Aric Almirola Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For the second time in as many races at restrictor plate tracks, the finish to Friday night’s Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona came down to NASCAR analyzing the video replay due to a last lap caution and by the time all was said and done, Aric Almirola was scored as the race winner for his second win in his home state of Florida. Almirola first visited victory lane at Daytona back in 2014 with a win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the rainRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Erik Jones’ third NASCAR XFINITY Series victory was a real triple play. In the series’ new Dash 4 Cash format featuring two heat races and a main event, Jones took advantage of a restart with three laps left in Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 and 1) won the race, 2) earned the $100,000 dash for cash bonus and 3) stopped Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and race runner-up Kyle Busch’s streak of four straight NASCAR national series victories. Jones, the pole winner,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was a noon practice on the day of the Can-Am Duels at Daytona International Speedway, and there was six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, doing his thing. The regular routine for Johnson and No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus is a succession of single-car runs at Daytona, staying out of the draft and out of trouble, looking for speed. Based on Thursday’s practice, Johnson may be poised to add a third Daytona 500 title to his resume. The six-time NASCAR SprintRead More

By Seth Livingstone, NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Brian Scott knows he’s in a pretty good place. In 2016, the 28-year-old Idaho native will compete in a loaded field for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors with the logo of Richard Petty Motorsports emblazoned on his chest. “It’s pretty cool,” said Scott, speaking Wednesday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “Richard Petty: Just when you say his name you think of so many things. You think 200 wins.Read More

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – At NASCAR Sprint Cup racing’s shortest track, Joey Logano’s torrid run just got longer. The winner of three straight races—constituting a sweep of the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—Logano toured .526-mile Martinsville Speedway in 19.215 seconds (98.548 mph) in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session to win the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 (1:15 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Driving the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, Logano edged fellow Chase driver Martin Truex Jr. (98.487 mph) by .012Read More

JOLIET, Ill. – In the theater, using the expression “Break a leg” is a way to wish an actor good luck on opening night. Twelve days before Sunday’s opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, Denny Hamlin tore the ACL in his right leg playing basketball. Late in the myAFibRisk.com 400 at the 1.5-mile track, Hamlin found his good fortune in the form of a serendipitous pit call on the part of crew chief Dave Rogers. Staying out on old tires, Hamlin grabbed the lead momentsRead More

RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. But JGR’s Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better — he brought a howitzer. Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by .951 seconds over his teammate. Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie JohnsonRead More

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Change the rules, change the format – but they can’t change history. Jeff Gordon, who has won more Talladega Superspeedway poles than any active driver, put together a lap of more than one mile per hour faster than the next-quickest to earn the Coors Light Pole for Sunday’s GEICO 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (1 p.m. ET on FOX) at the 2.66-mile trioval. Gordon posted a time of 49.160 seconds (194.793 mph), bettering his time of 49.171 that won him the top spot in the first round ofRead More