I Dig Sports
Disappointments in Granada, success in Lisbon, dynasty in safe hands
Both secured main draw places in the women’s singles event, they reached the quarter-finals of the under 21 women’s singles, together they advanced safely through the women’s doubles preliminary rounds.
Pride of place went to 19 year old Andreea Dragoman; listed at no.277 on the women’s world rankings, she ousted Pauline Chasselin of France named at 155 in the global order (11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9) to secure her place in the next stage..
The result may not appear earth shattering but one must take into account the fact that the previous week in Granada at the 2020 ITTF Challenge Series Spanish Open, she had endured a quite torrid time.
Defeats in Spain
She finished in second place in her group, losing to Japan’s 13 year old Yura Shinohara (11-9, 11-9, 11-6), runners up spot meant in place in the main draw but again an adversary from the Land of the Rising Sun proved her nemesis, she was beaten by Maki Shiomi (12-10, 10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5).
Equally, in the under 21 women’s singles, it was a tournament to forget. The no.2 seed, she suffered defeat in her very first match, she lost to Russia’s Elizabet Abraamian (11-9, 11-9, 11-8). Furthermore, to add insult to injury, in their opening encounter in the women’s doubles qualification, as in Lisbon partnering Adina Diaconu, the pair experienced defeat at the hands of the Czech Republic’s Zdena Blaskova and Gabriele Stepanova (11-7, 11-6, 11-8).
Now clearly the Lisbon air is more palatable to Andreea Dragoman than that of Granada, again the no.2 seed, she duly accounted for Camille Lutz of France, the no.25 seed (7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4) to reserve her place in the under 21 women’s singles quarter-finals.
Wins for Adina Diaconu
Success and it was the same for Adina Diaconu. In addition to the women’s doubles success with Andreea Dragoman against Belgium’s Margo Degraef and Lisa Lung (11-3, 11-1, 9-11, 11-9) to book a main draw place; Adina Diaconu excelled when alone.
She beat Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Chiao (12-10, 7-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6) to gain progress to the main draw before, occupying the no.3 seeded spot, overcoming Russia’s Anastasia Kolish, the no.14 seed (11-9, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9) to reach the last eight of the under 21 women’s singles event.
Very much the form of last week in Granada was repeated, the no.3 seed, she reached the under 21 women’s singles final losing to Maki Shiomi, the top seed (11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9).
Suffered agonies
Just as for Andreea Dragoman there had been disappointment when facing Maki Shiomi; similarly in the women’s singles event in Granada Adina Diaconu suffered agonies. In the opening round she won the first three games against Singapore’s Zeng Jian, before losing a titanic fourth and the match (9-11, 8-11, 9-11, 19-17, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4).
Such a result drains confidence; like Andreea Dragoman, Adina Diaconu has returned stronger.
Currently the Romanian first team in Daniela Monteiro Dodean, Elizabeta Samara and Bernadette Szocs. How soon before we see the names of Andreea Dragoman and Adina Diaconu?
One thing is certain, the dynasty is set to continue.
In the concluding preliminary round, Diogo Carvalho beat Austria’s David Serdaroglu (11-7, 3-11, 15-13, 10-12, 13-11, 11-3), a win as was to be anticipated. Presently, Diogo Carvalho is named at no.203 on the men’s world rankings, David Serdaroglu at no.236.
Conversely, the success recorded by Diogo Chen was an upset; listed at no.291 in the global reckoning, he ended the hopes of the Czech Republic’s Tomas Polansky, standing at no.170. Moreover, Diogo Chen won in an impressive manner; he prevailed five games (9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-2, 11-9).
Fine performance
Make no mistake, whatever the rankings may read, it was a fine win against Tomas Polansky. Most notably in Gondomar in January at the 2020 ITTF World Team Qualification tournament, Tomas Polansky had beaten Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (14-16, 12-10, 12-14, 11-8, 11-9) in a crucial 3-2 match win against India. Now as in January, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran occupies the no.30 spot.
