NASCAR on Fox

On November 11, 1999, NASCAR signed a contract that awarded the U.S. television rights to its races to four networks (two that would hold the broadcast television rights and two that would hold the cable television rights), split between Fox and sister cable channel FX, and NBC and TBS (whose rights were later assumed by TNT) starting with the 2001 season. Fox and FX would alternate coverage of all races held during the first half of the season, while NBC and TNT would air all races held during the second half.

Beginning in 2001,^[2] Fox alternated coverage of the first and most preeminent race of the season, the Daytona 500, with Fox televising the race in odd-numbered years and NBC airing it in even-numbered years through 2006. For balance, the network that did not air the 500 in a given year during the contract would air Daytona's summer night race, the Pepsi 400. Valued at $2.4 billion, Fox/FX held the rights to this particular contract for eight years (through 2008) and NBC/TNT having the rights for six years (through 2006).^[3] Further on the cable side, in October 2002, Speed Channel – which was owned by the Fox broadcast network's parent subsidiary Fox Entertainment Group – obtained the rights to televise all of the races in the Craftsman Truck Series, a contract it bought out from ESPN.

During the first half of the season, FX served as the primary broadcaster of the Busch Series, airing all but the most prestigious races, which were instead shown on Fox. FX was also home to most of the NASCAR Cup Series night races, The Winston/All-Star Race, and the June race at Dover International Speedway. Should a Fox-scheduled race be rained out on their scheduled race day and rescheduled to resume the following Monday, FX would simulcast the race with some of Fox's affiliates (although FOX-scheduled rainouts now air in their entirety on FOX). Fox Sports Net covered the 2001 Gatorade Twin 125's at Daytona International Speedway, the only time it ever covered a race.

Contract extensions

On December 7, 2005, NASCAR signed a new eight-year broadcast deal effective with the 2007 season, and valued at $4.48 billion,^[4] with Fox and Speed Channel, which would also share event rights with Disney-owned ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, as well as TNT. The rights would be divided as follows:

• Fox became the exclusive broadcaster of the Daytona 500 and also hold the rights to the first thirteen points paying races. In addition, the network carried the Sprint Unlimited and two Truck Series races (the network aired the Kroger 250 from Martinsville Speedway, and the Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park in 2007, and the Kroger 250 from Martinsville, as well as the San Bernardino County 200 at Auto Club Speedway, in both 2008 and 2009). Fox did not air any races of what is now the Gander Outdoors Truck Series from 2010 to 2013, with all 25 races instead airing on Speed and later Fox Sports 1.^[5] Fox's 2011 coverage ended with the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.
• TNT carried six NASCAR Cup Series races during the month of June and the first half of July, including the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. In 2013, in particular, the network aired Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Kentucky Speedway, the Coke Zero 400, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• ESPN and ABC (through the ESPN on ABC arrangement) carried the final seventeen NASCAR Cup Series races from the Brickyard 400 through the end of the season, with the Cup Series Chase for the Championship races airing on ABC (until 2010, when ESPN took over most of the coverage, leaving ABC with the last 3 Saturday night races in their broadcasting period). The entire Nationwide season was aired primarily on ESPN2 and ESPN, with selected races on ABC, NASCAR returned to ESPN airing the first six races including Daytona, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and ESPN2 carrying Phoenix to Michigan.
• Speed/Fox Sports 1 carried the Budweiser Duel races and the Sprint All-Star Race, as well as the entire Camping World Truck Series season, except for the 2 races carried each year by Fox from 2007 to 2009. After the 2009 season, all the Truck races aired on Speed/FS1 – with the exception of the 2014 Talladega race, which aired on Fox.

In October 2012, NASCAR extended its contract with Fox Sports through 2022, which allowed Fox the online streaming rights for its event telecasts; the Fox Sports contract also retains coverage of the first 13 races of the NASCAR Cup Series and exclusive coverage of the Daytona 500.^[6] On August 1, 2013, Fox Sports extended its contract by two additional years through 2024, due to NASCAR's contract with NBC Sports running through that same time, and acquired the rights to the first 16 races of the NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the first 14 Xfinity (formerly Nationwide) Series events.^[7] As a result, Fox will broadcast the races it already covers, as well as all of the events held in June, which include the events at Pocono and Michigan with coverage ending with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. Fox had previously held rights to these three races under its initial 2001–06 contract.

Under the current deal:

• Fox broadcasts the first nine points races and two other races, the Coca-Cola 600 (totaling 11 races over the air), including the Daytona 500 and Busch Clash, Fox Sports 1 carries several other events, including the Bluegreen Vacations Duel, the All-Star Race and all other points races in the first half of the season that do not air on Fox (six races, four straight races after Fox's first nine races, then a break for the Coca-Cola 600, then two more race after that), plus the first half of the Xfinity Series season, with the exception of the more prestigious races, which aired on Fox from 2015 to 2018 and will be shown there in 2020–2024. They were aired on FS1 exclusively in 2012-2014 and 2019.
• NBC will broadcast three regular season races, the Brickyard 400, Ally 400 and the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and five races in the NASCAR playoffs (8 races overall), with the other races in the second half being aired on USA network. However, in NBC's Olympics years, CNBC will air some Cup and Xfinity series races (CNBC did not air races during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as NASCAR already scheduled an Olympic break). In 2022, USA Network will air the races since NBCSN will be shut down at the end of 2021. NBC also airs some races in the Xfinity Series, including some NASCAR Xfinity series playoff races.
• Cup series races on NBC are a lead in to NBC Sunday Night Football (after local news and NBC Nightly News except for the final race of the season, when the race leads into SNF).
• The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series remains exclusively on FS1, with 1-3 races airing on Fox (none in 2021–2024).
• Starting in 2013, Spanish-language network Fox Deportes airs select NASCAR Cup races either live or delayed.^[8]

Discover more about Background related topics

Cable television

Cable television

Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadcast television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television; or satellite television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth, and received by a satellite dish antenna on the roof. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephone services, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. Analog television was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to digital cable operation.

