The 2011 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on July 2, 2011 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the 17th race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by David Ragan of Roush Fenway Racing, his first in the series. Ragan's teammate Matt Kenseth finished second and Joey Logano finished third.

2011 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola
Race details[1][2]
Race 17 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date July 2, 2011 (2011-July-02)
Official name Coke Zero 400
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 170 laps, 425 mi (683.971 km)
Weather Temperatures between 69.8 °F (21.0 °C) and 78.2 °F (25.7 °C) were observed locally during race; only 1.28 inches (3.3 cm) of precipitation recorded within 24 hours of event[3]
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 49.433
Most laps led
Driver Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing
Laps 25
Winner
No. 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network Turner Network Television
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Kyle Petty

Entry List

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No. Driver Team/Owner Manufacturer
00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge
4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota
5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford
7 Mike Bliss Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Trevor Bayne (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford
33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
35 Geoff Bodine Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
37 Tony Raines Max Q Motorsports Ford
38 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports

Ford

39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
46 J. J. Yeley Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota
66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota
71 Andy Lally (R) TRG Motorsports Ford
78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Toyota
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
97 Kevin Conway NEMCO Motorsports Toyota
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford

Report

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Background

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Daytona International Speedway, where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway was one of, at the time, six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[4] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[5] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[5] Kevin Harvick was the defending race winner.[6]

Prior to the race, Carl Edwards led the Drivers' Championship with 573 points, and Harvick stood in second with 548 points. Jimmie Johnson was third in the Drivers' Championship with 540 points in a Chevrolet, Kurt Busch was fourth with 539 points, and Kyle Busch was in fifth with 536 points.[7] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 108 points, 15 points ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 84 points, was 17 ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[8]

Practice and qualifying

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Two practice sessions were scheduled before the race on Thursday. The sessions were scheduled to be 80 and 85 minutes long.[9] However, because of wet weather the first practice session was cancelled, and the following session was shortened to 45 minutes long.[10] In the only practice session for the race, Marcos Ambrose was the quickest with a time of 45.133 seconds.[11] A. J. Allmendinger followed in the second position, two hundredths of a second slower than Ambrose.[11] Kurt Busch was scored third ahead of Brad Keselowski, and Mark Martin in fourth and fifth.[11]

During qualifying, forty-five cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[12] Martin clinched his 50th career pole position, with a time of 49.433.[13] He was joined on the front row of the grid by 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne.[13] Clint Bowyer qualified third, Jeff Gordon took fourth, and David Ragan started fifth.[13] The two drivers that failed to qualify were Tony Raines and J. J. Yeley.[13]

Race

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Pole sitter Mark Martin led the first lap of the race with his teammate Jeff Gordon pushing him. Outside pole sitter and reigning Daytona 500 champ Trevor Bayne attempted to take the lead on lap 2 with Clint Bowyer but failed to get infront of Martin and Gordon. Unfortunately for Bayne, his night would come to an early end as he would crash out on lap 5 after getting turned by Brad Keselowski and collecting Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, and Bobby Labonte in the process while bringing out the first caution of the night. The race would restart on lap 9. On lap 16, Martin's teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. would take the lead with the other teammate Jimmie Johnson pushing him. On lap 17, Kurt Busch would take the lead with Regan Smith behind him. On lap 18, Carl Edwards took the lead with his teammate Greg Biffle for a brief moment before Busch took it back in turn 3. On lap 19, Edwards would take the lead. Busch would take it back the next lap. Unfourtunetly for Edwards, his chances on winning vanished as on lap 23 he got turned off of turn 4 by his teammate Greg Biffle and would hit the inside wall on the right rear of the car. This would also end up with him losing the points lead to Kevin Harvick. The race would restart on lap 27 with Kevin Harvick leading. On the restart, Harvick's partner Paul Menard switched spots with him and Menard was the new leader. On lap 28, David Ragan would take the lead with Matt Kenseth behind him. On lap 29, Regan Smith took the lead with Kurt Busch behind him. On lap 31, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead with David Reutimann behind him. On lap 37, David Ragan took the lead. On lap 41, Kasey Kahne took the lead with Brian Vickers behind him after Ragan and Kenseth swapped. On lap 42, Matt Kenseth took the lead but Martin Truex Jr. would take it on that same lap. Kenseth would take it and hold on to it the next lap. Unfortunately, a bad night would get a lot worse for Carl Edwards as Edwards had no crush panel to help him breathe from inside the racecar as he drove around without one for over 20 laps and ended up getting sick and actually throwing up from the inside of his helmet and all over his suit and the car. Edwards would come down pit road to get the crush panel on and to clean himself and his car. At the same time, the third caution would fly when Dave Blaney would get turned by Geoff Bodine and hit the wall on the frontstretch going into turn 1. Kasey Kahne won the race off of pit road and he would lead the field to the restart on lap 54. On the restart, Kahne didn't have a drafting partner as his teammate Brian Vickers restarted in 8th and lost the lead where Martin Truex Jr. would take the lead with his teammate David Reutimann. On lap 58, Regan Smith took the lead with Kurt Busch behind him. On lap 60, Matt Kenseth would take the lead with David Ragan. On lap 64, Kasey Kahne would take the lead with Brian Vickers. On lap 65, Paul Menard would take the lead with Kevin Harvick. Kahne would take it back the next lap. On lap 70, Tony Stewart would take the lead with David Gilliland. On lap 71, Martin Truex Jr. would take the lead. On lap 74, Kasey Kahne would take the lead. On lap 75, Casey Mears took the lead with Landon Cassill behind him. On lap 77, Joe Nemechek took the lead with Travis Kvapil pushing him. On lap 78, Kasey Kahne took the lead. On lap 86, Kyle Busch took the lead with Joey Logano behind him. On lap 89, Kasey Kahne took the lead. On lap 90, Paul Menard took the lead. Soon, green flag pitstops would begin on lap 91. On lap 93, Kyle Busch took the lead. Busch would pit on lap 94 giving the lead to Casey Mears. Mears would pit on lap 95 giving the lead to Jeff Burton. On lap 98, Clint Bowyer would take the lead as he and Burton swapped positions. Both Bowyer and Burton would pit on lap 99 giving the lead to Brian Vickers where he would be passed by Martin Truex Jr. by lap 100. On lap 101, Kyle Busch took the lead. On lap 103, Martin Truex Jr. would take the lead after Busch and Logano swapped positions. On lap 104, David Ragan would take the lead. On lap 106, Ryan Newman would take the lead with Denny Hamlin behind him. Newman and Hamlin would swap the next lap giving the lead to Hamlin.

