Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero 400 before an "estimated crowd of 70,000" at Daytona Int'l Speedway yesterday. The hour or so leading up to the race’s start was a "mix of the usual Fourth of July ceremonies along with heavy attention" on Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started on the pole (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 7/2). Earnhardt "finished his full-time" career at Daytona with a "ride to the infield care center after a crash left his car too damaged to continue" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 7/2). It was "Junior's night." There were "flags for the No. 88 car all over the infield" and as "many Earnhardt flags as American ones" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 7/2).
DIS Friday night gave NASCAR fans a "look at an increasingly popular form of ring competition" as it
hosted MMA exhibition matches from the Professional Fighters League. PFL Exec Chair
Russ Ramsey said that the organization is "looking at the possibility of scheduling events at other NASCAR tracks" as part of its '18 season. Ramsey: "Tonight is kind of a test. We’re thinking about where else this could work" (
USATODAY.com, 6/30).
