Christopher Bell Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – The little team that could did it again. Michael McDowell took the fight to the rest of his competitors Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, winning the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard to secure his place in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. After posting the fastest time in practice and turning in a fourth-place qualifying run, McDowell and his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team made it known that they would be a threat on Sunday – and delivered. “Oh, man, this is such aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Two of the drivers on the verge of making it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs were the fastest in the preliminaries to Sunday’s Verizon 200, with Daniel Suarez winning the pole and Michael McDowell posting the fastest time in practice. Suarez, who comes into Indianapolis just five points out of the top-16 with just three races remaining in the regular season, was confident this could be a banner weekend for his team and he backed it up in qualifying. When all was saidRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – It’s that time of the year again, when NASCAR invades open wheel territory for a weekend at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the third year in a row, the Cup Series will be joining their counterparts from the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NTT IndyCar Series in running on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile infield road course in what will be an action-filled tripleheader weekend, culminating in Sunday’s Verizon 200. In the two races on the road course, carnage has ensued, but NASCAR is hoping toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Saving his best performance for the last round of qualifying, Christopher Bell sped to the pole position for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  Bell covered the 2.0-mile distance in 37.232 seconds in Saturday’s money round, translating to a top speed of 193.82 mph—the fastest qualifying lap at any track since the 2020 Daytona 500.  Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was .027 secondsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The end of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season is in sight with just four races remaining before the Playoff field is set. After a scorcher in Richmond last weekend, the series heads north to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s running of the FireKeepers Casino 400. With this race taking place near the home of two of the three manufacturers (Chevrolet and Ford), teams put extra emphasis on winning here for bragging rights. Especially this year with the track debut for the Next Gen car, whichRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Denny Hamlin prevailed in a tight door-to-door bump-and-go pass on Kyle Larson with seven laps remaining to claim a historic all-time best seventh NASCAR Cup Series victory at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway – the win in Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 also marking Hamlin’s 50th career trophy and second of the 2023 season.  The race ended under caution for a last lap incident elsewhere on track, and the Pocono crowd voiced its displeasure, booing loudly as Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led the field to pit road atRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron earned his series best fourth pole position of the year Saturday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to green in Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Byron’s time of 57.746 (170.235 mph) in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was .122-second quicker than his championship rival Martin Truex Jr. in Busch Light Pole Qualifying at the unique three-turn, 2.5-mile Pocono track and places the current two title leadersRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service In what was both a thrilling and historic afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Kyle Busch earned a hard-fought win in Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150 with a last lap pass for his Kyle Busch Motorsports team’s milestone 100th series victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Busch made a daring move low on series championship leader Corey Heim in Turn 2 “The Tunnel Turn” of the iconic 2.5-mile track, got around cleanly and motored off to a .604-second win in the No. 51 KBM Chevrolet toRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott smiled and bristled a bit when asked if he returns to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this week feeling like the reigning track champion after being declared last year’s Pocono race winner after the drivers who finished ahead of him on track – apparent winner Denny Hamlin and runner-up Kyle Busch – were disqualified following post-race inspection. “He actually gave me the trophy, but he kept the flag – his little girl was kind of married to the flag and itRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell will start Sunday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway exactly where he finished his last start at the 1.058-mile New England track: in position No. 1. Bell, 28, won Saturday’s pole qualifying session for the Crayon 301 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a lap of 124.781 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota – just a tick faster – .007-seconds – than his teammate, Martin Truex Jr., who willRead More