“I played well, I think I was at my best every moment of the match, only in the first game was I unlucky, I started well 9-5 up but then he recovered to 11-9. After that I was able to maintain my focus, also with the coach’s help, I knew what I needed to do. I’m happy with my win. I think it’s my first time in the main draw, I’m really happy. Now I will study my opponent and I will give my best.” Diogo Chen
First time in the main draw, not so; perhaps a little over excited with the performance, it is in fact his second. Approaching two years ago in late March 2018 in Guadalajara, he reached the third round of the men’s singles event at the ITTF Challenge Spanish Open.
Also best for colleague
The best performance to date at an open international tournament; in men’s singles events, it is also the best for Diogo Carvalho, a feat he was to repeat last May in Belgrade at the 2019 ITTF Challenge Serbia Open when he won the men’s doubles title partnering João Geraldo. On that occasion after beating Hong Kong’s Kwan Man Ho (11-13, 11-8, 11-7, 11-13, 12-14, 11-8) and Belgium’s Florian Cnudde (11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7, 11-8), he experienced defeat at the hands of Frenchman, Abdel-Kader Salifou (11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 14-12).
However, taking into consideration the margin of defeat in 2019 in Belgrade when compared with Guadalajara one year earlier, I would argue, like Diogo Chen, the Spanish city witnessed his best effort to date.
He beat Chile’s Juan Lamadrid (10-12, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6) and Hong Kong’s Lam Siu Hang (11-9, 11-3, 11-2, 12-10, 4-11, 11-5), before he experienced defeat by the minimal margin when opposing Iran’s Nima Alamian (9-11, 11-4, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10). It could not have been closer.
Meanwhile, in Guadalajara, like Diogo Carvalho required to qualify, safely through the group stage without defeat, in the main Diogo Chen overcame Bulgaria’s Philp Floritz (13-11, 10-12, 5-11, 11-6, 3-11, 11-1), before similar to his colleague finding Kwan Man Ho to his liking (11-6, 11-9, 11-1, 11-8). Brazil’s Vitor Ishiy ended progress in abrupt style (11-5, 11-4, 12-10, 11-9).
Same again in Lisbon, or even further; after two days of play they are on the Guadalajara path.
Qualification complete, England and Romania provide biggest surprise names
Listed at no.853 on the current men’s world rankings, David McBeath accounted for Argentina’s Santiago Lorenzo, named over 500 places higher at no.324.
Similarly Arina Singeorzan ousted a player almost 300 places higher. She beat Kazakhstan’s Zauresh Akasheva (11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7); currently, Arina Singeorzan stands at no.471 on the women’s world rankings, Zauresh Akasheva at no.181.
Notably Arina Singeorzan was one of only two surprise names to advance in the women’s singles qualifier; the other being Chinese Taipei’s Huang Hsin. In the men’s singles, it was rather different.
Additional to David McBeath, India’s Sanil Shetty, Argentina’s Martin Bentancor and Russia’s Denis Ivonin, as well as to the delight of the host nation, Diogo Chen all upset the pecking order, all booked main draw places.
Full house of upsets
Upsets but nothing could compare with the men’s doubles qualification; not one of the eight pairs expected to progress, succeeded.
Most notably, Finland’s Alex Naumi and Benedek Olah, the highest rated partnership, lost to Switzerland’s Pedro Osiro and Lionel Weber (13-11, 11-6, 12-10), who in turn suffered at the hands of Korea Republic’s Baek Kwangil and Park Chan-Hyeok (8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 12-10).
Disappointment for Finland; in the women’s doubles it was the opposite emotion. Anna Kirichenko partnered Argentina’s Ana Codina, to a surprise final preliminary round win against Nadezhda Bogdanova and Daria Trigolos of Belarus (5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10), the highest rated pair on qualification duty. Notably in 2017, Nadezhda Bogdanova and Daria Trigolos had finished in runners up spot at the ITTF Challenge Series tournament in Zagreb.
Success against expectations, it was the same for Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi and Serbia’s Andrea Todorovic; they beat Chile’s Daniela Ortega and Paulina Vega (11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5) to emerge the one further surprise pair to reach the women’s doubles main draw.
