Headline News Category

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief It was just weeks ago that Jeb Burton was confirmed for a full season with Richard Petty Motorsports in the XFINITY Series, and in just their second race together the duo secured a 10th place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. The finish didn’t fall on the luck of off-sequenced strategy either. Burton, 23, started in 15th and climbed into the top five early and hung around with the Sprint Cup regulars. As the race wore on the second-generation racer began to slide back some,Read 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

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After a disastrous 2015, James Hinchcliffe is glad to be back behind the wheel of his No. 5 Arrow Electronics Honda. Hinchcliffe, 29, was severely injured in a practice crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last May in preparation for the 99th Indianapolis 500. Reports then surfaced that the injuries were life-threatening and the result of the crash was due to a confirmed suspension failure. The Canadian would fight back in the following months with the hopes of returning, but all the while Hinchcliffe was forced toRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor It’s no secret that Roush Fenway Racing has struggled mightily to rejoin the conversation of being one of NASCAR’s elite teams over the last couple of years. Roush was a perennial championship contending team year-in and year-out from the 1990s until the early 2010s. However, in the last two seasons the team has struggled to keep up with the powerhouse organizations in the sport: Hendrick, Penske, Gibbs and Stewart-Haas. The organization, which has seen its marquee drivers (Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards) jump ship inRead More

AVONDALE, Ariz. – The Test in the West is already bringing out the best in Team Penske. Record best. Helio Castroneves led four Team Penske drivers in the top six after the first session of the Phoenix International Raceway promoter test Feb. 26, with a lap time that unofficially eclipsed the track record on the 1.022-mile short oval. Indy car great Arie Luyendyk, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner just named one of three officiating stewards for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season, holds the official one-lap record of 19.608 secondsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Stewart-Haas Racing’s blockbuster announcement of its impending move from Chevrolet to Ford in 2017 affects another NASCAR powerhouse — Hendrick Motorsports. Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is confident team owner Rick Hendrick will make the adjustment in the 10 months between Tuesday’s announcement and SHR’s departure from the engine and chassis deal that has been in place since Tony Stewart partnered with Gene Haas in 2009. “It was certainly a shock,” Johnson said on Friday at Atlanta MotorRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Ty Dillon’s work load tripled this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With Dillon tabbed as the substitute driver for injured Tony Stewart for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event (1 p.m. ET on FOX), Dillon will be battling for 500 miles in addition to the 250 he’ll run in Saturday’s Heads Up Georgia 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1). But to Dillon, the opportunity to race in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas RacingRead More

Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Andretti Autosport unveiled their 2016 liveries for its Verizon IndyCar Series teams. The cars of rookie Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Carlos Munoz will share a common theme element in their respective paint schemes. Each car will carry a color stripe starting at the front of the cockpit and running through the end of the cars, giving nod to Mario Andretti’s livery in the 1972 Indianapolis 500. The design became the basis for Mario Andretti’s helmet scheme, which Marco continues to use to this day. “AsRead More

Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Gabby Chaves will fill in for Schmidt Peterson Motorsport in this weekend’s Verizon IndyCar Series test at Phoenix International Raceway. Mikhail Aleshin, who was scheduled to make his first appearance in his return to IndyCar, is unable to make it due to last minute work visa issues. “While we wish Mikhail was able to participate in this test with us, we’re confident that he’ll get up to speed quickly when he returns,” said SPM General Manager Piers Phillips. “Gabby had a solid rookie season and we appreciate hisRead More