The 2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash was the 42nd edition of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 10, 2019, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The first exhibition race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, it was scheduled to be contested over 75 laps but was reduced to 59 laps due to rain.
14 years after his previous victory in the race, Jimmie Johnson won the Clash after moving into the race lead following contact with Paul Menard, which resulted in the majority of the field being involved in the subsequent crash.
Report
Background
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. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that measures The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
Format and eligibility The race was scheduled for 75 laps in length, and was divided into segments of 25 laps and 50 laps.
The 2019 Clash at Daytona was not a predetermined number of cars; rather, the field was limited to drivers who met more exclusive criteria. Only drivers who were 2018 Pole Award winners, former Clash race winners, former Daytona 500 champions, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full-time in 2018 and drivers who qualified for the 2018 NASCAR playoffs were eligible.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 40 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 45.735 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 45.735 196.786 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.761 196.674 3 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.773 196.622Official final practice results
Starting lineup The lineup was determined by random draw, with Paul Menard drawing the top spot.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 4 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 5 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 8 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 9 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 10 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 40 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 12 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 15 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 16 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 17 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 20 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaOfficial starting lineup
Race Prior to the start, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin, both of whom were involved in practice incidents, were sent to the rear for backup cars. Kyle Busch, who started from the front row, led the first lap before pole-sitter Paul Menard returned to the lead, with Team Penske's Brad Keselowski pushing Menard's Wood Brothers Racing car to the front – the duo working together as their teams formed part of a technical alliance. Menard maintained the lead, either side of a 21-minute red flag on lap 8 for rain, until lap 25 when the majority of the field pitted prior to the scheduled competition caution. Five drivers – Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. – did not pit immediately and led the field at the caution, before pitting under the neutralized conditions.
Menard retook the lead for the restart on lap 33, but a second rain shower hit the track on lap 40, causing another red-flag stoppage of around 8 minutes. The race restarted on lap 48, but teams were warned of a longer rain cell that could end the race at any time, leading to a more aggressive race in the final laps, knowing that the race could end at any time. With the weather, the fairly single-file high side racing moved to two-lane racing. On lap 56, and following a well-timed push from Chip Ganassi Racing's Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson was able to pull up aside Menard heading towards turn 3; Menard attempted to block Johnson's "side draft" maneuver, but the two cars made contact. With the field bunched, a massive pileup ensued, with only 3 of the 20 starting cars not being involved in some form. While under caution, further heavier rain hit the track, causing a further red flag period which ultimately resulted in the race being called – Johnson was declared the winner ahead of Kurt Busch and Joey Logano.
Race results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 592 19 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 593 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 594 8 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 595 5 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 596 9 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 597 16 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 598 18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 599 4 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 5910 10 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5811 11 40 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 5812 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5713 1 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 5514 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5515 12 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5516 15 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5517 17 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5518 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 5519 14 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 5520 20 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 55Official race results
Media FS1 covered the race on the television side; Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Jeff Gordon handled the call from the broadcast booth, while Vince Welch and Matt Yocum reported from pit road.
Television FS1Booth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor commentator: Jeff GordonColor commentator: Darrell Waltrip Vince WelchMatt Yocum
Radio MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Mike BagleyTurns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey Winston KelleySteve PostDillon WelchKim Coon
References