Likewise, in the mixed doubles, two pairs progressed to the main draw contrary to predictions. Once again Nadezhda Bogdanova suffered. Partnering colleague Pavel Platonov, they experienced a surprise final preliminary round defeat when facing Switzerland’s Lionel Weber and Rachel Moret (11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-4).
The one further upset result witnessed Ana Codina on the different end of a surprise; partnering compatriot Horacio Cifuentes, the Argentine pair unexpectedly lost to Spain’s Alberto Lillo and Zhang Sofia-Xuan (11-8, 11-6, 10-7, 11-7.
Only two seeds survive
Meanwhile, in the under 21 men’s singles event, contrary to status Chile’s Nicolas Burgos, Korea Republic’s Kim Woojin and Germany’s Tobias Hippler all emerged surprise quarter-finalists, as did Japan’s Shunsuke Togami, England’s Tom Jarvis and Nikhil Kumar of the United States.
In fact of the top eight names, only Russia’s Vladimir Sidorenko, the no.4 seed and Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-Hsin, the no.6 seed, survived.
Rather differently, in the under 21 women’s singles, the top five names all progressed. Japan’s Maki Shiomi, Belgium’s Lisa Lung and Daria Trigolos of Belarus alongside the Romanian duo comprising Andreea Dragoman and Adina Diaconu all secured quarter-final places. Slovenia’s Ana Tofant, Amy Wang of the United States and Nolwenn Fort of France emerged the surprise names.
The under 21 men’s singles and under 21 women’s singles events will be played to a conclusion on Friday 14th February, the day on which the main draw in all other competitions commence.
Keeping it in the family, stand aside Tomokazu
Moreover, she secured the title without ever being extended the full distance; incredibly she surrendered just one individual game! The record at the end of the second day of play in terms of games read 29-1!
The one hiccup came in the opening round of the main draw when facing Hungary’s Dorottya Tolgyes, a young lady who had impressed last November in Wladyslawowo at the 2019 ITTF World Cadet Challenge. On that occasion, she reached the semi-final stage of the girls’ singles event, losing to Kaho Akae, the no.2 seed and like Miwa Harimoto from Japan. She lost in straight games (11-8, 11-3, 11-5); Kaho Akae progressed to win the event.
Facing Miwa Harimoto, Dorottya Tolgyes, secured the third game but there was no further charity (11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4); the win coming after the previous day, in matches best of five games, Miwa Harimoto had topped her group ahead of Croatia’s Ivona Striga, Slovakia’s Laura Vinczeova and the host nation’s Nela Hanakova.
Mature performance
A place in the second round secured, Miwa Harimoto accounted for Sweden’s Nomin Baasan (11-7, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6), prior to overcoming, Italy’s Jamila Laurenti, the top seed (11-9, 11-7, 11-4, 11-6) to reserve her place in the semi-finals.
The win against Jamila Laurenti underlines the quality and incredible maturity of Miwa Harimoto; the Italian uses ant-spin rubber on the backhand, thus changing the speed of the play and the trajectory of the ball. Furthermore, last year she was the junior girls’ singles runner up at the 2019 European Youth Championships.
Progress in style, the progress continued without blemish; Miwa Harimoto beat Russia’s Vlada Voronina, the no.14 seed (11-9, 11-2, 12-10, 11-3), prior to securing the title at the final expense of Russia’s Arina Slautina (11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7).
Likewise Arina Slautina had been required to qualify; most notably in the opening round she overcame Darya Kisel of Belarus, the no.3 seed (11-8, 11-4, 14-16, 11-9, 16-14), before at the semi-final stage ousting Isa Cok of France, the no.2 seed (12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8).
Liking for Hodonin
Notably for Miwa Harimoto, the result builds on the successes of last year on the ITTF World Junior Circuit.
Clearly she has a liking for the Czech Republic, last year in Hodonin she was the cadet girls’ singles runner up, a finish in the event she also achieved in China and Hong Kong.
Additionally, it was her first ever appearance in an ITTF World Circuit girls’ singles final; take note in the counterpart junior boys’ events, it was something Tomokazu never achieved!
