Erik Jones Tag

By Aaron Bearden, NASCAR Contributor Phew. The last few weeks sure have been fun, haven’t they? Ever since the conclusion of the West Coast Swing – another solid stretch of the schedule – NASCAR has gone on a tour of many tracks that fans and media alike seem to clamor for, often putting on thrilling races in the processes. The past five races have seen all three of the schedule’s short tracks, a superspeedway race and just a single 1.5-miler, which was itself interesting due to the wild-card nature ofRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor “Talladega: World’s Fastest Junkyard,” quipped FOX Sports announcer Mike Joy after an 18-car crash broke out on the backstretch of the 2.66-mile superspeedway with 19 laps to go in Sunday’s GEICO 500. Couldn’t have summed it up any better. After a relatively quiet race by Talladega standards through the first 170 laps, the inevitable “Big One” was coming and when it came, it certainly was big. Coming off Turn 2, AJ Allmendinger, who was running third, made contact with the second-place driver, Chase Elliott, turningRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was an adventure for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five ROTY contenders, two drivers, Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding, have no previous experience at Talladega. Gaulding has no previous experience at any restrictor plate track. Ty Dillon placed his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS 28th on the starting grid. A caution midway through Stage 2 allowed Dillon to take an alternate strategy. he moved up toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   TALLADEGA, Ala. – Aric Almirola charged into the lead with four laps left in Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway and held off Elliott Sadler at the finish to win the third NASCAR XFINITY Series race of his career.   With the Ford of Darrell Wallace Jr. plowing into the inside backstretch wall behind him on the final lap, Almirola held the top spot to the finish, beating Sadler, the series leader, to the finish line by .142 seconds.   The win wasRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As is the case anytime NASCAR visits the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega, the chance of a multi-car crash is high and in Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega, the first multi-car crash of the day struck early, sweeping several contenders up in the melee. Heading down the backstretch on lap 20, last year’s runner-up at Talladega, Brennan Poole, who had already sustained some front-end damage earlier in the race, tried to move into the outside lane, but there was no room toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After setting down the fastest time in NASCAR Xfinity Series practice on Friday, Blake Koch and Kaulig Racing were fast again in Saturday’s qualifying session for the Sparks Energy 300 as Koch scored his first career pole with a lap of 52.188 seconds, 183.490 mph. Joining Koch on the front row will be Kasey Kahne, who is driving the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend for JR Motorsports. Rounding out the top-five starters for Saturday’s race are three of the four Richard Childress Racing entries, withRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway was a mixed bag for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All of the rookies have had previous experience at Richmond in other NASCAR Series. Two of the ROTY contenders ran relatively well, others fell short. Daniel Suarez had the best starting position of the five rookies, placing his No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry 11th on the starting grid. Early in the final stage, Suarez nearly hitRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer  The last time the NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Richmond International Raceway, Kyle Busch took home the victory in dominant fashion, beating Erik Jones by 6.453 seconds. The last time a NASCAR Xfinity Series regular won at Richmond was Chase Elliott in the Fall race in 2015. There are no former winners in this weekend’s race, guaranteeing a different winner for the fifth Richmond race in a row. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the field this weekend include Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez,Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer After finishing ahead of fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders at Texas Motor Speedway, Ty Dillon carried a little momentum into Bristol Motor Speedway. Weather was an issue throughout the weekend, forcing Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying to be canceled. As a result, Dillon started 24th on the grid, behind fellow rookies Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez. In the first practice for the Food City 500, Dillon placed his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS 20th on the speed charts. He was 28thRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Erik Jones found the ideal way to atone from a mistake in Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but it took a bump-and-run for Jones to complete his comeback at the .533-mile short track. Recovering from a Lap 230 pit road speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the field, Jones worked his way to the front through a series of quick cautions and muscled Ryan Blaney out of the way to take the lead onRead More