Earnhardt leads teammates to Daytona checkered flag

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A mid-race incident in Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway impacted the nights of all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

A tame first half of the race saw the drivers all over the board, with all four racing inside the top 10 at various points. Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson both made it inside the top five before an incident on Lap 90, in which all four of the organization’s drivers got caught up in.

Johnson’s Chevrolet received too much damage to continue racing, while Kasey Kahne, Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were able to return to the track to complete the race.

“Unfortunately we were getting in the corner, and obviously, everything is going to go straight at that point,” Elliott said following the incident. “I hate it. I had such a good car tonight. I felt like by far that was the best-ever plate car I have ever had at either Daytona or Talladega. So, really proud of that.”

“We were trying to race hard and we all wanted to be at the front but the only way you could advance was by being aggressive and trying to make a third lane work,” Johnson said.

Brad Keselowski took home the win.

Take a look below to see how all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS STRONG AGAINST CANCER CHEVROLET SSFINISHED: 30th
STANDINGS: 18th
RECAP: After rolling off the grid in 18th, Kasey Kahne held steady throughout the opening laps of the race, finding himself the front Hendrick Motorsports runner in 13th with 10 laps down. Following a Lap 20 competition caution, Kahne continued charging toward the front, breaking inside the top five on Lap 41. He fell back to just within the top 10 before green flag pit stops began on Lap 66, after which Kahne was running in 10th. Lap 90 brought the first non-scheduled caution of the race for an incident that caused damage to the Kahne’s No. 5 Great Clips Strong Against Cancer Chevrolet SS. Kahne took his car to the garage, where his team made repairs to the Chevy, enabling him to return to the track on Lap 130. He took the checkered flag in 30th.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 SUNENERGY1 CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 32nd
STANDINGS: 8th
RECAP: Returning to Daytona with a different car than he’s raced at the two previous restrictor plate races this year, Chase Elliott fell outside the top 30 in the first 10 laps of the race. While his running position fluctuated at the back of the field throughout the first 50 laps of the race, Elliott found himself racing inside the top 10 on Lap 52. However, the young rookie fell back to just within the top 20 until after the first round of green flag pit stops, when he was running in the fourth position. Unfortunately, an incident that brought out the caution on Lap 90 sent Elliott to the garage for timely repairs. He rejoined the field at Lap 132, running a competitive pace and was ultimately scored 32nd when the checkered flag waved.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 35th
STANDINGS: 9th
RECAP: Leading his teammates to the green flag in eighth, Jimmie Johnson fell outside the top 15 in the early stages of the 160-lap race. After pitting twice during the competition caution at Lap 20 in order to fix a hole on the grill of his No. 48 Chevrolet SS, the Lowe’s Patriotic team was served a penalty for too many men over the wall and restarted at the back of the field. Johnson regrouped following the penalty and drove his way inside the top five after the 50-lap mark. While racing for position, Johnson was jostled back through the pack and was running just outside the top 10 when the Lap-90, multi-car incident landed his Chevrolet in the garage for the remainder of the night. He was scored with a 35th-place finish.

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SSFINISHED: 21st
STANDINGS: 13th
RECAP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the green flag in 16th and with 10 laps down was running just inside the top 30. He charged forward, moving into 18th on Lap 29 and was up to sixth about 16 laps later. Following the first round of green flag pit stops on Lap 66, Earnhardt was racing in the 22nd position and had just made it inside the top 20 when the incident that ended his teammate’s nights occurred on Lap 90. Earnhardt’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS sustained damage, which the team worked on through multiple pit stops under caution. Earnhardt restarted in 16th with 59 laps remaining and continued racing in the middle of the field, ultimately taking the checkered flag in 21st.

HMS Release.

Kurt Busch heads to Kentucky to continue 2016 season

KURT BUSCH - 2016 Kentucky Race Advance (Midterm Report)

KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina – At the midpoint of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) looks to continue building on what has been a career year thus far for the 2004 series champion.

Busch has scored top-10 finishes in 14 of 17 races thus far, marking the most he’s recorded to start a season since 2010, when he had 10 top-10s through 17 starts. He’s the only driver to have completed all 4,935 laps to date. And he enters this weekend’s Kentucky 400 on an impressive 13-race streak of top-10 finishes on mile-and-a-half racetracks that dates back to May 9, 2015 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

From Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, the site of this Saturday night’s Kentucky 400, to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth to Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch has proven to be a model of consistency with an average start of 9.3 and an average finish of 6.8.