One up on you big brother!
Title retained, once again Samuel Kulczycki wins in Hodonin
Success but it was hard fought success; in the third round he was stretched the full distance by the host nation’s Frantisek Onderka (11-6, 10-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6), before in the penultimate round enduring the same experience.
In an even closer contest he ended the hopes of Romania’s Eduard Ionescu (9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10, 9-11, 13-11); a surprise semi-finalist. Required to qualify, notably in the second round, Eduard Ionescu had beaten Belgium’s Nicolas Degros, the no.8 seed (7-11, 13-15, 11-3, 11-9, 11-7, 4-11, 11-4).
Closer than may suggest
Tense contests, just as in the quarter-final round when overcoming Italy’s Andrea Puppo, the no.12 seed (9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4) and surprise third round winner against Slovakia’s Filip Delincak, the no.5 seed (11-8, 11-8, 12-10, 11-7), Samuel Kulczycki experienced no great moments of drama in the final.
However the outcome was arguably closer than the straight games result may suggest. He beat colleague Maciej Kubik, the no.3 seed, in contest that proved a credit to both players (18-16, 12-10, 11-6, 13-11).
Earlier, in the penultimate round Maciej Kubik had ended the aspirations of Israeli qualifier, Tal Israeli (11-4, 11-3, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6), the second round winner against Croatia’s Ivor Ban (11-8, 12-14, 15-17, 12-10, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6).
More Polish success
Success for Poland, it was the same in the boys’ doubles, the top step of the podium was secured but the names were not Samuel Kulczycki or Maciej Kubik; Milosz Redzimski and Lukasz Sokolowski emerged the victors. At the final hurdle they beat Andrea Puppo and Italian colleague, Marco Cappuccio (9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 12-10).
Impressive from Milosz Redzimski and Lukasz Sokolowski, it was the same in the junior girls’ doubles for the partnership formed by Italy’s Jamila Laurenti and Darya Kisel of Belarus. The top seeds, they clinched the title at the final expense of the pairing comprising Ireland’s Sophie Earley and Anna Hussey of Wales (11-4, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8).
Individual events complete, attention now turns the team competitions.
OCALA, Fla. – Thursday’s USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series opener from Bubba Raceway Park has been cancelled due to persistent rain that fell just prior to hot laps.
Fans should keep their wristbands from Thursday night, which are good for admission this Friday or Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.
Winter Dirt Games XI resumes with complete racing programs both Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15.
Pits open each night at 4 p.m. Eastern, the grandstands open at 5 p.m., the drivers meeting begins at 6 p.m. with cars getting on track at 6:30 p.m.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There was a time not so long ago that Daniel Suarez was considered one of the rising stars of NASCAR.
The driver from Mexico was set with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017 and NASCAR was hoping he would open eyes to a diverse group of new fans.
Three years later, the driver from Monterrey, Mexico has become NASCAR’s Hard Luck Kid. After two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing followed by a year with Stewart-Haas Racing where he barely missed the field for the playoffs, Suarez arrived at this year’s Daytona 500 having to race his way into the field.
After being involved in a crash with Ryan Blaney on lap 30 of Thursday night’s first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona, Suarez will not race in Sunday’s Daytona 500. His Gaunt Brothers Racing team does not own a charter and he was not fast enough during Sunday’s single-lap qualifying session to lock himself into the field.
That set up a scenario where Suarez, Cup veteran Reed Sorenson, Justin Haley or Chad Finchum had to race into the field through the first of the two Daytona 500 qualifying races.
“All I want to do is go home,” Suarez said. “I don’t know if the 2 (Brad Keselowski) was going to pit or everyone else was going to pit. He put his hand out of the window next to the 4 (Kevin Harvick), when I saw that he started to slow down. I moved to the right to avoid him and (Blaney) did not give me enough room.
“I feel a lot of frustration – a broken heart. I’ve been working my ass off to make this happen and it just doesn’t work.”
In the old days of the Daytona Duels, there would be many heartbreak stories coming from the qualifying races. However, with 43 entries for the 40-car starting positions, those stories are limited.
