Cup Category

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – With Chase Elliott’s Chevrolet bouncing off the outside wall, and Kyle Larson’s Chevy bouncing off Elliott’s car coming to the finish line, Larson won a wild drag race to claim the last of three available spots in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (9 p.m. ET on FS1). At the end of the final 10-lap dash in the Sprint Showdown, Larson pinched Elliott into the outside wall entering the dogleg at the 1.5-mile track and banged intoRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Wow, that’s all you can say about the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the last chance qualifying race for the Sprint All-Star Race. In the three segments, which totaled 50 laps of racing action, we saw two breath-taking photo finishes. Chase Elliott was on the wrong end of each one, as he lost out to Trevor Bayne in segment one by five-one-thousandths of a second. Elliott then was mired back in the pack in round two, but came charging back through the field inRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor There is a brand-spankin’ new format for this weekend’s Sprint All-Star race, and one of the big changes is how many drivers will advance from the preliminary Showdown. The race before the big race will consist of three 20-lap segments, the leader at the end of each segment will advance to the All-Star race. There will also be two more drivers who will make it into the big show by way of the fan vote. Conventional wisdom would tell you that drivers like Chase Elliott, KyleRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Persistent rain wiped out all track activity on Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, setting up a full day of racing on Saturday at the 1.5-mile track. Both the Sprint Showdown, which will determine three qualifiers for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, and the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race have been rescheduled for Saturday. Practice for the all-star race will open Saturday activity at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Sprint Showdown at 11 a.m. and theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service This year’s unique NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race format, which requires the first nine, 10 or 11 drivers to start the final 13-lap segment on old tires (with the specific number determined by lot) with cars on new tires behind them, already has drivers thinking about hypothetical scenarios. Drivers in 12th place or worse entering the final segment, where only green-flag laps count, will be guaranteed fresh rubber, and that number is crucial to a lot of calculations. “We have to see how the tiresRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – After announcing a multiyear extension to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing, 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick used much of his media session on Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway to set the record straight about rumors that had run amok since the announcement earlier this season that SHR would switch from Chevrolet to Ford in 2017. Harvick said there wasn’t a shred of truth to reports he had been contacted by Hendrick Motorsports to replace Kasey Kahne in the No.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – At the end of last weekend’s race at Dover, Matt Kenseth stood victorious in victory lane. Kenseth had to work for it, dueling, and ultimately holding off both Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. The win finally breaks the streak of bad luck that has been riding the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry team for much of the season. Throughout the week, many have commented on the clean racing between Kenseth and Larson at Dover, and what Larson should or should notRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – This weekend marks the first All-Star race weekend for Ryan Blaney, and the first appearance for Wood Brothers Racing in the All-Star race weekend line-up since Bill Elliott piloted the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion in the Sprint Showdown in 2010. Elliott started seventh in the Sprint Showdown and finished 12th without transferring to the main event that year. Blaney also has to compete in the Sprint Showdown, be one of the three segment winners that will transfer to the All-Star raceRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor This is All-Star week, which means that we are in store for a $1-million winner take all slugfest, where points aren’t on the line. The race this year has a brand new format, which seems destined to produce some great moments, but when you look back at the history of this event you’ll see that it might not have needed the extra boost in excitement. Without further adieu, here are the ten greatest moments in All-Star race history according to me: 10. Newman blows upRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Ever since the announcement was made that Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) would change manufacturers after the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season, questions have been raised about Kevin Harvick’s ties to Chevrolet, and whether he would continue at SHR as they move to Ford, or would go elsewhere. Those rumors were squashed today as SHR announced a long-term contract extension for Harvick. Harvick said the following on his future with the organization, “It was a big decision to join Stewart-Haas Racing and it has turned outRead More