By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor As J.R. Hildebrand completes his rookie year as a father, he looks back on a time of supreme happiness with wife Kristin and their daughter Julietta Louise, who turns 1 late this month. “It has been the most incredible 11 months of my life,” he said. While this wonderful phase is just beginning, the 36-year-old Hildebrand is working to revive another – his career as an Indianapolis 500 driver. He missed the 500 last year when he didn’t land a ride for the first timeRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor As crew chief Harry Hogge once said in the movie Days of Thunder, “Tires is what wins races,” and that was never truer than in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. For the first time in three years, the spring date on the half-mile high banked oval in East Tennessee was back on its concrete surface and back to the Bristol we all know and love, but this time around the NASCAR Cup Series teams and drivers would have to go into gladiator modeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   BRISTOL, Tenn. — How appropriate.  On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.  In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds. Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. — There were so many variables in Christopher Bell’s victory in Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway that it’s difficult to pinpoint the determinative factor. First, Toyota introduced a new body style in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. Second, NASCAR debuted a new short-track competition package in Sunday’s race. Third, the Toyotas unloaded for Friday’s 50-minute practice with consistent speed—allowing them to test their long-run prowess. That combination of factors conjured up a decisive victory for Bell at a trackRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Josef Newgarden Show was in full effect Sunday in St. Petersburg. Rolling off from pole position, once the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet ascended to the lead, there was no stopping him, leading all but eight laps on the day to score his third win in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by an astounding 7.912 seconds over Pato O’Ward and Arrow McLaren. Newgarden’s victory continues the steamroll that Team Penske has been on as of late,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. — Chandler Smith had a message for his Joe Gibbs Racing team after taking the checkered flag in overtime in Saturday’s Call811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway. “We’ll take ‘em when we can get ‘em,” Smith radioed before celebrating his second career victory with a burnout near the start/finish line. It was good fortune—combined with Justin Allgaier’s disastrous bad luck—that put Smith in Victory Lane after 205 laps at the one-mile track in the SonoranRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Josef Newgarden will be starting the year with the best seat in the house after capturing the pole for Sunday’s 20th annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. With a lap of 59.571 seconds, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet jumped to the top of the board in the final round of qualifying and was able to hold off all comers to score his first St. Petersburg pole position and 17th overall in his NTT IndyCar Series career. TheRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. — Denny Hamlin was convinced he had to improve his performance at Phoenix Raceway, and on Saturday afternoon, he took the first step in that direction. Touring the one-mile track in 27.138 seconds (132.655 seconds) in the final round of qualifying, Hamlin put his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the pole for Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hamlin, who hasn’t won at Phoenix since 2019, beat JGR teammate Ty Gibbs (132.227Read More