Charlotte Motor Speedway Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Ahead of the second running of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competitors took to the track for two practice sessions on Saturday as they looked to get their cars dialed in for the first elimination race of the Playoffs. Ryan Blaney, who was victorious in this race one year ago, topped the board in the morning session with a lap of 1 minute, 21.977 seconds (101.882 mph). Ryan PreeceRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – When the news came down earlier this week that Roush-Fenway Racing would be making a driver change for its No. 17 entry in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for 2020, current driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was just as shocked as the rest of the garage area that he would be out of a ride when this season comes to a close. “Yeah, pretty blindsided,” Stenhouse said of hearing the news. The Olive Branch, Mississippi native added that last Wednesday was businessRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – If the smile on Josef Newgarden’s face when he climbed from the cockpit of his car after running laps at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL is any indication, the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series champion approved of the road course/oval hybrid that has been on the NASCAR circuit since last season. A week after scoring his second championship in the open wheel ranks, Newgarden and Team Penske announced earlier in the week it would be heading to Charlotte for a demonstration with NewgardenRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Heading into the Bank of America Roval 400 weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney holds the title as the only man to ever win on the 2.32-mile, 18-turn road course. As he looks to defend that title and return to Victory Lane for the first time since winning here last year, the driver of the No. 12 Ford won’t have to go far when the green flag drops after qualifying ninth Friday afternoon. “Coming back here, it’s nice coming back toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – A year after coming agonizingly close to winning at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Jimmie Johnson got the Bank of America Roval 400 weekend started on the right foot Friday by posting the fastest time in first practice with a lap of 1 minute, 20.968 seconds. Kyle Larson was second on the leaderboard, followed by William Byron, Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, and defending race winner Ryan Blaney. Outside of the top-10, Playoff drivers finishedRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The scenario for Sunday’s much-anticipated Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course provides exactly the intensity NASCAR fans want, but for the Playoff drivers competing to advance to the Round of 12 – the recently added road course also presents high anxiety. Coming into Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) the four Playoff drivers currently ranked outside the top 12 in the driverRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR announced Wednesday some important new procedural changes for the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season, all designed to strengthen the quality of the race fields and add to the intensity of the racing on track. The updates come at a time the sanctioning body – along with the series sponsors, teams and the broadcast partners – have seen a tangible increase in interest level and excitement for the two series. There are strong fields filledRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Motorsports Christmas shouldn’t be taken away from the fans, who have a day to celebrate their favorite sport. There’s an outlandish statement Ken Willis from The Daytona Beach News-Journal made about the Indianapolis 500 should be moved to Saturday and the Coca-Cola 600 staying on Sunday or even moved to Memorial Day. It’s a joke and who can blame the people who feel this way. I understand the earlier days of the Indy 500 had the “Never on Sunday” rule, but we’re beyond past thoseRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Martin Truex Jr. survived an early brush with the outside wall and a frenetic restart with five laps left to win Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. On a race that featured 16 cautions—most since the record 22 in 2005—Truex made a four-wide pass to the inside coming off Turn 2 on Lap 396 of 400 at the 1.5-mile track and beat runner-up Joey Logano to the finish line by .330 seconds. The victory was Truex’s third of theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A bid for the historic 1100-mile sweep by Team Penske wasn’t meant to be. Epecially for Brad Keselowski, who finished 19th in Sunday’s 60th Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina after leading 76 of 400 laps. Coming into the grueling 600-mile contest that was slowed down 15 times, Keselowski was the most recent Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner after winning at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago. Also coming into the race, Roger Penske’s three-car effort had the chance of becoming theRead More