NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kurt Busch saw his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record-setting run of finishes on the lead lap to start a season end at 22 following a crash on lap 373 in Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing driver and 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion had taken the lead from Joey Logano when the back of the car stepped out and spun, ending Busch’s day with a 38th-place finish. The wreck caused a gaggle of drivers to beRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – For most of the final 200 laps of Sunday’s rain-interrupted Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick was where he needed to be – out front and in control of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Behind Harvick, who took the checkered flag 1.933 seconds ahead of runner-up Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the race was often out of control, as the essence of traditional Bristol made an emphatic appearance at the .533-mile concrete short track. Harvick’s victoryRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For even the most seasoned veteran, the treacherous high banks of the Bristol Motor Speedway can be a tough task, so the stellar 2016 rookie class had their work cut out for them in the late summer classic. The race which was postponed due to rain after 48 laps were completed on Saturday night, ran to completion on Sunday afternoon, but Sunday proved to be much tougher than Saturday night under the lights, as Chris Buescher claimed the best finish of the rookies with aRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was postponed to Sunday afternoon because of heavy rains, Kyle Busch found himself in the race lead and picked right up where he left off when the race resumed, but unfortunately for Busch, he would not be able to collect his sixth Bristol win after his race ended prematurely. Busch was the dominant car of the race, leading 256 laps, but a mechanical failure sent Busch and his No. 18 car forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Denny Hamlin owns a new track record, but Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards won the round that counted in Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards sped around the .533-mile high-banked concrete short track in 14.602 seconds (131.407 mph) to claim the top starting spot for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA night Race (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN), edging Hamlin (131.200 mph) by .023 seconds. Remarkably, Edwards earned his fifth Coors Light Pole Award of the season, hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After the tragic passing of Bryan Clauson last week, drivers throughout the motorsports world have paid tribute to Clauson in various ways and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will get the chance to pay tribute with a special paint scheme in Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Stenhouse and Clauson both share the same sponsor in Fastenal, with the company currently sponsoring Stenhouse’s No. 17 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the company serving as sponsor for Clauson duringRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For Jimmie Johnson, the race weekend at Watkins Glen International was anything but typical for the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. Johnson was 16th and 22nd in the only two practice sessions. Johnson qualified his No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet SS 13th after just missing the final round in qualifying. As the race started, Johnson slid back to 15th. Johnson’s descent was slowed as the caution waved for debris. On the restart, Johnson immediately began to move back up through the field. JohnsonRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Denny Hamlin, winner of Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at the Glen, entertained a sold-out grandstand with a celebratory burnout that trailed a plume of smoke the entire length of the frontstretch at Watkins Glen International. But Hamlin’s smoke show—with a bad back, no less—paled in comparison to the fireworks that preceded the checkered flag, Hamlin’s first at a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road course. The race was in doubt until the final corner, with Martin Truex Jr. pressuring Hamlin, who ledRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Just like in the first road course race of the season at Sonoma, the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie class had their hands full with the second road course race on Sunday at Watkins Glen. Coming out on top of the rookies at Watkins Glen was Chase Elliott, who stayed out of trouble and under the radar throughout the day. Elliott started the day in 16th and was able to hold steady just outside the top-10 in the early going before falling back toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For the 34th time, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head up to New York to take on Watkins Glen International, a fast 11-turn road course that has played host to NASCAR’s premier series in August of each year. This week we’ll take a step back to the 2000 season and the running of the Global Crossing at The Glen for this edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater,” which saw a first time winner and things getting a bit heated between two former champions. Heading intoRead More