NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After being announced as the replacement driver for a suspended Matt Kenseth, rookie Erik Jones finished 12th at Texas, but eyes the ultimate upset with a win in the desert as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix. Jones, currently the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship leader, has sat on the front row in both NCWTS starts (second in 2013, pole in 2014) and grabbed victory in each. Phoenix was the site of his first Truck Series victory and it came in just hisRead More

By Jim Campbell, NASCAR Wire Service Jeff Gordon has been the consummate Chevy racer. He’s been a Chevy guy all the way through, and his record speaks for itself, between all the consecutive starts since 1992, the poles, the 93 wins, the championships, the Brickyard 400 championships, the Daytona 500 championships. For us, he’s a Chevy racer and champion … and as a Chevy dealer, he’s truly part of the family. It was an absolute thrill when he won at Martinsville, to know that he’s now locked into the finalRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas—As a driver who likely must win one of the next two races to keep his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title prospects alive, Brad Keselowski took a giant step in the right direction during Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway. The 2012 series champion covered the 1.5-mile distance in 27.929 seconds (196.929 mph) in the money round to win the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC), the second of three races in the Eliminator RoundRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief A day after NASCAR announced the suspension of Matt Kenseth for two races following his collision with Joey Logano at Martinsville, I’m left wondering if Brian France and company made the right call. The decision to suspend the former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has sent a message to fans and drivers alike, but also created division on the severity of the punishment. Many look to the Kevin Harvick incident during the green-white-checkered finish at Talladega as intentional and point to the fact that the sanctioning bodyRead More

By Ray Evernham, NASCAR Wire Service I don’t think you ever really know when you’re going to grow into a relationship and end up really close to a person. I think that just happens. I think, in some ways, Jeff’s and my friendship is strengthening as we go through time. But I knew from the first time I met him that I liked him and I was going to get along with him. We thought about things the same way, and he had that kind of personality, and he had thatRead More

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – At NASCAR Sprint Cup racing’s shortest track, Joey Logano’s torrid run just got longer. The winner of three straight races—constituting a sweep of the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—Logano toured .526-mile Martinsville Speedway in 19.215 seconds (98.548 mph) in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session to win the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 (1:15 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Driving the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, Logano edged fellow Chase driver Martin Truex Jr. (98.487 mph) by .012Read More

At what point does a restart take place? This is the question running through my mind as I attempted to digest what has taken place at Talladega Superspeedway at the end of NASCAR’s Camping World 500. A caution came out for Jamie McMurray blowing an engine and the field was lined up for a green/white/checkered finish. The difference was that NASCAR had stated heading into the week leading up to Talladega that there would only be one attempt while other races had three, due to the nature of restrictor-plate racing.Read More

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Through no fault of his own, Joey Logano may have achieved the most unpopular sweep in NASCAR history on Sunday afternoon. Why? Because his victory in the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway knocked Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—by a matter of inches. When NASCAR threw the third caution of the race moments after the first bona fide attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag restart on Lap 195—with Kevin Harvick’s engine turning sour and cars wrecking behind him—Logano was inches ahead Earnhardt. ThatRead More

TALLADEGA, Ala. – In a knockout qualifying session dominated by Hendrick Motorsports on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, the outgoing king of restrictor-plate time trials—Jeff Gordon—won the pole position for Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500, the final race in the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Gordon toured the 2.66-mile oval in 49.234 seconds (194.500 mph) to earn his fourth Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his fifth at Talladega and the 81st of his career. Gordon has claimed the top starting spotRead More

JOLIET, Ill. – In the theater, using the expression “Break a leg” is a way to wish an actor good luck on opening night. Twelve days before Sunday’s opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, Denny Hamlin tore the ACL in his right leg playing basketball. Late in the myAFibRisk.com 400 at the 1.5-mile track, Hamlin found his good fortune in the form of a serendipitous pit call on the part of crew chief Dave Rogers. Staying out on old tires, Hamlin grabbed the lead momentsRead More