FX (TV channel)

FX (TV channel)

FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX was originally launched by News Corporation on June 1, 1994, and later became one of the properties that was included in the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019. The network's original programming aspires to the standards of premium cable channels in regard to mature themes and content, high-quality writing, directing and acting. Sister channels FXM and FXX were launched in 1994 and 2013, respectively. FX also carries reruns of theatrical films and terrestrial-network sitcoms. Advertising-free content was available through the FX+ premium subscription service until it was shut down on August 21, 2019.

Daytona 500

Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile-long (805 km) NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual fall showdown Dixie Vodka 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup series.

Coke Zero Sugar 400

Coke Zero Sugar 400

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, 400-mile (640 km), and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series circuit, the other being the Daytona 500. From its inception through 2019, it was traditionally held on or around the United States' Independence Day. From 1988 until 2019, the race was scheduled for the first Saturday of July – that closest to July 4. In 1998, it became the first stock car race at Daytona to be held at night under-the-lights. In 2020, the race was moved to late August and currently serves as the final race of the Cup Series regular season.

Fox Entertainment Group

Fox Entertainment Group

Fox Entertainment Group was an American entertainment company specialised in filmed entertainment owned by 21st Century Fox. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the group's assets were folded into various Disney units. The film studios 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios were transferred to Walt Disney Studios, whilst Fox Star Studios transferred to Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International.

ESPN

ESPN

ESPN is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan.

NASCAR All-Star Race

NASCAR All-Star Race

The NASCAR All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston from 1985 to 2003, the Nextel All-Star Challenge from 2004 to 2007, the Sprint All-Star Race from 2008 to 2016, and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from 2017 to 2019, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car exhibition race between race winners from the previous season and the beginning of the current season, as well as all past event winners, and previous NASCAR Cup Series champions who attempted to run the entire previous season. Two other ways to become eligible to race in the event are winning one of the three stages in the All-Star Open, or by winning the fan vote.

Fox Sports Networks

Fox Sports Networks

Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019, following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. A condition of that acquisition imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice required Disney to sell the regional networks by June 18, 2019, 90 days after the completion of its acquisition. Disney subsequently agreed to sell the networks to Sinclair; the transaction was completed on August 22, 2019. The networks continued to use the Fox Sports name only under a transitional license agreement while rebranding options were explored. A rebranding cross-partnership with Bally's Corporation took effect on March 31, 2021, and the networks were rebranded as Bally Sports, ending the Fox Sports Networks branding after 25 years.

2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 53rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 30th modern-era Cup series. It began on February 11, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 23, 2001, at New Hampshire International Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports was declared as the series champion for the fourth time in seven years.

Bluegreen Vacations Duel

Bluegreen Vacations Duel

The Bluegreen Vacations Duel, formerly known as the Twin 125s, is a NASCAR Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two 150-mile (240 km) races, which both serve as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. The finishing order in the two 150-mile (240 km) races, held on the Thursday before the Daytona 500, determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on race day.

ESPN on ABC

ESPN on ABC

ESPN on ABC is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, in 2006, ABC's sports division was merged into ESPN Inc., which is the parent subsidiary of the cable sports network ESPN that is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with Hearst Communications.

ESPN2

ESPN2

ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.

History

Chris Myers (left) and Jeff Hammond (center) appear on the studio set alongside Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney (right) during the 2006 Pepsi 400.

NASCAR on Fox original logo (2001–2012)

NASCAR on Fox vertical logo (2013–2014)

NASCAR on Fox vertical logo (2015-2016)

NASCAR on Fox logo (2001–2003)

NASCAR on Fox logo (2004–2006)

For its broadcasts from 2001 to 2018, Fox used a portable studio called the Hollywood Hotel for pre-race coverage. For the 2001 to 2007 races held at Daytona International Speedway, the infield media center situated next to Gatorade Victory Lane was used instead.

If the race is delayed to a Monday, the Hollywood Hotel studio was usually not used, with the exception of the 2012 Daytona 500, which was delayed by one day. This was because Myers also hosted a talk-show for Fox Sports Radio, resulting in him having to return to Los Angeles to begin the following week's shows. John Roberts filled in for Myers for this particular race, and had also filled in for Myers the previous week for the Budweiser Shootout as Myers was on bereavement leave.

However, if a Saturday night race is rained out to Sunday then the studio will be in use for the delayed coverage. Prior to 2015, if the hotel was no longer available, Jeff Hammond could be shifted to substitute for a pit reporter or analyst if necessary. For instance, Hammond did this in 2002 for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway to replace Steve Byrnes, as Byrnes was unable to make it due to the birth of his son Bryson. During the 2004 Dodge/Save Mart 350, the studio was not used and Myers and Hammond were located on the hillside on outdoor chairs; no explanation was given for this.

