Cup Category

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kyle Larson may be sitting seventh in points and 24 markers behind the cutoff line, but a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway was solid enough to leave happy. In a race that was completely dominated by Martin Truex, Jr., who led a modern era high 464 of 500 laps, Larson was one of only two drivers (Denny Hamlin) who led laps. This was all thanks to his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing squad keeping him out of pit road in theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Martinsville Speedway was certainly a track Chase Elliott would like to steer clear after a disastrous First Data 500 weekend, capping off with a 36th place finish during Sunday’s race. After a blown engine which saw Elliott’s No. 9 Mountain Dew Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 engulfed into flames Saturday morning, he had to give up his starting slot because he went to the backup car. Elliott would qualify second but before the green flag dropped in Virginia, he had to work his way from the rear ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor While all eyes were on the Playoff drivers on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron was trying his best to crash the party and score his first career win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. At the same track that his team, Hendrick Motorsports, has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the 21-year-old phenom, with veteran crew chief Chad Knaus at the helm, started the day in 11th and once he cracked the top-10, he would stay there for theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano have had their fair share of run-ins both on-track and off over the years and Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, the tension between the two flared back up. Both drivers had a decent day going with the two running in the top-10 as the laps were winding down in the first race of the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Then as they were running side-by-side with about 50 laps to go, Hamlin ran wide offRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It took a post-race fracas on pit road to distract from the dominance of Martin Truex Jr., who led a career-best 464 laps in winning Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway and punched his ticket for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race. The 2017 Cup Series champion took the lead from pole winner Denny Hamlin off pit road on Lap 30 under the first of 11 cautions and held it the rest of the way, save for aRead More

By Reid Spencer. NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Fresh from last Sunday’s victory at Kansas, Denny Hamlin reasserted his mastery of Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon, edging Chase Elliott for the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Covering the .526-mile distance in 19.354 seconds (97.840 mph), Hamlin beat Elliott (97.694 mph) by .029 seconds to secure his third Busch Pole Award of the season, his fourth at Martinsville and the 33rd of his career. Despite his strong performance,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Front Row Motorsports driver Matt Tifft will be replaced by two-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion Matt Crafton for Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Tifft, who pilots the No. 36 Ford Mustang, was transported to a local hospital Saturday morning due to a medical condition at the track. FRM issued a short statement regarding Tifft’s medical update: “This morning, Matt Tifft was transported to a local hospital in Martinsville, Virginia for further evaluation and tests after suffering a medical condition at the track.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The Round of 8 is on. Following a barn burner of a finish at Kansas last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for Sunday’s running of the First Data 500. A win by any of the eight drivers still in contention for the title and they punch their ticket to the championship race at Homestead. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic half-mile, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine overRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Twelve drivers entered Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas still in the running for the championship, but by the time the checkered flag flew, four of them were on the outside looking in as their hopes for a title were erased. Starting the day, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Clint Bowyer were the four drivers in the danger zone, sitting 18 points or more below the cut-off line, with all of them in a virtual must-win situation. Among the four, only Elliott wasRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A Kansas City Miracle bestowed Chase Elliott in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway as a runner-up effort and massive circumstances advanced him into the Round of 8 by just three points. For much of the afternoon, crew chief Alan Gustafson urged the popular racer to win after two gut wrenching Round of 12 races at Dover and Talladega end his races. Elliott said he was trying his best to score his fourth win of the season but it didn’t worked out but understood thatRead More