NASCAR Category

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As is the case anytime NASCAR visits the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega, the chance of a multi-car crash is high and in Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega, the first multi-car crash of the day struck early, sweeping several contenders up in the melee. Heading down the backstretch on lap 20, last year’s runner-up at Talladega, Brennan Poole, who had already sustained some front-end damage earlier in the race, tried to move into the outside lane, but there was no room toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After setting down the fastest time in NASCAR Xfinity Series practice on Friday, Blake Koch and Kaulig Racing were fast again in Saturday’s qualifying session for the Sparks Energy 300 as Koch scored his first career pole with a lap of 52.188 seconds, 183.490 mph. Joining Koch on the front row will be Kasey Kahne, who is driving the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend for JR Motorsports. Rounding out the top-five starters for Saturday’s race are three of the four Richard Childress Racing entries, withRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega, JR Motorsports, which currently holds the top three spots in the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings, will be looking to make it back-to-back trips to victory lane at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. After expanding to four teams in 2017, some expected the organization to have some growing pains, but through the first eight races of the season, they haven’t missed a beat as they have established themselves as early championship favorites after falling just short last season. TheRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For a multitude of reasons, the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway has been one of those race weekends that has lived in NASCAR lore for the past 30 years and will continue to be one for the history books far into the future. First, Bill Elliott crushed the NASCAR qualifying record by going out and laying down and monster lap of 212.809 mph, besting the previous best of 210.364 mph that he had set at Daytona International Speedway a few months prior. The otherRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Needless to say, the past week has been a rollercoaster ride for Joey Logano and his No. 22 team after winning at Richmond only to have a mid-week penalty strip the benefits of the win from the driver and team and set them back to square one heading into Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega, where Logano looks to score his second win in a row at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Despite losing all of the benefits of the win from last weekend, the always positive LoganoRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway marks the ninth race of the 2017 season for the NASCAR Xfinity Series season. For Ben Kennedy, however, this marks his first race of the 2017 season. Kennedy will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing with Justin Alexander serving as his crew chief at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Kennedy will be able to work with teammates Ty Dillon, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, and Brendan Gaughan in the draft all weekendRead More

By Aaron Bearden, NASCAR Contributor It took only one instance of a race-winner suffering an “encumbered” finish for this writer to reach a significant conclusion regarding the ruling: it, or at the minimum the name it’s been given, needs altered. One thing’s been confirmed with relative consistency regarding NASCAR’s latest buzzword – it doesn’t seem a good fit. Don’t believe me? Look no further than NASCAR’s most popular (and soon to be retired) driver. Never used the word “encumbered” to describe anything. Don’t plan on ever using it. Can weRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The last time the NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Talladega Superspeedway, Elliott Sadler took home the victory in thrilling fashion. Sadler narrowly avoided spinning as contact between himself and Joey Logano set off a melee that took out several cars, including Logano, coming to the checkered flag. Logano and Sadler are the only former winners in the field for Saturday’s race. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the field this weekend include Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Logano, Kasey Kahne, and Ty Dillon. NASCARRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Drivers always remember their first win. For Brad Keselowski, his first win in the 2009 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega will be one that him, Carl Edwards, and NASCAR as a whole will never forget. Eight years later, the sight of Edwards’ car taking flight toward the catchfence with the finish line in sight as Keselowski captured his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win is one that is still seared into the minds of NASCAR nation. To this day, the finish is one that isRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After winning last weekend at Richmond International Raceway, Joey Logano and his No. 22 team received some unwelcome news on Thursday morning as NASCAR penalized the team for a violation discovered in post-race teardown at the NASCAR R&D Center. The violation that NASCAR found was in the rear suspension area of the car and was an infraction against Section 20.14.2 of the NASCAR Rule Book: “The Truck trailing arm spacer / pinion angle shim mating surfaces must be planar and must be in complete contactRead More