NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Erik Jones had the checkered flag in sight Sunday at Talladega only to see it snatched from his grasp in the waning moments of the GEICO 500. Starting the day in 16th place, Jones worked his way to the front of the field and seemed to be in the catbird seat to score his first win since 2019 and the first win for Petty GMS Motorsports since Aric Almirola won at Daytona in 2014. Jones was the most consistent driver throughout the race,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service One lap. That’s all it took for Ross Chastain to drop a watermelon and raise a trophy in celebration. The 29-year old Floridian led only the last – typically frantic – lap in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Sunday to take his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory. Chastain was running third behind Erik Jones and Kyle Larson with one lap remaining. Larson pulled out of line to the outside poised to make a pass for the lead. But, Jones pulledRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – With no practice and only qualifying ahead of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega, the NASCAR Cup Series drivers had a light day on Saturday. Meeting with the media on Saturday morning, here are some of the storylines that came out of the session with the top-30 in points. RFK Racing Leaning on Keselowski’s Superspeedway Success at Talladega When it comes to superspeedway racing, RFK Racing has an ace in the hole with co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski in the fold. With six winsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – A pair of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas will lead the field to the green in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega after flexing their muscles in qualifying on the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Christopher Bell led the way with a lap of 52.927 seconds (180.928 mph) to clinch his second career NASCAR Cup Series pole, edging out teammate Martin Truex Jr by .081 seconds. “There is not much to say about the lap, just a lot to say about Toyota, TRD, the engine package they broughtRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Bubba Wallace started the 2022 season on a high note, finishing second in the Daytona 500, but since then he and 23XI Racing have been on a downward trajectory. As the NASCAR Cup Series heads into Talladega, where Wallace was victorious last fall, the 28-year-old is hoping Sunday’s GEICO 500 will get the No. 23 team pointed back in the right direction. Wallace is no slouch on the superspeedways, with four top-five finishes at Daytona, including two runner-up finishes in the last twoRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a rare Easter race date playing in the dirt at Bristol, the NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads to Talladega Superspeedway, where Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500 awaits. The first nine races of the season have embodied unpredictability, with eight different winners in the first quarter of the season. That trend is likely to continue this weekend as superspeedway racing, especially at Talladega, is all about unpredictability. Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Eastern AlabamaRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor As the laps wound down in Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol, Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe were battling it out to see which of them would be taking home the win. By the time the checkered flag fell, neither of them would end the night in Victory Lane. Reddick and Briscoe combined to lead 158 of the 250 laps on the night, with Reddick leading a race-high 99 laps – almost the entirety of the final stage of the race. With Reddick’s No. 8Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kyle Busch has a special fondness for Bristol Motor Speedway, but the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota needed a huge stroke of luck on Sunday night to rekindle his love affair with the half-mile track. Busch won the Food City Dirt Race from a distant third place after the Ford of second-place Chase Briscoe slid up the high-banked dirt track into the Chevrolet of leader Tyler Reddick in the final corner, turning both cars sideways.  Reddick rightedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Charge from the back nets Cole Custer first pole on Bristol Dirt BRISTOL, Tenn. – Cole Custer charged from ninth to second in the first of four 15-lap qualifying heat races on Saturday to earn the pole position for Sunday night’s Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track (7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Custer surged from fifth to second moments after a restart with six laps left in the qualifying race. He finished second toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the first time since 1989, the NASCAR Cup Series is racing on Easter weekend as it makes its return to the dirt on Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday night’s running of the Food City Dirt Race. A year after the Cup cars made their dirt debut at Bristol on a sunny Monday afternoon, the 2022 version of the event will see the Next Gen car make its dirt debut under the lights on Easter Sunday. The car was put through its paces on the dirtRead More