Full schedule for 2018 Daytona Speedweeks

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will hit Daytona International Speedway in February for the highly anticipated Speedweeks to kick off the 2018 season for all three national series. Check out the tentative full schedule below, subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

Saturday, Feb. 10
10:35-11:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice (Advance Auto Parts Clash)
1:05-1:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice
3:05-3:55 p.m.:  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice

Sunday, Feb. 11
12:15 p.m.:  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying (single vehicle/two rounds), FOX
3:00 p.m.:  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash (75 laps, 187.5 miles), FS1

Thursday, Feb. 15
11:35 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice
2:25-3:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series second practice
4:35-5:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice
7:00 p.m.:  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am Duel 1 (60 laps, 150 miles), FS1
9:00 p.m.:  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am Duel 2 (60 laps, 150 miles), FS1

Friday, Feb. 16
12:05-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice
1:05-1:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice
2:05-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice
3:05-3:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice
4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying (single vehicle/two rounds)
7:30 p.m. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 (100 laps, 250 miles), FS1

Saturday, Feb. 17
9:35 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying (single vehicle/two rounds)
12:05-12:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series PowerShares QQQ 300 (120 laps, 300 miles), FS1

Sunday, Feb. 18
2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 (200 laps, 500 miles), FOX

Hornaday's years of Camping World Truck Series dominance delivers him to the pinnacle of NASCAR

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

The genuine excitement and gratitude for earning a place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame was evident last week as Ron Hornaday Jr. spoke to reporters about the upcoming milestone in his life.

The always colorful, ever humble four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion was upbeat recalling important moments in his career and telling classic stories about those who helped him make the big time.

And while the 59-year old Californian may not have ever predicted he would be a NASCAR Hall of Famer one day, he definitely knew the sport’s truck series was destined for greatness. And both of their paths have led to similarly significant achievements.

"They [NASCAR] had a five-year plan for the trucks and I think the first year, we exceeded that five-year plan of what we thought it was going to do," said Hornaday, who also exceeded his own expectations, winning 51 races in a four-championship 17-year career competing in the truck series. Three of his four titles came after the age of 40. He won the 2009 championship at the age of 51.

Hornaday also won four times in the XFINITY Series and finished a career best third place in the 2004 championship. He finished top-five in the championship in three of the four full-time seasons he ran in that series. 

Hornaday won two NASCAR Southwest Series titles in what was the preamble to his Hall of Fame tenure in NASCAR’s trucks.

"I was pretty humbled," Hornaday said of getting the news last May that he was NASCAR Hall of Fame bound. "I thought it was pretty cool to be the first one [truck champion] in there.

"I hope I can represent the truck series since they put my career on the map, what they’ve done for my whole family. Definitely I owe everything to NASCAR and the France family for starting the truck series and the phone call from [the late Dale] Earnhardt of giving me an opportunity to make it big time.’’

In a certain sense, Hornaday was able to pay it forward as well. Often, NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series drivers have referred to "Hornaday’s Couch" – the furniture they slept on while temporarily staying with the veteran and his wife at their home as the young racers found their path in the sport too.

"When I met Jimmie Johnson at a Chevrolet function, he was coming from off-road [racing] and he told me he was moving down, doing this and that,’’ Hornaday recalled of his fellow Californian. "I told him, ‘don’t go rent a place, that’s a waste of money. Save some money, buy your own house then.’

"He might have stayed three to six months, maybe a year. It’s something where when you have a big enough place, they’re all hanging out on the couch.’’

"And," he added, "We still have that couch by the way."

The couch, part of "Camp Hornaday," certainly boasts a pedigree, having hosted a couple young, budding champions. Not only did the seven-time champion Johnson spend time bunking with Hornaday and his wife, Lindy, but so did fellow Californian, 2014 Monster Energy Series champ Kevin Harvick.

It all speaks to Hornaday’s laidback, welcoming nature. He is friendly and fun, but behind the wheel of a race car, he made magic – often beating drivers half his age.

In preparing for the upcoming Hall of Fame induction, Hornaday conceded it’s still pretty incredible to realize how far his career went, and how successful NASCAR’s trucks - the youngest of the three major series – would be. Hornaday said he never imagined having such a historic role in the series.

