Cup Category

By David Morgan, Associate Editor As the 2017 season was rolling toward its conclusion in November 2017, Matt Kenseth showed he’s still got it. In what was his final race at the one-mile Phoenix oval, Kenseth took it to the youngsters, showing them there’s still plenty in the tank when it comes to driving a race car. After announcing the week prior that he wouldn’t be returning to the cockpit in 2018, Kenseth came out at Phoenix with guns ablazing, ready to crash the party of the drivers battling it outRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor The opening salvo of the 2021 NASCAR season just underwent a major shakeup with Daytona International Speedway announcing a shortened race week schedule starting next season. Traditionally, the Busch Clash and Daytona 500 qualifying have been held on the weekend prior to the Great American Race, but next year, everything is getting compressed into a six-day window from Tuesday, February 9 to Sunday, February 14. The Busch Clash will be run on Tuesday night, but won’t be held on Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval. Instead, the exhibition raceRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was far from a pretty race for Denny Hamlin, who managed to escape Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway with a less than satisfying sixth-place finish. The three-time Daytona 500 champion had two infamous moments happened in the 200-lap race where outside of race winner Alex Bowman, he was the focal point of the event. Earlier in the race, a three-car battle between Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick nearly went awry on the frontstretch when the trio drafted together. Harvick slightly bumpedRead More

Posted On March 1, 2020By Motorsports TribuneIn Breaking News, Cup, Headline News

Sunday Auto Club Notebook

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Jimmie Johnson enjoys strong run in swan song at Auto Club Speedway FONTANA, Calif. – Before the green flag waved Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, Jimmie Johnson took prime position behind the pace car as the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field fanned out five-wide behind him in a respectful salute to the seven-time champion. When the green flag waved to signal the beginning of the Auto Club 400, Johnson saw his wife Chandra and daughters Genevieve and Lydia doing the honors fromRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – Alex Bowman had a new nose for the finish line Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. Driving the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet—a sleeker version of the Camaro with a new front fascia—Bowman ran away with the final stage of the Auto Club 400 at the two-mile track in the Inland Empire. In picking up his second career victory and his first at Fontana, Bowman led five times for 110 of the 200 laps in the third NASCAR Cup event of theRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – It’s far too early to be thinking about Christmas, but Clint Bowyer was the Grinch whole stole the thunder from local favorite Jimmie Johnson during Saturday’s time trials at Auto Club Speedway. With a stronger run off Turn 4 on his qualifying lap, Bowyer edged Johnson by .007 seconds to earn the pole position for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The last driver to turn a lap, Johnson had the edge atRead More

Posted On February 28, 2020By Motorsports TribuneIn Breaking News, Cup, Headline News

Friday Fontana Notebook

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Jimmie Johnson brings vivid memories in return to home track FONTANA, Calif. – Eighteen years ago, Jimmie Johnson came to Auto Club Speedway with no job security. This weekend, Johnson returns to the two-mile track for his last ride as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver with 83 victories, seven championships and nothing left to prove. That wasn’t the case in 2002 in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports. Despite assurances to the contrary, Johnson thought he was on a short leash with theRead More

Posted On February 28, 2020By Motorsports TribuneIn Breaking News, Cup, Headline News

Kyle Busch Ready to Run Well at Auto Club

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service It has certainly not been the season start to a robust defense of his 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship for Kyle Busch. A pair of sub-par showings in the opening two races have placed the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in a rather unfamiliar position – not even among the top-20 in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. But he arrives at California’s Auto Club Speedway for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) withRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor The annual NASCAR Goes West campaign enters its second week as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Southern California for Sunday’s running of the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. Built on the site of an old steel mill featured in the movie “Terminator”, the two-mile oval has been a part of the NASCAR schedule since opening in 1997. During its 20+ years on the circuit, the track has gone through ownership changes, as well as expanding to two race dates in 2004 and thenRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Heading into the March 2016 running of the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, two drivers in the field went to battle with each other in what would be dubbed the #HeroFaceOff in promotion of the upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson each sported a superhero paint scheme, with Earnhardt carrying the Batman colors on his No. 88 Chevrolet and Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet adorned with the familiar red and blue colors of Superman.Read More