Saturday, June 10, 2023

Chevrolet and Toyota Teamed up to Dethrone Ford in Daytona 500

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 17: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

From the almost too unbelievable to be true category in the Daytona 500, it turns out that Chevrolet’s top team Hendrick Motorsports and Toyota’s top team Joe Gibbs Racing formed an alliance in Daytona to make sure that Ford did not walk away with the win like they did at Talladega last fall.

Nate Ryan of NBC Sports has an incredible article about the secret deal.

In the story, race winner Denny Hamlin reveals that the alliance even included him texting with HMS crew chiefs the night before the race.

“I’m texting HMS crew chiefs the night before and we’re talking about strategy, and it’s like, ‘What in the world is going on here?’” Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin told NBCSports.com’s Dustin Long during his Monday morning champion’s breakfast at the track. “It’s just crazy that you’re sleeping with the enemy.”

In the end, the deal paid off. Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top-three spots in the race. Hendrick Motorsports had a strong showing as well, but all four of their entries ended up involved in an accident of some sort.

To read the rest of Nate Ryan’s story, click here.

Toby Christie
Toby Christiehttp://tobychristie.com
Toby is the Founder, and Editor-in-Chief of TobyChristie.com. Toby is also the co-host of The Final Lap Weekly Podcast. Additionally, he is a NMPA (National Motorsports Press Association) award-winning writer, and has followed the sport as a fan since 1993.

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