"I was just glad to be a part of it, get an opportunity to do it," Hornaday said of the mid-1990s when the series originated and began to flourish.

"I was racing for Wayne [Spears] at the time and asked him if he was going to run the whole Truck Series. I told him what I had the opportunity to do and he told me, I should take it. It was probably the best choice I ever made in my career.

"When you have two successful businesses out of Californian – my wife and I did – to get up and move [to North Carolina], it was kind of a gamble. It worked out for us though. Very fortunate for that.

"We had to do it, we had to go win, we had to put food on the table."

And he did more than that. Now he will bring home a Hall of Fame ring and abounding, well-deserved recognition for his contributions to the sport. Already highly regarded, Hornaday is one of the most popular selections to the Hall.

As he closed out his telephone press conference with the national media last week, Hornaday quickly offered a personal and wonderful summation.

"Just a heads up,’’ he said, with a slight laugh. "I can drive a race car. I’m not good at standing in front of my peers with a monkey suit, telling them how good I am.

"It’s all about everybody that ever helped me out. Hopefully I can do well and not get tongue-tied.

"Thank you guys, for everything, all the years."

With Hall nod, Squier earns his own place among the legends he helped build

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

Ken Squier, the man who coined the phrase "The Great American Race" to describe the Daytona 500 will formally join NASCAR’s "Greatest" later this week. The co-founder of Motor Racing Network (MRN) and longtime voice of the sport will become the first broadcaster among the Hall of Fame’s legendary list of inductees.

The 82-year old Vermont native is a broadcast icon, setting the standard for calling NASCAR race broadcasts. He famously worked NASCAR’s flag-to-flag network television debut, the 1979 Daytona 500 featuring post-race fisticuffs between Bobby and Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough and his smooth voice and polished insight made him a broadcast favorite for decades thereafter in a sport he famously described as "common men doing uncommon things."

Squier will forever be most associated with that historic '79 Daytona race telecast and selling the NASCAR product to network television. It’s a source of great pride and he is certainly accustomed to the questions about the landmark race and the scuffle in the closing credits. 

"They were on each other, both (Donnie Allison and Yarborough) as determined as any race drivers that ever walked the face of the earth,’’ Squier recalled of the tangle. 

"They were not going to give it up. There you saw the result. 

"It was a very dramatic moment.’’ 

And as for the overall significance of the broadcast?

"It was a matter of introducing people from Manhattan into the scope of American stock car racing,’’ he said. "In the bread basket of America, that was the name of the tune that turned people on the most at that time.

"Having them, CBS, take an interest in it. ... we did a group of races before we ever did the Daytona 500 and they did so well. It was like everything the network did in those days. They spent the time, spent the energy, forethought to really put together what it was about.

"This was a new page.’’

It was new to many of Americans and set a high bar for race excitement, but for Squier, calling NASCAR races was essentially old hat. He began race play-by-play for the MRN network he co-founded in 1969 - before getting the call regularly for the television broadcasts.

In addition to his talent behind the microphone, in 1982 Squier is credited for helping to develop the sport's first "in-car camera" – a hugely popular and unique broadcast feature still used today in later variations.

That camera was an invaluable tool in giving the world a glimpse of the most popular Daytona 500 victory in modern time – Dale Earnhardt’s 1998 triumph.

Squier remembers how emotional the steely Earnhardt was after that win, and how emotional everyone on pit road was for Earnhardt to finally win after 20 tries. The car in Earnhardt’s famous No. 3 Chevrolet picked up the amazing greeting the champion received after pulling onto pit road headed to the Daytona 500 victory lane for the first time. 

"Just how emotional he could be, he pretty much always hid it, but you couldn’t hide that,’’ Squier recalls of the afternoon.

Squier was also in the television booth for the FOX Sports pre-race show before its full season debut in 2001 when the seven-time champion Earnhardt was killed in the final corner of the final lap of the Daytona 500 – a race ultimately won by Michael Waltrip in a car Earnhardt owned.