But heading into Kentucky this weekend, Busch will be looking for a little bit more. When Busch finished second at Kansas in October 2013 to now-teammate Kevin Harvick, it left Kentucky as the only remaining racetrack where Busch had yet to score a top-five finish in Sprint Cup competition. Kentucky plays host to the Sprint Cup Series Saturday night for just the sixth time since it joined the schedule in 2011.

Busch is one of the more experienced drivers who will compete at Kentucky Saturday night. In fact, he participated in the track’s inaugural event – a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in June 2000. Busch, then a rookie in the series, started 32nd and, as he recalls, overdrove every turn before eventually wrecking his truck on lap 111 of the scheduled 150-lap event. He also competed in a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series races there in 2012 while driving for his brother’s team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. He finished second in his first outing and was credited with a 28th-place finish after a rear-end failure in the other.

It wasn’t until 2011 that the Sprint Cup Series made its first visit to the Bluegrass State. In the years between 2000 and 2011, since the track was not used by NASCAR’s premier series, race teams could use the track liberally for testing. Busch claims that his former team, Roush Racing, would visit the track almost every other Tuesday to test new setups for upcoming races.

While Busch is still looking for his first Sprint Cup top-five at the track, he has been able to record three top-10s and has never finished outside the top-20. He has completed all 1,355 laps of Sprint Cup competition since 2011, has an average start of 13.2 and average finish of 11.2. He also has led 41 laps.

A top-five finish Saturday night in the Kentucky 400 would place Busch in rather elite company as one of only a handful of drivers with top-five finishes at all the racetracks visited by the Sprint Cup Series. A victory would allow for some serious bravado.

With little to worry about in terms of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship playoffs this season thanks to having already found victory lane in 2016 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last month, the 28-time Sprint Cup race winner will look to earn additional points for the postseason as the 16 drivers who qualify for the Chase will have their point totals reset to 2,000 and will be seeded based on bonus points – three per win – earned prior to the start of the Chase.
 
KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What do you expect we’ll see at Kentucky this weekend with the reconfiguration and repave?

“Yeah, that is going to be pretty wild. Not a lot of time for the asphalt to cure at Kentucky after a repave. They did different banking in turns one and two versus three and four. It will be fast, it will be smooth, but when you have repaves, usually Goodyear brings a harder tire and it puts the fine line – it’s like a razor-blade edge – of when you have grip versus when you don’t. The new asphalt will definitely be treacherous this time around. I’m trying not to overthink it. We will take our Kansas-Michigan-style setup there. There is going to be an extra practice day and we will see how things progress throughout the weekend."

What was the first thing you thought of when you came to Kentucky for the first time?

“I went there for the first time when I was racing Trucks. It was an inaugural race for the Trucks. I thought that, since it was the first time anyone went there, that rookies had just as good of a shot to win as veterans. I overdrove that race every ounce I could and ended up wrecking with about 15 laps to go while running in the lead pack. I hit pretty hard. I think that was one of the hardest hits I’ve taken. Kentucky stood up and bit me the first time I was there. And, up until recently, we never ran a Cup race there, so we used it as a test facility. So, my time when I was at Roush, I think we were there every other Tuesday making laps. So, I had plenty of laps at Kentucky, but not in race configuration.”

Kurt Busch’s Kentucky Speedway Performance Profile:

Year	Event	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2015	Kentucky 400	13	10	Running, 267/267	0	$102,715
2014	Kentucky 400	9	12	Running, 267/267	0	$87,065
2013	Kentucky 400	27	6	Running, 267/267	0	$116,455
2012	Kentucky 400	14	19	Running, 267/267	0	$100,793
2011	Kentucky 400	3	9	Running, 267/267	41	$120,675

* Race cut short due to weather.    × Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.    † Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

SHR Release.

Busch ‘Whacked’ at Daytona

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), was in position to challenge for his first points-paying restrictor-plate victory Saturday night at Daytona, but he saw those chances vanish when he was turned on the final turn of the final lap and relegated to a 23rd-place finish.

 

Busch was able to overcome a pit-road miscue on the first stop of the night to contend late. When the competition caution waved on lap 20, Busch followed the rest of the leaders to pit road for a planned right-side tire stop. But when the racecar pitting in front of him stopped short, it blocked Busch into his stall. Crew chief Tony Gibson called an audible, instructing the Monster Energy/Haas Automation team to change the lefts as well. The extra time spent on pit road dropped Busch from seventh to 27th.

