One of Racing’s Best Drivers Has Never Won Daytona. What About This Year?

By BY MICHAEL VENUTOLO-MANTOVANI from NYT Sports Martin Truex Jr. is making his 17th attempt to win the Daytona 500.https://nyti.ms/3plS5Nb

Bubba Wallace Needed NASCAR Help. Michael Jordan Took it Personal.

By BY JONATHAN ABRAMS from NYT Sports Denny Hamlin, who won the Daytona 500 the past two years, asked Jordan to form a team with him, 23XI Racing. They are rallying behind Wallace, the only Black full-time driver at NASCAR’s top level.https://nyti.ms/3rLVxlQ

Behind the Wheel, Behind the Eight Ball

By BY ROY FURCHGOTT from NYT Sports Jackie Heinricher built an all-star team of female racecar drivers. Then the money ran out.https://nyti.ms/2P4JO0H

Denny Hamlin Navigates Crash-Filled Finish to Win Daytona 500

By JERRY GARRETT from NYT Sports Hamlin, honoring the memory of the team owner J.D. Gibbs, won the race for the second time in four years. Hamlin’s teammate Kyle Busch came in second.https://nyti.ms/2GNZxOv

How the Donut Became Auto Racing’s Favorite Celebration

By DAVE CALDWELL from NYT Sports Not everyone was a fan of the rubber-burning spins when they came to American circuits in the 1990s, but they were embraced with the help of two icons.https://nyti.ms/2TRQoYX

At Daytona, Austin Dillon and Darrell Wallace Jr. Break Through Behind Familiar Numbers

By PETER KERASOTIS from NYT Sports Driving the well-known No. 3 and No. 43 cars, Dillon and Wallace finished in the top two spots in a race that was packed with tantalizing story lines.http://nyti.ms/2ECJMu3