All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By FIA Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took a dominant Qatar Grand Prix victory to narrow the Drivers’ title gap to Max Vesratppen to eight points, as the championship-leading Red Bull driver recovered from a five-place grid penalty to finish second and take the point for fastest lap. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso finished third to score his first podium finish since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix. Pole sitter Hamilton got away well at the race start and quickly began to establish a strong lead at the front of the pack. Behind him Verstappen’sRead More

By FIA Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton completed a stunning recovery from disqualification in qualifying and an engine-related grid penalty to win the São Paulo Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen. Valtteri Bottas completed a podium double for Mercedes with third place ahead of Sergio Pérez, who rescued a point back from Hamilton with the fastest lap on the final tour of the race.  When the lights went out at the start both Red Bulls got good starts and Verstappen was able to pull alongside pole sitter BottasRead More

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen extended his 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship lead over Lewis Hamilton to 19 points with a controlled drive to victory ahead of the Mercedes driver at the Mexico City Grand Prix as Sergio Pérez claimed third place to become the first Mexican driver to stand on the podium at his home race. When the lights went out Verstappen got a good start from third place on the grid and on the long run to Turn 1 he got a powerful tow from Hamilton. HeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Austin Cindric “just happy” for a shot at a second straight NASCAR Xfinity title PHOENIX, Ariz. – In the NASCAR Cup Series, drivers seldom win consecutive titles. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the feat is almost commonplace. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are the only two Cup drivers in the last 25 years to earn consecutive championships—Gordon with titles in 1997-1998 and Johnson with a record five straight from 2006 through 2010. In the Xfinity Series, on the other hand, championshipsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Denny Hamlin provided the perfect capstone to a day of banged-up stock cars, hurt feelings and crushed dreams. Alex Bowman took the checkered flag in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after sliding up into Hamlin’s race-leading Toyota on Lap 494 of 501 and knocking Hamlin’s car up the track and into the outside wall. As Bowman tried to start a burnout to celebrate his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and his first at the .526-mile short track,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – To get to the Championship 4, you have to drive like a champion. That’s what Noah Gragson did on Saturday night in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway. Faced with the necessity of winning the race to keep his NASCAR Xfinity Series title hopes alive, Gragson did just that, pulling off a dramatic pass of Daniel Hemric from the outside lane in the first attempt at overtime and holding off series leader Austin CindricRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – On a track strewn with spinning trucks and broken hearts, Zane Smith catapulted into the Championship 4 with a thrilling overtime victory in Saturday’s United Rentals 200 at Martinsville Speedway. In a no-holds-barred race that featured 14 cautions for 89 laps, Smith won under yellow after he, Stewart Friesen and Todd Gilliland raced three-wide—yes, three-wide at Martinsville—off Turn 4 on the first lap of overtime. Contact from Friesen’s Toyota sent Gilliland’s Ford spinning across the start/finish line to start the finalRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson did the heavy-lifting on Sunday, leading nine different times for a race-high 130 laps, ultimately crossing the finish line a hefty 3.619-seconds ahead of the field to earn a NASCAR Cup Series-best ninth win of the season (15th of his career) in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. It is the third consecutive race win for the 29-year old Californian and the second time this season he’s won three in a row. The last time a driver won three straight racesRead More

By FIA Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen fended off intense late-race pressure from title rival Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to claim a well-worked United States Grand Prix win at the Circuit of the Americas. Sergio Pérez doubled Red Bull’s celebrations by taking third place and the Team’s 200th podium finish.  When the lights went out at the start Hamilton was quickest off the line and though he was forced to take a deep inside line on the run up the hill to Turn 1 as Verstappen defended, the Mercedes driver heldRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Ty Gibbs continued his phenomenal NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie season on Saturday with his fourth victory of the year in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. Gibbs passed reigning series champion Austin Cindric on Lap 190 and 200 and beat the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford to the finish line by .759 seconds to earn his ninth top-five finish in his 16th start. “He got a little bit free and kind of slowed down in (Turns) 3 and 4, andRead More