By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – It appears the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will be full of wild card races. Following a chaotic race at Texas last week, the gauntlet continues this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway with Sunday’s running of the Yellawood 500. Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Alabama has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full display over the past half-century, leading to some of theRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Alex Bowman will not be driving his No. 48 Chevrolet on Sunday at Talladega after Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that he has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms since a crash at Texas last weekend. In the closing laps of the second stage in last Sunday’s race, Bowman cut a tire and spun into the Turn 4 wall. Despite the damage sustained by the impact, he was able to limp the car to pit road, where his crew got it repaired enough to get him back inRead More
By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – INDYCAR has announced a 17-race schedule for the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES as the sport’s brash and bold athletes will be showcased with traditional weekend dates, 13 races on NBC and an exciting, late-summer swing leading to another climactic ending to the 2023 championship. The 2023 season opens Sunday, March 5 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Thrilling, wheel-to-wheel racing then will take place all spring and summer, including the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28, before the season ends with aRead More
By INDYCAR Jimmie Johnson will not compete full-time in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES next season, he announced Monday. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion ran his only full-time season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this year, leading 21 laps with a pair of top-six finishes driving the No. 48 Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. His best result in 29 series starts over two series seasons was a fifth-place finish in the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 oval race at Iowa Speedway on July 24. Johnson qualified 12th and led twoRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – The temperatures in Texas weren’t the only things that were heated after Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, so were Denny Hamlin and William Byron after their run-in during the marathon race. It all started as the two were battling off Turn 2 with 73 laps to go, when they touched coming off the corner, causing Byron to sideswipe the wall. Hamlin took the position as a result, while Byron was able to recover quickly to slot in behindRead More
By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas — They say everything is “bigger” in Texas and certainly NASCAR’s Round of 12 Playoff opener at Texas Motor Speedway lived up to the billing. From Playoff consequences to a red flag delay to bumper-banging aggression, tire fall-off and record statistical marks, there was no shortage of competitive drama in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500. Ultimately Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick prevailed as race winner – taking the green flag by 1.190-seconds over Penske Racing’s Joey Logano in a final 24-lap green flagRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Out of the three races in the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Texas Motor Speedway was supposed to be the least chaotic, but it was anything but for those still in the title fight. Drivers had hoped to bank a good finish in Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 to kick off this stretch of races on a high note, but for some of them, they will have a hole to dig out of over the course of the nextRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – To reconfigure or not to reconfigure, that is the question. With the NASCAR Cup Series in town this weekend for Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, the attention has focused on the 1.5-mile track and what the future of the facility should be. While the drivers have a myriad of opinions on what they would like to see happen, the consensus is that it should be anything other than what it is now. Texas first joined the circuit inRead More