NASCAR on Fox logo (2007–2012)

NASCAR on Fox logo (2013–2014)

NASCAR on Fox logo (2015–2016)

In 2011, Pizza Hut became the presenting sponsor of the pre-race show. In addition, the first segment of the telecast was moved from the hotel to a tented facility either trackside or in the infield, depending on the venue. The idea was to build a crowd around the production of the segment; this has similarities to Fox's own NFL pregame show in 2006, as well as the College GameDay football and basketball shows on ESPN.

In 2012, John Roberts filled in for Chris Myers as host for the Budweiser Shootout and the Daytona 500, as Myers was on bereavement leave following his son's death in a motorcycle accident. For the 2014 Sprint Unlimited, Michael Waltrip filled in for Darrell, who was undergoing gallbladder surgery; for Daytona 500 Practice and Pole Qualifying, the position was filled by Phil Parsons. Darrell Waltrip returned for the Budweiser Duels. In 2016, Jeff Gordon replaced McReynolds in the booth while McReynolds was reassigned as the rules and technical analyst, replacing Andy Petree.

In 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the Fox booth as a guest color commentator for the Clash after deciding not to compete in the race as a driver.^[9] He would become a permanent color commentator for NBC in 2018 after he retired from driving full-time. With NBC's permission, Jr. returned to Fox as a guest color commentator for the GEICO 500 at Talladega in April 2022.

On June 10, 2017, the Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway was presented by current drivers in the Cup Series, the first time that a national sporting event was covered by currently active athletes. The presenters provided coverage from all three perspectives during the race (Hollywood Hotel studio, lap-by-lap commentary and pit road coverage). The driver commentators were Kevin Harvick (lap-by-lap), Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer (color analysts), Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (pit road), Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin (Hollywood Hotel).^[10]

On April 28, 2018, the Sparks Energy 300, the Xfinity race at Talladega Superspeedway, was an all-drivers broadcast, the second time that a national sporting event was covered entirely by active athletes, the first being the aforementioned Pocono race. The presenters provided coverage from all three perspectives during the race (Hollywood Hotel studio, lap-by-lap commentary and pit road coverage). The booth team of Harvick, Logano and Bowyer was retained, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was moved to the Hollywood Hotel alongside Brad Keselowski, with Bubba Wallace replacing Stenhouse as a pit road reporter.

The studio was retired following the 2018 season due to the Charlotte studios getting redone in order to host more shows. In 2019, Fox often cut to the Charlotte studio during the race and talked to Jamie McMurray, who was new to the NASCAR on Fox team; also in 2019, Shannon Spake replaced Chris Myers as host due to Myers being moved to Fox's Premier Boxing Champions coverage, although Myers appeared on site for the Daytona 500, while Adam Alexander served as on site host for the rest of the season.

On May 25, 2019, the Alsco 300, the Xfinity race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was an all-drivers broadcast, the third time that a national sporting event was covered entirely by active athletes, the first being the aforementioned Pocono race. The presenters provided coverage from all three perspectives during the race (Hollywood Hotel studio, lap-by-lap commentary and pit road coverage). The booth team of Harvick, Logano and Bowyer was retained, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace (pit road) was also retained. Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Chad Knaus hosted from the Charlotte studios.

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic after the fourth race of the season Fox started using their Charlotte Studio to the maximum extent possible to avoid travel, ensure social distancing, and limit the number of staff onsite at races. The only on-air talent onsite was at most two pit reporters per race, all other talent was stationed at the Fox Studios in Charlotte.

In 2021, Myers returned to hosting the at-track portions of pre-race alongside Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer. Spake, McReynolds, and McMurrary host pre-race coverage from the Charlotte studios.

After the 2021 season, Gordon left Fox to work for Hendrick Motorsports full-time as the team's Vice Chairman. (He had previously worked with the team during the second half of the Cup Series season when NBC was broadcasting the races, after spending his entire full-time career with them).^[11] Fox did not replace him with one permanent color commentator and instead filled his spot with rotating guest commentators as they do in the Xfinity, Truck and ARCA Series. Retired Cup Series driver Tony Stewart was the first guest color commentator and was in the booth for the Clash, the Daytona 500 and the race at COTA.

Broadcast booth

NOTE: This is Fox's broadcast lineup for 2023

• NASCAR Cup Series
  • Mike Joy – play-by-play announcer
  • Clint Bowyer – color commentator
  • Larry McReynolds – rules analyst (except Richmond), color commentator (Richmond)
  • Rotation of guest color commentators (see full list below)^[12]
    • Tony Stewart (Clash, Duels, Daytona 500, Fontana, Atlanta, Bristol, Talladega, Charlotte) ^[13]
    • Danica Patrick (Las Vegas, Phoenix)
    • Kurt Busch (COTA)
    • Guenther Steiner (COTA)
    • Chase Elliott (COTA)
    • TBA (Martinsville through Sonoma)
• Xfinity Series
  • Adam Alexander – play-by-play announcer (except Charlotte)
  • Kevin Harvick - Play-by-play announcer (Charlotte)
  • Michael Waltrip – color commentator (Qualifying)
  • Coleman Pressley (in-race spotter analyst at Daytona, Phoenix, Atlanta, COTA)
  • Rotation of guest color commentators (see full list below)
    • Ryan Blaney (Daytona, Fontana, Las Vegas)
    • Austin Dillon (Daytona)
    • Joey Logano (Fontana, Phoenix, Atlanta)
    • Kevin Harvick (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Richmond)
    • Daniel Suarez (Atlanta)
    • Brad Keselowski (COTA)
    • TBA (Richmond)
    • TBA (Martinsville through Sonoma)