 

Busch worked the draft to gain spots on the racetrack, and Gibson made pit calls that allowed Busch to race at the front of the pack over the closing laps. It appeared Busch might finally get his first restrictor-plate victory, but he fell just short of accomplishing the goal when the No. 22 sent Busch spinning on the final lap.

 

“I don't know where (Joey) Logano wanted to go,” Busch said. “He was going to go from fifth to first? There’s not a chance that he had to win it. We positioned ourselves to be the car to get a run off the bottom. It just didn’t work out with him trying to drive straight through us.

 

“It would have worked out better if he would have pushed us, we could have had a shot at the No. 2 car (race winner Brad Keselowski). And with the way that it turned out, I feel disappointed I wasn’t able to get the win for Gibson and all these guys that work on the No. 41 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing. We did everything right tonight except cross the line where we were supposed to. I think he (Logano) made an aggressive mistake. It’s a shame that we ended up spun around and wrecked. We could have come out of here with the points lead.”

 

Busch’s teammate Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 26th after an accident with 13 laps to go. He led one lap on the night. Despite his misfortune, Stewart moved into the top-30 in the driver standings by a three-point margin over 31st-place Brian Scott. If Stewart can remain in the top-30 through the 26th race of the season, he will secure his spot in the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff by virtue of his victory last week at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for SHR, salvaged a 27th-place finish, 31 laps down, after being involved in a multicar accident just past the race’s midpoint.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Beer Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 39th after being involved in the same multicar accident.

 

Keselowski won the Coke Zero 400 to score his third victory of the season and his 20th in 250 career Sprint Cup starts.

 

Keselowski finished .159 of a second ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch, while Trevor Bayne, Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell comprised the remainder of the top-10.

 

There were five caution periods for 28 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 161-lap race, which went into overtime and was extended by one lap.

 

With round 17 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR and the series in the championship standings. He is first with 565 points, 14 ahead of Keselowski, who moved into second place with his first victory at Daytona.

 

Kurt Busch dropped to third with 545 points, 20 behind leader Harvick.

 

Harvick earned a spot in the Chase via his win March 13 at Phoenix International Raceway, and Busch secured his position via his win June 6 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

 

Patrick is 26th with 302 points, 93 ahead of 31st-place Brian Scott. Like Stewart, if Patrick can win a race and finish among the top-30 in points following the 26th race of the season, she will earn a Chase berth.

 

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 9, at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. NBCSN will broadcast the race starting at 7 p.m. EDT.

 

SHR Release.

Patrick Relegated to 27th-Place Finish at Daytona

Danica Patrick’s hopes for a solid finish in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway were dashed when the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS was collected in a 22-car incident in turn one at lap 90. The Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team’s night was further complicated by rear-end issues that sent the team to the garage for repairs and left Patrick with a 27th-place result.

 

Patrick started the race from the 22nd position and was scored as high as eighth before the team made a scheduled, green-flag pit stop at lap 67. NASCAR officials deemed she had driven through too many pit stalls following the stop and assessed the team a pass-through penalty. Patrick brought the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet back down pit road to serve the penalty at lap 73 and rejoined the field in the 37th position.

 

As Patrick made her way around the 2.5-mile track without drafting help, the lead pack of cars caught her 12 laps later and put her one lap down. Then at lap 90, Patrick was collected in a 22-car accident that caused significant body damage to the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet. Crew chief Billy Scott called the shots as the team pitted five times during the caution period to make repairs. Patrick rejoined the field for the lap-101 restart but came back to pit road four laps later as smoke emanated from the car.

 

After initial assessment in the pit stall, Scott sent Patrick back to the garage. Finding that an issue with the car’s rear end had caused it to overheat, the team replaced the entire rear-end housing. Patrick rejoined the field at lap 133, completed the remaining laps and took the checkered flag in the 27th position.

 

“It’s just unfortunate that we were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Patrick said. “But that’s how it goes with speedway racing. I’m proud of everyone on my Nature’s Bakery team for doing such a good job of getting the car repaired and back on track.”

 

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent at Daytona by finishing 23rd.

 

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 26th after an accident with 13 laps to go.

 

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Beer Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 39th after being involved in the same multicar accident as Patrick.

 

Brad Keselowski won the Coke Zero 400 to score his third victory of the season and his 20th in 250 career Sprint Cup starts.

