NASCAR Category

By Holly Cain and Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell fastest in today’s practices DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Defending Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell turned the fastest lap of Tuesday’s combined two opening Daytona 500 practice sessions at Daytona International Speedway with a top lap of 192.736 mph in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. David Ragan, a former summer Daytona race winner, was second fastest in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford with a quick lap of 192.666 mph around the 2.5-mileRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NASCAR went out of their element by having the Busch Light Clash outside of Daytona International Speedway. Instead, it was located at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that saw at least 70% percent of the crowd witnessing their first-ever NASCAR race in person. When the dust settled, music performances were held and a whole lot of action exceeded people’s expectations. While some drivers morale were crushed due to accidents or reliability issues, only one man conquered LA and that was Joey Logano. Here’s my latest photoRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Anytime a new piece of equipment gets rolled out in real-world conditions, issues are sure to rear their head and Sunday’s debut of the NASCAR Next Gen car in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum was no different. As the car was put through its paces on a purpose-built track inside the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the demands of the quarter-mile track provided one of the toughest tests yet for the designs of the new car. Through the heat races and lastRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOS ANGELES — At the end of a transformative NASCAR experience that took the City of Angels by storm, Joey Logano held off hard-charging pole winner Kyle Busch to triumph in Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Logano got the lead on Lap 116, moments before Kyle Larson retaliated against Justin Haley for earlier contact that was not of Haley’s doing. Larson steered toward the bottom of the track, knocking Haley’s Chevrolet into the concrete Jersey barrier on the frontstretch. In the competitiveRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch tops qualifying for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum LOS ANGELES — Kyle Busch turned a lap in 13.745 seconds (65.489 mph) Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to pace single-car qualifying for Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. That means Busch will start from the pole in the first of four 25-lap heat races on Sunday, each featuring nine cars on the quarter-mile pavement track built specifically for the event, which features the competitive debut of NASCAR’s NextRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Since its inception in 1979, the Busch Light Clash has undergone a number of changes, but for the 2022 running, the season-opening exhibition race is readying for its biggest change yet. After being held at Daytona International Speedway as the opening salvo to Speedweeks throughout its existence, the race moves away from the birthplace of NASCAR out to the West Coast, as the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and a purpose-built quarter-mile track await. Along with the unknown a new venue brings, the raceRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer FOX Sports announced Saturday night that NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will be color commentating the Busch Light Clash and 64th Daytona 500. During the start of the third quarter of the NFC Divisional matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers, Joe Buck confirmed Stewart’s TV role that’ll kick off the 2022 NASCAR season. No stranger of voicing his thoughts, “Smoke” will be alongside Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer as part of a rotating booth following Jeff Gordon’s departure at the endRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. — At first glance—aside from sharing the profession of “race car driver” — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer couldn’t be more different from one another. A perennial Most Popular Driver at NASCAR’s highest level of competition, Earnhardt holds two Daytona 500 wins among his 26 career victories. More than that, as a driver, team owner and television analyst, Earnhardt has transcended both the sport of stock car racing and his own legacy as the son of seven-time NASCAR CupRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Sonoma Raceway announced Monday “The Chute,” the layout NASCAR ran from 1998-2018, will make its return June 10-12. This comes after the Cup Series ran “The Carousel” layout (2.52-mile circuit) in 2019 and 2021. Those respective races were won by Martin Truex, Jr. and Kyle Larson. Sonoma General Manager Jill Gregory explained in a press release that fans openly expressed how much they’ve enjoyed the 1.99-mile layout. “We heard from many fans and drivers how much they loved it when we raced the Chute,” said Gregory.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor A mainstay on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit for more than a decade, Aric Almirola announced Monday that the upcoming 2022 season will be his last behind the wheel, as he’ll be hanging up the helmet at season’s end to spend more time with his family. The 37-year old Tampa, Florida native first appeared on the Cup Series scene back in 2007, running part-time for a number of different teams before making the jump to full-time racing at NASCAR’s highest level with Richard Petty Motorsports andRead More