Cup Category

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – By the slimmest of margins, Denny Hamlin beat a car he owns for the Busch Light pole position in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the final round of time trials of Saturday evening, Hamlin ran a lower line through Turns 3 and 4 than did his fellow competitors, and that paid off with a blistering lap of 29.399 seconds (183.680 mph)—just .003 seconds faster than that of Kurt Busch (183.661 mph) who drives the No. 45 23XI ToyotaRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Trackhouse Racing has been making waves since their debut in NASCAR and on Thursday, the Justin Marks led Cup Series team made another big splash by announcing the team would be fielding an entry for former Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen at Watkins Glen later this season. The 21-time F1 grand prix winner and 2007 world champion will headline the Trackhouse Racing “PROJECT91” car, which was unveiled earlier in the week as the team’s third entry in the Cup Series to provide a seat forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch has reason to be optimistic about Coca-Cola 600 Kyle Busch has shown consistent strength on 1.5-mile intermediate speedways this year, and that’s a source of confidence entering NASCAR’s Memorial Day weekend marathon at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch won the 2018 Coca-Cola 600 from the pole, and he’ll try for a repeat performance in the 63rd running of the event on Sunday evening (6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Though Busch claimed his only victory of the season inRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH – Ryan Blaney won his first career NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race Sunday night at Texas Motor Speedway earning a $1 million payday in the annual fan favorite non-points event. And he and his team celebrated twice. Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford ultimately beat Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Toyota by .266-seconds in an overtime finish. But at one point, Blaney thought he may have taken the checkered flag twice – a caution flag flew the first timeRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH – Kyle Busch beat Ryan Blaney in a new “drag race” style competition for the pole position in Sunday’s much-anticipated NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. For their work, Busch and Blaney will start from the front row of Sunday’s $1 million-to-win NASCAR All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A traditional qualifying session decided which eight drivers advanced to the final round and then the cars were paired in an elimination bracket format. Each “race”Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the second year in a row, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the annual NASCAR All-Star Race, where a $1 million payday awaits the winner of Sunday night’s non-points exhibition race. A total of 24 drivers will compete in the four-round, 100 lap event, with eligible drivers including those who won a points-paying racing in 2021 or 2022, full-time drivers that have previously won an All-Star Race, and former Cup Series champions who still race full time. Drivers that met theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In an event fraught with pit road mistakes and mechanical issues, Kurt Busch ran an impeccable race. In an intensely competitive run to the finish of Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, Busch nosed past leader Kyle Larson at the finish line on Lap 259 of 267 and completed the pass two corners later off Turn 2, as Larson scraped the outside wall.  Seven laps later, Busch’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota crossed the finish line 1.413 seconds ahead ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Christopher Bell became his own self-fulfilling prophecy in winning the pole position for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  “I think it’s a great track for me,” Bell said in a question-and-answer session with reporters before NASCAR Cup Series qualifying. “I got my first Xfinity win here. Cup cars haven’t been great to me here, but I’ve ran really well.  “The top is going to be the place to be.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a thrilling end to last weekend’s throwback race at Darlington, the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season rolls on as Kansas Speedway and Sunday’s running of the AdventHealth 400 is next up on the docket. Kansas has come into its own in recent years, following a repave and reconfiguration back in 2012. The track first joined the circuit in 2001 as a relatively tame 1.5-mile track with 15-degree banking in the turns, but the reconfiguration transformed it into the track we know today with variable bankingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Leading with two laps to go at Darlington, William Byron was in for a fight with Joey Logano filling up his rear-view mirror. He was either going to bring home his third win of the season or see it snatched from his grasp in the waning moments of the race. As Byron and Logano entered Turn 3 on the penultimate lap of Sunday’s Goodyear 400, we got our answer. Following closely in Byron’s tire tracks, Logano charged into the corner and slammed into the rear bumperRead More