NASCAR Category

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Denny Hamlin, winner of Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at the Glen, entertained a sold-out grandstand with a celebratory burnout that trailed a plume of smoke the entire length of the frontstretch at Watkins Glen International. But Hamlin’s smoke show—with a bad back, no less—paled in comparison to the fireworks that preceded the checkered flag, Hamlin’s first at a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road course. The race was in doubt until the final corner, with Martin Truex Jr. pressuring Hamlin, who ledRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Just like in the first road course race of the season at Sonoma, the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie class had their hands full with the second road course race on Sunday at Watkins Glen. Coming out on top of the rookies at Watkins Glen was Chase Elliott, who stayed out of trouble and under the radar throughout the day. Elliott started the day in 16th and was able to hold steady just outside the top-10 in the early going before falling back toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Erik Jones and Furniture Row Racing made it official on Sunday morning at Watkins Glen International. In 2017, Furniture Row Racing will expand from one car to two, with Jones driving the No. 77 Toyota under sponsorship from 5-hour Energy. The addition of Jones brings to six the number of full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams receiving comprehensive factory support from Toyota Racing Development (TRD). A native of Byron, Michigan, Jones, 20, will team with veteran Martin Truex Jr., whoRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Heading into Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen, all eyes were on the Team Penske cars to see if they could break the Joe Gibbs Racing stranglehold on the 2016 season and return to victory lane for the first time since late 2015 at Texas. After landing both team cars on the front row, both Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski proved they would be the cars to beat throughout the day. Logano took off in the lead when the green flag flewRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N. Y. – Joey Logano finally finished what he started. The driver of the No. 12 Ford won Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Watkins Glen International from the pole, giving Team Penske its first victory in what has been a disappointing season so far. The win in the Zippo 200 was the second straight at the 2.45-mile road course for the 26-year-old driver, who led 67 of 82 laps and drove his car to the limit, keeping teammate Brad Keselowski behindRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For the 34th time, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head up to New York to take on Watkins Glen International, a fast 11-turn road course that has played host to NASCAR’s premier series in August of each year. This week we’ll take a step back to the 2000 season and the running of the Global Crossing at The Glen for this edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater,” which saw a first time winner and things getting a bit heated between two former champions. Heading intoRead 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 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