All posts by Joey Barnes

Birmingham, Ala. – Santiago Urrutia, from Miguelete, Uruguay, set the pace today for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian at Barber Motorsports Park as the top rung on the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, took to the 2.3-mile road course for one final opportunity to prepare for next weekend’s championship-opening races on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Urrutia, who won last year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, turned a best lap of 1:12.4479 this afternoon, fractionally slower than the record 1:12.3865Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Atlanta Motor Speedway saw the dawning of a new competition package in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and after all was said and done it was Jimmie Johnson taking a late lead en route to winning and tying Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career victory. Without any more delay, here are some of my key takeaways from Sunday’s race. 1) Phenomenal Racing If you didn’t like what kind of racing was on display then there’s something wrong. The package complemented by lower downforce and greater tireRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief It was just weeks ago that Jeb Burton was confirmed for a full season with Richard Petty Motorsports in the XFINITY Series, and in just their second race together the duo secured a 10th place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. The finish didn’t fall on the luck of off-sequenced strategy either. Burton, 23, started in 15th and climbed into the top five early and hung around with the Sprint Cup regulars. As the race wore on the second-generation racer began to slide back some,Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After a disastrous 2015, James Hinchcliffe is glad to be back behind the wheel of his No. 5 Arrow Electronics Honda. Hinchcliffe, 29, was severely injured in a practice crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last May in preparation for the 99th Indianapolis 500. Reports then surfaced that the injuries were life-threatening and the result of the crash was due to a confirmed suspension failure. The Canadian would fight back in the following months with the hopes of returning, but all the while Hinchcliffe was forced toRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The 58th annual Daytona 500 is in the books and with it a new champion crowned in Denny Hamlin. With ‘The Great American Race’ now over, it’s time to revisit some of the big takeaways from the Sprint Cup season opener. 1) Hendrick Motorsports fell flat Our NASCAR Editor, Toby Christie, pointed out that this was the first time since 2009 that a driver from Hendrick Motorsports has failed to grab a top 10 finish – see that story here. With that said, the performance, orRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After a solid Speedweeks, the 2016 Sprint Cup rookie class struggled to live up to expectations in this year’s Daytona 500. Chase Elliott replaced retired four-time series champion Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 at Hendrick Motorsports, and started off with a bang by winning the pole for ‘The Great American Race’. However, after leading the opening three laps, the second-generation driver and 2014 XFINITY Series champion quickly ran into trouble, wrecking off Turn 4 before ultimately finishing 37th. Chris Buescher, last season’s XFINITY Series champion,Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Just a month after a controversial move to drop Alex Bowman for Regan Smith, Tommy Baldwin Racing’s decision paid off with an eighth place finish in the Daytona 500. Smith, 32, started 27th in ‘The Great American Race’, rebounding from an early spin and keeping the single-car team in the fight on the lead lap. Following green flag pitstops with 45 laps to go, the No. 7 Golden Corral/Nikko Chevrolet drew within reach of the frontrunners. As Denny Hamlin made his move to a race win,Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After starting on pole for the Daytona 500, rookie Chase Elliott saw his hopes of a good finish evaporate early. The 20-year-old from Dawsonville, Georgia led the opening few laps, but began to quickly slide backwards. The heralded replacement for retired four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon lost control on the exit of Turn 4 on lap 18, damaging the nose as the No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet hit the infield grass. “I’m not sure, just got turned around there off of four,” said Elliott.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After sensational rookie campaigns in last season, second-year drivers Daniel Suarez and Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr. impressed in the Saturday’s season-opening NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The day began very differently for each of the respected drivers. Suarez, 24, started the Powershares QQQ 300 on the outside of the front row in his No. 19 Toyota and remained among the top 10 for the first half of the race. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Wallace, 22, started the race atRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After encountering a vibration early on, Ryan Blaney raced his was back up to finish third in the opening Can-Am Duel race on Thursday night. Blaney, 22, stayed among the leaders in the opening 15 laps of the 60 lap event, lingering around the top 5. Moments later the rookie felt a strong vibration that eventually led to him falling a lap down, but a spin by Cole Whitt forced a caution to come out on lap 44, putting Blaney back on the lead lap. FollowingRead More