Humbled and awed by his historical selection to the sport’s great Hall of greats, Squier still insisted he was most pleased to have witnessed the competition and tell the stories of all the great men and women behind the steering wheel and behind pit wall.

"I guess what’s most impressive, is the competition,’’ Squier said last week when asked what memory stands out the most of his NASCAR broadcasting career.

"What you have today, that is the fruit of it. It’s pretty good tasting."

Innovative Evernham finds pot of Hall of Fame gold at the end of the 'rainbow'

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Even before answering the first question from a ready group of racing reporters about his induction Friday into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Ray Evernham, 60, insisted on making an important point.

"I want to make it clear to everybody on the [conference] call, I know you thank me for the time, but it’s an honor to be able to sit here and take questions for the Hall of Fame," Evernham said.

"I can do this all day if you want,’’ he added, with a laugh.

He certainly would have plenty to discuss in his NASCAR Hall of Fame career that began at Bill Davis Racing guiding a young Jeff Gordon before serving as crew chief for three of Gordon’s four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships at Hendrick Motorsports and then owning a flagship team himself that led to some of the sport’s great crowning moments.

Under Evernham’s leadership with the famed "Rainbow Warriors" No. 24 Chevrolet team, Gordon rolled to 47 premier series wins in just seven full seasons before Evernham transitioned to a completely new role and fresh challenge: Premier series ownership.

Evernham operated and succeeded in similar style, spearheading Dodge Motorsports' triumphant return to Monster Energy Series racing in 2001. Fellow Hall of Famer Bill Elliott earned Evernham Motorsports its inaugural victory in that 2001 season finale at Homestead, Fla. – the first of 15 total wins for Evernham’s team.

And the veteran Elliott added a dramatic Brickyard 400 trophy for the team the very next year – in one of the most celebrated victories in NASCAR.

Young Washington-state bred Kasey Kahne joined the operation to earn Rookie of the Year in 2004 and then immediately challenge for the series championship with six wins the following season. Kahne also hoisted all five of the Evernham team’s XFINITY Series race trophies as well.

It iS the definitive modern day NASCAR success story of a two-fold career that produced trophies, championships and ultimately, Hall of Fame recognition alongside the most important people in the sport’s history.

No question, Evernham’s work with a young Gordon is what put his name in the NASCAR vocabulary.

He is only the third designated "crew chief" to be voted into the Hall of Fame, and the first in five years. And considering he worked with Gordon for a relatively short term – seven years – the huge success they enjoyed is even more remarkable.

Obviously, Gordon’s immense talent had a lot to do with the results, but Evernham proved to be an expert at making it all possible.

"You know, there’s a big difference in what I call 'coaching' and 'managing,'" Evernham said. "I don’t like to be a manager. I don’t like to be a business-type manager where you’re just directing people. But I really enjoyed the coaching, working with people together, solving problems, being part of a team, that kind of environment.

"Whether I should try to think I deserve to be even mentioned in a Lombardi style or not, that’s kind of who I patterned after. Tough on people, drive them hard, but cared about them. You’ve got to be able to have that compassion along with determination.

"That part I enjoyed. I loved working down on the floor with the guys. I loved being at the race track.’’

Evernham still insists that it was a difficult decision to step off the pit box with certain future Hall of Fame driver in order to develop his own team with Dodge.

But the New Jersey native also conceded, it was just in his makeup, to pursue and continually challenge himself. The opportunity with Dodge was intriguing and proved Evernham’s abilities on a grander scale. And he certainly delivered on the big stage - again.

"It wasn’t a no-brainer,’’ Evernham explained of his decision to leave the championship Hendrick organization to start his own.

"It was a really, really, really interesting opportunity. It was something that I struggled with because Hendrick was my home. Rick Hendrick has been good to me. I had a lot of my success and things there. It was a tough decision to look at where I really wanted to go, what I thought I could do."

"The emotional connection to Hendrick and to Jeff was very, very tough for me,’’ Evernham said. "But the excitement of being able to take that challenge, just to see if you could do it. ... I don’t know, it’s that Evel Knievel in all of us knowing that if I don’t make that jump, I’m going to bust my butt, but I still really want to do it."

And Evernham landed the jump.

