NASCAR Wire Service Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service It was only one week into the popular and highly competitive eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, and Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott knew he wanted a high-tech, high performance sim racing rig. Fortunately for Elliott – and many others – Hendrick fabricator Corey Williams is producing exactly that kind of next-level simulator during the current downtime in the racing world. Elliott’s rig was delivered last week just in time for the iRacing event at virtual Texas Motor Speedway, and with some solid time under his beltRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Like so many in the world right now, NASCAR champion Joey Logano is spending his downtime from racing figuring out ways to make a positive difference in his community. While home waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic, Logano has kept busy playing with his two-year-old son Hudson and spending time with his expectant wife Brittany. A two-time race winner in the season’s first four NASCAR Cup Series’ races on track, he also participated in the inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational virtual race two weeks ago.Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service NASCAR President Steve Phelps held a teleconference with the sport’s media Tuesday addressing questions and reassuring that the hope is, yes, the full season’s 36 points races will be run, with the safety of the sport’s fans and its participants of utmost importance during the current worldwide COVID-19 virus outbreak. NASCAR announced Monday that races through at least May 3 will have to be rescheduled. “The health and safety of our fans, industry and the communities in which we race is our most importantRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joey Logano expected a bump from Kevin Harvick in the two-lap overtime Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, but the bump never came. Instead, Harvick pulled up beside Logano in the center of Turns 1 and 2 on the final lap of the FanShield 500, but Logano sped away with a hard charge off Turn 2 and cruised to the finish line with a margin of .276 seconds. With the victory—his second at Phoenix and the 25th of his career—Logano is the first multipleRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – From race winner Brandon Jones’ standpoint, it’s too bad there wasn’t a bounty on Kyle Busch in Saturday’s LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Buoyed by a strong run through Turns 3 and 4, Jones shot past Busch into the lead on the frontstretch on Lap 181 and pulled away to win by 3.556 seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Harrison Burton, who passed Busch on Lap 190 for the runner-up position. Next weekend at Atlanta, there will be a $100,000Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kevin Harvick showed the way, and Chase Elliott proved the model student in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series time trials at Phoenix Raceway. After Harvick tested the traction compound at the top of the one-mile track and made it work—running a qualifying lap in 26.110 seconds (137.878 mph)—Elliott followed with a pole-winning effort of 26.065 seconds (138.116 mph). “Kevin kind of made the top work, and I think after everyone saw that, they moved up,” said Elliott, who earned his first BuschRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Jimmie Johnson enjoys strong run in swan song at Auto Club Speedway FONTANA, Calif. – Before the green flag waved Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, Jimmie Johnson took prime position behind the pace car as the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field fanned out five-wide behind him in a respectful salute to the seven-time champion. When the green flag waved to signal the beginning of the Auto Club 400, Johnson saw his wife Chandra and daughters Genevieve and Lydia doing the honors fromRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – Alex Bowman had a new nose for the finish line Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. Driving the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet—a sleeker version of the Camaro with a new front fascia—Bowman ran away with the final stage of the Auto Club 400 at the two-mile track in the Inland Empire. In picking up his second career victory and his first at Fontana, Bowman led five times for 110 of the 200 laps in the third NASCAR Cup event of theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – Holding off teammate Riley Herbst with a determined run over the final 19 laps, 19-year old rookie Harrison Burton charged to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in Saturday’s Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway. Working his way through traffic in the closing laps in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Burton beat Herbst’s No. 18 Camry to the finish line by .455 seconds, with Austin Cindric trailing the winner by .642 seconds in third. The victory wasRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Jimmie Johnson brings vivid memories in return to home track FONTANA, Calif. – Eighteen years ago, Jimmie Johnson came to Auto Club Speedway with no job security. This weekend, Johnson returns to the two-mile track for his last ride as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver with 83 victories, seven championships and nothing left to prove. That wasn’t the case in 2002 in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports. Despite assurances to the contrary, Johnson thought he was on a short leash with theRead More