Cup

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor It had been a long dry spell — 33 races to be exact — since Brad Keselowski had reached victory lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Sunday in the closing laps of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Keselowski looked ready, willing and able to do anything it took to snap the streak. Keselowski started the day from the fourth position, and for the majority of the day he drove smart. He didn’t push the issue, and he just hung around the top-five all race long. Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer With one of the best rookie classes in recent memory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series occurring during the 2016 season, each week we’ll take a look at the five rookies battling for Rookie of the Year and track their progress throughout the season. In this week’s edition of the “Rookie Report,” the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is on deck and in true Las Vegas fashion, some of the rookies had a much better roll of the dice than the others. LeadingRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief A contender for a possible win, misfortune struck Matt Kenseth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Following a restart on lap 224 of Sunday’s Kobalt 400, heavy winds and aggressive racing took shape as the field jockeyed for position. Kenseth was running on the inside of Martin Truex Jr.’s when the backend of his No. 20 began to spin around in Turn 1. As a result, rookie Chase Elliott collided with Kenseth. Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch made contact as well, but the damage was too severeRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Roush Fenway Racing has taken a beating over the last few seasons due to their collective horrible production on the racetrack, but one of their drivers — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — is quietly putting together the best start to a season of his career. Stenhouse had a 22nd place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, which wasn’t too impressive, but at the 1.5-mile race tracks, which make up the majority of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, Stenhouse has looked pretty good so far. LastRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday was red-flagged following a three car crash in Turn 2 with 63 laps to go. One of the victims of the crash was Roush Fenway Racing’s Darrell Wallace Jr., who had been running around the top 10 up till the wreck. The incident took place when Cody Ware spun in Turn 2, and as he slid down the track a sideways Wallace approached. The bumper of Ware’s No. 25 Chevrolet caught the right-rear of Wallace’sRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch is the only driver to have won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the pole position, a feat he accomplished in 2009. But Busch won’t have that opportunity in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at the 1.5-mile race track (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). Busch was 24th in the first round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session, barely advancing to Round 2. Ultimately, he qualified 23rd at 192.795 mph, considerably slower than brother Kurt Busch’s pole-winningRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t mince words after struggling to a 20th-place starting position for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “We struggled out there in qualifying. The car’s been tight all day and lacked front grip, and we just never got it sorted out,” Earnhardt said after qualifying. “We’ve got two practices tomorrow to try and dial it in.” In addition to qualifying 20th, Earnhardt was also 15th-quickest in the opening practice session of the week on Friday. Earnhardt has seven top-10 finishesRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Running a track-record lap he described as “insanely fast,” Las Vegas native Kurt Busch led qualifying for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). The Coors Light Pole Award was Busch’s second straight in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, following last week’s top qualifying effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch remains the only driver to win a pole this year with the 2016 lower-downforce competition package. “Two poles in a row — this is great,” said Busch, whoRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Contributing Writer LAS VEGAS, NV: Competitors and fans alike were delighted to see three-time Cup Champion, Tony Stewart, back at a NASCAR track in Las Vegas this weekend. Stewart has been absent behind the wheel since suffering a back injury in late January. The injury, sustained during an off-road accident navigating the sand dunes on a beach in San Diego, have sidelined the driver/team owner from racing in what was planned to be his final season behind the wheel of a Cup car. Stewart addressed the media earlierRead More