Kyle Busch Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – As the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 8 begins with Sunday’s South Point 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, drivers insist there is still no absolute championship “favorite.” However, one driver that no one would be surprised to see advance to the Championship 4 for a shot at the big trophy is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell – the only driver who has advanced to the title round the last three seasons. “I got asked theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – A clean sweep. Shane van Gisbergen lived up to expectations Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, sweeping the pole positions for both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series races on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course. Piloting his No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet around the course in one minute, 22.704 seconds, the New Zealander jumped to the top of the board, but would have to wait out the threat from Tyler Reddick, who made a run at the top spot, butRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – The Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs comes down to this. There are numerous adjectives that can be used to describe this weekend’s race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course: unpredictable, volatile, treacherous, chaotic, etc. One thing is for sure, Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 is going to be a hell of a ride, with four drivers getting cut from the Cup Series Playoffs when the checkered flag waves. In an effort to spice things up back inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Déjà vu. Michael McDowell continued his reign as king of superspeedway qualifying in 2024, blasting around the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford in 52.310 seconds, 183.063 mph to capture his fifth straight superspeedway pole and sixth overall this season. “Talladega qualifying there’s not a tremendous amount to it, but we knew coming here that we would have a shot at the pole. It was a priority for us,” McDowell said.  “A lot of effort went into it, soRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – The second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs enters the gauntlet. Following the opening race of the Round of 12 last weekend at Kansas that saw Ross Chastain play spoiler, keeping victory out of the hands of any of the championship contenders, Talladega looms large as the postseason hits the halfway mark with Sunday’s running of the Yellawood 500. Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Alabama has been a wild card on the scheduleRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan.—For once, Christopher Bell thinks he has a car that’s race-worthy as well as lightning fast in qualifying at Kansas Speedway. Navigating the 1.5-mile track in 30.111 seconds (179.336 mph) in the final round of Saturday’s time trials, Bell edged Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs (179.099 mph) by 0.040 seconds for the top starting spot in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell will start the first race ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BRISTOL, Tenn. – Elimination weekend is upon us. The NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway for a Saturday night under the lights in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race which will see the current 16-driver Playoff field cut to 12 when the checkered flag falls on the night. Racing at Bristol is always intense, but when the lights go down for the night race, the intensity gets cranked to 11. The aggressiveness that the drivers will show on the high-banked bullring that is calledRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HAMPTON, Ga. – The first ticket to the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has been punched. Joey Logano, with a helping hand from his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney in the closing laps of regulation, advanced to the front of the field, set to square off against the Trackhouse Racing duo of Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain in a battle to the finish. However, the caution flag would fly with two laps remaining, pushing the race into overtime, with Logano able to keepRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in Sunday Night’s Cook Out Southern 500 and simultaneously broke three hearts. Ending a 73-race winless streak for moribund Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe foiled Kyle Larson, who led 263 of 367 laps and won the first two stages but finished fourth and lost the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season title to Tyler Reddick by a single point. With the second victory of his career and his first since March 2022 at Phoenix, Briscoe eliminated Chris Buescher from the Playoffs. In aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It all comes down to Darlington. With Harrison Burton claiming a season and career defining win to punch his ticket into the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, just three spots remain up for grabs to finalize the list of drivers that will be eligible to contend for the championship. As it stands after Daytona, Martin Truex, Jr. is in the best position of those still not locked in, carrying a 58-point advantage into the regular season finale even after getting collectedRead More