Justin Haley finished 17th and advanced into the race as the highest finishing open driver – a competitor without a charter – in the field. Haley was already locked into the race via his qualifying time, but because he raced his way in that meant that Sorenson would make the race via his qualifying time instead.
While Team Penske driver Joey Logano was celebrating his victory in the first Duel, Sorenson breathed a sigh of relief by making the field.
“I have a pretty blue car and now maybe we can put some sponsor’s decals on it,” Sorenson said. “We’re in the Daytona 500.
“We’re racing. We have the green light to be aggressive.
“You never know when you will get a chance to run in the Daytona 500 again. Now, I can enjoy the moment and the weekend.”
Sorenson drives for Premium Motorsports and is a veteran of the NASCAR Cup Series. He began his career in 2006 with Chip Ganassi Racing and was another driver ticketed for stardom.
By contrast, now he races for smaller teams in the series that have to race their way into the field instead of being locked in for the Daytona 500.
“It is a big deal,” Sorenson said. “The money that comes into this race for a small team helps get the ball rolling financially. These guys work very hard on the motor. This is probably the best motor I’ve ever had to get into the Daytona 500.
“I’m proud of everybody and looking forward to Sunday. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Anything can happen here. This is the best engine I’ve had in years. I was pretty happy with it. You can win. It can happen. We will be cautious.
“This motivates everybody. I don’t know if it is more satisfying being with a small team that makes it or with a big team that does well. I’ve been on the other side of the garage area and have faced the challenge that come with it.
“I’m happy to be with this car owner and have a chance to race.”
Almirola Pushes Logano To Victory In Duel No. 1
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With a major assist from Ford stablemate Aric Almirola, Joey Logano powered to victory in the first of two Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona Int’l Speedway on Thursday night.
After a back-and-forth second half of the 150-mile event, Logano and Almirola hooked up in tandem at the white flag and raced away from the snarling pack behind them at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
From there, though the duo got separated halfway down the backstretch, Logano was able to keep the hounds at bay over the final mile of asphalt to notch his second-straight Duel victory and the fifth overall Duel win for Team Penske.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. paced the first 22 laps from the pole position and 28 of the 60 laps overall, but Logano led 19 laps in his own right, including the most important one.
In victory lane, the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion gave plenty of kudos to Almirola for pushing him on the final lap, but Logano also lauded spotter T.J. Majors for an exemplary call down the stretch.
“This feels so good,” said Logano. “Obviously it’s the Duels and not the Daytona 500, but momentum is momentum. T.J. does such a good job up on the roof with understanding the draft, so that was a huge help. Working with this new group, they’ve been together a while, but I’m new with them and it’s been a great partnership so far and pretty seamless.
“We worked out some of the kinks last week, and to be able to come to victory lane at Daytona is a big deal. We’re ready to go for the 500 now,” Logano added. “Can’t thank Ford enough, can’t thank Aric Almirola enough. What a great push he gave me throughout the final run. It was awesome.”
While Almirola was glad to help a fellow Blue Oval to victory lane on Thursday night, he was quick to note that he would much rather be the one getting the push come lap 200 on Sunday afternoon.
“I hope I don’t get an assist on Sunday; I think things will play out a little differently in that one,” Almirola noted. “It was a solid night for all the Fords. I was really committed to Joey; our cars lined up really well together. We were making a lot of hay when we would get attached.
“It was fun and man, our Smithfield Ford Mustang is so fast,” he continued. “I’m glad we didn’t wreck this one and we get to take it to the Daytona 500, because it’s a really good race car.”
Logano beat Almirola to the checkered flag by .172 seconds.
Behind that duo was another pair of Fords in Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski, with Richard Petty Motorsports’ Bubba Wallace completing the top five in a Chevrolet.
Past Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon crossed sixth, just ahead of Martin Truex Jr., the best among the Toyota contingent.
Stenhouse finished eighth after leading at the white flag, with rookie Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher filling out the top 10.
Justin Haley, who had already locked into the Daytona 500 on time from last Sunday’s qualifying session, led the four Open drivers in the field with a 17th-place finish.
