NASCAR Playoffs Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The first driver confirmed eliminated from competing for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship was Clint Bowyer after crashing out in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, finishing 35th. Entering Turn 4, Bowyer was running in seventh before the left-rear of his No. 14 ITsavvy Ford Fusion went down, resulting in him going up the track and slamming the wall. The impact destroyed the back end of his car, but worse of all, any shot of a championship opportunity. “I guess we cutRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Joey Logano’s afternoon at ISM Raceway in Phoenix ended early Sunday after his left rear tire went down, spinning out and made contact with the Turn 2 wall, finishing 37th. The self-proclaimed championship favorite after locking himself into the Championship 4 with a win at Martinsville, struggled for pace in stage one after starting from the ninth position, crossing the line in 20th while his Penske teammates finished in the top-five. On Lap 97, Logano’s day took a turn for the worst when his No. 22Read More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer An after thought all season, Tyler Reddick stands alone among the JR Motorsports trio with a shot of capturing the Xfinity Series title. The rookie finished sixth in Saturday’s Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix to get the fourth and final spot in the Championship 4. Entering the NASCAR playoffs, no one would’ve expected him to make a legit run for the title as teammates Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler were in a different zip code. That all changed when it reallyRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Justin Allgaier’s bid of competing for that elusive NASCAR Xfinity Series championship has been swept up by the Phoenix haboobs, and was eliminated after a disastrous final stage plagued him down to a 24th place finish in Saturday’s Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 at ISM Raceway. ”Disappointment,” Allgiaer said after being eliminated. “At the end of the day we did everything right this year. We had a great season. Today we did everything right at the beginning part of the race. That was probably the mostRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer There were only two drivers that entered Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix locked into the Championship 4, both of whom drive for GMS Racing, and it was far from a positive for seventh-place finisher Johnny Sauter and 28th place Justin Haley. Despite having a consistent night in the top-10, it was anything but satisfying by Sauter, who struggled with the balance of his No. 21 ISM Connect Chevrolet Silverado all race long. Not only he had that to battle in the 150-lapRead More
Chris Owens/ASP, Inc.
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer “When Homestead comes around if I am not in, he will know it,” said a disgruntled Aric Almirola who laid down the law towards Joey Logano. For the second race in a row, Logano is the center of criticism from a Round of 8 competitor after Almirola voiced his displeasure of how hard he raced him in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth. Struggling matching race winner’s and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick’s dominant pace, Almirola was in excellent position withRead More
Photo: Justin R. Noe/ASP, Inc.
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Austin Cindric started the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 weekend on an absolute low note, but will exit Texas Motor Speedway with a persevering third-place result Saturday. However, not only his finish took place after some hurdles that caused title ramifications, he trails Daniel Hemric by 61 points for the fourth and final spot to compete in the Championship 4. Therefore, Cindric is in a must win situation heading into ISM Raceway in Phoenix Nov. 10. Despite the deficit that bestow the 20-year-old, he’s just happy ofRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NASCAR’s headlines all week has been on the dramatic finish from last Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville, involving Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr., where Logano’s bump on Truex in Turn 3 to get the win, angering him as another bid of a short track victory vanished in front of him. During Friday’s press conference at Texas Motor Speedway however, Truex did reflect on his hasty post-race comments on Logano through texting, but his eyes have already shifted from anger to game mode as hisRead More
By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Saturday afternoon at Kansas Speedway was the first race of the second round of the NASCAR XFINITY Series playoffs. All eight playoff contenders qualified inside the top-12 and everything appeared set for a great battle amongst the best drivers in a series with the tagline “Names Are Made Here.” Mayhem broke loose as the field barreled into Turn 2 on the first lap when Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet got loose and made contact with Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, touchingRead More