Aric Almirola Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A day after struggling to find speed in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session of the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joey Logano topped the board in the first of two Saturday practice sessions. Logano ran 40 laps throughout practice, but it was his first lap on track that was the fastest, posting a time of 31.838 seconds, 169.609 mph. The Team Penske driver was also fastest among 10-lap averages. “How do you not feel confident in that?  You have to,”Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Holding off Brad Keselowski after a restart with 12 laps left in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway, Kyle Busch claimed his eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and led NASCAR’s Big Three into the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After a wreck on Lap 269 of 312 ended the championship hopes of Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott—both of whom had been in the mix throughout the day—Busch grabbed the lead from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate ErikRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer An early flat right-front tire at ISM Raceway could not keep Kevin Harvick from advancing to the Championship Four. A win from another member of the ‘Big Three’ also helped the Stewart-Haas Racing driver keep his 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship bid alive following the Can-Am 500. Harvick’s No.4 Busch Light Ford Fusion was a magnet for drama throughout the 312-lap race. On the final restart, Harvick lined up alongside race leader, and winner, Kyle Busch. The only Playoff driver on the outsideRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Round of Eight all comes down to this. After last week’s race at Texas, the stage is set for the final race of the round in Phoenix to determine which drivers will move onto Homestead and which drivers will see their championship hopes vanish in the Arizona desert. Three of the four spots in the championship race are still up for grabs after the penalty news that came out on Wednesday. Of the drivers still eligible, only Joey Logano is safe, having locked up hisRead 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

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Tony Stewart has been widely known as one of the best to strap into a race car, but he has really started to establish himself as one of the premier team owners in all of racing over the past 10 seasons. The owner of Stewart-Haas Racing is now retired from driving in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but still keeps his edge behind the wheel by racing at dirt tracks around the country. Our friends from Mobil 1 The Grid sat down with Stewart to talkRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a barnburner of a finish at Martinsville last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Lone Star State and Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500 and the second race of the playoff semi-finals. First joining the circuit in 1997, the 1.5-mile Texas track has provided some great racing over the years as the original track surface wore down over the years. Prior to the 2017 season, Texas went through a reconfiguration, dropping the banking in Turns 1Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Hoping to reverse the outcome of this year’s spring race at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Busch took the first step on Saturday afternoon, winning the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Busch navigated the .526-mile short track in 19.673 seconds (96.254 seconds) in the final round of knockoutRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a trip out to America’s Heartland, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back east this weekend and straight to the final short track race of the season, with Sunday’s running of the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic half-mile, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine over 500 grueling laps. Sunday’s race will mark the start of the three-race playoff semi-finals that will trim the eight-driver playoff fieldRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Elimination Sunday is upon us again. Last weekend’s visit to the the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway saw an ass kicking by Stewart-Haas Racing and other Playoff drivers foiled by fuel mileage. With the 2.66-mile Alabama behemoth in the rear-view mirror, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads west to America’s Heartland to take on the fast 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Hollywood Casino 400 – the final race of the Round of 12. First joining the circuit as a relatively tame 1.5-mileRead More