Because of Haley’s efforts, Reed Sorenson was able to fall back on his qualifying time and will race in Sunday’s 62nd annual Daytona 500 for Jay Robinson’s Premium Motorsports squad.
Sorenson’s jubilation came at the expense of Mexico’s Daniel Suarez, who was aiming to make the Daytona 500 for the fourth time, but was involved in a lap-30 crash with Ryan Blaney as the eight Fords in the field were trying to make their way to pit road for green-flag pit stops.
As a result of the crash, Suarez’s No. 96 Toyota Camry was eliminated with heavy front-end damage, squelching any hope the 28-year-old had of racing his way into The Great American Race.
That incident was the lone caution period in the first Duel, which featured a lightning-quick average pace of 166.070 mph and took just 54 minutes and seven seconds on the stopwatch to complete.
To view complete race results, advance to the next page.
Yeley’s Bad Luck Puts Hill In First Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Multi-time USAC champion J.J. Yeley continued the hard luck theme of Thursday night’s two Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
By contrast, Timmy Hill was the underdog hero as the 26-year-old competitor defied the odds to race his way into the Daytona 500 starting lineup for the first time.
Just as Daniel Suarez crashed in the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel race and failed to make the field for Sunday’s Daytona 500, Yeley experienced a similar fate in Duel No. 2.
Yeley crashed down the backstretch after the right-rear corner of his Rick Ware Racing Ford was clipped by the car driven by Corey LaJoie. Yeley’s Ford suffered significant right-front damage that ended his race and his hopes of making the Daytona 500.
Yeley and Tony Stewart are the only drivers to win all three of USAC’s major championships in the same season. Stewart won the midget, sprint and silver crown titles in 1995. Yeley accomplished the triple crown in 2003.
Yeley ran his first NASCAR Cup Series race in 2004 and ran his first full season in 2006. He has never won a race in 291 NASCAR Cup starts and is winless in 329 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts.
He won’t get a chance to break that streak in Sunday’s Daytona 500 as Brenden Gaughan and Timmy Hill both advanced into the 40-car starting lineup from the second Duel race.
Hill finished 16th in his MBM Motorsports Ford, earning his spot in the Daytona 500 as the highest finishing driver without a charter. Gaughan, who finished one position behind Hill, locked himself into the Daytona 500 based on his qualifying time from last Sunday.
While young William Byron was celebrating his win in the second Duel in victory lane, Hill was all smiles on pit road as he was congratulated by his crew and team owner Carl Long.
“I don’t think the smile is ever going to come off my face,” Hill said. “We’re not just here to participate; we’re here to compete in this race.
“A lot of emotions ran through my veins the whole race. We were up, we were down, we were in, we were out. Those guys put on a great battle and it was nerve-racking the whole time.”
Gaughan was more secure in his position because his speed from Sunday’s single-lap qualification runs was sufficient to make the race, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Once Yeley crashed, both drivers were safely in the field.
“For us, people don’t really give us much of a shot,” Hill said. “To come into this and make the field is great because we proved a lot of people wrong. For me, this is my 10th year in NASCAR and my first year to make this race.
“It’s really special for us.”
In 2017, Hill tried to make the Daytona 500 field, but his engine failed and he didn’t qualify.
“The thought crossed my mind I may never have a shot at this,” Hill admitted. “It costs so much money to try to make this race. With the new car coming next year, and without a charter, we may never have another shot at making the Daytona 500.
“The purse money for a team that size is huge. We’re going to take that money to pay off some of our racing debts. It costs a lot of money to try to make the Daytona 500. To come here, we spent a lot of money on this motor. These guys really had to dig deep to get a motor to get into this race.”
Hill has branched into team ownership in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series last season. He partnered with Long’s Cup team to come to Daytona and attempt to qualify.
“I’m really appreciative of all the experience Carl Long has given me,” Hill said. “Carl and I have a lot of respect for each other on this race team. Carl has bailed me out in my career where I didn’t have many opportunities, he put me into the car.
