Red Bull GRC: Daytona Preview

Tanner Foust leads the GRC standings entering the Daytona doubleheader

IN BRIEF: Red Bull GRC marches on this weekend with two rounds of action at the iconic Daytona International Speedway, the second doubleheader event of the year. Supercar points leader Tanner Foust and 2015 series runner-up Sebastian Eriksson enter the event as defending race winners.

TUNE IN INFORMATION:

Sunday, June 19, 2:30PM ET on NBC
Sunday, June 19, 3:30PM ET on Red Bull TV

LAST RACE: Patrik Sandell of Bryan Herta Rallysport finally ended Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross’ stranglehold on victory lane in 2016 with a statement victory in Dallas. When VARX driver Tanner Foust overshot the second turn in the main event, Sandell shot the gap and extended a decisive lead as Steve Arpin held off Foust for second.

DRIVER CHANGES: Sebastian Saavedra returns to AD Racing to partner Austin Dyne. All 10 drivers to make it to the final in Dallas will return.

THE TRACK: This year’s Red Bull GRC Daytona course will be the series’ fastest yet, with a .742-mile layout that features 12 turns and a flowing dirt section. Click here for more information on the track.

SANDELL CLOSES CHAMPIONSHIP GAP WITH WIN IN DALLAS: After Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross driver Tanner Foust swept the season-opening Phoenix doubleheader, Bryan Herta Rallysport’s Patrik Sandell responded in Dallas by poaching the lead from Foust on the first lap and driving away to a dominant victory. The win, Sandell’s third in Red Bull GRC competition, allowed him to pull within 25 points of Foust for the championship lead.

DEEGAN TO MAKE DEBUT AT WORLD CENTER OF RACING: For the first time in his Red Bull GRC career, Brian Deegan will compete at Daytona International Speedway after missing the series’ first two visits to the track in 2014 and 2015. Deegan, who already has one podium finish under his belt this season, joins Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Steve Arpin, who finished third in the second Daytona final last year.

WARD RETURNS TO SITE OF DRAMATIC RALLYCROSS DEBUT: Motocross and open-wheel racing star Jeff Ward made his first Red Bull GRC starts at Daytona last year as a substitute driver for Brian Deegan at Chip Ganassi Racing, taking two heat wins and a pole position during the doubleheader weekend. Almost one year to the day from then, he returns to the track, this time as SH Rallycross’ full-time driver.

QUOTES: A selection of quotes in advance of this weekend’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Daytona:

Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle: “It’s tough right now for everybody, but like I said fortunately we are not in the position where we’re scrambling just to finish races. We know our package is good and we know it can run and that’s the most important thing—just to be consistent and to finish. We got really lucky in Phoenix to finish that first race with the failure that we had. So it’s all about collecting points right now and so far we’ve been able to do that."

Steve Arpin, #00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST: “Any time you get a win at Daytona is huge. To be able to take a winning trophy home from Daytona International Speedway is an accomplishment in any racer,s career, whether in the lowest level of racing there or the highest. That being said, to bring home our first victory there for an iconic team like Chip Ganassi Racing—who does have so much history there, with the Rolex 24 trophies, the Daytona 500 trophies, so on and so forth—to be able to bring that kind of energy back to the shop would be amazing."

Jeff Ward, #07 SH Rallycross/DRR Ford Fiesta ST: “Well this is the first track that I’ve been to that will be kind of the same as last year. Even though the dirt is a little different, the turns are all the same, so I’m getting a little feel of last year. It’s a good track for this car because it’s a car that likes high-speed style compared to the point and shoot, where last year’s car kind of seemed to do a little better with that. They look the same, but they are totally different on everything. But the engineers, everybody here has the right platform to be where we need to win races and hopefully it should happen soon."

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GRC Lites Race Preview: Daytona

IN BRIEF: With three winners in three races so far, the GRC Lites field is as tight as ever heading into this weekend’s doubleheader at Daytona International Speedway. Defending Lites champion Oliver Eriksson is the man to watch: not only did he win at this track last year, he also comes off of a victory two weeks ago in Dallas.

TUNE IN INFORMATION:

Wednesday, June 22, 4:30PM ET on NBCSN
Sunday, June 19, 3:30PM ET on Red Bull TV

Red Bull Global Rallycross