2017 Tag

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — Trevor Bayne comes into this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway 15th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series point standings. It has been a great start to the season for the 26-year old Roush Fenway Racing driver. However, if Bayne is going to get his fifth top-15 finish of 2017 on Sunday, he will have to overcome a lot of adversity. In Saturday’s final practice session, Bayne, who was 10th fastest in the session, just pushed theRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — Nine drivers were unable to take a qualifying lap on Friday for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. All nine were stuck in the technical inspection line after failing on their first pass through. Among the nine drivers were some really big names like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne. Saturday morning, those drivers got their first shot to prove how fast their cars really are, and spoiler alert someRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, TEXAS — When walking around Friday afternoon before qualifying for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, I couldn’t help but notice there were a ton more fans sitting outside the grandstands checking out the midway than what were actually up in seats watching the racing action. When I asked many of them if they were going to go inside to watch qualifying, they said that they didn’t think qualifying was worth the price of admission. Once qualifying began, I immediatelyRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — Bubba Wallace comes into this weekend’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on a hot streak of sorts, as he has four-consecutive sixth place finishes. Wallace continued that hot streak by posting the fastest lap of the day in the NASCAR Xfinity Series — a 188.692 mph lap in the second practice session of the day. Wallace looked relaxed and confident Thursday during a surprise visit to an assembly at B.B. Owen Elementary School in The Colony, Texas. AndRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor It was looking like a story book finish to a whirlwind week for Kyle Busch as he had a three second lead in the waning laps of Sunday’s Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Then a cut tire by Busch’s biggest current rival, Joey Logano brought out a caution which ended Busch’s chances for his first win of the year. Busch started the day from the ninth position. The driver of the No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry worked his way to sixth early in theRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer This past weekend, the stars and cars of the Verizon IndyCar Series were back on the track after a lengthy off-season.  The series did not disappoint, nor did Sebastien Bourdais who took the win in his first outing with Dale Coyne Racing in the No. 18 Sonny’s Barbecue Honda entry. Lets discuss five topics coming away from the “World’s Fastest Spring Break Party.” 1 ) Instant Validation Sebastien Bourdais began shopping for a 2017 ride very early. After three rather fruitful seasons with KVSH RacingRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was definitely the first trying race for Stewart-Haas Racing since their offseason transition from Chevrolet to Ford. Kevin Harvick, who came into the race as the point leader, had his day come to a crashing halt on lap 69 when his right front tire exploded just after he crossed the start finish line in the sixth position. Harvick, who had never recorded a DNF at Las Vegas before Sunday, would be credited with a 38th-place finish. DaytonaRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Three races into the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Kyle Larson is starting to assert himself as a bona fide championship contender. At 24 years old, the driver in his fourth full-time season on the circuit can’t even legally rent a car at most rental companies, but he is driving like a seasoned pro so far this year. Sunday in the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson rolled off from the fifth starting spot, and on the first run of theRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor The second Stage of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway played out the exact same way that Stage 1 did. A late caution gave the field an opportunity to hit pit road for fuel and tires, and just like with Stage 1 two competitors stayed on track to gamble for championship points. This time the drivers who stayed out were seven-time Series champion Jimmie Johnson and 2004 Series champ Kurt Busch. Just like in Segment 1 tires were proven to be of the utmost value.Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor There were varying strategies at the conclusion of Stage 1 of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas. A caution with 10 laps remaining in the stage gave the field an opportunity to pit for tires and fuel before the break for Stage 2. However, Joey Logano (third spot at the time of the caution) and Jamie McMurray (11th at the time of the caution) opted to roll the dice and stay on the track in hopes that they could gain championship points. When the green flag cameRead More