Kurt Busch Tag

LONG POND, Pa. – NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying can be fraught with twists, turns and unexpected bumps in the road. Friday’s qualifying session at Pocono Raceway, which saw Kurt Busch capture the Coors Light Pole for Sunday’s Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 had them all. Throughout the day, Turn 2 – the Tunnel Turn – had been a major topic of concern. “There are grocery store parking lots around the country that are jealous of those three bumps that have developed there,” said Busch, speculating that an offseason beautification projectRead More

After powering to his second pole of the season on Thursday night, Matt Kenseth will start NASCAR’s longer race from the most advantageous position—with his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota getting serviced in the most advantageous pit stall. Kenseth ran his fastest lap of the night (194.252 mph) in the third and final round of knockout qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway and secured the top spot on the grid for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on FOX), the 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season. TheRead More

CONCORD, N.C. – With a deft move with three laps left in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin delivered the first victory in the non-points showcase event to Joe Gibbs Racing and to Toyota. As he drove into Turn 1 to start Lap 107, with Kevin Harvick glued to his bumper and ready to make a run at the million-dollar first prize, Hamlin moved up a lane in the corner and took Harvick’s line away, causing Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet to lose momentum. “It wasRead More

TALLADEGA, Ala. – It’s a toss-up which is greater, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s passion for Talladega Superspeedway or the Talladega fan base’s passion for Dale Earnhardt Jr. On a glorious afternoon, Earnhardt offered a one-word order to his team over the radio, a message that could be shared with the thousands of his devotees in the stands: “Celebrate!” he proclaimed. Earnhardt, his team and Junior Nation could celebrate his 0.159-second victory over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 500 Sunday afternoon, his sixth Sprint CupRead More

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Change the rules, change the format – but they can’t change history. Jeff Gordon, who has won more Talladega Superspeedway poles than any active driver, put together a lap of more than one mile per hour faster than the next-quickest to earn the Coors Light Pole for Sunday’s GEICO 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (1 p.m. ET on FOX) at the 2.66-mile trioval. Gordon posted a time of 49.160 seconds (194.793 mph), bettering his time of 49.171 that won him the top spot in the first round ofRead More

RICHMOND, Va. – Suspension to redemption. After being suspended for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races earlier this season after an alleged domestic violence incident, Kurt Busch won Sunday’s postponed Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway in a dominating performance, virtually locking up a spot in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. “It’s an incredible feeling,” said Busch, who was reinstated March 11 and granted a waiver into the Chase. “It’s a total team effort. And the way that everything came together, it just seemed like weRead More

RICHMOND, Va.—NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France couldn’t have been more emphatic when he met with the Associated Press Sports Editors on Thursday in New York City. Safety remains the sanctioning body’s number one priority, France said, and with that assertion came a ray of hope for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch, who was sidelined at Daytona International Speedway in February after a crash that broke his right leg and left foot. Busch’s No. 54 Toyota slammed nose-first into a concrete wall unprotected by SAFER barriers during a NASCARRead More

BRISTOL, Tenn.—In a race delayed and interrupted by rain, and ended in overtime, Matt Kenseth broke a drought of more than a year’s standing in Sunday’s Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes at Bristol Motor Speedway. In a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that went 11 laps past its scheduled distance of 500 laps—making it the longest race in the history of the .533-mile short track—Kenseth crossed the finish line .287 seconds ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who recovered from a succession of issues to claim the runner-up finish.Read More

FORT WORTH, Texas – Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick admittedly are pushing each other around in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, a mindset that produced a 1-2 qualifying sweep Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch knocked Harvick off P1 with under a minute remaining in Round 3 of time trials to claim his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season and first at TMS for Saturday night’s 19th annual Duck Commander 500 (7:30 p.m. ET on FOX). Busch toured the high-banked, 1.5-mile TMS quad-oval inRead More

FONTANA, Calif.—After Sunday’s Auto Club 400, there may be a warrant issued for Brad Keselowski. After all, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford committed his own version of “Grand Theft Auto” at Auto Club Speedway—he stole an entire race. Benefitting from a four-tire call on the last lap of regulation and two opportune cautions that extended the event nine laps beyond its scheduled distance, Keselowski passed polesitter Kurt Busch on the final lap (209) and pulled away to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race ofRead More