Joe Gibbs Racing Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a thrilling race in Southern California last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will make the trip up Interstate 15 to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week, with Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 marking the second leg of the West Coast swing. Las Vegas began its life on the NASCAR circuit as a 1.5-mile oval with 12 degrees of banking in 1998, but following the 2006 running of the race, the track underwent a massive reconfiguration that saw progressive banking put in place with the new banking rangingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There’s something about Denny Hamlin and Daytona. With three wins in the last six years, Hamlin has found a knack for making it happen at the World Center of Racing, especially in the biggest race of the NASCAR Cup Series season – the Daytona 500. Though Hamlin’s wins in the Great American Race came in the Gen 6 car, this year’s running of the race is a whole new ballgame. With the debut of the Next Gen car, Hamlin and every otherRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NASCAR went out of their element by having the Busch Light Clash outside of Daytona International Speedway. Instead, it was located at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that saw at least 70% percent of the crowd witnessing their first-ever NASCAR race in person. When the dust settled, music performances were held and a whole lot of action exceeded people’s expectations. While some drivers morale were crushed due to accidents or reliability issues, only one man conquered LA and that was Joey Logano. Here’s my latest photoRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Anytime a new piece of equipment gets rolled out in real-world conditions, issues are sure to rear their head and Sunday’s debut of the NASCAR Next Gen car in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum was no different. As the car was put through its paces on a purpose-built track inside the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the demands of the quarter-mile track provided one of the toughest tests yet for the designs of the new car. Through the heat races and lastRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch tops qualifying for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum LOS ANGELES — Kyle Busch turned a lap in 13.745 seconds (65.489 mph) Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to pace single-car qualifying for Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. That means Busch will start from the pole in the first of four 25-lap heat races on Sunday, each featuring nine cars on the quarter-mile pavement track built specifically for the event, which features the competitive debut of NASCAR’s NextRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was quadruple championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway where the three NASCAR national touring divisions and ARCA West crowned its season champion. Needless to say, all four title-deciding races ended up being unforgettable. Here’s my latest “Race in Pictures” gallery featuring all four races as Kyle Larson (Cup), Daniel Hemric (Xfinity), Ben Rhodes (Trucks) and Jesse Love (ARCA West) left Arizona as champions.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – Martin Truex, Jr. was again denied a second NASCAR Cup Series championship. Instead of hoisting the Bill France Cup, Truex had to settle for second in Sunday’s Cup Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. When the laps were winding down, Truex appeared to have the title in the bag. That’s when debris from David Starr changed the outcome of the race, bringing out the caution flag on Lap 282. Erasing Truex’s lead, the caution flag would bring the field down pit road for theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Long runs were Denny Hamlin’s superpower on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, but instead he just got kryptonite. Coming into the weekend as fired up as ever to finally win a NASCAR Cup Series championship of his own, Hamlin knew that if he was going to make that happen, he needed a long run for his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to come to life and propel him to the front of the field. Just as Hamlin started closing ground on the leaders and lookedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz — 35 races down, one to go. Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway for the 2021 season finale, bringing this season to a close and crowning a champion. After being held at Homestead-Miami Speedway from 2002 to 2019, the championship race moved to the Arizona desert starting last season, giving the four drivers competing for the title a whole new challenge in their pursuit of the Bill France Cup. Heading into this year’s championship race, it willRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – A dream fulfilled. Daniel Hemric entered the night at Phoenix Raceway having never won a race in any of NASCAR’s three national series. Now he leaves the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert as champion. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who has seemed snake-bitten throughout his career, watching his chance for victory slip from his grasp time and time again, would not be denied this time around. When the chips were down, Hemric made it happen. While Austin Cindric looked to be theRead More