 

Keselowski finished .159 of a second ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch, while Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell comprised the remainder of the top-10.

 

There were five caution periods for 28 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 161-lap race, which went into overtime and was extended by one lap.

 

With round 17 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR and the series in the championship standings. He is first with 565 points, 14 ahead of Keselowski, who moved into second place with his first victory at Daytona. Kurt Busch dropped to third with 545 points, 20 behind leader Harvick. Harvick earned a spot in the Chase via his win March 13 at Phoenix International Raceway, and Busch secured his position via his win June 6 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

 

Patrick is 26th with 302 points, 93 ahead of 31st-place Brian Scott. Despite his misfortune at Daytona, Stewart moved into the top-30 in the driver standings by a three-point margin over 31st-place Scott. If Stewart can remain in the top-30 through the 26th race of the season, he will secure his spot in the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff by virtue of his victory last week at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

 

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 9, at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. NBCSN will broadcast the race starting at 7 p.m. EDT.

 

SHR Release.

Short Night for Harvick at Daytona

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Beer Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 39th after he was collected in a 22-car wreck on lap 90 in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

 

Harvick started 21st but immediately dropped to the rear of the field as he worked on the handling of the No. 4 Chevrolet SS. He was racing in the 39th position as the competition caution flew on lap 20. Following the restart, Harvick again drifted to the rear of the field in hopes of perfecting the handling of his car and staying out of any potential trouble.

 

As green-flag pit stops started on lap 65, Harvick remained on the racetrack long enough to take the lead on lap 68 and earn a bonus point. He brought the Busch Beer Chevrolet to pit road for four tires and adjustments under green-flag conditions on the following lap.

 

The Bakersfield, California, native was collected in a 22-car wreck that occurred just in front of him on lap 98 and was forced to the garage for repairs. After reviewing the damage, crew chief Rodney Childers informed the team that the racecar was damaged beyond repair. Harvick and the Busch Beer Chevrolet were scored with a 39th-place finish.

 

“Our Busch Chevrolet started in the middle of the pack and dropped to the back and as we pitted there, and we knew we wanted to work our way back to the front,” said Harvick, who won the Sprint Cup race at Daytona in July 2010. “We stayed connected to that front pack, and then we had a little bit of a handling problem that we had to address during the next pit stop. Those guys got tangled up there in front, and we were in the middle of it. We had one car on our roof, and everybody else just kept piling in. I don’t know who that was. It was just one of those things that just doesn’t take much for it all to go south here at these superspeedways. It is what it is."

 

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHRcontingent Saturday night at Daytona by finishing 23rd.

 

Busch was running fourth on the race’s final restart with two laps to go in overtime and was fighting for the win when he was hit from behind and sent sliding across the infield grass toward the finish line, which he crossed as the final car on the lead lap.

 

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 26th after an accident with 13 laps to go. He led one lap on the night. Despite his misfortune, Stewart moved into the top-30 in the driver standings by a three-point margin over 31st-place Brian Scott. If Stewart can remain in the top-30 through the 26th race of the season, he will secure his spot in the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff by virtue of his victory last week at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for SHR, salvaged a 27th-place finish, 31 laps down, after being involved in a multicar accident just past the race’s midpoint.

Brad Keselowski won the Coke Zero 400 to score his third victory of the season and his 20th in 250 career Sprint Cup starts.

 

Keselowski finished .159 of a second ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch, while Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell comprised the remainder of the top-10.

 

There were five caution periods for 28 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 161-lap race, which went into overtime and was extended by one lap.

 

With round 17 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR and the series in the championship standings. He is first with 565 points, 14 ahead of Keselowski, who moved into second place with his first victory at Daytona.

 

Kurt Busch dropped to third with 545 points, 20 behind leader Harvick.

 

Harvick earned a spot in the Chase via his win March 13 at Phoenix International Raceway, and Busch secured his position via his win June 6 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

 

Patrick is 26th with 302 points, 93 ahead of 31st-place Brian Scott. Like Stewart, if Patrick can win a race and finish among the top-30 in points following the 26th race of the season, she will earn a Chase berth.

 

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 9, at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. NBCSN will broadcast the race starting at 7 p.m. EDT.

 

SHR Release.

Stewart 26th in Final Daytona Appearance

After 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup races over 18 years of competition that led to four Cup victories, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet driver Tony Stewart said his final goodbye to Daytona International Speedway Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola.

