m not, let me make it abundantly clear that I’m not discussing this on a personal level. I’m discussing this strictly in terms of business. I’m sure Richard Childress loves Ty more than words can express. However, when your grandfather is the owner of a NASCAR team and you’re staring down the barrel of a part-time season for a team that isn’t even the manufacturer of your grandfather’s team I think it's fair to wonder why. I'm aware that Richard financed Ty's career in the Truck and Xfinity Series but it is at least on the surface odd that in recent years he doesn't get the same type of financial favor that his brother does. Deep down we all probably know why. Sponsorship. Nothing happens in this sport without it. I think that it’s a major issue the sport faces. Think about some of the names we’ve seen go by the wayside because of it. Matt Kenseth comes to mind. He was shown the door by Joe Gibbs Racing and DeWalt in favor of Erik Jones. Yet Matt Kenseth had helped bring DeWalt to Gibbs. Michael Waltrip was essentially pushed aside for, at the time, a young and unproven Chase Elliott. The list could go on and on. Here we are again with Ty Dillon. I’ll never understand why guys like him are given one chance and if something happens that’s out of their control, they often have trouble ever finding their footing again. Ty won races for his grandfather on the Truck and Xfinity Series. He won stages for Germain Racing and often outperformed expectations. Look no further than when he had an average finish of 20th during the 2017 season. Make no mistake, Ty Dillion has a great opportunity at Gaunt Brothers Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series. Frankly, it's an opportunity that countless drivers would love. Again, I hope it turns into more for him. Nonetheless, I will always wonder how many careers have to get prematurely ended or derailed before there’s a better effort by the sport to ensure guys that deserve opportunities. Ty Dillon was one of, if not the first driver to support Bubba Wallace’s social stances last season, He had public conversations with Wallace about race in America. Why isn’t corporate America giving this young man a chance? If moral character matters, sponsors should start acting like it. Kyle Larson was welcomed back by sponsors. I believe it’s a well deserved second chance. However, so many are still waiting on that first real opportunity in this sport. Ty Dillon, like so many others, deserves better. Hopefully, Daytona is the start of him getting it. It's not insanity... It's Loganity!

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 6th Place – Alex Bowman – 2371 pts By the Numbers: 8.8 Average Finish in the Playoffs – In a strange nod to the number on the side of his car, Alex Bowman (who drove the 88 in 2020) performed at a high rate in the playoffs, collecting an 8.8 average finish. His collective average finish for the entire season was 14.72, but Alex Bowman put on quite a show in the playoffs, with 8 top 10s in the 10 races. 3 Top 10s @ the Charlotte Roval – Alex Bowman is not seen as a premiere road course driver. His career record at road courses amounts to zero wins and an average finish of 15.17. However, for some reason, Bowman loves the Charlotte Roval. Over the 3 races that have been run there, Bowman has finished 2nd, 4th, and most recently 8th – 3 top 10s. With more road courses than ever on the 2021 schedule, maybe Bowman can carry that success over to other road courses. 5.81 Positions Lost Per Race – In 2020, Alex Bowman finished races, on average, 5.81 spots worse than his qualifying position. That may be a bit unfair, as the COVID qualifying procedure became a mathematical formula rather than an on-track run. Nonetheless, for positions lost/gained in a race, Bowman wound up being the worst of all drivers in 2020. 1 Win in 2020 – The Win-and-You’re-In playoff format has been criticized at times, and Alex Bowman’s 2020 season may be a good example of why. With his only win of the season coming in the 3rd race, Bowman then had a fairly dismal regular season. As mentioned above, he seemed to find another gear during the playoffs, but his 9th place average points per race (29.28) might not justify the 6th place finish he wound up with in the end. 90 Points More than 2019 – Despite having a worse average finish than in 2019 (which incidentally was his best career year in that category), Bowman finished the 2020 season with 90 more points. Considering Bowman won 4 stages in 2020 (his first ever career stage wins), it seems Bowman found different ways of collecting points than just finishing position. Alex Bowman has a history of stepping into extremely big shoes. In 2018, Bowman officially took over the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet from a retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. He will continue to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, only this time he will be replacing the retiring Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Chevrolet. Coming up in two days – Kevin Harvick Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

