All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Running a track-record lap he described as “insanely fast,” Las Vegas native Kurt Busch led qualifying for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). The Coors Light Pole Award was Busch’s second straight in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, following last week’s top qualifying effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch remains the only driver to win a pole this year with the 2016 lower-downforce competition package. “Two poles in a row — this is great,” said Busch, whoRead More

Staff Report, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch returns to hometown track on cusp of first win The last time Las Vegas native Kyle Busch visited his hometown with NASCAR, he paraded around his championship trophy during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week. This time he’s there to compete, one year after missing the race at his home track due to a broken right leg and fractured left foot suffered two weeks before it. Busch will attempt to earn his second career win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s KobaltRead More

SHOW #400 – Guest: John Hunter Nemechek – We recap the exciting racing from Atlanta, review Jimmie Johnson’s 76 career win, tying Dale Earnhardt Sr., hear from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick on the milestone, preview everything Las Vegas and more. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie ( Roughly 48:00 mins) DOWNLOAD HERE   CREDITS: Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Toby Christie Executive Producer: Kerry Murphey Music: Russell Nash Audio Director Voice Over: Thomas Moog SUBSCRIBE FREE HERE RSS FEED RADIO STATIONS CLICK HERE SUBSCRIBE FROM iTUNES: Take us with you! Subscribe to our audio showsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – With wrecks erupting behind him, Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag in overtime under caution in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway—and then he remembered. Almost lost in the euphoria of Johnson’s second straight victory at the 1.54-mile track was the realization that, with his 76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, he had tied the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list. But as the No. 48 Chevrolet rolled around the track on itsRead More

Ed Carpenter Racing left Phoenix International Raceway hopeful with both cars near the top of the speed chart. Newgarden was third fastest overall in the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevy (19.2917 seconds, 190.714 mph), with Carpenter close behind in fourth (19.3316, 190.321) driving the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevy. The team co-owner/driver didn’t hide his pleasure with the improvement in the team’s oval performance. “It’s encouraging, for sure, when you look at where we were on the ovals a year ago starting the season,” Carpenter said. “It’s really encouraging toRead More

Sebastien Bourdais is back with KVSH Racing and so is co-primary sponsor Hydroxycut for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. KVSH co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven, James “Sulli” Sullivan and Jimmy Vasser confirmed what Vasser called the “worst-kept secret of the season.” Bourdais, the four-time Indy car champion, will drive the No. 11 Team Hydroxycut – KVSH Racing Chevrolet. Bourdais won titles in Champ Car a record four straight seasons from 2004-2007 and is tied for seventh in all-time Indy car race wins with 34. Three of those wins have come withRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – In a wild race that saw some of the best trucks in the field destroyed before the finish, John Hunter Nemechek held off Cameron Hayley in a two-lap dash to the checkers to win Saturday’s Great Clips 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But it was a skull session with 2014 Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick the night before that was instrumental in guiding Nemechek to victory in his unsponsored No. 8 Chevrolet. “I’ve got toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Scratch another race track off Kyle Busch’s checklist. In what evolved into a two-man battle against Kyle Larson on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion continued his mastery in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, beating Kyle Larson to the finish line to win the Heads Up Georgia 250. The victory was Busch’s first at the 1.54-mile track and the 77th of his career, extending his own series record. But the outcome was far from a foregoneRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole winner Kurt Busch seems to have adapted to the 2016 low-downforce competition without missing a beat, but the same can’t be said for Team Penske driver Joey Logano, one of the preseason favorites to win the series title this year. Logano, who garnered the Coors Light Pole Award at Atlanta Motor Speedway last year, wasn’t close to having his No. 22 Ford dialed in when the series returned to the 1.54-mile track on Friday. The six-timeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – One of the most outspoken advocates for removing downforce from the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars, Carl Edwards expects the sanctioning body’s move in that direction with the 2016 rules package to have a profound effect in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET on FOX). The combination of low downforce and a bumpy, abrasive racing surface should be a recipe for exciting, strategic racing in the first open-motor event featuring the 2016 rules. “I thinkRead More