AAA Texas 500 Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — Retirement? Non-existent for the 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch. Both Busch and his primary sponsor Monster Energy have agreed to a multi-year deal to stay with Chip Ganassi Racing beyond 2019. Saturday’s announcement began with a tease between Busch, Ganassi and Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage as they unveiled a white rocking chair. With a little bit of acting involved, things got real once Busch said why there’s rocking chair at the media center? That’s when theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — The bottom groove was the preferred lane for both Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series competitors during Friday’s practice sessions at Texas Motor Speedway. With the addition of the PJ1 traction compound, few attempted to run in the area, but it became apparent that come race day, whether or not the top groove will be utilized isn’t a topic worth ignoring. “I’m not really sure that it changes a whole lot,” Kyle Busch on the track changes. “The track does lookRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Let the head games begin. A week removed from a run-in on track at Martinsville that led to a post-race scuffle on pit road, it’s still game on between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has moved on to Texas Motor Speedway and Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500. To his credit, Hamlin owned up to his part of the on-track incident that wound up leading to the fracas that included both drivers, pitRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — After four months of negotiations, a technical alliance has been made Friday as Go Fas Racing confirmed that beginning next season, they’ll be joining forces with Stewart-Haas Racing for a one-year deal. In addition of having a relationship with Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines, GFR will get chassis, data and technical support from SHR. Since joining the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2014, owner Archie St. Hilaire said he’s exciting making that tremendous leap as they’ll have brand new equipmentRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Just this week, 25-year-old Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney took to social media to acknowledge and chide some media prognosticators, who may not have penciled him to still be Playoff-eligible and a win away from his Championship 4 debut. But he is. And more than that Blaney is liking the good vibes of his No. 12 Team Penske Ford’s Playoff showing. Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is a venue whereRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The penultimate round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs rolls on to Texas Motor Speedway after a drama-filled race at Martinsville a week ago. On Sunday, the stock car racing elite will take on the 1.5-mile track with a pair of six-shooters, a cowboy hat and a berth in the Championship 4 on the line should any of the remaining playoff drivers find themselves in victory lane when the checkered flag falls on the AAA Texas 500. First joining the circuit in 1997,Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas — Martin Truex Jr. kept his championship hopes alive after overcoming a series of setbacks to finish ninth in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The day began with Truex playing catch up. Despite qualifying a solid 13th, the Furniture Row Racing team elected for an engine change in the No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy Toyota Camry following final practice, which forced them to start the race at the rear of the field. Even with the initial obstacle, the reigning MonsterRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Clint Bowyer faces a must-win scenario after enduring a miserable 26th-place finish in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 39-year-old Kansas native was optimistic heading into Sunday’s race after qualifying second – a personal best at the 1.5-mile oval. A dream of advancing from the Round of 8 and into the Championship 4 quickly turned into a nightmare. Pole sitter Ryan Blaney took off as the green flag waved, with the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 FordRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – This time, there was no late-race glitch to interrupt Kevin Harvick’s domination of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Streaking away from pole winner Ryan Blaney during an overtime restart on Lap 336, Harvick won Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway with the utmost of authority, sweeping the stages and leading a race-high 177 laps on the way to his series-best eighth victory of the season and a guaranteed spot in the Nov. 18 Championship 4 raceRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer “When Homestead comes around if I am not in, he will know it,” said a disgruntled Aric Almirola who laid down the law towards Joey Logano. For the second race in a row, Logano is the center of criticism from a Round of 8 competitor after Almirola voiced his displeasure of how hard he raced him in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth. Struggling matching race winner’s and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick’s dominant pace, Almirola was in excellent position withRead More