--Press Release From Michael Shank Racing-- MSR finishes its 18th Rolex 24 At Daytona in debut race with the Acura ARX-05 Daytona Beach, Fla. (31 January 2021) – Meyer Shank Racing made a strong debut run in the Acura ARX-05 to fourth in this weekend’s 59th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona. The race finish was the first chapter as the two-time defending IMSA championship squad returns to Prototype class competition with Acura as the team targets a third consecutive IMSA championship title. MSR drivers Dane Cameron, Olivier Pla, Juan Pablo Montoya and AJ Allmendinger had their eyes set on claiming the coveted Cosmograph Daytona timepiece following 24 hours of day-to-night racing. Clocking in a record 39 pit stops to support the Acura through 807 laps of competition, the Meyer Shank Racing team pushed through 12 caution periods to finish its 18th Rolex 24 At Daytona. It was not an easy feat with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship welcoming in an additional class (LMP3) and bringing in an impressive and traffic-generating 49 car field of multi-class machinery. Starting from fourth on the grid, Cameron took the green flag and worked into his race pace through the first 30-minute fuel stint. Cameron’s opening stint gave the team plenty of information to make the most out of the next 22 hours of racing. With the green flag flying for a late afternoon (3:40pm) race start, Pla’s first stint saw the fast Frenchman racing into darkness. But, the opening stint for Pla was not trouble-free as he managed a throttle return problem. The team immediately worked to diagnose the issue after seeing fluctuating data that matched Pla’s feedback. Unable to diagnose the problem during the third driver exchange between Pla and Montoya, the team continued to monitor the car with no immediate need to pit. Montoya offered additional feedback and was able to determine that an electrical box on the right side of the cockpit had come loose occasionally sliding down from the g-forces and sticking to the throttle pedal. Masterful work by Montoya allowed him to grab and hold the electrical box coming out of the bus stop until pitting under yellow so that the team could secure it into place. With that potentially detrimental issue solved, the team continued its quick pace deep into the night, which generated just one caution period in eight hours of running. Allmendinger made his first appearance back in Prototype competition, having last driven a Daytona Prototype for MSR in 2016. Allmendinger’s 15 years of Rolex 24 experience and his 2012 overall victory was apparent as the veteran diced through traffic in his nighttime stint, holding the No. 60 Acura between a constant fourth and fifth place. While temperatures dropped, the MSR team made the decision to focus on double stinting its tires during the night in hopes that saving its slicks for the final hours would move the team back up through the running order later in the day. Upon daybreak, the Rolex clock still had seven hours remaining and there was a lot to fight for all the way to the checkered flag. Following a caution period with two and a half hours to go, Cameron took the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura to P1 where he made the restart. Handing the Acura off to Montoya for the final two stints, the 2019 IMSA champion preserved what was left of the fading balance of the car. But never backing out of the fight, Montoya was able to remain in contention and managed to advance one final spot in the final minutes of the race. Crossing the finish line with a battle-worn Acura, Montoya brought it home in fourth – a promising way to kick off the 2021 IMSA season. The Meyer Shank Racing squad will head back to Pataskala, Ohio to begin preparations for the next IMSA endurance classic – the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17-20. Team Quotes: Mike Shank: “It was an incredibly intense 24 hours that our guys worked so hard on. I’m really pleased with how all of the drivers came together for the first race, I think everyone gelled really well together. Unfortunately, we were not able to find a balance that the car liked and stayed consistent with. It was frustrating to have the car keep giving us fits the entire race and I hope that when we go home and take the car apart we can find the issue. The crew did a great job handling everything as well as our engineering team. We are proud to be a part of the Acura family and congratulations to Acura for securing their first Rolex 24 Hour win.” Dane Cameron: “All in all it was an okay day. Our goal for this race was to put ourselves in contention at the end of the day and we did that by finishing on the lead lap. The Meyer Shank Racing boys did a great job preparing the car and executing pit stops without issues. It is probably the first time in six or seven years that I have run this race without a problem on a pit stop. I am very pleased with the effort