 

In his swan song on the famed 2.5-mile oval, the three-time champion finished 26th in his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) entry after looking like he might win his second consecutive race of the season. tewart avoided early trouble then battled in the top-five as the race wound down, but with 10 to go the No. 14 slammed into the wall, ending his chances for victory.

 

Stewart took the blame for the incident.

 

“I just overcorrected for it and drove it into the fence,” said Stewart, who is a four-time Sprint Cup winner at Daytona, having scored victories in the annual Fourth of July weekend race in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2012 – the most among active drivers. “So definitely my fault. I don’t know why I got loose, but I got loose going into (turn) one.”

 

Despite his misfortune, Stewart moved into the top-30 in the driver standings by a three-point margin over 31st-place Brian Scott. If Stewart can remain in the top-30 through the 26th race of the season, he will secure his spot in the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff by virtue of his victory last week at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

 

Stewart started 19th Saturday and immediately drifted toward the back of the field to avoid the inevitable multicar crash and prepare his car for the all-important final-lap dash that so often determines the winners and losers in restrictor plate racing. He admitted before the race it wasn’t his style or inclination to run in the back, but he said Saturday’s race would be a “Peyton Manning night” where the team would call an audible every lap.

 

Stewart stuck to that strategy as he ran around 35th in the 40-car field for much of the early going, knowing he could go to the front at any time. That proved the correct strategy as the race ran without incident until lap 90, when Jamie McMurray was turned into the wall, triggering a 22-car accident that eliminated more than half of the 40-car field.

 

“We are in good shape, boys,” Stewart told the team after vaulting to 13th by missing the wreck in front of him. “I love when our plan pays off.”

 

After a lengthy caution and leading a lap when the field came to pit road, Stewart restarted the race in 22nd with 59 laps of racing remaining in the 160-lap event. Stewart raced 18th with 30 to go. A fuel-only pit stop with 27 to go moved Stewart to fifth, where he remained the next 17 laps.

 

Despite the 26th-place finish Saturday night, it was another encouraging performance for the No. 14 team. Saturday night’s race came just six days after Stewart’s last-corner pass Sunday afternoon at Sonoma to capture his 49th career victory and break an 84-race winless drought. He qualified sixth and ran in the top-10 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway three weekends ago. The following weekend, he qualified third and finished seventh at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. On the road course last week at Sonoma, he started 10th and led the final 22 laps, briefly losing, then regaining, the lead on the final lap.

 

Stewart leaves a legacy at Daytona. He owns a total of 19 Daytona victories, encompassing Sprint Cup races, non-points races, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the former IROC series. The tally places Stewart second on the track’s all-time win list, 15 behind the late, great Dale Earnhardt, who has 34 total victories at Daytona.

 

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Saturday night.

 

Busch was running fourth on the race’s final restart with two laps to go in overtime and was fighting for the win when he was hit from behind and sent sliding across the infield grass toward the finish line, which he crossed as the final car on the lead lap.

 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for SHR, salvaged a 27th-place finish, 31 laps down, after being involved in a multicar accident just past the race’s midpoint.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Beer Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 39th after being involved in the same multicar accident.

 

Brad Keselowski won the Coke Zero 400 to score his third victory of the season and his 20th in 250 career Sprint Cup starts.

 

Keselowski finished .159 of a second ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch, while Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell comprised the remainder of the top-10.

 

There were five caution periods for 28 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 161-lap race, which went into overtime and was extended by one lap.

 

With round 17 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR and the series in the championship standings. He is first with 565 points, 14 ahead of Keselowski, who moved into second place with his first victory at Daytona.

 

Kurt Busch dropped to third with 545 points, 20 behind leader Harvick.

 

Harvick earned a spot in the Chase via his win March 13 at Phoenix International Raceway, and Busch secured his position via his win June 6 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

 

Patrick is 26th with 302 points, 93 ahead of 31st-place Brian Scott. Like Stewart, if Patrick can win a race and finish among the top-30 in points following the 26th race of the season, she will earn a Chase berth.

 

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 9, at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. NBCSN will broadcast the race starting at 7 p.m. EDT.

