2023 Daytona 500 Special | Chasing The Cup S2:E3

The host of Chasing the Cup previews the upcoming Daytona races and shares some news stories. Powerball is now an official partner of NASCAR. Daniel Suarez and Alex Povan have extended their contracts with their respective racing teams. Kyle Busch will be returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Connor Daly and Zane Smith will be racing in the Daytona 500. NASCAR is considering new markets for street course races. Thor Sport Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing have added new drivers to their lineups. The Clash TV ratings were down compared to the inaugural race. The host also previews the Nextera Energy 250, Beef It's What's For Dinner 300, and the Daytona 500, sharing his picks for each race. He predicts Ben Rhodes, Justin Haley, and Chase Elliott will win their respective races. Hello everyone and welcome to a special edition of Chasing the Cup, I am your host Phil England and in this episode, I'm going to be taking a look at some news stories and I'm going to preview this weekend's races at Daytona, including the Daytona 500, but first, let's get to the news. Starting off with a few news stories that broke during Media Day yesterday before Daytona 500 qualifying, Powerball has become an official partner of NASCAR, Daniel Suarez has signed a multi-year extension with Trek House Racing, Ally and Alex Povan have extended their contracts with Hendrick Motorsports, with Alex Povan's contract running through 2026 and Ally's running through 2028. Kyle Busch will be returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he is now retiring to run the number 10 for Koleg Racing in 5 races. Connor Daly will attempt the Daytona 500 for the Money Team Racing, and yesterday he had some issues with his car, so he has to race his way in tonight in the duels. It will be the same thing for Zane Smith, who is going to run 6 cup races, including the Daytona 500, and 5 of those races will be replacing Todd Gilliland in the 38. And most of those missing races that Todd is not going to run, which for out row, will be ran with Rick Ware Racing, probably in the number 15. NASCAR is considering a few new markets for street course races, these include New York City, as well as Seattle and Denver, as well as races in Canada and Mexico. And also, NASCAR may launch a new series in the Middle East. Thor Sport Racing has added Connor Jones to their 2023 lineup, Connor will run 9 races in the Truck Series for the team in the 66. Wyatt Snyder will join Joe Gibbs Racing for 6 Xfinity races this year in the number 19. And finally, if you look at the Clash TV ratings, Fox earned a 2.01 rating and 3.647 million viewers. It is down 15% from the inaugural race, which drew a 2.32 rating and 4.283 million viewers. But the race was the second most watched sports event of the weekend after the Pro Bowl. And so that's it for this week's news, now let's preview the Daytona 500 weekend. Before I begin previewing the races, I want to take a look back, because it is NASCAR's 75th anniversary, I want to take a look back to a race 30 years ago, the 1993 Daytona 500, when three guys battled it out for the win. The Dale & Dale Show, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, and a young Jeff Gordon, right there in the mix, in his rookie season. He was close to winning the Daytona 500 in his second cut start ever. And Dale Jarrett wound up winning the race, with his dad licking on in the boost, and his mother Martha watching. And speaking of Martha, over the off-season, she passed away. My condolences to the Jarrett family. Now let's preview the Daytona 500 weekend, starting off with the truck race. We have the Nextera Energy 250. The race will be 100 laps and 250 miles. And the race will be on February 17th at 7.30pm Eastern Time. And so for my pick, I'm going to go with Ben Rhodes. Ben Rhodes won this race two years ago, and it led to a championship, and I think Ben Rhodes will start the season off with a bang by winning at Daytona. Next for the Xfinity Series, we have the creatively named Beef It's What's For Dinner 300. The race will be 120 laps and 300 miles. And the race will be on February 18th at 5pm Eastern Time. So for my pick, I'm going to go with Justin Haley. Justin Haley has been a force to reckon with in the Xfinity Series at these plate tracks, and this will be a one-off start for him. And a number 10 for college racing. And I think in this one-off start, because he's so good, I think he'll win at Daytona. And finally, we have the Super Bowl of stock car racing, the Daytona 500. The race will be 200 laps and 500 miles. And the race will be on February 19th at 2.30pm Eastern Time. Your poll setter will be Alex Bowman after getting the poll yesterday and qualifying by completely dominating over the competition and getting his 6th straight front row start beating the previous record of 5. And so for my pick for the Daytona 500, it's going to be Chase Elliott. Chase Elliott won at Atlanta and Talladega last year, and he's done admirably well at these plate tracks, and he is yet to win the Daytona 500, but I think this year is going to be his year. At a NASCAR 75th anniversary season, it'll start off with a bang by having the most popular driver win his first Daytona 500 by winning at Daytona. And so that's it for this week's episode. If you enjoyed it, please like and subscribe for more. If you're going out to Daytona this weekend for the 500, I hope you have a good time. And if you're not, have a good time wherever you are, and I'll see you next week.