NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va.— He did it again. For the second straight year, defending series champion Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4. And as Blaney took the checkered flag to win Sunday’s Xfinity 500, Christopher Bell made a kamikaze move into the final corner in a futile attempt to deprive William Byron of the final spot in the next Sunday’s title event at Phoenix Raceway. Bell drove hard into Turn 3Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Close, but no cigar. Over the course of the final five laps of Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, both Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin could taste victory and a berth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship race, but by the time the checkered flag waved, they were left with only disappointment. Hamlin held the point at the start of the final restart, with Blaney hot on his heels as the two drivers dueled it out for the win. However, there was another challengerRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – In the most dramatic Playoff race of the 2024 season – featuring three different leaders in the final three laps – 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick made a clutch pass out of Turn 4 on the last lap to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday when it counted most. Reddick passed his team owner, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin with two laps to go then moved high up against the wall to pass Team Penske’s RyanRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano made his Team Penske’s fuel strategy call work to perfection Sunday afternoon to claim victory in the South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earn the first of four NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 berths. Logano led only the final six laps on the Vegas 1.5-miler but was able to hold off the afternoon’s most dominant car, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by a slight .662-second inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Christopher Bell was the class of the field all day long in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he’ll have to settle for a disappointing runner-up finish instead of what looked to be an inevitable win. After starting on pole, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 63 of the first 80 laps in the first stage, where he would finish second to Tyler Reddick. Bell would go on to lead an additional 92 laps and the secondRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Lady Luck giveth and Lady Luck taketh away. NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion Tyler Reddick looked as if he was in Lady Luck’s good graces early in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after pocketing a stage win in the first stage of the race. However, just as luck can change on a dime in a Las Vegas casino, the same happened for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota in the second stage when he found himself pinned onRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell earned the pole position for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – his third pole of the year and third at the 1.5-mile Vegas high banks. Saturday’s lap of 185.344 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota bested fellow NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota by a slight .013-second. It marks the 13th career pole position for the 29-year old Bell, however a winRead More

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 Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C.—Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 was as much about Tyler Reddick’s heroic drive into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as it was about Kyle Larson’s continued domination of elimination races. As Larson cruised to his second Playoff victory this season—and his second in an elimination race—Reddick charged forward from 26th after a Lap 84 restart and clawed his way to 11th—good enough to knock two-time series champion Joey Logano out of the Playoffs by eight points. Logano’sRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Survive and advance. Tyler Reddick’s run through the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs nearly went up in smoke, but the regular season champion was not going to go down without a fight. After starting on the outside pole, the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota went on to win the first stage, but after finding himself mired back in traffic after pitting at the end of the stage, things were about to take a drastic turn. Heading into notorious Turn 7 onRead More