Johnson among those to use backup cars
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and seven others are switching to backup cars for the Daytona 500.
All of the teams sustained damage in qualifying races Thursday. The group includes Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto and David Gilliland.
NASCAR also said Friday that Johnson, Keselowski, Almirola and DiBenedetto will swap engines.
NASCAR rules for Speedweeks mandate any engine change not related to crash damage would require starting at the rear of the Daytona 500 and the next race in Atlanta. Since the engine changes are because of crash damage, none of those four will have to start at the back of the pack in Atlanta.
Sauter uses big run, wins trucks race
Johnny Sauter won the season-opening NASCAR truck series race Friday night at Daytona International Speedway for his third victory at the famed track.
Sauter used a big run to pass David Gilliland for the lead with eight laps to go and then held off Justin Haley, Joe Nemechek, Ben Rhodes and Scott Lagasse Jr. None of those chasers provided much of a challenge down the stretch.
Sauter dedicated the win to crew chief Joe Shear Jr., whose wife died unexpectedly in late December.
It was Sauter’s 18th victory in 222 starts in the truck series. He previously won at Daytona in 2013 and ‘16.
Sauter took the No. 21 Chevrolet to victory lane after a series of late crashes wiped out about half the 32-truck field. Only 15 trucks finished on the lead lap, and only nine of those were in the lead pack in the closing laps.
The single-file racing made it considerably easier for Sauter to hold off the competition.
Drivers will be part of TV coverage again
Fox Sports will again use a lineup of NASCAR drivers as analysts for a race. Working the April 28 Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway will be: Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski and Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr.