NASCAR Category

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Matt DiBenedetto will move to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on a full-time basis, driving the Rackley W.A.R.’s No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado. The announcement was confirmed Thursday morning as the former Cup regular, who spent the last two seasons driving for Wood Brothers Racing in the Cup Series, will have a fresh start in Trucks where he’s never competed before. “I can honestly say that, at this time in my career, I am truly excited,” said DiBenedetto. “I feel like I’m going back to myRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the first time since Brendan Gaughan in 2004, a former West Series champion will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series full-time. That man being two-time West champion Todd Gilliland, who’ll make the leap from the Camping World Truck Series to the sport’s top level in 2022. The third-generation racer will continue his tenure at Front Row Motorsports. Only this time, he’ll be accompanied by a teammate in Michael McDowell. As part of the Gilliland family tradition, Todd will pilot the No. 38 Ford Mustang. MuchRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was quadruple championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway where the three NASCAR national touring divisions and ARCA West crowned its season champion. Needless to say, all four title-deciding races ended up being unforgettable. Here’s my latest “Race in Pictures” gallery featuring all four races as Kyle Larson (Cup), Daniel Hemric (Xfinity), Ben Rhodes (Trucks) and Jesse Love (ARCA West) left Arizona as champions.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – As Chase Elliott was driving his way toward winning the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship last season, Hendrick Motorsports’ newest hire was keeping a keen eye on the proceedings back at the shop in North Carolina. That driver was Kyle Larson. Signed by Hendrick after losing his ride with Chip Ganassi Racing just four races into 2020 due to the use of a racial slur on iRacing, Larson’s path to redemption also became a path toward becoming a Cup Series champion. After watchingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – Martin Truex, Jr. was again denied a second NASCAR Cup Series championship. Instead of hoisting the Bill France Cup, Truex had to settle for second in Sunday’s Cup Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. When the laps were winding down, Truex appeared to have the title in the bag. That’s when debris from David Starr changed the outcome of the race, bringing out the caution flag on Lap 282. Erasing Truex’s lead, the caution flag would bring the field down pit road for theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Long runs were Denny Hamlin’s superpower on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, but instead he just got kryptonite. Coming into the weekend as fired up as ever to finally win a NASCAR Cup Series championship of his own, Hamlin knew that if he was going to make that happen, he needed a long run for his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to come to life and propel him to the front of the field. Just as Hamlin started closing ground on the leaders and lookedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz — 35 races down, one to go. Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway for the 2021 season finale, bringing this season to a close and crowning a champion. After being held at Homestead-Miami Speedway from 2002 to 2019, the championship race moved to the Arizona desert starting last season, giving the four drivers competing for the title a whole new challenge in their pursuit of the Bill France Cup. Heading into this year’s championship race, it willRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – A dream fulfilled. Daniel Hemric entered the night at Phoenix Raceway having never won a race in any of NASCAR’s three national series. Now he leaves the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert as champion. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who has seemed snake-bitten throughout his career, watching his chance for victory slip from his grasp time and time again, would not be denied this time around. When the chips were down, Hemric made it happen. While Austin Cindric looked to be theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Day two at Phoenix Raceway will be highlighted by NASCAR’s second highest division, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series wraps up its 2021 campaign by crowning its newest champion. Twelve championship hopefuls started the six-week march to the Valley of the Sun, with only four drivers left standing to duel it out in the Arizona desert on Saturday night. Austin Cindric will look to make it back-to back Xfinity titles before moving on to the Cup Series in 2022, while AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – As the laps were winding down in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway, Ben Rhodes could see the championship slipping away and he wasn’t going to settle for second place. Setting his sights on championship rival Zane Smith, Rhodes was a man on a mission, chewing up the ground between himself and Smith to catch up to the rear bumper of Smith’s No. 21 Chevrolet. After a bump in Turn 3 with nine laps to go, Rhodes sent Smith up theRead More