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2013 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona
Race details
Race 1 of 2 exhibition races in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date	February 16, 2013
Location	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Course	Permanent racing facility; 2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance	75 laps, 187.5 mi (301.8 km)
Weather	Temperatures averaging around 57.2 °F (14.0 °C); wind speeds approaching 22 miles per hour (35 km/h)
Average speed	177.538 mph (285.720 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Carl Edwards;
Most laps led
Driver	Kevin Harvick
Laps	40
Winner
No. 29	Kevin Harvick
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Network
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds

The 2013 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona was a non-championship NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on February 16, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 75 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race, while Greg Biffle finished second. Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.

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.^[3] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.^[4] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.^[4]

A total of twenty-two drivers were eligible to compete in the race, including 2012 pole position winners and previous winners of the race who had qualified for at least one race during the 2012 season,^[5] but only nineteen drivers participated in the race.^[6] Notable drivers not invited to the race were Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer, the 2012 champion and champion runner up, who didn't collect any pole positions in 2012. In yellow are previous Daytona Shootout winners without pole wins in the 2012 season.

Unlike other races, the race format was chosen by a fan poll, and was 75 laps long, with three segments of 30, 25, and 20 laps. Which was chosen over a format that would have seen a 35, 30, and a 10 lap segments and a 40, 20, and 15 lap segments.^[7] Fans also voted to mandate drivers to perform a 4-tire pitstop after the first segment over a 2-tire stop or no mandatory pitstop. Fans also voted for no cars to be eliminated following the second segment over 2, 4, and 6 cars being eliminated (though 7 cars were out due to crashes or mechanical issues before that point.) Fans also voted for the firesuit miss Sprint Cup appeared in victory lane in.^[8]

Practice and qualifying

Two practice sessions were held before the race, which was on February 15, 2013. The first session lasted 45 minutes, while the second lasted 60 minutes.^[9] Kevin Harvick was quickest with a time of 45.601 seconds in the first session, less than two-hundredths of a second faster than Aric Almirola. Greg Biffle with a quickest time of 45.660 seconds was third, ahead of Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Juan Pablo Montoya was seventh, still within a second of Harvick's time.^[10] Also in the first session, five cars were involved in an accident after Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch collided.^[11] In the second and final practice session, Denny Hamlin was quickest with a fastest time of 45.906 seconds. Joey Logano followed in second, ahead of Biffle and Harvick. Almirola was fifth quickest, with a time of 46.027. Montoya, Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, and Terry Labonte rounded out to the first ten positions.^[12]

Results

Qualifying

No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Grid
99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	1
55	Mark Martin	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	2
5	Kasey Kahne	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	3
16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	4
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	5
56	Martin Truex Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	6
24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	7
43	Aric Almirola	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	8
22	Joey Logano	Penske Racing	Ford	9
9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	10
48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	11
20	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	12
18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	13
42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	14
14	Tony Stewart	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	15
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	16
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	17
78	Kurt Busch	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	18
32	Terry Labonte	FAS Lane Racing	Ford	19
Source:^[13]

Race results

Pos	Grid	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps
1	17	29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	75
2	4	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	75
3	9	22	Joey Logano	Penske Racing	Ford	75
4	15	14	Tony Stewart	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	75
5	12	20	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	75
6	8	43	Aric Almirola	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	75
7	3	5	Kasey Kahne	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	75
8	16	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	75
9	6	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	75
10	14	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	75
11	10	9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	75
12	1	99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	75
13	18	78	Kurt Busch	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	14
14	11	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	14
15	5	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	14
16	13	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	14
17	7	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	14
18	2	55	Mark Martin	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	14
19	19	32	Terry Labonte	FAS Lane Racing	Ford	2
Source:

References

^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
^ "Weather of the 2013 Sprint Unlimited". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Tuner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Daytona Track Facts". Daytona International Speeedway. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
^ "Shootout eligibility returns to its roots for 2013". NASCAR. Turner Sports. February 19, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
^ Jensen, Tom (February 11, 2013). "CUP: Nineteen Drivers In Sprint Unlimited". Speed. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
^ "Fan Vote Picks Format For The Sprint Unlimited". NASCAR. February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
^ "Fan voting online, on NASCAR mobile app will design 2013 Sprint Unlimited | Hendrick Motorsports". www.hendrickmotorsports.com. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
^ "2013 Sprint Unlimited Race Information". ESPN. Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
^ "Sprint Unlimited Practice 1" (PDF). ESPN. Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
^ Gluck, Jeff (February 15, 2013). "Matt Kenseth causes crash in first Daytona practice". USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
^ "Sprint Unlimited Final Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
^ "Sprint Unlimited at Daytona Starting Lineup". Motor Racing Network. February 16, 2013. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.