Cup Category

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer With 40 laps remaining in Monday’s Pennsylvania 400, it looked like Kyle Larson might finally be en-route to his first-career Sprint Cup Series win and an automatic berth in the Chase. Instead, after a shocking fog-shortened victory for Chris Buescher, Larson find himself just holding onto playoff contention as the Chase bubble begins to burst. Larson’s strong run at Pocono Speedway ended in a sixth-place finish after the race was called following 138 of the planned 160 laps for fog and inclement weather. The performance keptRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Martin Truex Jr.’s hopes to return to Victory Lane at Pocono Raceway evaporated in the early stages of the Pennsylvania 400. The polesitter’s No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota hit the wall on lap 20, moments after a restart following the competition caution. After leading the opening 16 laps, Truex’s right front tire went flat due to a lug nut during the scheduled pit stop cutting off the valve stem for the inner liner. “Just blew a right front (tire),” said Truex. “A lug nut bouncedRead More

By: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – Martin Truex Jr. found a lot more than light at the end of the Tunnel on Friday afternoon at Pocono Raceway. Gaining time on the rest of the field through Turn 2—the Tunnel Turn—at the 2.5-mile triangular race track, Truex put his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota on the pole for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 (on NBCSN at 1:30 p.m. ET), knocking fellow Toyota Camry driver Carl Edwards out of the top starting spot. It’s not that Truex and hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After a scary crash during a test at the newly repaved Watkins Glen International earlier in the week, 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski didn’t hold back on Friday morning at Pocono Raceway as he discussed the crash and the dangers of road course racing. During the test, an improperly installed brake line caused him to lose all braking capability entering the sharp right-hand Turn 1 at Watkins Glen, which sent his No. 2 Ford into the tire barriers along the Armco barrier atRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Throughout the history of NASCAR, there have been stories of drivers continuing to race even while injured, never giving up the pursuit of victory lane. In 2011 at Pocono, Brad Keselowski added his name to that list. For that reason, the 2011 Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono is the focus of this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater.” The week prior to NASCAR’s second trip of the season to Pocono, Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 team, along with Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team and Dale Earnhardt,Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Sprint Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick will be without his crew chief Rodney Childers this weekend at Pocono Raceway after a suspension from NASCAR. NASCAR announced Wednesday that Childers has been suspended from NASCAR competition through Aug. 3 and fined $20,000 after Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet was observed with improperly installed lug nuts following Sunday’s Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Childers, 40, has also been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31. Stewart-Haas Racing has elected not to appeal the decision. InRead More

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Mission accomplished, a record set, and a torch passed to the next generation. Kyle Busch set a Brickyard record for laps led and became the first driver to sweep both a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series race from the pole in the same weekend, but the real symbolism of Sunday’s Crown Royal 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn’t come until the event was over. As Busch spun his No. 18 Toyota in a celebratory burnout and took his customary bows near the yard ofRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor As the calendar continues to roll through the month of July, this coming weekend is always a special one for the drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. For the 23rd year, the series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the running of the Brickyard 400. With that in mind, we take a step back in time 20 years ago to the 1996 edition of the Brickyard 400 in this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater.” With the first two races at Indianapolis going toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – In a race that saw many of the usual suspects go into hiding in the closing laps, Matt Kenseth battled to the front of the field from the 18th starting position and pulled away after a late restart to win Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Winning for the second time this season and for the third time at the Magic Mile, Kenseth crossed the finish line 1.982 seconds ahead of Tony Stewart, who solidified his position inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor In a shock to the NASCAR world, Hendrick Motorsports announced on Thursday that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would miss Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after suffering from concussion-like symptoms in the recent weeks. In a team release, Earnhardt noted that he not been feeling well leading into last weekend’s race at Kentucky and after visiting his physicians and being evaluated, he was not cleared to race. Earnhardt missed a handful of races back in 2012 after being diagnosed with a concussion following hard crashesRead More