Final laps

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With 50 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead but got passed by Brad Keselowski and Keselowski took the lead with Greg Biffle behind him. With 49 to go, Keselowski and Biffle swapped and Biffle took the lead. With 48 to go, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead but got passed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Montoya took the lead with Jamie McMurray behind him. With 46 to go, Kevin Harvick took the lead with Paul Menard behind him after Montoya and McMurray switched. With 45 to go, Jamie McMurray took the lead. Harvick would take it back the next lap. With 39 to go, Harvick's teammate Clint Bowyer took the lead. With 38 to go, Ryan Newman took the lead. With 31 to go, green flag pitstops would begin once again for the last time. With 30 to go, Kyle Busch took the lead. With 26 to go, Kevin Harvick took the lead. With 19 to go, Harvick and his teammate Paul Menard pitted with Harvick keeping his lead until with 18 to go when Ryan Newman took the lead. With 7 to go Matt Kenseth took the lead with David Ragan behind him. With 3 to go, Ryan Newman took the lead. Newman was looking for his first win of the season. At the same time, the 4th caution would fly for a five car incident in turns 3 and 4 involving Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon, and Juan Pablo Montoya that saw Gordon spin and somehow not damage his car. The caution would set up three attempts of a green-white-checkered. On the restart, David Ragan took the lead. Ragan was looking for redemption when in the Daytona 500, Ragan was leading on a restart but changed lanes before the start-finish line which was illegal and got him black flagged which handed the win to Trevor Bayne. But in turn 2, the first big wreck would occur taking out 15 cars and the 5th caution to fly. It started when Mark Martin tried to go down infront of Joey Logano but ended up turning across Logano's nose and getting sideways. This would cause multiple cars to check up and stack up which would cause the big wreck. The cars involved were Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Joe Nemechek, Regan Smith, Landon Cassill, Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears, Travis Kvapil, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, David Reutimann, and David Gilliland. The wreck would set up a second attempt of a GWC. On the restart, David Ragan and Ryan Newman were side by side with Ragan getting pushed by Matt Kenseth and Newman getting pushed by Denny Hamlin. Eventually, Joey Logano had a big run and made it three wide for the lead with Kasey Kahne behind him and ended up causing Newman and Hamlin to fall back in the pack. Ragan would take the lead and take the white flag. On the last lap, 15 cars would be involved in two separate accidents on the final two turns. The first one being in turn 3 when Landon Cassill turned Marcos Ambrose while also collecting David Reutimann, Tony Stewart, and Brian Vickers. The second being off of turn 4 when Jamie McMurray got into Dale Earnhardt Jr. causing both to spin and collecting Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Travis Kvapil, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, A. J. Allmendinger, Jimmie Johnson, and Regan Smith. As a result of the accidents, the 6th and final caution would fly just before the cars crossed the finish line and David Ragan would make it up for the Daytona 500 mistake and score his first career Cup Series win in his 163rd Cup Series start. Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Busch would round out the top 5 while Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, Juan Pablo Montoya, and A. J. Allmendinger rounded out the top 10.[14]