• Craftsman Truck Series
  • Adam Alexander – lap-by-lap announcer (Daytona)
  • Jamie Little - lap-by-lap announcer (Las Vegas, Atlanta, COTA)
  • Michael Waltrip – color commentator
  • Phil Parsons – color commentator (select races)
  • Rotation of guest color commentators (see full list below)
    • Kevin Harvick - color commentator (COTA, Kansas, Gateway)
    • Andy Lally - color commentator ( Mid-Ohio)
• ARCA Menards Series
  • Jamie Little – play-by-play announcer
  • Phil Parsons – color commentator
  • Rotation of guest color commentators (see full list below)
    • Austin Cindric (Daytona and Phoenix)
    • TBA (All Other Races)

For Xfinity, Truck and ARCA broadcasts, the guest color commentator will usually be an active Cup Series driver, if not a crew chief. Starting in 2022, they are doing this for the Cup Series as well to replace Jeff Gordon. The guest color commentators for the Cup Series have been retired Cup Series drivers and crew chiefs.

Pit reporters

• Jamie Little (all Cup races and select Xfinity races)
• Regan Smith (all Cup races and select Xfinity and Truck races)
• Jamie Howe (All Truck and select ARCA races)
• Josh Sims (select Truck and Select Xfinity and Cup races)
• Heather Debeaux (ARCA and select truck races)
• Amanda Busick (select Truck races)
• Larry McReynolds (Clash at the Coliseum and Duels at Daytona)
• Michael Waltrip (Daytona 500 only)

Pre and post-race show

• Chris Myers – on-site host (Cup Series)
• Michael Waltrip – on-site analyst (Cup Series)
• Shannon Spake – studio host (Cup and Xfinity Series)
• Larry McReynolds – studio analyst (all Cup and Xfinity Series races and select Truck Series races)
• Jamie McMurray – on-site analyst (Cup Series)
• Bobby Labonte - studio analyst (Cup Series)
• Kaitlyn Vincie – studio host (Truck Series)
• Trevor Bayne – studio analyst (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks)
• Todd Bodine – studio analyst (Truck Series races)

Former

See List of NASCAR on Fox broadcasters#Former commentators

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List of NASCAR on Fox broadcasters

List of NASCAR on Fox broadcasters

The following is a list of current and former broadcasters for NASCAR on Fox.

Chris Myers

Chris Myers

Chris Myers is an American sportscaster. He has covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Final Four, The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, the Olympics, and the Daytona 500.

Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney

Richard Bruce Cheney is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U.S. vice president, following the death of Walter Mondale in 2021.

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.500 mi (4.023 km) high-speed tri-oval, a 3.560 mi (5.729 km) sports car course, a 2.950 mi (4.748 km) motorcycle course, and a 1,320 ft (400 m) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054. Dale Earnhardt is Daytona International Speedway's all-time winningest driver, with a total of 34 career victories.

2012 Daytona 500

2012 Daytona 500

The 2012 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The 54th iteration of the event, it was held between February 27 and 28, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 140,000. Matt Kenseth driving for Roush Fenway Racing took the 202-lap race for his first win of the season and his second Daytona 500 victory. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second and Greg Biffle was third.

Fox Sports Radio

Fox Sports Radio

Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company of Premiere Networks. With studios also in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Tampa, Phoenix, Tulsa, Cincinnati, and Las Vegas, Fox Sports Radio is broadcast on more than 400 stations, as well as FoxSports.com on MSN and iHeartRadio.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California, the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, and one of the world's most populous megacities. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits as of 2020, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The majority of the city proper lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending partly through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to its east. It covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2), and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estimated 9.86 million residents as of 2022.

Jeff Hammond (NASCAR)

Jeff Hammond (NASCAR)

Jeffrey L. Hammond is an American NASCAR personality and crew chief. Currently, he is a commentator for NASCAR's coverage on Fox Sports. He is also referred to as Hollywood Hammond by his Fox colleague Darrell Waltrip. He is an alumnus of East Carolina University.

2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series

2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series

The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 56th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 33rd modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Saturday, February 7, and ended on Sunday, November 21. Kurt Busch, who drove a Ford for Roush Racing, was the Nextel Cup champion. It would be the last time until 2012 that the championship would be won by someone other than Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson.

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 63rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 40th modern-era Cup series season. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races, beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at dine-in, take-out and delivery chain locations. They also serve chicken wings on their WingStreet menu.

Fox NFL Sunday

Fox NFL Sunday

Fox NFL Sunday is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the NFL on Fox brand. An audio simulcast of the program airs on sister radio network Fox Sports Radio, which is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. As of 2014, the program has won four Emmy Awards.

The original theme music^[14] for NASCAR on Fox broadcasts was in the same style as other Fox Sports properties (such as for NFL and Major League Baseball coverage) and was originally used from 2001 to 2008. In 2008, Fox introduced a new theme for its NASCAR telecasts titled NASCAR Love,^[15] performed by country singer Toby Lightman (an instrumental version was used for the opening segment).

