Cup Category

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Tuesday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that their full-time driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS, and 13-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Most Popular Driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss at least the next two races at Watkins Glen and Bristol as he continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms. After a bunch of cryptic and not-so-optimistic sounding tweets and sound bytes on his podcast over the past several weeks, many have been speculating as to whether Earnhardt would be coming back at all. Wednesday, Earnhardt finally TweetedRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor It may not have been a win, but Kurt Busch’s 10th place finish Monday at Pocono Raceway will net him a place in NASCAR’s history book. Busch became the first driver in history to ever complete every lap of the first 21 races of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Busch’s record-breaking achievement coincidentally came after NASCAR called the Pennsylvania 400 22-laps from the finish due to unrelenting fog at the speedway. The 2004 series champion, who won at Pocono earlier this year, gave thanksRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – Chris Buescher sat in his car on pit road, dreaming of the possibilities. NASCAR had just red-flagged Monday’s rain-delayed Pennsylvania 400 when a heavy fog settled over Pocono Raceway after 138 of a scheduled 160 laps, and Buescher was the unlikely race leader. “I’m thinking of every kind of rain dance I can,” Buescher said on his radio. The mental rain dance worked. When NASCAR ended the stoppage by calling the race because of weather, Buescher had his first victoryRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer No one wishes for weather-shortened races, but in small doses the wild card aspect of these events can add excitement and intrigue to an otherwise predictable NASCAR tour. Chris Buescher’s upset victory at Pocono Raceway in Monday’s Pennsylvania 400 isn’t likely to carry the same praise that other weather-shortened races have provided in the past after mother nature literally rained on the parades of Kyle Larson in his search for his first Sprint Cup Series win. However, what the win does do is offer storylinesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The last time that Tommy Baldwin Racing scored a top five finish was in 2011 when Dave Blaney finished third in the Talladega Chase race. Since it’s inception in 2009, TBR has scored just three Top 10’s and one top five. When the weekend started, it looked as if it would be another typical race weekend for Smith and his No. 7 APC Chervolet SS. Smith was 31st in the first practice, qualified 30th and was 30th fastest in the final practice. The race, scheduledRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When looking at the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie class and which of those drivers would be the first to make it to victory lane, very few gave Chris Buescher and Front Row Motorsports a chance to be the first winner with the likes of Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney in the field. However, Buescher was able to silence the doubters with an assist from Mother Nature as Monday’s Pennsylvania 400 was called 22 laps from the finish due to heavy fog that reducedRead More

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 Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor When Jeff Gordon was announced as the interim driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet, the press release stated that Gordon would drive at Indianapolis and Pocono. As Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to heal from concussion-like symptoms, an injury with no definitive timetable, questions have arose about whether Earnhardt will be cleared to race in Watkins Glen next week. Gordon, can’t speak on Earnhardt’s health, but he did confirm on Friday that he will stay in the No. 88 car longer than Pocono if that’s whatRead More