2015 Sprint Unlimited
The 2015 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on February 14, 2015, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 75 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Matt Kenseth took the victory ahead of Martin Truex Jr. Carl Edwards, Casey Mears, and Kyle Larson 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. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. Denny Hamlin was the defending race winner. Format and eligibility The race is 75 laps in length, and was divided into two segments; the first was 25 laps and the second was 50 laps. The race was open to those drivers who won a pole in the 2014 season or had won the Sprint Unlimited previously. Two new changes were announced in December. The field was expanded to those who have won the pole for the Daytona 500 previously and/or were in the Chase in 2014. Entry list The entry list for the Sprint Unlimited was released on December 17, 2014. Twenty-five drivers were eligible for the race. Starting lineup The starting lineup was determined by a random draw. Paul Menard drew the top spot. Practice First practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.832 and a speed of . Tony Stewart was called to the NASCAR hauler for ignoring the black flag which was shown to him, as he did not weigh in before the session. Per NASCAR regulations, all drivers had to weigh in before the start of the season to calculate the minimum car weights. This was normally done during January Preseason Thunder, but it was canceled in 2015. Stewart took to Twitter to express his frustration upon exiting his car. Final practice Jeff Gordon was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 45.740 and a speed of . Race First segment The race started at 8:35 p.m. Eastern time with Paul Menard leading the field to the green. With a push from Matt Kenseth on the inside lane, Brad Keselowski took the lead on lap nine. Kenseth jumped to the outside lane to pass Keselowski for the lead on lap eleven, before Martin Truex Jr. utilized a slingshot move to pass Kenseth for the lead the next lap. Kenseth used a push on the bottom to retake the lead on lap 15 but could not maintain the lead as he fell back and handed Truex Jr. the lead. The first caution of the race flew on lap 22 for a single car wreck on the front