All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Team owner Rick Hendrick made two things abundantly clear during a press conference at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon to discuss the signing of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series leader William Byron. First, Hendrick had no specific update as to the status of Dale Earnhardt Jr., other than to say that Earnhardt is progressing in his recovery from concussion-like symptoms and wants to return to the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet as soon as possible. “Dale looks great,” Hendrick said.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick pulled off a major coup earlier this week with the signing of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie William Byron, who is at the top of the standings on the strength of five victories in a Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota this season. The 18-year-old Byron used to go trick-or-treating at Hendrick’s house. As it turned out, Byron did the same at the house of Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson, a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service The outpouring of support for Bryan Clauson continued at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Larson honoring the memory of their close friend with special helmets and paint schemes. Clauson died at age 27 from injuries suffered during an Aug. 6 accident in the Belleville (Kansas) Midget Nationals. Like Stenhouse, Clauson got his start in NASCAR racing as a development driver for Roush Fenway Racing, but after 26 starts in the XFINITY series, withRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service After surgery to remove a slow-growing, non-malignant tumor from his brain, NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Matt Tifft has been cleared to return to the race track, a process he will begin with a late model stock test on Sunday at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Tifft hasn’t competed in a NASCAR race since May 21, when he drove for Red Horse Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. All told, Tifft ran three races for Red Horse and six XFINITY events for Joe GibbsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – A remarkable chain of circumstances gave Austin Dillon the chance to win Friday night’s Food City 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Dillon took full advantage, completing two harrowing overtime laps to edge surprise runner-up Justin Allgaier in a race that went eight laps beyond the scheduled distance at the ultra-fast .533-mile concrete short track. Dillon didn’t take the top spot until Lap 305 of 308, when Brad Keselowski’s No. 22 Ford ran out of fuel while leadingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Denny Hamlin owns a new track record, but Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards won the round that counted in Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards sped around the .533-mile high-banked concrete short track in 14.602 seconds (131.407 mph) to claim the top starting spot for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA night Race (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN), edging Hamlin (131.200 mph) by .023 seconds. Remarkably, Edwards earned his fifth Coors Light Pole Award of the season, hisRead More

By Chris Knight, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Ben Kennedy stole the lead from William Byron with 20 laps to go in Wednesday night’s UNOH 200 and later withstood an intense six-lap shootout with Brett Moffitt to the finish line to earn his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. With his triumph in his 63rd career series start, Kennedy, the great-grandson of NASCAR Founder Bill France Sr., became the first France family member to win a NASCAR national series race. “I can’tRead More

By Chris Knight, NASCAR Wire Service LEXINGTON, Ohio – Not even a caution with four laps remaining in Saturday’s Mid-Ohio Challenge could detour road course expert Justin Marks from scoring his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Marks, driver of the No. 42 Katerra Chevrolet Camaro, withstood a rain-soaked challenge from Sam Hornish Jr on the final restart, but Marks showcased his road racing skills when it counted most and stretched his lead to 3.7 seconds when the checkered flag flew. “These are as toughRead More

By NASCAR Wire Service It’s been 59 races since a full-time Richard Childress Racing NASCAR XFINITY Series driver won a race. The last time a full-time RCR wheelman celebrated in Victory Lane was when Brendan Gaughan triumphed at Kentucky on Sept. 20, 2014, leading a team sweep of the top-three positions. Brian Scott took second, while Ty Dillon finished third. Since Gaughan’s triumph, RCR full-timers have logged five runner-ups. Scott has been replaced in the stable by Sunoco Rookie Brandon Jones, while Gaughan and Dillon still remain. They’ll try toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Denny Hamlin, winner of Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at the Glen, entertained a sold-out grandstand with a celebratory burnout that trailed a plume of smoke the entire length of the frontstretch at Watkins Glen International. But Hamlin’s smoke show—with a bad back, no less—paled in comparison to the fireworks that preceded the checkered flag, Hamlin’s first at a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road course. The race was in doubt until the final corner, with Martin Truex Jr. pressuring Hamlin, who ledRead More