2013 Sprint Unlimited

2013 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona
Race details[1]
Race 1 of 2 exhibition races in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date February 16, 2013 (2013-02-16)
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
  • Carl Edwards
 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
Motor car race

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.

Report

Background

Daytona International Speedway, the race track where the race was 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.[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

Two 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

Qualifying

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]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps
1 17 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 75
2 4 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75
3 9 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 75
4 15 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 75
5 12 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75
6 8 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 75
7 3 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75
8 16 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75
9 6 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 75
10 14 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75
11 10 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 75
12 1 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75
13 18 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 14
14 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14
15 5 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14
16 13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14
17 7 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14
18 2 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 14
19 19 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 2
Source:

References

  1. ^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  2. ^ "Weather of the 2013 Sprint Unlimited". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  3. ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Tuner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Daytona Track Facts". Daytona International Speeedway. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  5. ^ "Shootout eligibility returns to its roots for 2013". NASCAR. Turner Sports. February 19, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Jensen, Tom (February 11, 2013). "CUP: Nineteen Drivers In Sprint Unlimited". Speed. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  7. ^ "Fan Vote Picks Format For The Sprint Unlimited". NASCAR. February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  8. ^ "Fan voting online, on NASCAR mobile app will design 2013 Sprint Unlimited | Hendrick Motorsports". www.hendrickmotorsports.com. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  9. ^ "2013 Sprint Unlimited Race Information". ESPN. Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ Gluck, Jeff (February 15, 2013). "Matt Kenseth causes crash in first Daytona practice". USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  12. ^ "Sprint Unlimited Final Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  13. ^ "Sprint Unlimited at Daytona Starting Lineup". Motor Racing Network. February 16, 2013. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.