2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash

The 2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash was the 42nd edition of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 10, 2019, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 59 laps, shortened from 75 due to rain, it was the first exhibition race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Race 1 of 2 exhibition races in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Date February 10, 2019 (2019-02-10)
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 59 laps, 147.5 mi (236 km)
Scheduled Distance 75 laps, 187.5 mi (300 km)
Average speed 110.602 mph (177.997 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 51
Winner
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network FS1
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon, and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 2.294 million[8]
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

Report

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Background

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Daytona International Speedway, where the race is held.

The track, Daytona International Speedway, is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four–turn superspeedway that is 2.5-mile (4.0 km) The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

Format and eligibility

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The race is 75 laps in length, and is divided into two segments; the first is 25 laps and the second is 50 laps. The race is open to those drivers who won a pole in the 2018 season or had won "The Clash" previously.

The 2019 Clash at Daytona will not be a predetermined number of cars; rather, the field is limited to drivers who meet more exclusive criteria. Only drivers who were 2018 Pole Award winners, former Clash race winners, former Daytona 500 champions, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full–time in 2018 and drivers who qualified for the 2018 Playoffs are eligible.

Entry list

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No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
40 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

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Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 45.735 seconds and a speed of 196.786 mph (316.696 km/h).[9]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 45.735 196.786
2 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.761 196.674
3 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.773 196.622
Official final practice results

Starting lineup

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The lineup was determined by random draw, with Paul Menard drawing the top spot.

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer
1 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford
2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
4 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford
5 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
8 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
9 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
10 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 40 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
12 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
15 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
16 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
17 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
19 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
20 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Official starting lineup

Race

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The race, scheduled for 75 laps, was run in two segments, one of 25 laps and one of 50 laps.

Prior to the start, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin, both of whom were involved in practice incidents, were sent to the rear for backup cars.

Kyle Busch held the lead for the first lap before the Team Penske tandem of Paul Menard (in a satellite) and Brad Keselowski overtook him, holding the lead into the first safety car on Lap 8 for weather, resulting in a red flag of 21:31. The race restarted on Lap 12 and the Penske dominance continued. The strategy, similar to another Ford team (Stewart-Haas Racing) dominance at the previous Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway, continued until all but five cars pitted on Lap 25 to beat the competition caution safety car period. Those five -- Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex, Jr. -- were the top five at the end of session break on Lap 26. After the five non-pitting cars pitted under the safety car, the race restarted on Lap 33 with Menard continuing his dominance.

Rain struck again for the third safety car session, the second for rain, on Lap 40. After another red flag session of 8:05, the race restarted on Lap 48. Teams were warned of a longer rain cell that could end the race at any time, leading to a more aggressive race in the final laps, knowing that the race could end at any time. With the weather, the fairly single-file high side racing moved to two-lane racing.

On Lap 56, the aggressive racing began. Off a well-timed push from Hendrick Motorsports-affiliated driver Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson was able to pull up aside Menard. Menard attempted the overtly aggressive "side draft" blocking maneuver to slow Johnson, but the two cars made contact. With the field bunched, a massive pileup ensues, with Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Harvick, Ryan Newman, Elliott, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., Erik Jones, McMurray, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman also involved. Johnson and Busch were first and second when the safety car was called as a result of the Turn 3 crash.

The rains came while cleanup from this incident was taking place, and the race was called. Johnson was declared the winner, his final NASCAR-sanctioned (but non-championship) race win.

Race results

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Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps
1 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59
2 19 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 59
3 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 59
4 8 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 59
5 5 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59
6 9 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 59
7 16 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59
8 18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 59
9 4 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 59
10 10 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 58
11 11 40 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 58
12 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57
13 1 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 55
14 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 55
15 12 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 55
16 15 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 55
17 17 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 55
18 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 55
19 14 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 55
20 20 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 55
Official race results

Media

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FS1 covered the race on the television side; Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Jeff Gordon handled the call in the booth for the race; Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled pit road for the television side.

Television

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FS1
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Vince Welch
Matt Yocum

Radio

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MRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Announcer: Rusty Wallace
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey
Winston Kelley
Steve Post
Dillon Welch
Kim Coon

References

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  1. ^ "2019 schedule". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "Twenty drivers eligible for 2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  5. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "Starting Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  7. ^ "Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "Advance Auto Parts Clash ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  9. ^ Utter, Jim (February 9, 2019). "Joey Logano leads Daytona Clash practice, four cars wreck". Motorsport.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Motorsport Network. Retrieved February 9, 2019.