NASCAR Category

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Caution clocks, wave-arounds, lucky dog free passes, competition yellows and of course the dreaded debris cautions. These unnatural elements have been concocted over the last several years in order to ‘spice’ up the sport of NASCAR. Fans had begun to clamor that NASCAR was shifting more from a sports league into more of a sports entertainment company ala the WWE. But I mean you can’t blame NASCAR for coming up with all of these convoluted rules, I mean a race can’t be exciting if thereRead More
By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Atlanta Motor Speedway saw the dawning of a new competition package in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and after all was said and done it was Jimmie Johnson taking a late lead en route to winning and tying Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career victory. Without any more delay, here are some of my key takeaways from Sunday’s race. 1) Phenomenal Racing If you didn’t like what kind of racing was on display then there’s something wrong. The package complemented by lower downforce and greater tireRead More
By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer In a race, timing is everything. When you pit, how long your pit stop takes, and as Matt Kenseth’s team learned during the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the order in which a tool is placed on the car. After starting in 13th, Kenseth quickly made his way up to the front, leading early and often. During a round of green flag pit stops on lap 117, in which Kenseth pitted from the lead, NASCAR penalized Kenseth and his No.20 DollarRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – With wrecks erupting behind him, Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag in overtime under caution in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway—and then he remembered. Almost lost in the euphoria of Johnson’s second straight victory at the 1.54-mile track was the realization that, with his 76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, he had tied the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list. But as the No. 48 Chevrolet rolled around the track on itsRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer After a disappointing start to the season at Daytona last Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports rolled into Atlanta for the first intermediate track race of the season and showed just how strong they could be with three of their four cars bringing home top-10 finishes. Jimmie Johnson led the way for the organization, taking the lead on the final round of green flag pit stops and holding off all comers to score his fifth win at Atlanta, as well as his 76th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win,Read More
By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Kevin Harvick has to be scratching his head right now. Since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his first attempt — the 2001 spring race — he has not been able to record a win at the 1.5-mile speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Sunday, the trend continued Sunday in heart-breaking fashion. Harvick started the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from the sixth position, and early on he showed patience. While other drivers blast past his No. 4 Chevrolet early in the race, Harvick would sit back andRead More
By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Contributor A 17th place finish summed an up and down first trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway for Cole Custer. Custer started the race in sixth place and immediately began to slip back around 12th place before the first caution clock yellow flew. He briefly moved up into the top ten on the restart but once again slipped back until the second caution for William Bryon’s engine failure. A quick pitstop by the Haas Automation pitcrew once again lifted Custer to the top ten butRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – In a wild race that saw some of the best trucks in the field destroyed before the finish, John Hunter Nemechek held off Cameron Hayley in a two-lap dash to the checkers to win Saturday’s Great Clips 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But it was a skull session with 2014 Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick the night before that was instrumental in guiding Nemechek to victory in his unsponsored No. 8 Chevrolet. “I’ve got toRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Scratch another race track off Kyle Busch’s checklist. In what evolved into a two-man battle against Kyle Larson on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion continued his mastery in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, beating Kyle Larson to the finish line to win the Heads Up Georgia 250. The victory was Busch’s first at the 1.54-mile track and the 77th of his career, extending his own series record. But the outcome was far from a foregoneRead More
By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief It was just weeks ago that Jeb Burton was confirmed for a full season with Richard Petty Motorsports in the XFINITY Series, and in just their second race together the duo secured a 10th place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. The finish didn’t fall on the luck of off-sequenced strategy either. Burton, 23, started in 15th and climbed into the top five early and hung around with the Sprint Cup regulars. As the race wore on the second-generation racer began to slide back some,Read More