NASCAR is back and we’re at Daytona International Speedway to kick off the 2024 season for both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series. During the three short months of the off-season, ECR Engines has been busy preparing engines for the season ahead. The cars have rolled through tech, the starting lineups have been set, but the rain is the leading factor into when these races will start.
Saturday’s Xfinity Series race has been postponed until Monday at 11 a.m. EST on FS1, while Sunday’s Daytona 500 will follow at 4 p.m. EST on FOX. This will be the first double-header at Daytona International Speedway in NASCAR history.
ECR has 25 engines competing this weekend at the World Center of Racing with 17 Xfinity engines and eight Cup engines. ECR’s record at Daytona International Speedway is an impressive one to highlight, especially after snagging seven of the top-ten positions for the Xfinity Series United Rentals 300. Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love will start on the pole in the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, alongside teammate Austin Hill in the No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet. Kaulig Racing’s No. 16, driven by AJ Allmendinger, and Big Machine Racing’s No. 48, driven by Parker Kligerman, will follow on the second row. President of ECR Engines Bob Fisher has high hopes and expectations going into the Xfinity race, especially after sweeping qualifying on Saturday.
“We’ve got really good cars and really good engines, so when you put those two together with our excellent driver lineup, we have a lot on our side and we’re going to continue capitalizing on that,” said Fisher.
Not only do the qualifying results give ECR a solid starting position, but based on past races at Daytona International Speedway, these engines are known to be the best of the best at the 2.5-mile oval track. RCR’s Hill, who started on the pole last year, is aiming for a three-peat in this weekend’s season opener for the Xfinity Series.
“Last year was pretty wild,” said Hill. “I didn’t know if we had won the race or if John Hunter (Nemechek) going below the yellow line was going to be deemed legal. There were a lot of emotions and it felt like an eternity waiting for NASCAR to announce the winner. I’ve been fortunate enough to win at Daytona two years in a row, which has been great, but every time you go to Daytona, you never know what will happen,” said Hill.
“We’ve got a really good chance and Austin is probably one of the best superspeedway drivers out there,” said Fisher.
The eight engines in the Cup Series will be driven by RCR’s Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric, Beard Motorsports Anthony Alfredo who qualified his way in, and BJ McLeod of LiveFast Motorsports. These drivers took to the track last week for Wednesday night’s qualifying and Thursday night’s duels which determined their starting positions for the Daytona 500.
ECR is confident they have enough “big power” to get where they want to be when the races end. Thanks to more than 100 employees and months of hard work, these 25 engines have already proven they’ve got what it takes to win it all. The only question is, who will take home the checkered?