Christopher Bell Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HAMPTON, Ga. – The first ticket to the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has been punched. Joey Logano, with a helping hand from his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney in the closing laps of regulation, advanced to the front of the field, set to square off against the Trackhouse Racing duo of Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain in a battle to the finish. However, the caution flag would fly with two laps remaining, pushing the race into overtime, with Logano able to keepRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HAMPTON, Ga. – NASCAR Cup Series Playoff time is here again and the 2024 edition of the postseason is in for a doozy of a start. With the 16-driver field set in stone a week ago after a barn burner of a finish at Darlington in the Southern 500, the points standings have been reset as the series rolls right into a wild card race to kick off the 10-race march to the championship courtesy of Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta’s agingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in Sunday Night’s Cook Out Southern 500 and simultaneously broke three hearts. Ending a 73-race winless streak for moribund Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe foiled Kyle Larson, who led 263 of 367 laps and won the first two stages but finished fourth and lost the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season title to Tyler Reddick by a single point. With the second victory of his career and his first since March 2022 at Phoenix, Briscoe eliminated Chris Buescher from the Playoffs. In aRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—Christopher Bell survived a near-disaster with Cole Custer on the first lap of overtime and held on to win Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 over Custer and snakebit Sheldon Creed. During a green-flag run that started on lap 97 of 150, Creed caught and passed Bell for the lead on Lap 139 and was poised to claim his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory after a record 11 runner-up finishes in the series. But Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger slapped the outside wallRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Offering up a fist pump and big smile, Bubba Wallace claimed perhaps the most consequential pole position of his young career – turning in the fastest lap in the final round of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Wallace’s lap of 167.143 mph in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota Saturday afternoon puts him out front to start the 500-miler at the historic 1.366-mile Darlington track. And it’sRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – This one has been a long time coming. Harrison Burton, driving the famous No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers, took matters into his own hands in overtime Saturday night at Daytona, powering his way into the lead on the final lap and holding off the charge of Kyle Busch to claim his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory and punch his ticket into the Playoffs. The win also marks the 100th career win for the legendary Wood Brothers team, which hasRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In any other year, a return to Daytona International Speedway in the late summer would mark the end of the regular season and cement the field for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Not so much in 2024, as a quirk that comes with the Olympic break that was undertaken a few weeks back making Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 the penultimate race of the regular season, setting things up for a final showdown at Darlington over Labor Day weekend. But thatRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Poor weather interrupted NASCAR Cup Series practice and forced a cancellation of qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin being awarded the pole position for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) based on a metric analyzed by NASCAR factoring in the previous race outcome among other factors. It’s the second pole position start in as many weeks for Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – It took a controversial full-contact finish but Austin Dillon claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in two seasons in Sunday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway – vaulting from a 32nd place in the points standings before the race to an automatic Playoff berth with the win. Coming to the checkered flag during the final lap of overtime, Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevy hit the rear bumper of the race-leading No. 22 Team Penske driven byRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Kyle Larson has gotten his redemption at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two months removed from his debut in the Indianapolis 500, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, sporting the same paint scheme that he was scheduled to run that weekend in Charlotte, charged through the field late, putting himself in position to capitalize when the race went into overtime. As the laps were winding down, it was shaping up to be a battle among those saving fuel (Brad Keselowski and RyanRead More