All posts by Motorsports Tribune

Jake Eidson and Victor Franzoni shared the victory spoils for Pabst Racing and Afterburner Autosport respectively following today’s pair of 30-minute Cooper Tires Winterfest races at NOLA Motorsports Park. Eidson, who also won yesterday’s opening round of the six-race pre-season mini-series, now holds a commanding 26-point advantage over his nearest pursuer as the first rung on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder heads to Barber Motorsports Park for three more races next week.   After an electrical problem in qualifying restricted Franzoni to an unrepresentative 14th on the grid forRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—As trucks fanned out four-wide behind him, Tyler Reddick took the first checkered flag of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Behind the race winner, Erik Jones charged to the outside to grab the runner-up spot, followed by Scott Lagasse Jr. and Austin Theriault, Reddick’s Brad Keselowski Racing teammate. Teamwork between the two BKR trucks was crucial to Reddick’s maiden win. “I just had all the confidence in the world in our trucks going into theRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Hendrick Motorsports swept the front-row starting positions for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Apparently enjoying the feeling, HMS then swept Thursday’s Budweiser Duel at Daytona twin 150-mile qualifying races. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came from his last-place starting position to win Thursday night’s first Budweiser Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway, as unsung heroes behind him diced their way into the 57th running of the Great American Race (1 p.m. ET on FOX). Jimmie Johnson, on the pole for the second Duel and already locked into theRead More

Mazda Road to Indy pre-season testing continued this week for participants in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires with 10 hours of valuable on-track time over a two-day stretch at NOLA Motorsports Park near New Orleans, La. The Indy Lights teams kicked off the annual Cooper Tires Winterfest at the track which will see action in April with the Verizon IndyCar Series as well as the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Teams were greeted with temperatures hovering near 40ºRead More

Two youngsters who have honed their skills in Europe in recent years staged a fine battle for the lead in this afternoon’s opening round of the Cooper Tires Winterfest, with Briton Jack Aitken (Team Pelfrey) narrowly holding off Andretti Autosport’s Weiron Tan at NOLA Motorsports Park. Aitken, 19, from London, England, returned to the Pro Mazda ranks following an impressive debut performance in last year’s season finale at Sonoma Raceway, where he finished fourth. His focus this year will be on a return to the Formula Renault Eurocup, but heRead More

Jake Eidson capped a glorious return to form for Pabst Racing by claiming a convincing victory in this afternoon’s opening round of the Cooper Tires Winterfest mini-series at NOLA Motorsports Park. The Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing pair of Aaron Telitz and Nico Jamin secured the other podium positions after a race-long battle.   Eidson, who finished third in the “regular season” championship in 2014, laid down a marker earlier in the afternoon by snatching the pole position with a best lap of 1:36.306 on the 2.75-mile, 16-turn roadRead More

  Adam Tate (Tribute Racing), Josh Farmer (Motorsport Monday), Christopher DeHarde (Motorsport.com), and Joey Barnes (Tribute Racing) gear up for the 16th instalment of “In the Gravel Trap” with the latest look into IndyCar media day, along with the NASCAR action from Daytona. Chevrolet has released its new aero-kits for the Verizon IndyCar Series, James Jakes is the new face at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and Chip Ganassi Racing gives its hotshoe development driver Sage Karam the nod for its fourth seat at the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. DaytonaRead More

After a busy month of winter testing, Juncos Racing is set to kick off the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race campaign this week in the “Mazda Road to Indy” Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship. Juncos Racing captured the team and driver 2014 Pro Mazda Championships in addition to the 2014 Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship. Juncos Racing’s Pro Mazda drivers José Gutiérrez, Will Owen, Garett Grist, and Timothé Buret look to carry the momentum gained in preseason testing over to the first official championship of the 2015 season.Read More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin had their qualifying times disallowed by NASCAR and will have to start from the rear of the Budweiser Duels after failing post qualifying inspection. Earnhardt’s car did not meet the minimum height on the left front. NASCAR abandoned their ride height rules for all tracks with the exception of Daytona and Talladega, the only that require restrictor plates on the cars. The defending Daytona 500 champion acknowledged the violation via twitter, but later shared some optimism on starting from theRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Jeff Gordon won a high-stakes game of “Beat the Clock” on Sunday, with the pole for his final Daytona 500 the ultimate prize. Gordon crossed the start/finish line to start his pole-winning lap as time expired in the final round of knockout qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. His time of 44.711 seconds (201.293 mph) was .035 seconds better than that of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, who secured the outside front-row starting spot for next Sunday’s 57th running of the Great American Race (1 p.m. ET on FOX).Read More