Ford Tag

By Don Radebaugh, ARCA Communications Manager SALEM, Ind. – It was one for the ages, especially for Middletown, N.Y.’s Christian Eckes who held off a hungry pack over the final 50 laps to earn his career-first ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards victory Sunday afternoon at Salem Speedway. Eckes, in the No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota for Venturini Motorsports, first fought off Zane Smith, then held back the non-stop hard charge from Chandler Smith to win the 103rd running of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200. “I can’t believe this…I really can’t,” saidRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer The ARCA Racing Series heads to arguably the best track on the schedule and the one most-perfect for the series this weekend for the third race of the 2018 season. With a race day forecast of 63 degrees and a zero percent chance of rain, the stands should be packed at the high-banked half-mile in Indiana. The Track Salem Speedway is a 0.555-mile paved oval with 33 degrees of banking in the turns. The old, bumpy, worn-out surface typically produces fantastic racing and is aRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Saturday at Martinsville Speedway was great for Ben Rhodes and the ThorSport Racing organization. The 21-year-old driver kicked off the day by putting the No. 41 Ford on the pole for the fourth race of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Teammates Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger qualified second and third, respectively, to give ThorSport Racing their first 1-2-3 qualifying effort in team history. The pole was the third of Rhodes’ career in his 54th Truck Series start and his second at the 0.526-mileRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Writer Ryan Hunter-Reay along with Wayne Taylor Racing IMSA regulars Renger Van Der Zande and Jordan Taylor persevered through issues to lead the Verizon IndyCar Series contingent at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. The 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion took the wheel of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R just before the four-hour mark as Taylor brought the car in with overheating issues which lowered them from second to seventh. Hunter-Reay remained steadily in seventh throughout his stint before turning the car over toRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Coming into Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chase Briscoe hadn’t tested nor even fired the engine on the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Briscoe indicated his goal was to finish the race and learn the most he could by completing all the laps. Mission accomplished, as he finished 15th in his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut with a clean race car. It was a solid debut for the 23-year-old driver with less than 50 races of experience on pavement and the next step in a careerRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer The last time the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited Atlanta Motor Speedway, a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck piloted by Christopher Bell dominated the weekend, winning the pole, both stages and the race. The boss of KMB looks to repeat the feat, as Kyle Busch took the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s Active Pest Control 200. Busch put down a lap at 179.743 mph (30.844) in the No. 4 Toyota to earn the 19th pole of his Truck Series career. It’s the second pole of theRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer In a final round of qualifying that featured a great mix of veteran and youth, Christopher Bell turned a lap at 181.76 mph (30.60 seconds) to take the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bell, in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, edged out Joey Logano to earn his second series pole in just his 10th start. “This one’s probably a little bit more enjoyable,” Bell said with a large grin when asked if this poleRead More

By Ben Rhodes, Driver Columnist (Editor’s note: Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150 forThorSport Racing, one of the longest-tenured teams in NASCAR competition. Rhodes will contribute to Motorsports Tribune throughout the season, providing a firsthand look behind the scenes of his 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign from behind the visor.)  Rhodes outlines his season ahead and what he’d like to see accomplished with the No. 41 team, while reflecting on this past weekend’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, andRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer While the Daytona 500 looms large, Brad Keselowski has already practiced showering in Gatorade and Miller Lite in victory lane since the calendar turned to 2018. The Roster Hills, Michigan native won last weekend in the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the exhibition race to start the 2018 season at Daytona International Speedway. Returning teammate Joey Logano was second and Team Penske newcomer Ryan Blaney was fourth as Fords swept the top four positions. Keselowski enters his ninth full-time season driving for one of the topRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the top-30 drivers in the series leading into this weekend’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. Age: 24 Years in Cup: 2 Career Wins: 1 With the retirement of NASCAR’s most popular driver, many fans that cheered for the No. 88 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be seeking a new favorite to root for in 2018. Ryan Blaney could very well be the answer, as the 24-year-old goes above and beyondRead More