 

SHR Release.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner standings after Daytona

Pos	Owner	Car #	Points	Ldr	Nxt	PPos	G/L	Attempts
1	Stewart-Haas Racing	4	565	0	--	1	0	17
2	Team Penske	2	551	-14	-14	4	2	17
3	Stewart-Haas Racing	41	545	-20	-6	2	-1	17
4	Team Penske	22	531	-34	-14	5	1	17
5	Joe Gibbs Racing	19	527	-38	-4	3	-2	17
6	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	492	-73	-35	9	3	17
7	Furniture Row Racing	78	482	-83	-10	8	1	17
8	Hendrick Motorsports	24	482	-83	0	6	-2	17
9	Hendrick Motorsports	48	475	-90	-7	7	-2	17
10	Joe Gibbs Racing	11	446	-119	-29	11	1	17
11	Joe Gibbs Racing	20	443	-122	-3	10	-1	17
12	Richard Childress Racing	3	434	-131	-9	14	2	17
13	Hendrick Motorsports	88	433	-132	-1	12	-1	17
14	Richard Childress Racing	31	425	-140	-8	13	-1	17
15	Wood Brothers Racing	21	409	-156	-16	17	2	17
16	Chip Ganassi Racing	1	405	-160	-4	15	-1	17
17	Roush Fenway Racing	6	399	-166	-6	19	2	17
18	Hendrick Motorsports	5	396	-169	-3	16	-2	17
19	JTG Daugherty Racing	47	393	-172	-3	18	-1	17
20	Chip Ganassi Racing	42	390	-175	-3	20	0	17
21	Roush Fenway Racing	17	388	-177	-2	21	0	17
22	Stewart-Haas Racing	14	364	-201	-24	22	0	17
23	Roush Fenway Racing	16	324	-241	-40	24	1	17
24	Richard Childress Racing	27	320	-245	-4	23	-1	17
25	HScott Motorsports	15	304	-261	-16	27	2	17
26	Richard Petty Motorsports	43	304	-261	0	26	0	17
27	Stewart-Haas Racing	10	302	-263	-2	25	-2	17
28	Germain Racing	13	268	-297	-34	29	1	17
29	Front Row Motorsports	38	259	-306	-9	28	-1	17
30	Circle Sport-Leavine Family	95	243	-322	-16	31	1	17
31	BK Racing	23	243	-322	0	30	-1	17
32	Richard Petty Motorsports	44	209	-356	-34	32	0	17
33	Tommy Baldwin Racing	7	203	-362	-6	33	0	17
34	Front Row Motorsports	34	194	-371	-9	34	0	17
35	BK Racing	83	187	-378	-7	35	0	17
36	Premium Motorsports	98	168	-397	-19	36	0	17
37	HScott Motorsports	46	150	-415	-18	37	0	17
38	GO FAS Racing	32	136	-429	-14	38	0	17
39	Premium Motorsports	55	97	-468	-39	39	0	12
40	The Motorsports Group	30	75	-490	-22	40	0	17
41	Front Row Motorsports	35	46	-519	-29	42	1	3
42	Circle Sport - Leavine Family	59	26	-539	-20	41	-1	1
43	BK Racing	93	11	-554	-15	43	0	3
44	BK Racing	26	3	-562	-8	44	0	1
45	Hillman Racing	40	0	-565	-3	45	0	1

Full schedule for Kentucky

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will gather for a tripleheader weekend at Kentucky Speedway this week. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6:
-- 1-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice
 -- 5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series second practice
 -- 7-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice

THURSDAY, JULY 7:
-- 10-11:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice
-- 1-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series second practice, NBCSN
-- 2:30-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice, NBCSN
-- 4-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series third practice, NBCSN
-- 5 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2
 -- 7-7:50 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
 -- 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Buckle Up in Your Truck 225, FS1 (150 laps, 225 miles)

FRIDAY, JULY 8:
-- 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice (will air taped starting at noon at NBCSN)
-- 1:30-2:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN
-- 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
-- 6:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (watch live on the NBCSports.com/NBC Sports App here)-- 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Alsco 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), NBCSN

SATURDAY, JULY 9:
-- 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts (267 laps, 400.5 miles), NBCSN

NCTWS: Buckle Up Your Truck 225 at Kentucky (Entry List)

The following is the entry list for Thursday's "Buckle Up Your Truck 225" NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

We will type in all updates to the list as they come in.

UPDATE: Brett Moffitt will be in the #11 at Kentucky; Garrett Smithley was added in the #07. (7/5/2016)

UPDATE: Austin Hill is in the #02 in place of Tyler Young. (7/6/2016)

UPDATE: Kligerman is in for Townley in the #05; and Norm Benning fills the seat in the #63; Mike Harmon has been added to bring the field to 32 entries. (7/6/2016)