All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — William Byron won the most important race of Sunday afternoon—by inches off pit road.  Quick work by Byron’s pit crew enabled the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to beat teammate Kyle Larson off pit road for an overtime restart in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and that was the decisive factor in Byron’s fifth career NASCAR Cup Series victory.  When Aric Almirola spun into the Turn 4 wall with four laps left of a scheduledRead More

By INDYCAR ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Marcus Ericsson dodged multiple incidents in a chaotic season-opening race for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, winning the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Sunday in a day overflowing with drama. 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Ericsson earned his fourth career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory by 2.4113 seconds in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda over runner-up Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Ericsson, who started fourth, took the lead when O’Ward slowedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — Austin Hill ran down rookie pole winner Chandler Smith from three seconds back, passed him as the cars approached the white flag and held on to win Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The victory was the second of the year for Hill, who won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet won for the first time at Las Vegas and for the fourthRead More

By INDYCAR ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Romain Grosjean led an Andretti Autosport sweep of the front row in qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Saturday, winning the NTT P1 Award for the second time in his career. Grosjean, from France, led the Firestone Fast Six with a best lap of 59.5532 seconds in the No. 28 DHL Honda on his final trip around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit that hosts the opening race of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Teammate ColtonRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — Joey Logano, winner of three of the last eight NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will start from the pole position in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube after topping 186 mph Saturday in the final round of qualifying.  Logano toured the 1.5-mile track in 29.024 seconds (186.053 mph) to earn his first Busch Pole Award of the season, his second at Las Vegas and the 27th of his career.  Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford was .141Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — Kyle Busch revels in changing circumstances.  Five days after winning at Auto Club Speedway in his second NASCAR Cup Series race in a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Busch powered his own Kyle Busch Motorsports Chevy to victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.  Despite a couple of twitchy moments in traffic, Busch dominated Friday night’s Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leading 84 of 134 laps and beating runner-up Zane Smith to the finish line by 4.981 seconds. Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS—Chase Elliott will not compete in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after sustaining a leg injury while snowboarding Friday in Colorado.  The 2020 series champion is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday night, according to a release from Hendrick Motorsports.  Josh Berry, a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver for JR Motorsports, will replace Elliott in the No. 9 Chevrolet this weekend. Berry, 32, has two previous Cup starts, with a best finish of 26th at Michigan inRead More

By INDYCAR ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It’s hard to believe, but none of legendary six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon’s 53 career wins have come on the streets of St. Petersburg. That might change Sunday, if the results of the opening practice Friday are any indication. Dixon was quickest during the opening practice session of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 1.6145 seconds in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon will look to take the top step ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – After the sun set on Auto Club Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek drove his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to victory in Sunday’s Production Alliance Group 300 in the final race at the 2.0-mile track. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. The NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers were scheduled to race on Saturday, leaving the speedway’s swan song to the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, but rain and snow—yes, snow in Southern California’s Inland Empire—forced postponement of the race until Sunday.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – The Kyle Busch era at Richard Childress Racing began three weeks ago at the Los Angeles Coliseum, but the coronation was reserved for Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 in the last NASCAR Cup Series race at 2.0-mile Auto Club Speedway. Busch grabbed the lead from Ross Chastain on Lap 165 and regained it on Lap 180 at the end of a cycle of green-flag pit stops, as the race ran under green for the final 55 laps. He crossed the finish lineRead More