NASCAR Category

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Two races down, one to go. With the conclusion of Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond, the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is nearly complete, with Bristol Motor Speedway and the first elimination race looming large next weekend for those drivers who have yet to lock themselves into the next round. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Larson are safe from whatever carnage may lie ahead at Bristol as the Playoff field is cut from 16 to 12. Following thatRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Martin Truex Jr. received a penalty on the opening lap of the race for crossing the start/finish line in front of polesitter Denny Hamlin at the green flag. But 400 laps later Truex led the field across the line again – this time as the race winner of Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The convincing 1.317-second margin of victory over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Christopher Bell marked Truex’s third win in theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The final result may not have been exactly what Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would have liked to have seen in his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season Saturday at Richmond Raceway, but one thing is for sure, he was having fun getting back behind the wheel. “They race hard there in the middle of the pack, especially around me, but I was up for it,” Earnhardt said after his 14th place finish. “It was fun. We got to beating on some of those guys. TheyRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Noah Gragson led the final 14 laps – holding off the field on a pair of late race restarts- in Saturday’ Go Bowling 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway to earn his second win in as many weeks – celebrating the moment by wrapping himself in an American flag then climbing the front grandstand fence to a cheering crowd. Gragson, 23, was only three years old when the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks occurred, but the Las Vegas native was clearlyRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Race No. 2 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is here as the championship contenders get set to take on the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders at Richmond Raceway. After a barn burner in last weekend’s Southern 500 at Darlington to kick off the first round of the Playoffs, the traveling circus moves north to Virginia to take on the 0.75-mile oval, which will go a long way in determining which drivers move on to the Round of 12, especially as the BristolRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer When the NASCAR Cup Series have its final 10 races, the main focus shifts directly to the playoffs. For non-playoff driver Ross Chastain, his goal is delivering strong results in his final 10 races with Chip Ganassi Racing before moving to Trackhouse Racing in 2022. Chastain was best of the rest and felt to have had the strongest car during Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. As the laps were winding down, Chastain was able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of DarlingtonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Just send it. Heading into the final set of turns in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, Kyle Larson had one chance to try and surpass Denny Hamlin for the win and in true Larson fashion, he gave maximum effort. Larson launched his car around the outside lane of Turns 3 and 4, bouncing off the wall a few times, but still managed to gain ground on Hamlin, eventually finding himself on Hamlin’s back bumper as they came down the home stretch to the checkeredRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Holding off regular-season champion Kyle Larson throughout a thrilling final green-flag run in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin is winless in 2021 no more. Hamlin maintained control of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Larson buried his No. 5 Chevrolet into Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Larson gave Hamlin a tap, but Hamlin blocked the top lane and got to the finish line .212 seconds ahead of the runner-up. “He droveRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer William Byron was among the many NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers who were tamed by “The Lady in Black.” Not once, but twice in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500, becoming the third competitor crashing out at Darlington Raceway. Following a late-race crash in last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, Byron hoped Darlington would be a turnaround weekend. Especially, that it’s the playoff opener and having a career season. However, it wasn’t in the cards the from the very beginning. On Lap 15, Byron couldn’t avoidRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the 16 drivers battling it out in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the pressure is already immense. Add in a tough Playoff opener in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington and that pressure has the tendency to boil over. For Kyle Busch, that came just 10 laps into Stage 2 when contact between him and Austin Dillon in Turn 2 sent Busch’s car for a four-wheel slide into the outside wall, causing heavy damage to his No. 18 Camry. The damage was too muchRead More