From the 2011 Budweiser Shootout to 2015, Fox used the NFL on FOX theme song^[16] in NASCAR telecasts. In addition, country superstar Dierks Bentley unveiled a new version of his hit song "Sideways,” with new lyrics referencing NASCAR – which is played during the introduction of the pre-race show.^[17] "Sideways" was phased out entirely with the 2013 Sprint Unlimited telecast, with the Fox NFL theme music being used full-time. In addition, a new CGI introduction sequence, produced by Blur Studio, made its debut.

In 2015, the introduction sequence was eliminated in favor of intros unique to each track.

In 2016, Fox and FS1 (Cup Series only) reintroduced the original theme used between 2001 and 2008.^[18] FS1 continues to use their old theme for Xfinity Series and Truck Series.

Discover more about Theme music related topics

Toby Lightman

Toby Lightman

Toby Lightman is an American singer-songwriter best known for her songs "My Sweet Song", "Holding a Heart", and "Devils and Angles". Her first album, Little Things, was released in 2004 on Lava/Atlantic. Her second album, Bird on a Wire was released in 2006. During her career, she has toured and performed with bands such as OAR, Rob Thomas, Jewel, Gavin DeGraw, Train, Prince, Marc Broussard, and Carbon Leaf. Lightman released her first independent record "Let Go" in 2010 and was the first independent artist to perform and sell on the HSN. Lightman recently released her first self-produced album After All in fall of 2022. This album was inspired by her journey through infertility and pregnancy loss to finally have 2 children.

2011 Budweiser Shootout

2011 Budweiser Shootout

The 2011 Budweiser Shootout was a stock car race and the first exhibition event of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on February 12, 2011 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 75-lap race was won by Kurt Busch for the Penske Racing team. Jamie McMurray finished second and Ryan Newman came in third.

Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley

Frederick Dierks Bentley is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified Platinum in the United States, and his third album, 2006's Long Trip Alone, is certified Gold. It was followed in mid-2008 by a greatest hits package. His fourth album, Feel That Fire, was released in February 2009, and a bluegrass album, Up on the Ridge, was released on June 8, 2010. His sixth album, Home, followed in February 2012, as did a seventh one, Riser, in 2014. Bentley's eighth album, titled Black, was released in May 2016, and his ninth, The Mountain, was released in June 2018. His tenth studio album will release in early 2023.

Sideways (Dierks Bentley song)

Sideways (Dierks Bentley song)

"Sideways" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released on March 2, 2009, as the second single from his 2009 album Feel That Fire and as the twelfth single of his career. On the chart week of July 11, 2009, the song became Bentley's seventh Number One hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

2013 Sprint Unlimited

2013 Sprint Unlimited

The 2013 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona was a 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.

Blur Studio

Blur Studio

Blur Studio is an American-based production company which specialises in CGI visual effects, CGI animation and CGI design. Located in Culver City, California, the studio has produced CGI-animated films, teasers and ad spots for television, as well as video-game CGI cinematics.

Fox is known for being the first network to show a scoring banner across the top of the screen with scrolling text during NASCAR telecasts. In previous years when ESPN, CBS, and others owned the broadcasting rights, scoring had been displayed in a box on the top left corner. Fox was also the first network to use the unique font/styling for each car number (such as Dale Earnhardt's number 3, Jeff Gordon's 24, the Petty 43) for their on-screen graphics, as opposed to a generic font (however the banner continued to use just text). Other networks would adopt this innovation and is now commonplace for most American motorsport broadcasts.

From its debut until 2013, Fox initially used a scrolling ticker to display the current running order of drivers and other information (such as intervals and other statistics, shown on an occasionally displayed secondary line), instead of the boxes that were used by previous NASCAR broadcasters. Fox would eventually deploy the banner design across all of its sports properties, while its conventions would be adopted by fellow NASCAR broadcasters, including NBC, TNT, and later ESPN.

For the 2014 season, alongside a new corporate style, Fox replaced the scrolling ticker with a leaderboard-style sidebar occupying the right-side portion of the screen, with one section displaying the top three drivers, and a scrolling section displaying the remainder of the field of drivers. While Fox Sports president Eric Shanks justified the changes, noting that it would allow more of the field to be displayed at once and more frequently than the relatively longer ticker, the leaderboard was criticized by viewers during events leading up to the Daytona 500 (such as the Sprint Unlimited, Daytona 500 qualifying, and the ARCA series Lucas Oil 200) for obstructing too much of the screen.^[19]

In response to the criticism, Shanks stated that the layout of the leaderboard would be revised in time for the Daytona 500.^[19] The vertical leaderboard was reconfigured into a horizontal version with three columns of 3 drivers each, which could be resized into 2 longer columns of three drivers each to display intervals or other statistics (a version that was later used as the main graphic).

In the 2018 NASCAR season, NASCAR coverage adopted a new flat graphics package previously introduced during the previous NFL season. This package reintroduced a vertical leaderboard, although this time it initially occupied an opaque sidebar spanning the entire left side of the screen. The design was once-again criticized by viewers during events leading up to the Daytona 500, as the opaque sidebar reduced the amount of screen space devoted to race footage to a roughly 4:3 window, the ticker fell within overscan on some televisions, while some camera shots were not correctly framed to suit the new layout. By the Daytona 500, the graphic had been revised to remove the opaque sidebar, and make the leaderboard slightly translucent.^[20][21]

In 2019, during Daytona 500 qualifying, Fox introduced a new augmented reality "GhostCar," allowing for a live visualization of a previous driver's qualifying lap (such as the leader or driver on the bubble) to be overlaid into live footage of another driver's qualifying attempt. NBC had introduced the system in 2018, but only during replays. The GhostCar feature was re-introduced later in the season, when NASCAR ended its multi-car qualifying format in favor of the previous single-car format.^[22]

