The 2013 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona was a non-championship NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on February 16, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 75 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race, while Greg Biffle finished second. Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 2 exhibition races in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
| Date | February 16, 2013 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) | ||
| Distance | 75 laps, 187.5 mi (301.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures averaging around 57.2 °F (14.0 °C); wind speeds approaching 22 miles per hour (35 km/h)[2] | ||
| Average speed | 177.538 mph (285.720 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Fenway Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 40 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Network | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
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.[3] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[4]
A total of twenty-two drivers were eligible to compete in the race, including 2012 pole position winners and previous winners of the race who had qualified for at least one race during the 2012 season,[5] but only nineteen drivers participated in the race.[6] Notable drivers not invited to the race were Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer, the 2012 champion and champion runner up, who didn't collect any pole positions in 2012. In yellow are previous Daytona Shootout winners without pole wins in the 2012 season.
Unlike other races, the race format was chosen by a fan poll, and was 75 laps long, with three segments of 30, 25, and 20 laps. Which was chosen over a format that would have seen a 35, 30, and a 10 lap segments and a 40, 20, and 15 lap segments.[7] Fans also voted to mandate drivers to perform a 4-tire pitstop after the first segment over a 2-tire stop or no mandatory pitstop. Fans also voted for no cars to be eliminated following the second segment over 2, 4, and 6 cars being eliminated (though 7 cars were out due to crashes or mechanical issues before that point.) Fans also voted for the firesuit miss Sprint Cup appeared in victory lane in.[8]
Practice and qualifying
editTwo practice sessions were held before the race, which was on February 15, 2013. The first session lasted 45 minutes, while the second lasted 60 minutes.[9] Kevin Harvick was quickest with a time of 45.601 seconds in the first session, less than two-hundredths of a second faster than Aric Almirola. Greg Biffle with a quickest time of 45.660 seconds was third, ahead of Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Juan Pablo Montoya was seventh, still within a second of Harvick's time.[10] Also in the first session, five cars were involved in an accident after Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch collided.[11] In the second and final practice session, Denny Hamlin was quickest with a fastest time of 45.906 seconds. Joey Logano followed in second, ahead of Biffle and Harvick. Almirola was fifth quickest, with a time of 46.027. Montoya, Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, and Terry Labonte rounded out to the first ten positions.[12]
Results
editQualifying
edit| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Grid | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1 | |||
| 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 2 | |||
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 | |||
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 4 | |||
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 | |||
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 6 | |||
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | |||
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 8 | |||
| 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing | Ford | 9 | |||
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 10 | |||
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 11 | |||
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 12 | |||
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 13 | |||
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 14 | |||
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 15 | |||
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 16 | |||
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 17 | |||
| 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 18 | |||
| 32 | Terry Labonte | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 19 | |||
Source:[13]
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Race results
editReferences
edit- ^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Weather of the 2013 Sprint Unlimited". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
- ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Tuner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ a b "Daytona Track Facts". Daytona International Speeedway. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Shootout eligibility returns to its roots for 2013". NASCAR. Turner Sports. February 19, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ Jensen, Tom (February 11, 2013). "CUP: Nineteen Drivers In Sprint Unlimited". Speed. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "Fan Vote Picks Format For The Sprint Unlimited". NASCAR. February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ "Fan voting online, on NASCAR mobile app will design 2013 Sprint Unlimited | Hendrick Motorsports". www.hendrickmotorsports.com. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ "2013 Sprint Unlimited Race Information". ESPN. Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ^ "Sprint Unlimited Practice 1" (PDF). ESPN. Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ^ Gluck, Jeff (February 15, 2013). "Matt Kenseth causes crash in first Daytona practice". USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ^ "Sprint Unlimited Final Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ^ "Sprint Unlimited at Daytona Starting Lineup". Motor Racing Network. February 16, 2013. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.