Cup Category

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Compared to most races since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Kyle Busch had a progressive afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing third in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400. Busch’s road towards his first top-five of 2021 was a grind as he battled a super tight No. 18 Ethel M Chocolates Toyota Camry. Things began finally clicking was the final stage where he was on the move making progress while others struggled gaining ground. It certainly paid dividends with his result, but there’s still significant room for improvement. “WeRead More
By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson left little to chance Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway leading a race best 103 laps and pulling away to a convincing 3.156-second win over former NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski to win the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube – his first victory in two years. Larson, 28, of Elk Grove, Calif. became the quickest winner in Hendrick Motorsports long and esteemed history, taking the checkered flag in only his fourth start in the team’s famous No. 5 Chevrolet. ItRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Homestead-Miami Speedway once again proved to be Kyle Larson’s natural habitat in NASCAR. Only this time, he was navigating the 1.5-mile circuit for Hendrick Motorsports. In his third start with the team, Larson finished fourth in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 for his fourth career Homestead top-five. While it wasn’t a race win yet again, Larson rebounded from a disappointing 30th place finish at the Daytona Road Course last Sunday. In the closing laps, Larson was running in the top-three but the shot of catching teammate WilliamRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service In a No. 24 Chevrolet that steadily improved its performance as the sun went down, William Byron streaked to a decisive victory in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. battling for second place behind him, Byron cruised to a 2.777-second victory over Reddick, who charged through the field late in the final 60-lap green-flag run to the finish. Truex ran third, with Larson coming home fourth. The victory was Byron’s first of the season,Read More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor After two weeks in Daytona Beach, the NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads south on I-95 for Sunday’s running of the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 1.5-mile oval came into existence in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in the early 90’s, with the Cup Series making its first appearance at the track in 1999. Since undergoing a reconfiguration in 2003, Homestead has provided some great racing on its progressive banking on one of the true ovals on the circuit and that has onlyRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Brad Keselowski had quite an extraordinary day in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 235. Even saying that about the fifth-place finisher could be viewed as an understatement. “It was just one of those never-give-up kind of races. We just fought and fought and fought and just made some mistakes, caught some bad breaks, kind of all threw together,” said Keselowski. “But, in the end, just a lot of perseverance, a lot of heart, a lot of will from the entire team and put us in a good spotRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor The last two weeks, Joey Logano has found himself in contention for the win at Daytona International Speedway with a few laps to go, but will leave with a goose-egg in the win column. Logano was leading the pack into Turn 3 on the final lap of the Daytona 500 before a run-in with his Team Penske teammate, Brad Keselowski, saw him getting swept up in a fiery, multi-car crash. Fast forward to Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on the Daytona road course and once again,Read More
By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For the second consecutive week, Daytona International Speedway crowned a first time NASCAR Cup Series race winner. Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Christopher Bell, earned the honor Sunday on the track’s road course, taking the lead from Joey Logano with two laps to go and pulling away to a comfortable 2.119-second victory over the former series champion. Bell, 26, is the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and this is his second season at the premier level – his firstRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Had the original 2021 schedule held, the NASCAR Cup Series would have been heading down I-95 to Homestead-Miami Speedway, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced some changes, meaning NASCAR’s top division will be staying in Daytona for another week. After last weekend’s running of the Daytona 500 on the oval, it’s the track’s 3.61-mile, 14-turn road course that will be the focus this Sunday for the running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253. The 70-lap race will be the third for the Cup Series on theRead More
By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – More than an hour after Michael McDowell had officially claimed the most iconic winner’s trophy in NASCAR with a last lap push to the Daytona 500 checkered flag, the 36-year old Phoenix native was still insisting with a smile and a shake of his head that it was all “unbelievable”. It was a phrase he used over and over in the celebratory moments after his life-changing win. When he woke up Monday morning, he could more fully embrace the impactRead More