All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Chandler Smith led a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep at Richmond (Va.) Raceway Saturday afternoon cruising to a 4.495-seconds victory over teammates Aric Almirola and Tanner Gray in the ToyotaCare 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race. It marks back-to-back wins in this race for Smith – answering his first career Xfinity Series victory last Spring – and he led the final 60 laps in the No. 81 JGR Toyota, 76 laps on the day for his third career win, second of the season. It was hisRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson claimed his first pole position of the 2024 season Saturday afternoon to lead an all Hendrick Motorsports front row for Sunday’s Toyota Owner’s 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway (7 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Larson’s time of 22.438-seconds (120.332 mph) just bettered his teammate Chase Elliott’s mark of 22.440-seconds (120.321) around the three-quarter mile Richmond oval – good enough to earn the 2021 series champion and defending Richmond race winner the 17th pole position of his career. “DefinitelyRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron turned in a steady and inspired drive to earn the NASCAR Cup Series victory from pole position in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas road course Sunday, holding off the field by less than a second but dominating the field when he needed to. Answering his season-opening Daytona 500 win, the 26-year-old Charlotte native becomes the first driver to win multiple races this season. This is his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and givesRead More

By INDYCAR THERMAL, Calif.  – In a race of varying strategies, pure speed paid off for Alex Palou with a lucrative victory Sunday in the Sprint for the Purse at The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge. Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou earned $500,000 for the victory in the non-points exhibition event at The Thermal Club, a private motorsports club near Palm Springs, California. Palou led all 20 laps of the Sprint for the Purse from the pole, driving his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 5.7929-secondRead More

By INDYCAR THERMAL, Calif. – Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou each battled gusty winds and changing track conditions Saturday to claim poles for the two heat races Sunday setting the field for The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge. Rosenqvist and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou will be at the head of the field for their respective 10-lap heat races Sunday on the 17-turn, 3.067-mile desert circuit near Palm Springs, California. The top six finishers in each of those heats will compete in the Sprint for the Purse, a two-segment, 20-lapRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson was ultimately both patient and smart taking the lead on the final overtime lap to win an aggressive Featured Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the first road course test for the series this year that earned an “A” for high-drama and close competition. New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill were duking it out for the lead – and pushing each other high off the race line as the field approached the checkered flag.Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas Saturday afternoon. Heim dominated the race – his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota leading a race best 31 of the 46 laps and prevailing in an overtime finish to convincingly win his first race of 2024 and sixth of his career – by 1.625-seconds over his teammate Taylor Gray. ThorSportRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service In a thrilling final qualifying round, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron was able to hold on to the pole position despite a 94.685 mph run by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs, whose slight bobble in the final turns – in the final seconds of the session – at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) road course was just off the mark. This is the 13th career pole for Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – and the fifth on a road course, which isRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor As J.R. Hildebrand completes his rookie year as a father, he looks back on a time of supreme happiness with wife Kristin and their daughter Julietta Louise, who turns 1 late this month. “It has been the most incredible 11 months of my life,” he said. While this wonderful phase is just beginning, the 36-year-old Hildebrand is working to revive another – his career as an Indianapolis 500 driver. He missed the 500 last year when he didn’t land a ride for the first timeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   BRISTOL, Tenn. — How appropriate.  On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.  In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds. Read More