Aric Almirola Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – The Ford drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series apparently took the words of Edsel Ford II to heart. At a dinner with Ford drivers on Thursday night, the member of the Ford Motor Company board of directors emphasized the importance of putting a Mustang in Victory Lane after Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). On Saturday morning at the 2-mile track, Joey Logano took the first stepRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service With a dominating performance at a track he has learned to love, Kyle Busch cruised to his fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in Sunday’s Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. Busch led a race-high 79 of 160 laps—including the final 21 after a cycle of green-flag pit stops—in collecting his second straight win at the 2.5-mile triangular track and his third overall, all three of which have come in the last four events after years of frustration at the TrickyRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent CONCORD, N.C. – For the second time this season, William Byron has scored a Busch Pole Award at a marquee event. Byron set the fast time in his No. 24 Liberty Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at his home track. His 29.440 second, 183.424 MPH lap makes him the youngest pole winner in the history of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “This is a dream come true,” Byron admitted. “I grew up in Charlotte and came to this race every year. So, it’s aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The weekend before Memorial Day marks the beginning of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series traditional two-week stop at NASCAR’s home base of Charlotte, North Carolina and the 1.5-mile quad oval that is Charlotte Motor Speedway. First up on the two-week stopover in the Queen City is the Monster Energy All-Star Race, a non-points event that has served up more than its fair share of exciting moments in its 34-year history. What is now the All-Star Race began as “The Winston” in 1985 and wasRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – After Friday afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Kansas Speedway, the question “What’s wrong with the Stewart-Haas cars?” may be a dead issue. Hurtling around the 1.5-mile track in 30.131 seconds (179.217 mph), Kevin Harvick led a four-car Stewart-Haas Racing sweep of time trials for Saturday’s Digital Ally 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harvick was .083 seconds faster than teammate Aric Almirola (178.725 mph), who in turned topped Clint Bowyer (178.324 mph) byRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – In a battle of Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Chase Elliott knocked William Byron off the pole for Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), stealing the top starting spot late in Friday’s single-car qualifying at the one-mile concrete track. As expected with a new competition package that features a taller rear spoiler and consequent added downforce, Elliott set a track record at the Monster Mile, covering the distance in 21.692 secondsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Chase Elliott seized the lead in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway during a four-lap shootout to the finish and took the checkered flag under caution after Kyle Larson barrel-rolled behind him. Elliott’s victory broke a Chevrolet drought in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series dating to last October at Kansas Speedway and broke a seven-race Ford stranglehold on the 2.66-mile track. The first driver not from Team Penske or Joe Gibbs racing to win this season, Elliott crossed the stripe aheadRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Picking up significant speed from the first round of knockout qualifying to the second, Austin Dillon won the pole for Sunday’s GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Covering the 2.66-mile distance in 49.734 seconds (192.544 mph) in his No. 3 Chevrolet, Dillon edged first-round leader Aric Almirola (192.131 mph) for the top starting spot by .107 seconds. In Saturday’s first round, Dillon had run 192.108 mphRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Uncertainty surrounded the first day of on-track activity at Talladega Superspeedway, with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series getting their first glimpse at the new post-restrictor plate aero package that will be used at the 2.66-mile facility as well as Daytona for the foreseeable future. The new package features a tapered spacer instead of a restrictor plate, making it the first race since 1987 to feature the horsepower sapping device. To counteract the increase in horsepower, about 100 more than the teamsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – With the first off weekend of the season in the rear-view mirror, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series gets back to business in grand fashion as they get set to take on the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway and Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that led to unknown driver Richard Brickhouse scoring his one and only win in theRead More