The opportunity to field cars for a former champion in Elliott along with the promise and results of a handful of young drivers – such as Kahne, Casey Atwood, Jeremy Mayfield and Elliott Sadler – made Evernham’s gamble worth it.

And when he decided to walk away from the daily demands of either working as a crew chief or a team owner, Evernham had to feel absolutely proud of his effort -- an effort long applauded and now officially recognized as Hall of Fame worthy.

Married to racer Erin Crocker and father to two-year old Cate as well as 26-year old Ray J from his first marriage, Evernham now works as a consultant for Hendrick Motorsports and hosts the popular Velocity network show, "AmeriCarna."

"When I look at the guys that I’m in there with, it blows me away,’’ Evernham said, anticipating the heralded ceremony Friday night in Charlotte. "I have been for months, struggling to find the right words to describe it, which I still haven’t, and that will be a problem I guess Friday night if I don’t get those words completely.

"I can tell you that it really truly just amazes me because I have never held myself in the same light as I hold a lot of those people. When you’re growing up, you’re thinking, 'Man, if I could only be as smart as that guy, or if I could only ever be as good as that guy.'

"Now going into the Hall of Fame with some of them, ahead of some of the others, it just totally blows me away.’’

Championship engine builder and car owner Robert Yates honored by the sport he loved

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Robert Yates showed up at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that late afternoon last May genuinely not knowing if this would be the year - if that would be the day - he heard his name called as part of the official unveiling of the five-person 2017 Hall of Fame induction class.

Already months into his valiant fight against liver cancer, Yates walked into the Grand Hall and was immediately surrounded by longtime friends and greeted fondly by supporters and race fans, all who had gathered for the historical announcement.

Three times previously the NASCAR champion engine builder and team owner had been nominated for induction. So when his name was announced as part of the 2017 group of honorees, the room erupted in joy and tears.

"I believe that was the fourth year he was on the ballot so we weren’t sure how it would go, just praying he would get voted in to the Hall of Fame,’’ Yates son Doug recalled. "He was so happy. He gave up his life for this sport. That was his choice but that was what it takes to be great at something and he did that. And he wouldn’t tell you that, but I will.

"It was the most gratifying moment of his whole career."

And that is saying a lot.

The man who had built so many strong engines, may have been weaker of body but the same spirit and contagious positive energy he brought to the race track permeated through the crowd that day – it was easy to see the special extra something that makes Yates a stock car legend.

Sadly, Yates died five months later on Oct. 2 at the age of 74. His family will take part in next Friday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony in honor of this very honorable man.

Yates contributions to NASCAR are diverse and significant. And lasting.

He started his career as an engine builder in the late 1960s under the tutelage of Waddell Wilson and ultimately fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.

He was the chief engine builder for Hall of Famer Bobby Allison’s 1983 Cup championship team and built the engines that Hall of Famer Richard Petty drove to his final two victories – record 199th and 200th wins.

Following his time under the hood, Yates moved into a team ownership role and fielded the iconic No. 28 Texaco/Havoline car driven by the late Davey Allison and also the No. 88 Ford that Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett drove to the 1999 Cup championship. Allison produced Yates’ first win as an owner in 1989 at Talladega Superspeedway and Jarrett secured the beloved owner his last Cup trophy in 2005, also at Talladega.

Ernie Irvan, Hall of Famer Ricky Rudd and Elliott Sadler also won premier series races driving for Yates, who collected 57 Cup trophies as an owner including three Daytona 500 wins earned by Davey Allison (1992) and Jarrett (1996 and 2000).

His inclusion in the Hall of Fame seems a proper and fitting way to wrap up and recognize decades of hard work and high expectation. What a career Robert Yates made.

"I’d say my dad felt very blessed to be involved in the sport of NASCAR and the time he was involved really left itself to opportunities,’’ Doug Yates reflected. "When he started at Holman-Moody in the late 1960s that was the best school for an engine builder -- to be there working alongside Waddell Wilson and all the other greats, building engines for the Wood Brothers and Junior Johnson and the famed Ford drivers of the time.

"Then to go and work for Junior Johnson who was one of his heroes."

