Denny Hamlin Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Denny Hamlin came into Texas Motor Speedway with a double-digit point cushion over the cut-off line in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but things didn’t exactly go according to plan on Sunday and he’ll have his work cut out for him going forward. As the top driver not yet locked into the championship race at Homestead, Hamlin started the day 24 points ahead of fifth-place with a third-place qualifying effort. Despite starting at the front of the field, thingsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — If defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano wants to pursue back-to-back titles, he’ll have to primarily deal with Kyle Busch after leading 5 of 334 laps and finishing fourth in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. That’s because Logano holds the fourth and final Championship 4 spot heading into the cutoff race at ISM Raceway November 10, a track he’s won back in 2016 while Busch is a three-time winner including the last two races. Busch finishedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – Kevin Harvick took the first step toward getting back on the right side of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff cut line, winning the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harvick, who trails fourth-place Joey Logano by 14 points entering the second race of the Round of 8, toured the 1.5-mile track in 28.465 seconds (189.707 mph) to win his second Busch Pole Award atRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — The bottom groove was the preferred lane for both Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series competitors during Friday’s practice sessions at Texas Motor Speedway. With the addition of the PJ1 traction compound, few attempted to run in the area, but it became apparent that come race day, whether or not the top groove will be utilized isn’t a topic worth ignoring. “I’m not really sure that it changes a whole lot,” Kyle Busch on the track changes. “The track does lookRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Let the head games begin. A week removed from a run-in on track at Martinsville that led to a post-race scuffle on pit road, it’s still game on between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has moved on to Texas Motor Speedway and Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500. To his credit, Hamlin owned up to his part of the on-track incident that wound up leading to the fracas that included both drivers, pitRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The penultimate round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs rolls on to Texas Motor Speedway after a drama-filled race at Martinsville a week ago. On Sunday, the stock car racing elite will take on the 1.5-mile track with a pair of six-shooters, a cowboy hat and a berth in the Championship 4 on the line should any of the remaining playoff drivers find themselves in victory lane when the checkered flag falls on the AAA Texas 500. First joining the circuit in 1997,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano have had their fair share of run-ins both on-track and off over the years and Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, the tension between the two flared back up. Both drivers had a decent day going with the two running in the top-10 as the laps were winding down in the first race of the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Then as they were running side-by-side with about 50 laps to go, Hamlin ran wide offRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It took a post-race fracas on pit road to distract from the dominance of Martin Truex Jr., who led a career-best 464 laps in winning Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway and punched his ticket for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race. The 2017 Cup Series champion took the lead from pole winner Denny Hamlin off pit road on Lap 30 under the first of 11 cautions and held it the rest of the way, save for aRead More

By Reid Spencer. NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Fresh from last Sunday’s victory at Kansas, Denny Hamlin reasserted his mastery of Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon, edging Chase Elliott for the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Covering the .526-mile distance in 19.354 seconds (97.840 mph), Hamlin beat Elliott (97.694 mph) by .029 seconds to secure his third Busch Pole Award of the season, his fourth at Martinsville and the 33rd of his career. Despite his strong performance,Read More