Results

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Qualifying

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No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.433 182.065 1
21 Trevor Bayne (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 49.450 182.002 2
33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.553 181.624 3
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.564 181.583 4
6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.636 181.320 5
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.658 181.240 6
71 Andy Lally (R) TRG Motorsports Ford 49.713 181.039 7
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.725 180.995 8
43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 49.738 180.948 9
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.742 180.934 10
39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 49.753 180.894 11
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.784 180.781 12
4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Toyota 49.792 180.752 13
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.793 180.748 14
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 49.794 180.745 15
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.817 180.661 16
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.839 180.581 17
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 49.842 180.571 18
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 49.848 180.549 19
83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Toyota 49.870 180.469 20
51 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 49.905 180.343 21
97 Kevin Conway NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 49.914 180.310 22
00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 49.918 180.296 23
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 49.933 180.242 24
22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 49.952 180.173 25
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 49.989 180.040 26
38 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.040 179.856 27
78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 50.041 179.853 28
60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota 50.060 179.784 29
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.074 179.734 30
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.097 179.651 31
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 50.107 179.616 32
66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota 50.110 179.605 33
56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.158 179.433 34
35 Geoff Bodine Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 50.206 179.261 35
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.215 179.229 36
20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.256 179.083 37
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.320 178.855 38
34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.379 178.646 39
36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 50.387 178.618 40
32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 50.396 178.586 41
7 Mike Bliss Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 50.589 177.904 42
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 50.255 179.087 43
Failed to Qualify
37 Tony Raines Max Q Motorsports Ford 50.459 178.363
46 J. J. Yeley Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 51.209 175.750
81 Scott Riggs Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 00.000 000.000 Withdrew
Source:

Race results

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David Ragan scored his first career Cup Series win.
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Led Status Points
1 5 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 170 15 running 47
2 16 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 170 14 running 43
3 37 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 170 0 running 41
4 13 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Toyota 170 19 running 41
5 38 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 170 11 running 40
6 4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 170 1 running 39
7 31 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 170 16 running 38
8 10 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 170 5 running 37
9 30 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 170 2 running 36
10 9 43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 170 0 running 34
11 19 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 170 1 running 34
12 20 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Toyota 170 0 running 32
13 36 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 170 4 running 32
14 25 22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 170 6 running 31
15 26 2 Brad Keselowski Pesnke Racing Dodge 170 1 running 30
16 39 34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 170 0 running 28
17 15 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 170 0 running 27
18 17 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 170 1 running 27
19 6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 170 1 running 26
20 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 170 0 running 24
21 12 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 170 3 running 24
22 18 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 170 1 running 23
23 11 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 170 25 running 23
24 28 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 170 4 running 21
25 23 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 170 0 running 19
26 21 51 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 169 0 running 0
27 7 71 Andy Lally (R) TRG Motorsports Ford 169 0 running 17
28 41 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 169 0 running 16
29 27 38 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford 169 1 running 0
30 43 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 169 1 running 0
31 24 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 168 0 running 13
32 32 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 164 3 running 13
33 1 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 164 15 running 12
34 42 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 163 0 running 10
35 34 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 162 16 crash 10
36 3 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 162 3 crash 9
37 14 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 144 1 running 8
38 35 35 Geoff Bodine Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 143 0 wheel bearing 6
39 40 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 47 0 crash 5
40 29 60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota 5 0 wheel bearing 0
41 2 21 Trevor Bayne (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 4 0 crash 0
42 33 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota 2 0 electrical 2
43 22 97 Kevin Conway NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 1 0 rear gear 0
Source:

Standings after the race

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Kevin Harvick led the points standings after the race.
Pos Driver Points
1 Kevin Harvick 586
2 Carl Edwards 581
3 Kyle Busch 576
4 Kurt Busch 570
5 Matt Kenseth 564
6 Jimmie Johnson 564
7 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 534
8 Jeff Gordon 519
9 Clint Bowyer 505
10 Ryan Newman 498

References

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  1. ^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Martin Wins 50th Career Pole". 1 July 2011. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  3. ^ Weather information for the 2011 Coke Zero 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  4. ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  5. ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks — The Daytona International Speedway". www.speedway-guide.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  6. ^ "2010 Coke Zero 400". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Driver's Championship Classification". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jaski.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Jayski'sŽ NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  10. ^ Hembree, Mike. "CUP: RPM Teammates Lead Daytona Practice". 30 June 2011. Speedtv.com. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  11. ^ a b c "Practice Speeds Coke Zero 400 | Daytona International Speedway". 30 June 2011. NASCAR. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Qualifying Order". NASCAR. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  13. ^ a b c d "Qualifying Results (Race Lineup)". NASCAR. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  14. ^ "David Ragan stays in lane this time at Daytona, which leads to victory". Retrieved July 2, 2011.


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