Doug Yates, 50, who carried on the family’s engine business with high regard – he was named NASCAR’s 2011 Engine Builder of the Year -- recalled those early days recognizing his dad’s work ethic was comprised of equal parts high expectation and devotion.

"Back then you just worked 24-7, you didn’t have a lot of resources,’’ Doug said. "During the day, my dad would do the machine work on the engines to get them ready to assemble at night, and he said one night he was in there working, and he was about out of energy, and Junior [Johnson] came through there, patted him on the back and gave him a pep talk and said, ‘We’re going to win this race this weekend.’

"And dad said it just felt like it gave him so much motivation to keep going. One of the great influences in his life was how Junior Johnson was a leader and a hero. That was a great experience for him."

And Yates soon would be regarded a leader and hero to others -- as it turned out not only for his work on race cars but for his strength away from the garage fighting cancer.

Those who worked closely with Yates recognized and fully appreciated his mechanical talent and that led to more opportunity for the Charlotte native.

"I’m a great believer that things happen for a reason and he was as well,’’ Doug Yates said. "That ultimately lent itself to the owners Harry [Rainier] and J.T. [Lundy] saying, ‘Robert, we’re done racing. We’d like for you to buy the race team and the No. 28 Davey Allison Ford.’

"My dad was really hesitant. He never got into the sport to be a car owner, he just really focused on doing his best job every day whatever the task was. That was how he operated.

"So he told Davey [Allison] about this opportunity and Davey said, ‘Robert, it you’ll do this I will never leave you. You’ve got my word.’ They shook on it and Davey instilled the confidence in my dad to buy Robert Yates Racing."

The Robert Yates Racing team began officially in 1989, quickly establishing itself of championship caliber with Allison winning 15 times in the next five years and finishing third in the Cup championship twice (1991 and ’92).

But Allison died in a helicopter accident two weeks after winning at Richmond, Va. in 1993 and understandably, the tragedy had a profound effect on Yates.

"That was probably the hardest thing for him. … It was really a moment of do we carry on or not?’’ Doug Yates said. "I think he carried on for Davey and also the people that it put so much into getting him there. You don’t want to let them down. "Then what happened to Ernie [suffered life-threatening injuries in an accident during a race at Michigan International Speedway in 1994] and ultimately winning the championship with Dale Jarrett.

"It was not an easy road by any means but it was his platform."

"NASCAR gets the credit, the France family, for giving us this platform to do that. Dad was such a humble person. Being a car owner was not his dream. Doing a great job at whatever he did was what he did.

"And just timing and the way things evolved and being good at what he did and being at the right place at the right time gave him a platform.’’

And Yates used that platform to its full historical potential – enjoying decades of hard-earned success in a life well-lived and much respected. He was one of those rare, rare people who could rest well, knowing he made a positive difference and that not a soul had a disparaging word or thought.

That he was adored by so many was never more evident than last spring at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

A big smile never left Yates’ face as received the congratulatory hugs and handshakes.

"I don’t even know if I’ll sleep tonight," Yates said in the moments after finding out he was a new inductee.

"I’m so honored and I love this sport, and I want this sport to do the same thing it did for me, again and again and again."

Two-time champion Red Byron laid the foundation for future NASCAR titlists

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

Robert "Red" Byron was a true NASCAR original – the sport’s first crowned champion (NASCAR Modified Series) and first Strictly Stock Series (the current-day Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) title winner – and now he will join the NASCAR Hall of Fame, a nod to his historic achievements and the exciting foundation he helped establish for the sport.

Byron’s racing career will be formally honored as he is inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame during its Friday, Jan. 19 ceremony in Charlotte, N.C. joining a fittingly accomplished class that also includes the late engine builder/team owner Robert Yates, Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., championship crew chief Ray Evernham and pioneering broadcaster Ken Squier.

Byron, who passed away in 1960 at the age of 45, was the sport’s first champion, and bona fide head-turner. He answered his 1948 Modified Series title in 1948 with that historical Strictly Stock crown a year later winning two of the eight Strictly Stock races that season en route to that championship in a car owned by another NASCAR Hall of Famer, Raymond Parks.

Like many others of his era, Byron’s story and his contributions to the sport are even more incredible considering his service to his country long before he thought about a checkered flag.