the guys put in with a short off-season and a large transition to a new program. We lacked a bit of speed today, but we were able to compete for a victory when it counted. We will take good points from today for our championship effort and we’ll move forward and turn the page to Sebring.” Olivier Pla: “It was a difficult race from the beginning but it happens in motorsports. I can’t thank the Meyer Shank Racing crew enough for everything they did during these 24 hours. They did a fantastic job putting me in a great position when I took over the car. Even when we had a problem, they kept me calm. We will learn from today and look to come back even stronger at Sebring.” Juan Pablo Montoya: “I thought we had a very strong car from all the testing we did. When we started the race, it was off. We all struggled and at the end I could keep up with the lead pack but I had nothing to be able to compete with them. I was killing myself just to run at the same pace. Otherwise, I had a blast working with Meyer Shank Racing. You can’t win them all, and that is racing. It is cool to see Acura finally get a win here at Daytona, so big congratulations to them.” AJ Allmendinger: “I’m really proud of the effort by all the men and women at Meyer Shank Racing. We kept fighting through the race and never gave up. Having no mechanical issues the entire race with a brand new car is amazing. We came so close to a podium, and it’s disappointing not to, but overall I really enjoyed driving the Acura DPi. As always, it’s an honor to drive for Mike Shank, I can’t believe this was my 15th Rolex 24 with him. And I can’t thank Dane, Oli and JPM enough for helping me get up to speed and be a part of this team.” from News – Meyer Shank Racing https://ift.tt/3alAEXx

To The Andretti Family, I hope you all are doing well during these hectic times. I write you this letter for the grieving I, and many still feel for John Andretti’s passing. I’ve spent the past year thinking about this letter and what to say. I wanna start by talking about myself. I am a 22-year-old recent graduate of Texas State University, and I want to be a high school history teacher and football coach. I have been a NASCAR fan since I was three, and I was the first in my family to fall in love with auto racing. This love of racing starts from another love of mine… Cheerios. At the time I got a small Cheerios car, not knowing it was a NASCAR, but not too long after getting the car my parents were trying to get back to a Dallas Cowboys game, and while we were flipping channels and I saw the same Cheerios car on TV and I was hooked. This was in 2001, and I quickly learned that bright yellow 43 was driven by none other than John Andretti. That day I became a lifelong fan of NASCAR and more importantly a John Andretti fan, and my life was forever changed. Fast forward to March of 2003, and I went to visit my first NASCAR track Texas Motor Speedway. That day was the first time I saw John Andretti the human, and I doubt John ever remembered this, but I could never forget it. I was in a line at his merchandise hauler, and people were being counted off to meet John. Well as fate would have it I was one of the first few people not able to meet him, and I immediately started crying my eyes out. John saw, or heard about this and my dad and I were told to meet him behind the hauler after the autograph session. John took the time to talk to me, sign everything, and made me feel special. It changed my life. John was more than a driver, but an amazing human. Being a fan of his was a rewarding experience he didn’t always get all of the attention, or accolades from fans and media, but when he did it made it all the more special. The thing that I felt watching John Andretti race is he did it for people like me, his fans. NASCAR has always been there for me. Even after John retired NASCAR was my life. I watched NASCAR and it has been a rock in my life every Sunday. I could sit down and watch, and the person who gave me that was John. John introducing me to racing has forever changed my life racing is my passion, and now I’ve even started a podcast and writing for a website. I attribute this all to John, he gave me so much joy as a young child and even all these years later. I’ve been crying throughout this letter but I feel you should know how I took the news of his passing. I was at my college apartment and I immediately started crying nonstop. In my grieving process I went to the grocery store and got a box of Cheerios and a jug of chocolate milk. I have since been pondering how to memorialize John, and I reached the conclusion that I want to spread the joy I got from watching John race, the happiness I got seeing him do well, I want to make other people that happy in my presence. Lastly John is my forever favorite driver, no driver has or ever will mean to me what John means. He truly changed my life for the better. I want to thank him and his family. I hope you all continue to heal, and we are all in this together. From a Forever Andretti Fan, Zachary Bell