In 2022, Fox introduced a revamp of its on-air presentation for NASCAR (as part of a move towards dedicated graphics packages for each of Fox Sports' major properties, rather than a standard look shared by all telecasts), the package was built upon visual elements from the then-current NFL on Fox branding, including the use of stylized "comic book" illustrations of drivers.^[23][24][25]

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News ticker

News ticker

A news ticker is a horizontal or vertical text-based display either in the form of a graphic that typically resides in the lower third of the screen space on a television station or network or as a long, thin scoreboard-style display seen around the facades of some offices or public buildings dedicated to presenting headlines or minor pieces of news. It is an evolution of the ticker tape, a continuous paper print-out of stock quotes from a printing telegraph which was mainly used in stock exchanges before the advance of technology in the 1960s.

2014 Daytona 500

2014 Daytona 500

The 2014 Daytona 500, the 56th running of the event, was held on February 23, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km) on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the first race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his second Daytona 500 victory breaking a 55-race winless streak. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, while Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the Top 5. This race had seven cautions and 42 lead changes among 18 different drivers. The top rookies of this race were polesitter Austin Dillon (9th), Alex Bowman (23rd), and Brian Scott (25th).

Overscan

Overscan

Overscan is a behaviour in certain television sets, in which part of the input picture is cut off by the visible bounds of the screen. It exists because cathode-ray tube (CRT) television sets from the 1930s to the early 2000s were highly variable in how the video image was positioned within the borders of the screen. It then became common practice to have video signals with black edges around the picture, which the television was meant to discard in this way.

Safe area (television)

Safe area (television)

Safe area is a term used in television production to describe the areas of the television picture that can be seen on television screens.

Augmented reality

Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. This experience is seamlessly interwoven with the physical world such that it is perceived as an immersive aspect of the real environment. In this way, augmented reality alters one's ongoing perception of a real-world environment, whereas virtual reality completely replaces the user's real-world environment with a simulated one.

NASCAR on Fox has won 13 Emmy Awards for its coverage, including three for Outstanding Sports Series (2001, 2005, 2007), six for Outstanding Live Event Audio Sound (2002, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013), one for Outstanding Graphic Design (2001), five for Outstanding Technical Team Remote (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007) and one for Promotional Announcement Episodic (2008).^[1]

Turn cam and "Digger"

After limited usage in 2007, the network introduced the "Gopher Cam" full-time in 2008, a camera angle from the bottom banking of a track's turn. Fox implied that it invented the technology.^[26] However, it was quickly brought to light that Terry Lingner of ESPN, along with engineer James Fishman, had developed the technology 15 years earlier under the name "Tread Cam.” However, it should be known that the devices are completely different.

"Digger," a CGI-animated gopher character that was voiced by Eric Bauza, began as a symbol of the corner camera and was later adopted as an unofficial mascot for Fox's NASCAR coverage. Beginning with the 2009 Daytona 500, Digger was extended into a series of short cartoons that aired during the pre-race show, country music superstar Keith Urban recorded the theme song for these shorts. Storylines revolved around Digger and his life beneath the infield of a fictional racetrack. Other characters include his girlfriend Annie and the track's security chief, Lumpy Wheels (respectively named after the daughter of Fox Sports president David Hill, and former track promoter Humpy Wheeler). Digger's souvenir trailer at the tracks attracted sizeable crowds of families with young children. However, the cartoon segment drew wide opposition from regular viewers of the broadcasts.

After a NASCAR town hall-style meeting at the end of May 2009, Fox Sports chair David Hill reported receiving an email from a high-ranking NASCAR official whose identity he chose to conceal, stating that Digger could have been the cause of ratings declines for Fox's NASCAR coverage.^[27] Hill said "It was because of Digger that people were turning off in droves because they couldn't stand it, I said, I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I never would have created him. I didn't realize how insidious he was. It's the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard."

Among the reasons of criticism is the purpose of the character's usage. Though it was at one time commonplace for networks to create mascots for sports coverage to incorporate an educational and entertaining element into their coverage, which was the case with Peter Puck, Digger was created purely to add entertainment to the broadcast and reach out to a younger audience. Some NASCAR fans accused Fox of dumbing down and fluffing its coverage in order to gain revenue from Digger merchandise sales.

Despite continuous outrage from the NASCAR fan community, as well as talk from the NASCAR community that the Fan Council was not pleased with the situation, Fox did not announce any plans to drop the usage of the characters, and even had posted pictures of holiday-themed versions of the Digger die-cast in 2009 and 2010. In response to the comments, in 2010, the Digger cartoon was not shown during pre-race shows and Digger appeared less often at the bottom of the screen. Throughout the 2011 season as well as the 2012 Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500, Digger appeared very sparingly, usually only during commercial bumpers. As of the 2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500, all appearances and references to Digger were dropped entirely from Fox's NASCAR broadcasts. However, nods to it occasionally came up (for example, at the Talladega race in 2014, when Carl Edwards showed debris on his firesuit, Mike Joy commented that he hoped that nothing had happened to Digger, to which Darrell Waltrip responded, "Digger's retired").