He served in the United States Army Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II. Assigned to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Byron suffered a severe injury to his left leg while flying in a combat mission during the war and later had to wear a specially created steel leg brace while racing. A version of the brace, which had to be attached to the clutch pedal of his race cars, is mounted in one of his cars displayed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

It hardly slowed Byron down. The Virginia native-turned Anniston, Ala. resident had nine top-10 finishes in 15 starts, winning a pair of races and a pair of pole positions in three years of Strictly Stock competition.

He won on the Daytona Beach, Fla. road course in 1948 – earning one of the most iconic checkered flags in NASCAR history - and he answered the victory at another of the sport’s most storied facilities, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway months later.

He was recognized in 1998 as one of NASCAR’s all-time Top 50 drivers for his historic efforts.

"In so many ways he was the perfect first champion," the late NASCAR Chairman Bill France Jr. once said of Byron. "A guy who loved racing so much, he refused to give it up. And he loved his country so much he gave it all he had."

Following his stock car career, the former flight engineer turned his focus to developing a sports car to race in the famed 24 Hours of LeMans in France, however Byron died of a heart attack while finalizing details for the effort.

Cody Coughlin joins 2018 lineup for GMS Racing

STATESVILLE, N.C. – Adding to the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) lineup, GMS Racing officials announced today the addition of Cody Coughlin to the Statesville-based team. Climbing back behind the wheel of a Chevrolet for the first time since 2013 in Late Models, Coughlin will drive the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet Silverado for his second full-time NCWTS season.

With 35 NCWTS starts under his belt already, including his first full-time season last year, Coughlin is poised to have his best NCWTS season yet. Ending 2017 with a career-best finish of third at ISM Raceway (formerly Phoenix Raceway), the 22-year-old has momentum on his side heading into his second full-time season.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the GMS Racing family,” said Coughlin, “as well as be back running for Chevrolet. GMS is a team that has proven to be one of the teams to beat every time they unload at the race track and now I have the same opportunity. I can’t thank GMS Racing, Maury Gallagher and Mike Beam enough for this chance. I think we have the right tools and personnel in place with the No.2 team to run up front and contend for race wins every weekend.”

Looking to add veteran knowledge to Coughlin’s sophomore campaign, crew chief Jerry Baxter will call the shots atop the box this year for the No. 2 team. After a successful start with GMS Racing in 2017, including a win at the NCWTS season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Baxter’s distinguished career includes 10 wins, seven pole awards, 43 top-five and 78 top-10 finishes in 139 NCWTS starts.

“I’m more than ready to get the 2018 season underway,” said Baxter. “Last year we raced against Cody every weekend, so I have an idea of the type of driver he is. It will be even better to be able to work with him now firsthand. We have a good group of hard-working guys on the No. 2 that will definitely put us in the position to run well every time we’re at the track.”

Wood Brothers Racing leases charter

Paul Menard will have a guaranteed spot for the 2018 NASCAR Cup season as the Wood Brothers have worked a partnership with Archie St. Hilaire to run the charter they leased from St. Hilaire, the owner of Go Fas Racing, for 2017.

Charters can only be leased once every five years, so St. Hilaire personally has done a deal to remain the owner of the charter but have the Wood Brothers run it. Go Fas Racing has not announced where it will get a charter from for 2018, but the team plans on having one.

Wood Brothers Racing can use the same charter it leased last year from Go Fas Racing because the partnership formed with Go Fas owner Archie St. Hilaire has resulted in the charter now being co-owned by St. Hilaire and the Wood Brothers. The same charter can’t be leased more than once in five years.

On-track Debut Of Chevy Camero For 2018 Cup Season Highlights Goodyear Tire Test

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota) was joined by Chase Elliott (No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet), Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Menard's Ford) and Aric Almirola (No. 10 Smithfield Ford) for the opening day of a two-day Goodyear Tire test session at Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday.

