NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Throughout the majority of the first Duel race Thursday night at Daytona, it appeared everything was going the way of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in his bid to make it into the field for the 66th running of the Daytona 500. Barring something unfortunate, it seemed Johnson was on easy street, running near the front of the field in the early going and playing it safe near the back after a round of green flag pit stops, but withRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As Denny Hamlin sat at the dais in the Daytona International Speedway media center, a photo recalling the history he hopes to achieve hung on the wall to his immediate left. It was a Victory Lane shot of NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough, holding the Harley J. Earl Award the earned by winning the 1977 DAYTONA 500. Yarborough, who died in December at age 84, won the Great American Race four times, second only to the seven victories achievedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOS ANGELES — The final restart was the difference for Denny Hamlin. A day earlier than planned—the result of a devastating weather forecast for the Los Angeles area—Hamlin got the jump he needed on an overtime restart and won Saturday night’s third edition of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Smoking his tires in every corner after grabbing the lead on a restart on Lap 141 of a scheduled 150, Hamlin was a few yards away from the finish line when his JoeRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The wait is over. The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this weekend with the annual Busch Light Clash exhibition race. After being held at Daytona International Speedway as the opening salvo to Speedweeks throughout its existence, the race moved away from the birthplace of NASCAR out to the West Coast in 2022, into the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. For the third year in a row, the purpose-built quarter-mile track plays host to NASCAR’s premier division and will give all of theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Call them inseparable. Despite a few rough patches in their 17-year working relationship, driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus achieved a level of success at NASCAR’s highest level unparalleled in the current century. Together, on Friday night in the Crown Ballroom at the Charlotte Convention Center, Johnson and Knaus reaped the rewards of their remarkable accomplishments—induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024 in their first year of eligibility. Johnson and Knaus entered the Hall along withRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Noah Gragson has gotten his second chance to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. After an errant post on social media in early August forced him to be indefinitely suspended by NASCAR, as well as a suspension and eventual dismissal from the team he drove for at the time – Legacy Motor Club, his future in the sport was very much up in the air. But after a period of self-reflection as he worked his way through the NASCAR-mandated sensitivity training and an eventual reinstatement byRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a much-heralded debut in NASCAR in 2023, Shane van Gisbergen will be jumping in with both feet next season as he continues to get up to speed driving stock cars in America. The three-time V8 Supercars champion burst onto the scene last summer when he won the inaugural Chicago Street Race in his first start in the Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing, along with another top-10 finish at Indianapolis later in the year and his first oval start in the Truck Series that same weekend.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. — Since the implementation of the current playoff format in 2014, every driver who has won the NASCAR Cup Series finale also hoisted the Bill France Trophy. In fact, the Cup Series was the only series that batted 1.000 in the category. Ross Chastain changed all of that as he was victorious in Sunday’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. He did so in dominant fashion as the “Melon Man” led a race-high 157 of 312 laps to end a rather rough seasonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – In the moments after the checkered flag flew on Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Kevin Harvick made sure to soak in every last second of his final start as a full-time driver. After 826 starts at NASCAR’s highest-level dating from 2001 until now, the Bakersfield, California native has been a mainstay in the Cup Series driving corps, but made the decision many months ago that this would be his last as a driver.  It was a moment that weRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Blaney earned this one. When his NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders advanced past his No. 12 Team Penske Ford on the final pit stop, it could have been game over, but Blaney would not be deterred, taking the bull by the horns and chasing them back down to secure his first Cup title. While Blaney may have started the worst among the four drivers in the championship fight, he was on go from the drop of the green flag until the checkered,Read More