Digger made a cameo appearance in the 2009 20th Century Fox film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. He also made an appearance in the Fox NFL Sunday introduction during the December 20, 2009 broadcast, in which the Chipmunks also made an appearance (20th Century Fox was then a corporate sister to the Fox network through News Corporation, 20th Century Fox was sold to the Walt Disney Company in 2019).

Commercial bias

In the starting grid for the 2001 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway (which used 3D representations of the cars), Fox showed only the logos on the hoods of cars that had paid the network to advertise during the race. For instance, the Budweiser logo on the No. 8 car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and The Home Depot logo on the No. 20 car of Tony Stewart were shown, but Miller Lite on the No. 2 car of Rusty Wallace was not. After outcry from some of the excluded companies, full logo graphics were restored to all cars four days later for the Gatorade Twin 125s telecast.

The computer-generated cars used initially on the starting grid and top-five standings when going to commercial break were phased out from main broadcast use, and were discontinued entirely in 2005 with the exception of the Daytona 500 starting grid (which featured the computer generated cars).

In 2012, Fox aired "In The Rear View Mirror" segments during the pre-race, showing computer-generated re-enactments of events during the 2012 season (most notably Juan Pablo Montoya's crash into a jet dryer at the Daytona 500), the intro sequence introduced in 2013 also incorporates CGI cars.

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, FOX was criticized by fans for heavily using crash footage for their ads. For example, Ryan Newman's massive accident from the previous years' Daytona 500 was used in many ads in 2021, and some fans interpreted this as a cash-grab from FOX attempting to make crashes the selling point of the events and not the racing itself.

End of the 2001 Daytona 500 and Dale Earnhardt's death

The 2001 Daytona 500, which was the first NASCAR points race ever telecast by Fox, also brought an unrelated controversy. At the end of that race, Fox concluded coverage shortly after Dale Earnhardt, who was fatally injured in a crash on the last lap of the race, was admitted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The network provided no updates on his condition at the time of the 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time sign-off (although no information was available at that time), and continued airing regular programming (with the animated series Futurama) at the moment Earnhardt's death was confirmed at a press conference held at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. NASCAR's other broadcast network partner, NBC, delayed a commercial break during an NBA telecast and ESPN (which aired the Craftsman Truck Series at the time) had coverage of Earnhardt's death and the aftermath that was both earlier and much more extensive. Fox News Channel and Fox Sports Net, however, did break into programming to announce the seven-time champion's passing, with Chris Myers providing reports on FSN programs. It is possible that Fox showed an on-screen crawl on the master control feed during Futurama. In addition, local affiliates may have chosen to pre-empt the episode, with anchors delivering the news live. However, none of this has ever been verified.

Shortly after the race, Hill explained to the Associated Press that the network had gone over its allotted time – as the result of an 18-car pileup on the back straightaway on lap 173 that led to the race being red-flagged for lengthy cleanup – and that continuing to cover the story would be too morbid. Producer Neil Goldberg also said Fox Sports staffers were not allowed near the crash scene.

When ESPN presented a tribute feature in remembrance of the ten-year anniversary of Earnhardt's death in 2011, it showed footage of the crash and aftermath, that looked like part of the live telecast. However, it was stamped with "WFTV,” the calls of the Cox-owned ABC affiliate in Orlando, Florida (Orlando and Daytona Beach share the same media market, and ABC's corporate parent The Walt Disney Company owns 80% of ESPN). How footage from Fox's NASCAR coverage got credited to the local affiliate of another network has not been made public, though it was likely that since none of the footage is similar to that of Fox's, the last lap was filmed by WFTV for their own local newscasts, intended originally as B-roll to add "color" to their post-race coverage of the Daytona 500.

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Eric Bauza

Eric Bauza

Eric Bauza is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", Foop on The Fairly OddParents, Thunderbolt Ross on Iron Man: Armored Adventures, and Fozzie Bear on Muppet Babies. He is the current voice of many characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian, Pepé Le Pew, Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, Henery Hawk, Barnyard Dawg, Woody Woodpecker, Boo-Boo Bear, Atom Ant, Luke Skywalker, and Dino.

2009 Daytona 500

2009 Daytona 500

The 2009 Daytona 500, the 51st running of the event, was held on February 15, 2009, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first points-paying race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the last 500 of the 2000s decade. The race was won by Matt Kenseth, making a car numbered 17 winning the race for the first time in 20 years since Darrell Waltrip's win back in 1989 and the first Daytona 500 win for Roush Fenway Racing. The race was called off with 48 laps to go after a severe rainstorm that had been lingering throughout the area hit the track.

Country music

Country music

Country is a music genre originating in the Southern and Southwestern United States. First produced in the 1920s, country primarily focuses on working class Americans and blue-collar American life.

David Hill (businessman)

David Hill (businessman)

David Hill is an English-born Australian business leader and author.

Humpy Wheeler

Humpy Wheeler

Howard Augustine "Humpy" Wheeler is the former President and General Manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, one of the premier auto racing venues owned by Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Better known as H.A. or "Humpy" Wheeler, he has long been known as one of the foremost promoters of NASCAR auto racing.

Dumbing down

Dumbing down

Dumbing down is the deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content in education, literature, and cinema, news, video games, and culture. Originated in 1933, the term "dumbing down" was movie-business slang, used by screenplay writers, meaning: "[to] revise so as to appeal to those of little education or intelligence". Dumbing-down varies according to subject matter, and usually involves the diminishment of critical thought by undermining standard language and learning standards, thus trivializing academic standards, culture, and meaningful information, as in the case of popular culture.