With the driver contingent representing each manufacturer in the Monster Energy Cup Series - Chevrolet, Toyota and Ford - they tested tire compounds on the high-banked, 1.5-mile oval that was repaved and re-profiled last year. The re-profiling reduced the banking in Turns 1 & 2 from the original 24 degrees to 20 while Turns 3 & 4 remained the same. Temperatures were in the low 40s with fog in the morning before warming into the high 50s with sunshine in the early afternoon. The drivers were scheduled to test from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday with the same schedule expected for Wednesday.

"I haven't been a part of a tire test in a long time so it's neat to feel all the different compounds and builds that they bring out here," Blaney said. "Whether they start off a run different or whether they fall off more, it's really neat to see and it's really good to know they're working really hard to make the best tire for each race track. We will be able to tell, but that will just keep getting better and better as the track gets hotter."

"It's a Goodyear tire test so trying to figure out what tire we need to bring back here in the spring (for the O'Reilly 500) and to be able to put on the best show possible," Truex Jr. added. "It really felt like both races here last year with the repave were pretty good and really competitive so hopefully we will be able to find a tire that will get that second groove coming in a little bit earlier especially coming in on Turns 1 and 2 and help the racing a little bit, but so far so good, so far it's been going good."

The Highlight

The test session was highlighted by the historic on-track debut of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which will be the manufacturer's new entry in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series beginning this season.

Chase Elliott drew the honor of turning the first laps of the Camaro ZL1, which will make its competition debut in February during Speed Weeks at Daytona International Speedway that will be highlighted by the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18. The Camaro ZL1 will replace the Chevy SS, which registered 71 victories since its 2013 debut in NASCAR's premier series.

The Camaro ZL1's primary objective for Chevrolet is current-day relevance, in the showroom and on the speedways. From a consumer standpoint, the Camaro represents a more visible model than its predecessor. The low-volume SS, a V8-powered, four-door sedan based on the Australian-built Holden Commodore, ends its public production run this year.

"Yeah, as far as the feel goes, it is so hard to tell," said Elliott, when asked about the difference between the SS and the Camaro after the morning test session. "I have a hard time feeling much of anything I'm going so fast.  I'm guessing anyways, but no, I think until we get into situations where we are racing and we get some more general analysis of hey, the Chevrolets are better or the Chevys are qualifying better or the Chevys are racing better, I think until we get those generalizations of exactly how we stack up, it's going to be hard to just make a 'guesstimation' of how the thing drives and say it's better or worse. It's hard for me to tell out there by myself.

"But, the car looks great. I don't know from a manufacturer standpoint, from the public eyes standpoint, I don't know how you could not identify the Camaro with the Camaro on the street. It looks the same. I think that is something to be very proud of from Chevrolet. The work they did on that and the thought process behind it. It is the same car, it looks just like it. I think job well done from that standpoint."

What They Are Saying
"I think it's felt different as the offseason went on and I've got to do different things. It's kind of sunk in more, but it's not completely there yet to be honest with you. I mean just today, to see my new uniform with the champion logo on it, it's another thing that's new to me and feels really cool. There's a lot more things, I guess, along the way. A lot more days for it to settle in, but it's been an amazing feeling of accomplishment and hopefully it will continue to sink in as we go on." - Martin Truex Jr. on his accomplishment of winning the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crown sinking in during the offseason.

"Yeah, for sure, I mean look, as I've said before, I'm going to be me. I'm not as active as a lot of people are on Twitter. I think that is just because that is the way my personality is. I'm not going to jump out of the box of my personality to appease other people, never have been that way and I'm not going to be that way." - Chase Elliott on his approach of gaining new fans.

"Is it my favorite number? Yes, it is. Has it always been my favorite number? Yes, it has been. So, all those things are great. I'm very lucky and honored to carry the number that I've carried for a number of years before this year, so it's like getting back home to me from that sense, but no, I don't think it's going to make me go any faster or slower. I wish it did make us go faster. I would love that, but unfortunately numbers don't." - Chase Elliott on returning to the No. 9, the same number his father Bill ran during his NASCAR Hall of Fame career, beginning this season.

