NASCAR Category

RICHMOND, Va. – Suspension to redemption. After being suspended for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races earlier this season after an alleged domestic violence incident, Kurt Busch won Sunday’s postponed Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway in a dominating performance, virtually locking up a spot in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. “It’s an incredible feeling,” said Busch, who was reinstated March 11 and granted a waiver into the Chase. “It’s a total team effort. And the way that everything came together, it just seemed like weRead More
RICHMOND, Va.—Domination must be contagious. Six days after Joey Logano led all 300 laps in a NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Bristol, Denny Hamlin led 248 of 250 circuits in winning Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway. The only two laps that spoiled a Hamlin no-hitter were Brian Scott’s dive bomb off Turn 4 to lead Lap 154 by inches and Elliott Sadler’s contrarian fuel strategy, which allowed him to lead Lap 226 during a cycle of green-flag pit stops before Hamlin, on fresh tires, roared back pastRead More
Brian France
RICHMOND, Va.—NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France couldn’t have been more emphatic when he met with the Associated Press Sports Editors on Thursday in New York City. Safety remains the sanctioning body’s number one priority, France said, and with that assertion came a ray of hope for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch, who was sidelined at Daytona International Speedway in February after a crash that broke his right leg and left foot. Busch’s No. 54 Toyota slammed nose-first into a concrete wall unprotected by SAFER barriers during a NASCARRead More
RICHMOND, Va.—Sometimes it pays to go for broke—particularly when you have little to lose. That was the case for Joey Logano in Friday’s time trials for Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway (7 p.m. ET on FOX). Logano’s crew made significant adjustments to his No. 22 Team Penske Ford between the second and final rounds of knockout qualifying, and the changes paid off with Logano’s third Coors Light Pole Award and fifth front-row start of the season. Logano earned the top spot on the grid for SaturdayRead More
In what has become an annual tradition of recognizing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions, President Barack Obama honored 2014 title-winner Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team at the White House Tuesday afternoon. Accompanied at the podium in front of the White House by Harvick, crew chief Rodney Childers and SHR owner Tony Stewart, Obama began his speech by congratulating Harvick and offering his condolences to the NASCAR community on the passing of FOX Sports broadcaster Steve Byrnes. Obama discussed Harvick progressing to championship form while getting usedRead More
BRISTOL, Tenn.—In a race delayed and interrupted by rain, and ended in overtime, Matt Kenseth broke a drought of more than a year’s standing in Sunday’s Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes at Bristol Motor Speedway. In a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that went 11 laps past its scheduled distance of 500 laps—making it the longest race in the history of the .533-mile short track—Kenseth crossed the finish line .287 seconds ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who recovered from a succession of issues to claim the runner-up finish.Read More
Bristol 2015 Joey Logano
BRISTOL, Tenn.—Joey Logano was enjoying such a perfect day at Bristol Motor Speedway that the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford kept expecting something to go wrong. It never did. Logano led all 300 laps of Saturday’s Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at the .533-mile short track, a record for laps led in a NASCAR XFINITY Series race. It was the first time a driver led every lap in a single race since Kyle Busch accomplished the feat in winning the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at RichmondRead More
Food City 500 Bristol Matt Kenseth Sprint Cup
BRISTOL, Tenn.—If history repeats itself on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Matt Kenseth won’t have a problem with it. The last time Kenseth won a pole at the high-banked .533-mile short track—back in 2005—he followed with a victory in the race. In Friday’s time trials at Thunder Valley, with a lap at 128.632 mph (14.917 seconds) Kenseth earned the 14th Coors Light Pole Award of his career, his second at Bristol and his first of the season. And that’s a good omen for a driver who hasn’t won a NASCARRead More
Matt Kenseth, Ross Kenseth
Second-generation driver Ross Kenseth, 21, will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut in the stand-alone June 20 race at Chicagoland Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing announced Friday. And the son of 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth will be able to showcase his talent in excellent equipment. He’ll be piloting the No. 20 JGR Toyota for his maiden voyage in one of NASCAR’s top touring series. The car will sport the livery of Dollar General, one of Matt Kenseth’s sponsors on the Cup side. “It’s pretty surreal–it still is,”Read More
BRISTOL, Tenn.—If you’re Richard Childress, and you’re looking for an interim crew chief, you’d be hard pressed to find a more experienced candidate than Todd Parrott. Fortunately for Childress, Parrott already is part of the RCR organization, as competition director for the NASCAR XFINITY Series effort, but he’ll make a quick transition to crew chief for Ryan Newman this weekend at Bristol while Newman’s regular pit boss, Luke Lambert, serves a six-race suspension. Lambert’s mandated exile was held in abeyance while RCR appealed NASCAR penalties for altering tires during theRead More