2016 Tag

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 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 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 Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Martin Truex Jr. has had a heck of a start to the 2016 season. He finished second in the Daytona 500 by a whisker, and in Atlanta last week he finished seventh after leading 34 laps. Truex, and Furniture Row Racing’s fast start this season has taken some by surprise, as many expected the team to struggle out of the gates after changing manufacturers in the offseason from Chevrolet to Toyota. In a media availability Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Truex indicated he didn’tRead More

Staff Report, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch returns to hometown track on cusp of first win The last time Las Vegas native Kyle Busch visited his hometown with NASCAR, he paraded around his championship trophy during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week. This time he’s there to compete, one year after missing the race at his home track due to a broken right leg and fractured left foot suffered two weeks before it. Busch will attempt to earn his second career win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s KobaltRead More

SHOW #400 – Guest: John Hunter Nemechek – We recap the exciting racing from Atlanta, review Jimmie Johnson’s 76 career win, tying Dale Earnhardt Sr., hear from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick on the milestone, preview everything Las Vegas and more. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie ( Roughly 48:00 mins) DOWNLOAD HERE   CREDITS: Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Toby Christie Executive Producer: Kerry Murphey Music: Russell Nash Audio Director Voice Over: Thomas Moog SUBSCRIBE FREE HERE RSS FEED RADIO STATIONS CLICK HERE SUBSCRIBE FROM iTUNES: Take us with you! Subscribe to our audio showsRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor This past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson busted down the door to yet another career milestone — 76-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins. That number is of course relevant in the world of NASCAR, because it now ties Johnson with the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time win list. As you would expect, this win immediately spawned the question, is Johnson a better driver than Earnhardt was? Johnson fans will say yes, obviously. While Earnhardt fans will say no, just asRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor The second-place team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings — Furniture Row Racing — has been hit with a penalty after having an issue with their roof flap two weeks in a row. NASCAR announced that the latest infraction, which occurred in pre-race inspection for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta, qualified as a P3 penalty Wednesday. The penalties include the suspension of Cole Pearn, crew chief of the No. 78, for one race. Pearn will also be fined $50,000. Pearn is already on probation through theRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Contributing Writer The stars and cars of the Verizon Indycar Series recently completed a two day test at Phoenix International Raceway where the Series will return for the first time in more than a decade. It was our first opportunity to see the Chevrolet and Honda 2016 configurations head-to-head on the same track. It also offered us the first glimpse of some of the rookies in the 2016 field. Allow me to share some observations. 1) The Speeds are Incredible Eighteen of the twenty-one drivers involved in theRead More