Florida Sports Wire

Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images) William Byron celebrates Sunday's Daytona on Victory Lane By Don Coble   DAYTONA BEACH – William Byron’s race-winning move started when the field stormed off the second turn on the final lap of the rain-delayed Daytona 500 Sunday night. As the leaders frantically jockeyed for position on the backstretch, the cars on the inside lane seemed the most out of control. He went for broke by moving next to the outside wall at the Daytona International Speedway. “I just trusted my instincts,” Byron said after becoming the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Denny Hamlin won in 2019-20. “I was getting in the third lane, regardless, because I was probably sixth coming out back.” As he expected, the inside turned into a high-speed game of bumper cars along the backstretch. Although cars were crashing and sliding in every direction, his Chevrolet darted through the carnage unscathed in an improbable rally that took him from ninth place to Victory Lane...

  Photo by NASCAR/Chris Gaythen (Getty Images) By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – There were 25 fans in line at one of many U.S. Secret Service checkpoints in and around the Daytona International Speedway Sunday before the 67 th Daytona 500 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. and country music star Chris Stapleton arrived for a sponsor appearance. They attempted to bypass the line to meet with guests from Brandt Group, but they were quickly stopped by a Secret Service agent who pointed them behind the checkpoint. Like everyone else, they had to empty their pockets and go through an X-ray machine before they were cleared. How relentless were agents doing their jobs before President Donald J. Trump’s arrival before the race? They stopped racing’s King, Richard Petty, for a pat-down. Reporters who worked the main press box had to exit their cars to be searched and cleared by dogs who could detect weapons and explosives. Snipers were on rooftops and hidden throughout the property. The VIP are...

Photo by ARCA Menard Series Brenden "Butterbean" Queen celebrates in Victory Lane - once he was told where to go. By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – It took Brende n “Butterbean” Queen 90 minutes to finish his interview requests and media responsibilities Saturday afternoon after winning the Ride the ‘Dente 200, the season-opener for the ARCA Menard Series, before he left the infield media center. Ten minutes later, the energetic 27-year-old rookie ran through a side door, hoisted the race trophy over his shoulder and left through the same side door. Although he’s won several small track championships, he wasn’t accustomed to the routine – like taking the trophy – after winning on stock car’s biggest stage – the Daytona International Speedway. His naivety was on display long before he forgot the trophy. During his cool-down lap, he radioed his team that he didn’t know what to do or where to go. They told him to go to the start/finish line “and burn it down” with a burnout. ...

  (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)   By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – To better understand just how wild the final few laps Friday night’s Florida Fresh 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race was, imagine this: • Parker Klingerman went to Victory Lane, and although he was so busy “just making moves” in the final few laps, he didn’t know his surge to the lead came on the final lap to what he thought was a victory. • Grant Enfinger went from 14 th to first to 12 th to fifth in the final five laps. • And former television actor from “Malcolm in the Middle,” Frankie Muniz, found a way to rally from running outside the top 20 to an 11 th -place finish in the last three laps in his truck series debut. • Then it really got crazy. An hour after the race, NASCAR disqualified Klingerman’s truck failed post-race inspection for being too low in the rear, which promoted Corey Heim to the win. Klingerman, who will go back to his day job as a reporter with CW’s coverage ...

Chris Shuman, second from left, watches with driver John Hunter Nemechek, during pole qualifying at the Michigan International Speedway last year.   By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – If there are no mistakes, it only takes Chris Shuman and Matt Schlytter about 10 seconds to do their jobs. The rest of their full-time work focuses on trimming valuable tenths of seconds off the time it takes to service John Hunter Nemechek’s Toyota during a pit stop. Schlytter is the jackman, also known as the quarterback, for the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club team, while Shuman changes the rear tires. When Nemechek’s car screeches to a stop, both launch over the pit wall and run around to the right side of the car, where Schlytter uses a specialty-made jack to hoist the 3,450-pound car off the ground. Simultaneously, Shuman will drop to his knees and hit the single-lug nut with an impact wrench. The car will lift, and the tire will come off simultaneously. The tire carrier will put a new tire in place, ens...

