NASCAR Category

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The last time the NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson took home the victory in exciting fashion. Larson beat Brad Keselowski by 0.385 seconds. Erik Jones was the highest finishing NASCAR Xfinity Series regular in fourth. The last time a NASCAR Xfinity Series regular won at Texas, and was running exclusively in the Xfinity Series was Chase Elliott in 2014. Former winners in this weekend’s field are Erik Jones and Kevin Harvick. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the field thisRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer With the 2017 NASCAR rulebook limiting the number of NASCAR Xfinity Series races that Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veterans with five or more years of experience can compete in, some teams, like Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), must sign additional drivers. For JGR, 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro East Series runner-up Kyle Benjamin is one of those drivers that has earned an opportunity due to the rule change. Benjamin, 19, will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the No. 20 Toyota Camry later this monthRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a trip to the smallest track on the circuit for some great racing at Martinsville last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Lone Star State and Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. First joining the circuit in 1997, the 1.5 mile Texas track has provided some great racing over the years as the surface wore down as each season passed. However, this go around, the track will be a completely different animal as theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – When it came to Chase Elliott’s performance in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was suffering from a severe lack of self-esteem. After Sunday’s STP 500 at the .526-mile short track, Elliott will have to reevaluate. Starting on the outside of the front row after rain washed out Friday’s time trials, Elliott ran in the top five for the bulk of the afternoon and rolled home third, by farRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Contributor Despite a third-place finish in the Daytona 500, the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season has not started off as planned for A.J. Allmendinger. A penalty at Atlanta Motor Speedway dropped Allmendinger to 34th in the Championship standings. The penalty also resulted in a four-race suspension for his crew chief, Randall Burnett. Several finishes outside the top-15 have held him back in the standings as the field rolled into Martinsville Speedway, one of Allmendinger’s best tracks. Left looking for more speed after placing hisRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – In Sunday’s STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, everything worked – but nothing more than Brad Keselowski’s race-winning No. 2 Ford. Yes, that’s right, a Ford. The car maker found Victory Lane at the .526-mile short track for the first time since Oct. 20, 2002, when Kurt Busch won at NASCAR’s oldest and smallest premier series track in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Keselowski and runner-up Kyle Busch swapped the lead during the final 64-lap green-flag run,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After winning his first Martinsville grandfather clock in this race one year ago, Kyle Busch looked primed to accomplish that feat for the second year in a row after leading the most laps in Sunday’s STP 500, but with handling issues plaguing him in the final stint of the race, he had to settle for a runner-up finish instead. Busch started the day in 10th place and took over the lead for the first time under caution on lap 109. Though it was just forRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The first five races of the season haven’t exactly gone to plan for Austin Dillon, but Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville was just what the doctor ordered for the fourth-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver as he was able to score his best finish of the season with a fifth-place result. In this race one year ago, Dillon brought home a fourth-place finish, so the driver out of the Richard Childress Racing stable has learned how to get around the treacherous half-mile in recentRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville was shaping up to be a promising day for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his No 88 team, but a late race crash would put an end to his hopes for his first top-10 of the season, relegating him to a 34th place finish instead. Martinsville serves as one of Earnhardt’s better tracks on the circuit, with one win, 13 top-five finishes, 18 top-10 finishes, 972 laps led, and an average finish of 12.9 in 33 starts entering the day, soRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The start of the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season has not gone as planned for Kyle Busch Motorsports rookie Noah Gragson. After getting wiped out in a lap two melee at Daytona International Speedway and being involved in a lap two incident at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Gragson was looking for some redemption at Martinsville Speedway. Gragson and his No. 18 Switch Toyota Tundra team unloaded with speed. In the first and only practice session for the Alpha Energy Solutions 250, he was thirdRead More