Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Hendrick Motorsports swept the front-row starting positions for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Apparently enjoying the feeling, HMS then swept Thursday’s Budweiser Duel at Daytona twin 150-mile qualifying races. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came from his last-place starting position to win Thursday night’s first Budweiser Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway, as unsung heroes behind him diced their way into the 57th running of the Great American Race (1 p.m. ET on FOX). Jimmie Johnson, on the pole for the second Duel and already locked into theRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin had their qualifying times disallowed by NASCAR and will have to start from the rear of the Budweiser Duels after failing post qualifying inspection. Earnhardt’s car did not meet the minimum height on the left front. NASCAR abandoned their ride height rules for all tracks with the exception of Daytona and Talladega, the only that require restrictor plates on the cars. The defending Daytona 500 champion acknowledged the violation via twitter, but later shared some optimism on starting from theRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Jeff Gordon won a high-stakes game of “Beat the Clock” on Sunday, with the pole for his final Daytona 500 the ultimate prize. Gordon crossed the start/finish line to start his pole-winning lap as time expired in the final round of knockout qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. His time of 44.711 seconds (201.293 mph) was .035 seconds better than that of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, who secured the outside front-row starting spot for next Sunday’s 57th running of the Great American Race (1 p.m. ET on FOX).Read More

After being involved in a wreck during the opening round of qualifying that left his Daytona 500 primary car beyond repair, Clint Bowyer was left fuming with the NASCAR hierarchy. Bowyer led a group of drivers that included Bobby Labonte, and Denny Hamlin as the trio began to catch and get held up the previously damaged car of Reed Sorenson. The two made contact when Bowyer attempted to get under Sorenson going into turn one, sparking a crash that collected them along with the car driven by Labonte. The newRead More

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kicked off their 2015 season with a Saturday night shootout at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. The Sprint Unlimited featured an abundance of cautions equipped with a pair of red flags, none of which could keep Matt Kenseth from Victory Lane at the end of the 75-lap event. Here are some key things to take away from NASCAR’s annual exhibition race. Matt Kenseth Still Has It, but Hasn’t Won Anything…Yet After a disastrous 2014 season that saw the Joe Gibbs Racing driver go winless (withRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Matt Kenseth did what he couldn’t do all of last year — win a race. And Martin Truex Jr., runner-up in Saturday night’s 75-lap Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway, did what he could do only once in 2014 — lead a lap. Coming to the finish line on the last lap, Kenseth blocked Truex’s move off Turn 4 and crossed the finish line in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota .219 seconds ahead of Truex, who led four times for 28 laps after leadingRead More

The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season gets underway Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway for the Sprint Unlimited. The 75-lap event is a non-points exhibition race, but depending on who is at the front at the end could be a great indication of who will be strong for the upcoming Daytona 500. This year a field of 25 cars will take to the high-banks, considerably larger than last year’s 18. Even with one of the biggest fields in recent memory, four drivers will not participate in the race: AJ Allmendinger,Read More

CONCORD, N.C.– Jeff Gordon, the celebrated stock car champion whose crossover appeal helped take NASCAR into the mainstream, will compete in his 23rd and final full-time Sprint Cup Series season in 2015. He announced his decision this morning to the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team he has driven for since November 1992. “As a race car driver, much of what I’ve done throughout my life has been based on following my instincts and trying to make good decisions,” Gordon said. “I thought long and hard about my future this pastRead More

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing driver Brian Vickers will not be available to race during the early part of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season due to health issues. In 58 races driving MWR’s No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota, Vickers scored eight top-five and 19 top-10 finishes. He won the July race at New Hampshire in 2013 and captured the pole at Talladega in October 2014. The 2003 Nationwide champion owns three victories and 12 poles in 316 career Sprint Cup starts. “Brian has been a part of the MWRRead More