 DAYTONA BEACH – Due to the potential of inclement weather forecasted for the Daytona Beach area late Sunday, NASCAR Saturday announced the Daytona 500 will move up one hour from its originally scheduled time to 1:30 p.m. Gates and hospitality will now open at 9 a.m. The Fanzone will open at 8:30 a.m. Parking lots will open at 6 a.m. Due to increased security measures, Daytona International Speedway encourages all attendees to arrive early for the event. Please be aware that traffic may be unpredictable, so allow extra time for potential delays. Additionally, expect longer lines at the entry gates because of enhanced screening processes. Fans in attendance will still enjoy the pre-race performance by Pitbull and the pageantry of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds performing the flyover after the National Anthem. Fans can find additional schedule details for pre-race festivities in the fan guide at  daytonainternationalspeedway.com . The original broadcast networks remain unc...

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to Justin Allgaier crossing the finishing line during the first of two 150-mile Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500. Allgaier moved the team into the starting lineup in the last three laps by improving his position by five spots. (Photo by Don Coble) Co-Team Owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. encountered every member of the JR Motorsports team on pit road before the start of the first of two 150-mile Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500. He wanted to assure them to focus, perform and relax. By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – There were tears of happiness and sorrow following both 150-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 Thursday night at the Daytona International Speedway. For 36 drivers, the results of the Duels only set their starting spots for the Great American Race on Sunday (2:30 p.m., FOX). But it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for nine other drivers without exemptions into the sport’s biggest race to race their...

(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric don’t have to worry about strategy or finishing positions during Thursday night’s Duel qualifying races after winning the first row of the Daytona 500 during pole qualifying Wednesday night. While the rest of the field will be determined in a pair of 150-mile races Thursday night (7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., FS1), the biggest winners from Wednesday’s time trials may have been former NASCAR Cup Series Champions Martin Truex and Jimmie Johnson. Both were making a one-off start for the season-opening race at the Daytona International Speedway, and they didn’t have the safety net of a guaranteed spot in the starting lineup. 36 full-time teams with charters enjoy a guaranteed spot on the grid. NASCAR created a unique and confusing qualifying format, but Truex and Johnson won’t have to be part of the process after they posted the two fastest speeds of the nine non-chartered teams. The remaining s...

  NEW ORLEANS – – Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts was voted the winner of the Pete Rozelle Trophy awarded to the Super Bowl LIX Most Valuable Player. Hurts completed 17 of 22 attempts (77.3 percent) for 221 yards and two touchdowns with a 119.7 rating and added 72 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground in the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over the Chiefs, the most rushing yards by a quarterback ever in a Super Bowl. It marks the 34th time that a quarterback has been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Hurts became the fifth quarterback ever with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a Super Bowl, joining Ken Anderson (Super Bowl XVI), Pro Football Hall of Famers Brett Favre (Super Bowl XXXI) and Joe Montana (Super Bowl XIX) and Patrick Mahomes (Super Bowl LIV). Hurts, who had 304 passing yards and 70 rushing yards in Super Bowl LVII, is the first quarterback ever with at least 200 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in m...

 NEW ORLEANS – The NFL announced this evening that Jacksonville Jaguars DE Arik Armstead was named the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. The award is the league’s most prestigious honor, recognizing NFL players who have exhibited excellence on the field and whose passion to impact lives extends beyond the game. The announcement was made during the NFL Honors Awards program, a primetime awards special that aired nationally on FOX this evening ahead of Super Bowl LIX. Throughout his 10-year career, Armstead has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to serving the local community. In 2019, he established the Armstead Academic Project (AAP), an initiative that ensures every student, regardless of their socioeconomic status, has direct access to the resources they need to thrive, unlock their potential and achieve their goals. Through AAP, he has committed himself to education, including a focus on improving literacy rates through his reading initiative, “Storytime with Arik Arms...

JACKSONVILLE –   The Jacksonville Jaguars have finalized their 2025 coaching staff. “What I really like about this staff – and this really began to shape in the last few days – is that we already speak the same modern, NFL language,” said Head Coach Liam Coen, whose initial Jaguars coaching staff sports 174 collective seasons of NFL coaching experience (8.3 per staff member, with an average age of 42).  “We each have remarkably similar backgrounds, coaching influences and innovative offensive or defensive concepts. With this shared terminology, we can accelerate past the standard learning curve that most staffs face, and instead prioritize installations on offense, defense and special teams. I am excited to get started.”   Head Coach Liam Coen Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile Special Teams Coordinator Heath Farwell Pass Game Coordinator Shane Waldron Quarterbacks Coach Spencer Whipple Offensive Line Coach Shaun Sarrett Wide Recei...