NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 At Daytona

The Place: Daytona Road Course

The Date: Sunday, February 21

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 252.7 miles (70 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 16),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 34), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 70)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: Super Start Batteries 188 At Daytona Presented by O’Reilly

The Place: Daytona Road Course

The Date: Saturday, February 20

The Time: 5 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 4:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 187.72 miles (52 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 52)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Next Race: BrakeBest Pads 159 At Daytona Presented by O’Reilly

The Place: Daytona Road Course

The Date: Friday, February 19

The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 6:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 158.85 miles (44 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 12),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 25), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 44)

NASCAR Cup Series

2021 NASCAR Cup Series Season embraces road racing

For the first time in a NASCAR Cup Series season (1949-2021) the schedule calls for the series to visit seven different road course tracks – Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Watkins Glen International, Sonoma Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) and Road America. The previous most the NASCAR Cup Series competed on in one season was four back in 1964 and 1957.

The first of the seven road courses on the 2021 schedule is this weekend’s Daytona International Speedway Road Course. The series made its debut at the Daytona Road Course last season with the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion taking the checkered flag. This weekend’s race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 At DAYTONA is scheduled for 70 laps or 252.7 miles (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The starting lineups for this weekend’s race was determined by Metric Qualifying and as a result Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott will start from the pole and 2021 Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell will start on the outside front row (second).

NASCAR Cup Series Etc.

Kevin James, Star of “The Crew” on NETFLIX, to Serve as Grand Marshal:  Kevin James, the star and executive producer of the sitcom “The Crew” for Netflix, now streaming on NETFLIX, will serve as the Grand Marshal for this Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Daytona Road Course (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The command for drivers to “Start Your Engines” by James will be conducted virtually.

James is widely known as the start of “The King of Queens,” which premiered in 1998, ran for nine seasons on CBS with James starring and executive producing, the show garnered him an Emmy nomination in 2006 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The sitcom concluded its run in 2007 but continues to air daily in syndication across the country and around the world. He also starred in hit films including Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Zookeeper, Grownups, and most recently Hubie Halloween.

CeCe Winans to Perform National Anthem: CeCe Winans, the best-selling and most-awarded female gospel artist of all-time, will perform the pre-race National Anthem for the NASCAR Cup Series race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 At DAYTONA (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Winans will perform the anthem virtually.

Winans has long since cemented her status as one of the most accomplished and celebrated women in modern music history. Her mantel holds a staggering 12 GRAMMY Awards, 20 Dove Awards, and 7 Stellar Awards. She’s been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Nashville Music City Walk of Fame. In addition, she was named a Trailblazer of Soul by BMI and has garnered multiple NAACP Image Awards, Soul Train Awards, Essence Awards, and more. She has over 17 million album sales worldwide, topping the Gospel charts repeatedly while crossing over with smashes like “Count On Me,” her stunning duet with Whitney Houston from the multi-platinum ‘Waiting To Exhale’ soundtrack, which sold 2 million copies and cracked the Top 10 on the Pop, R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts. She touched millions more with inspirational performances everywhere from Oprah to The White House, and even showed off her acting chops on television series like ‘7th Heaven’ and ‘Doc’.

Possible Milestones This Weekend At Daytona RC: Below is a look at the possible milestones that could be achieved this weekend.

STARTS: Ryan Blaney will attempt to make his 200th NASCAR Cup Series career start this weekend at the Daytona Road Course. Blaney made his first start in the NASCAR Cup Series on May 10, 2014 at Kansas Speedway for Team Penske in the No. 12 Ford. In Blaney’s first 199 starts he has posted four wins, 38 top fives, 76 top 10s and six poles.

WINS: Kyle Busch (57 wins) can tie Kevin Harvick (58 wins) for the most NASCAR Cup Series wins by an active drivers. … Wood Brothers Racing has 99 wins all-time. A victory this weekend by Matt DiBenedetto would give the organization 100 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.

LAPS LED: Three active drivers have led more than 10,000 laps led in the NASCAR Cup Series – Kyle Busch (17,947), Kevin Harvick (15,582) and Denny Hamlin (11,326). This season Kurt Busch has the opportunity to become the fourth active driver to lead more than 10,000 laps and the 19th all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Kurt Busch currently needs 98 more laps led to accomplish the feat; he has 9,902 laps led. Martin Truex Jr. is also not far behind Busch with 9,856 laps led.

COURTESY NASCAR INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS