All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – Denny Hamlin did almost everything right on Sunday afternoon. Despite his best efforts, however, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota left Texas Motor Speedway in a good-sized hole. Hamlin started Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 from the front row beside pole winner Kurt Busch. He led the first 46 laps, 65 overall. Hamlin was in the top spot for the final restart on Lap 289 and rolled home in third place behind winner Kevin Harvick and runner-upRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – Martin Truex Jr. isn’t invincible after all. Kevin Harvick put a serious dent in Truex’s sense of invulnerability on Sunday afternoon, passing Truex with nine laps left in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and pulling away to win by 1.580 seconds. In beating this year’s unrivaled master of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ 1.5-mile intermediate speedways, Harvick earned a spot in the Nov. 19 Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which Harvick won the first titleRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – There was no keeping up with Erik Jones on Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway – though Ryan Blaney tried his level best over the closing laps of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. Jones, the pole winner, swept the first and second stages of the event, led 142-of-200 laps and completed the season sweep of NASCAR XFINITY Series races at the 1.5-mile track – the first time that’s happened since Kyle Busch won both races in 2009. The victory wasRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – It was a case of déjà vu for Johnny Sauter on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. Now the defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion hopes history repeats itself two weeks hence, when he races for his second straight title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After taking over the lead on Lap 135 of 147 of the JAG Metals 350 Driving Hurricane Harvey Relief, when John Hunter Nemechek ran out of gas while leading at the end of a cycle ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – A driver without a signed contract for 2018 won the pole position for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN) with a record lap — giving a timely birthday present to his crew chief. In the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session, Kurt Busch covered the 1.5-mile distance in 26.877 seconds (200.915 mph) to top the previous record lap of 200.111 mph posted by Tony Stewart in 2014. In a third round thatRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service With full-time driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. behind the wheel, Richard Petty Motorsports will have a new sponsor on the vaunted No. 43 car in the 2018 Daytona 500 and at least two other events next year. Click n’ Close, a division of Texas-based Mid America Mortgage has entered a partnership agreement with RPM as well as signing on as the “Official Mortgage Provider of NASCAR.” “I’m excited to run in my first Daytona 500,” Wallace said. “And I think most of you guysRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some choice words for Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage – and the horse he rode in on. In fact, Earnhardt’s choice words were expressions of gratitude for thoughtful gifts to the driver of the No. 88 in anticipation of his last appearance at TMS in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Bedecked in a lighted cowboy suit and hat, Gossage – NASCAR’s own Rhinestone Cowboy – pranced into the TMS Media center atop a horse to deliver news of the largesseRead More

Listen to “Drafting The Circuits November 2, 2017” on Spreaker. Frank Santoroski and the Drafting the Circuit crew – Gray Warren, Richard Youden and Seth Eggert – breaks down the Martinsville round of the NASCAR playoffs and it’s championship implications, and discusses Lewis Hamilton’s place in F1 history after he clinches his fourth World Driving title in Mexico. Credits: Host – Frank Santoroski DTC Panel – Seth Eggert, Gray Warren, & Richard Youden Producers – Anthony Arnold & Keith Hayes Special thanks to Whoobazoo for hosting the DTC Podcast. Social Media: Follow DTC on Facebook FollowRead More

By Road to Indy There is a great deal of symmetry between the histories of Juncos Racing team owner Ricardo Juncos and driver Victor Franzoni. Both came to the U.S. from South America with little more than the money in their respective pockets, and the passion and drive to make their racing dreams happen. In an all-or-nothing, pressure-packed scenario, the story of their 2017 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires title run became one of the feel-good narratives of the year. Juncos’ story is well-known: as a successful autoRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The sun went down, the new lights came on, and all hell broke loose at Martinsville Speedway. In a wild overtime finish that took Sunday’s First Data 500 to 505 laps at the .526-mile short track, Kyle Busch beat Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leader Martin Truex Jr. to the stripe by .141 seconds to take the checkered flag and earn a spot in the Nov. 19 Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. As Busch crossed the finish line, a multi-car wreckRead More