"Yeah, it's been, for me, behind the wheel it's really hard to tell what changes are when you are out there by yourself.  I think the changes will probably become more apparent, hopefully, when we get to say Atlanta (Motor Speedway) or get to some of the tracks that the changes are going to become important at. Out there making laps, it is so hard to tell. I think until we get into those situations and kind of get some races under our belt as not only an organization, but as a manufacturer as a whole to see exactly how we stack up, I think it will be tough to say until then." - Chase Elliott on his initial laps in the new Camaro ZL1 model.
"That's something about life, the only constant is change so for me I haven't really put much thought about getting in the 10 car and it being in somebody's else's car. When I get in the car, the only thing I see is the windshield and 39 other drivers that I've beaten or want to beat. So for me, I've driven the sport's most iconic car for the last six years so if you want to talk about it from that aspect, there's been more pressure driving that (Richard) Petty blue 43 car than I think I'll ever have driving a black-and-white 10 car, so I haven't really put that much thought into it." - Aric Almirola on replacing Danica Patrick in the No. 10 entry for Stewart-Haas Racing.

"We are all at zero points again right now, so the goal remains the same and the pressure is going to be there but definitely optimistic. I feel like we are in a good place and hopefully we can be competitive for years to come." - Martin Truex Jr. on coming into the 2018 season as the defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion.
"I mean I think it's circumstantial. I think in life in general you can't let people run over you and let them get away with it otherwise they are just going to keep doing it. I think that is just a part of life. If you let somebody control you too much they are probably going to take advantage of you as it goes on and that happens in work places every day. It happens in racing. I'm sure it happens in football, baseball, basketball, the whole deal." - Chase Elliott on choosing his battles on track.

"You see all their trophies in their trophy case and their championship trophies, it's very evident why. Just the attention to detail, the amount of people pulling in the same direction - it's incredible to see first-hand - so knowing I've had to race against that the last six years has been disheartening but I'm glad I get to be a part of it finally. I'm excited about 2018 and the opportunity to out there and perform at a high level." - Aric Almirola on his initial impressions on joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018 in the No. 10 car.- - -

Ryan Blaney informed NASCAR fans via Twitter on Monday that he is going to spend lunch with them in the grandstands at the start/finish line during the break. Texas Motor Speedway loved the idea so much of Blaney connecting with these passionate NASCAR fans that the speedway is planning to provide free pizza for everyone at that time. Fans can access the grandstands for the test through Gate 4, which also has ample parking in front. The event is free to the public.

"I think it's really cool that fans come out for test sessions and you know, to go out of their way during the week, when most of them are working," Blaney said. "Whether they take off work or call in sick or whatever and come watch us for a couple of hours, that's really cool. I noticed that there were a lot of people here today so I said that I was just going to hang out up there for lunch tomorrow and meet some folks and sign some autographs or whatever they wanted, just trying to show some appreciation."

"Then (Texas Motor Speedway President) Eddie (Gossage) told me there's going to be pizza there so that's good, it works out for everybody. I get to eat pizza and the fans do too so that will be cool. I'm hoping we get a good amount of people there and hopefully they have a good time watching us and then hang out for about 45 minutes of so."

Notebook: Chase Elliott, an avid University of Georgia football fan, attended Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship thriller in which his Bulldogs lost to SEC rival Alabama, 26-23, in overtime at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. "Yeah, it was a great experience," Elliott said despite the outcome. "As a long-time Georgia fan, I haven't had a ton to cheer for since probably early 2000. A few high spots here and there, but I think that is something that is great about being loyal to a team you are not always going to have your day, as Corey Smith says in his song. But I think that you stick with them long enough and you trust in the process that they are doing and it makes you proud to be a fan when they do have their day. I believe they will some time. I'm excited to keep watching. It's not going to run me off from pulling for them again next year." . . . Ryan Blaney, who grew out his hair and mustache throughout the 2017 season, will have a new look soon for 2018 besides moving from the Wood Brothers to Penske Racing. Blaney said that he plans cut his locks as well as shave his mustache on Friday. "I don't know man, I thought it looked good," Blaney said. "I went on a cruise and I had a mustache for a cruise, so I just decided to keep it and decided to keep it for this test too, but it will all get cleaned up Friday. I actually have an appointment to shave this and cut my hair off. That will definitely let me know that season is about here and you have to start looking like a professional and not a homeless person." . . . NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott was on hand at the test with his son, Chase.