“I was prepared for the pressure and it wasn’t a problem. I knew we were going to make this race.”
Hill will also race in Sunday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series contest, the NASCAR Racing Experience 300.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It may not have been a points-paying win, but William Byron made his first visit to NASCAR Cup Series victory lane on Thursday night at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Byron benefited from a Chevrolet power play in the final laps of the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona, getting a push from fellow Bowtie Brigade members Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson coming to three to go, passing the Ford duo of Kevin Harvick and Matt DiBenedetto and never looking back.
The 22-year-old Charlotte, N.C., native led the final three tours of the 2.5-mile superspeedway and held off Johnson, his seven-time Cup champion teammate, at the finish line by .117 seconds.
It marked the record 16th Duel victory for Hendrick Motorsports as an organization, but the first for Byron in just his third season at the Cup level.
In victory lane, the young standout admitted that his move for the win actually developed sooner than he wanted to go, but he wasn’t going to pass up the chance to strike when it was afforded to him.
“There weren’t any Chevy orders or anything like that; we just did a really good job of working together,” Byron lauded. “Kurt (Busch) was a great pusher and a great helper, and I really had a lot of trust in him.
“I was really trying to go with one to go, but I had enough momentum (coming) out of the tri-oval that … just from watching old races, I knew that’s kind of where the momentum lines up to let you make moves like we did,” he added. “I didn’t know if I’d get that same kind of momentum once everyone started pushing with one to go, so we took the run and went with it. Got to second, and then Kevin played really nice and didn’t pull a big block.
“This car looks really good and I’m excited for the 500 on Sunday.”
The dominant car in Thursday’s second Duel was Kevin Harvick, who took the point for the first time on lap five and led three times for a race-high 34 laps in the 150-mile contest.
Harvick appeared to be in the catbird’s seat after the night’s lone round of green-flag pit stops, cycling back to the race lead on the 34th round after his group stayed out longer than the Chevrolets and gained time by staying in line in the draft.
However, the pack compressed back together in the final laps, with Harvick and Matt DiBenedetto out front as the lone Fords out front, Erik Jones’ Toyota sitting third and four Chevrolets behind them.
That set the stage for the Bowtie Brigade’s late move to win the race, shuffling Harvick back to fourth at the checkered flag behind Byron, Johnson and a third Chevrolet in Kyle Larson.
Harvick noted after the race that he didn’t want to endanger the field by making a big move to try and stop Byron in the final laps, knowing that the real prize sits at the end of 200 laps on Sunday afternoon.
“When they are coming that fast, it’s putting a lot of risk out there to block. We have seen how that works out,” said Harvick. “We had a great car tonight. The guys did a great job. We were able to get onto pit road, have a great pit stop and put ourselves in position to have a chance there. Matt D (DiBenedetto) was a heck of a pusher. It was just two against the rest of those Chevrolets, and we really held our own tonight with some fast Ford Mustangs.
“There was just a herd of Chevys we had to race against in that race; it was two on seven and we still almost beat them with only two cars, but not quite.”
Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer completed the top five, followed by Erik Jones, DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick.
Much like its earlier counterpart, the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel sped by at a rapid clip Thursday night, completed in just 52 minutes and 37 seconds for an average race pace of 170.980 mph.
The lone caution in the 60-lap affair came with 19 to go, when contact from Corey LaJoie sent JJ Yeley spinning on the backstretch, and ultimately, hard into the outside SAFER Barrier.
Yeley, who was one of the Open drivers needing to race his way into the Daytona 500, was eliminated at that point due to the extensive damage sustained to his No. 54 Rick Ware Racing Ford.
With Yeley out of the race, Timmy Hill was able to breathe a sigh of relief, racing his way into Sunday’s Great American Race uncontested down the home stretch with a 16th-place finish.
Brendan Gaughan came home one spot behind Hill and fell back on his qualifying time from last weekend to put Beard Motorsports into the show for the fourth year in a row.
The next on-track activity for the NASCAR Cup Series is a 50-minute practice session at 5 p.m. on Friday.
To view complete race results, advance to the next page.
Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: 
Email: 
