NASCAR Playoffs Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Denny Hamlin’s bid of capturing that elusive Bill France Cup Trophy in 2024 has reached a massive roadblock at Martinsville Speedway. During Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice leading up to qualifying for Sunday’s Xfinity 500, a puff of smoke on the left front of Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota as he entered Turn 3 spelled impending doom. With little time to react, his car lost control and slid into the outside wall, causing major damage to the back end of his car. Hamlin, who was thirdRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Short track tempers flared in Friday night’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway after Christian Eckes moved Taylor Gray out of the way to punch his ticket into the Championship 4 at Phoenix next Friday. The particular move left Gray raging in heartbreak as a race win was his only guaranteed option to fight for a championship. Coming to a restart with five laps remaining, race leader Eckes chose the bottom while Gray chose the outside line to be alongside him. Once theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the second year in a row, Kyle Larson endured an unfortunate event at Homestead-Miami Speedway while chasing down Ryan Blaney. Only this time, Larson was able to take the checkered flag in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400, finishing 13th and still on the outside looking in as far as the Championship 4 is concerned. Larson’s all-around agonizing day sees him sitting fifth in points, trailing teammate William Byron by seven points heading to the cutoff race at Martinsville Speedway next Sunday. With the day LarsonRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The pro wrestling sponsorship curse lives on after Cole Custer brought the No. 00 NXT on The CW Ford Mustang home in second during Saturday’s Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Custer led 67 of 200 laps before Austin Hill, who led a race-high 82 laps, out ran the defending series champion during the final stretch of green flag competition. With 12 laps remaining, Hill passed Custer before entering the final corner and never looked back as he scored a career equalRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ryan Blaney’s disastrous weekend in “Sin City” is now in the books after finishing 32nd in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion’s setback started during Saturday’s practice session where he only logged in a single lap before a flat tire sent him careening into the Turn 1 wall, making contact on the driver’s side. Blaney was able to exit out of his car before being checked and released from the infield care center. Consequently, Blaney had toRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer On an afternoon where several Round of 8 drivers endured a plethora of drama, William Byron was one of the very few who left Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a trouble-free Sunday. An outcome any driver pines in having. Although Byron’s No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet was among the quickest cars on the grid, he was no match for the likes of Christopher Bell and race winner Joey Logano in terms of raw pace and fuel strategy respectively. In the end, Byron began this Playoff round withRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Joey Logano’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has been a rollercoaster ride with last Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte being the latest episode of the whirlwind saga for the No. 22 Team Penske group. When the checkered flag was waved, it appeared Logano had just seen his title aspirations go by the wayside after missing the Round of 8 by four points with Tyler Reddick taking the eighth and final transfer spot. An angry Logano rehashed the bitter memories of being taken outRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A day removed from Alex Bowman’s costly disqualification, Hendrick Motorsports announced they’ll not appeal NASCAR’s decision of penalizing the No. 48 team after the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway had concluded. Therefore, the Round of 8 will go on without all four HMS entries continuing their fight for the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Instead, it’s down to Bowman’s teammate trio of Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Elliott to bring a 15th championship to the organization. This news was a result ofRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. — For the second straight year, Christopher Bell will have a chance of winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway. In fact, Bell is the only driver who has made the Championship 4 a year ago and return to the big dance. Similar to last year, coming in clutch was the name of the game for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Only this time, he didn’t need to win the cutoff race as he punched his ticket to Arizona by winning atRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. — From backing up his No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford into the Championship 4 to confirmation that’ll he’ll be back with the Xfinity team next year, life has been pretty swell for Cole Custer. Last Saturday, with a ravaged Mustang and on fire, Custer did his best Tow Mater (Cars) and Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza) impression by limping his machine backwards to the start/finish line at Martinsville Speedway. Well aware that every position is up for grabs and can make a difference on who’llRead More