2012 Budweiser Shootout

2012 Budweiser Shootout

The 2012 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 34th annual running of the Budweiser Shootout, it was held on February 18, 2012 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 82,000 people. Kyle Busch of the Joe Gibbs Racing team won the 82-lap race. It was Busch's first victory in the event; Stewart-Haas Racing driver Tony Stewart finished second with Richard Petty Motorsports racer Marcos Ambrose third.

2012 Daytona 500

2012 Daytona 500

The 2012 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The 54th iteration of the event, it was held between February 27 and 28, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 140,000. Matt Kenseth driving for Roush Fenway Racing took the 202-lap race for his first win of the season and his second Daytona 500 victory. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second and Greg Biffle was third.

2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500

2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500

The 2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on March 4, 2012 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps, it was the second race of the 2012 season. The race was won by Denny Hamlin for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Greg Biffle in third.

Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards

Carl Michael Edwards II is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. 99 Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing. He won the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series championship and nearly won the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title, but lost by a tiebreaker to Tony Stewart. Edwards is well known for doing a backflip off his car to celebrate his victories.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American jukebox musical comedy film directed by Betty Thomas, written by Jon Vitti, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, and produced by Janice Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr.. The second installment in its live-action film series and the sequel to Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), the film stars Zachary Levi, David Cross and Jason Lee. Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney return as the Chipmunks from the previous film. Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate voice the new characters, the Chipettes. The film sees the Chipmunks entering high school and being under the care of Dave Seville's cousin, Toby, while Ian Hawke recruits the Chipettes to restore his career.

Fox NFL Sunday

Fox NFL Sunday

Fox NFL Sunday is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the NFL on Fox brand. An audio simulcast of the program airs on sister radio network Fox Sports Radio, which is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. As of 2014, the program has won four Emmy Awards.

Top 10 races since 2011

Source:^[28]

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2015 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

2015 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

The 2015 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on March 1, 2015, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 325 laps on the 1.54-mile-long (2 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the second race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson won the race, his first win of the season, while Kevin Harvick finished second. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.

2014 Daytona 500

2014 Daytona 500

The 2014 Daytona 500, the 56th running of the event, was held on February 23, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km) on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the first race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his second Daytona 500 victory breaking a 55-race winless streak. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, while Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the Top 5. This race had seven cautions and 42 lead changes among 18 different drivers. The top rookies of this race were polesitter Austin Dillon (9th), Alex Bowman (23rd), and Brian Scott (25th).

2018 Daytona 500

2018 Daytona 500

The 2018 Daytona 500, the 60th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 18, 2018, contested over 207 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish—on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the first race for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Chevrolet's car for this season, replacing the SS. Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing won the race after contact with Aric Almirola on the final lap resulted in a single-car accident for the latter. Bubba Wallace making his first Daytona 500 start finished second while Denny Hamlin came in third. This was the last Daytona 500 starts for Danica Patrick, Trevor Bayne, Kasey Kahne, David Gilliland, Mark Thompson, BK Racing, Furniture Row Racing and D. J. Kennington.

2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500

2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500

The 2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on March 4, 2012 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps, it was the second race of the 2012 season. The race was won by Denny Hamlin for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Greg Biffle in third.

2019 Daytona 500

2019 Daytona 500

The 2019 Daytona 500, the 61st running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 17, 2019, Contested over 207 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. After three multiple cars crash in the last 20 laps, only 19 of the 40 cars were running at the end of the race and only 14 completed every lap. It was the first race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the debut of the Ford Mustang, which Ford brought in as a replacement for the Fusion. This race was the final career start for Casey Mears. 2016 winner Denny Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch over the final laps to win his second Daytona 500 in four years.

2013 Subway Fresh Fit 500

2013 Subway Fresh Fit 500

The 2013 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 3, 2013, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 316 laps on the 1-mile (1.6 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the second race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Carl Edwards of Roush Fenway Racing won the race, his first win in 70 races. Jimmie Johnson finished second while Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five.

2011 Aaron's 499

2011 Aaron's 499

The 2011 Aaron's 499 was the eighth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season out of thirty six total races. The race was held on April 17 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Jeff Gordon won his 70th pole position, leading a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four starting positions. Nearly the entire race, in similar fashion to the 2011 Daytona 500, was marked by the prevalence of 2-car drafting. On the last lap, four 2-car drafting teams contended for the win, and all eight cars finished within about three car-lengths of each other. Johnson, pushed by Earnhardt, won the race by .002 seconds over Clint Bowyer, the 2010 fall race winner at the track.

2014 The Profit on CNBC 500

2014 The Profit on CNBC 500

The 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 2, 2014, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the 1 mile (1.6 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the second race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kevin Harvick won the race, his first win driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (20th), Austin Dillon (24th), and Cole Whitt (27th).

2012 Kobalt Tools 400

2012 Kobalt Tools 400

The 2012 Kobalt Tools 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on March 11, 2012 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Contested over 267 laps, it was the third race of the 2012 season. The race was won by Tony Stewart for the Stewart-Haas Racing team. Jimmie Johnson finished second, and Greg Biffle clinched third.

2012 Aaron's 499

2012 Aaron's 499

The 2012 Aaron's 499 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 6, 2012 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Contested over 194 laps, it was the tenth race of the 2012 season. Brad Keselowski of Penske Racing took his second win of the season, while Kyle Busch finished second and Matt Kenseth finished third.