NASCAR Wire Service Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – Saturday night’s victory in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway was a first for Martin Truex Jr.—and more of the same for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on a short track in his 81st try and in the process picked up his first victory with joe Gibbs Racing since moving from now-defunct Furniture Row Racing between seasons. At the same time, Truex gave JGR its third straight victory in NASCAR’s top series andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – Cole Custer said on Friday afternoon that his No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing NASCAR Xfinity Series team might be ready to peak in time for the Playoffs. Clearly, Custer is ahead of schedule, after a convincing victory in Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. After losing the lead to Austin Cindric on a restart with 26 laps left, Custer regained the top spot on Lap 231 of 250 and pulled away for his second victory of the season. In a raceRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – Where the short tracks are concerned, Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team appeared to have turned a corner. And on Friday afternoon at Richmond Raceway, Harvick got through the corners better than everyone else in winning the pole position for Saturday’s Toyota Owners 400 at the .75-mile track (7:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Busch Pole Award was Harvick’s third at Richmond, his second of the season and the 27th of his career, settingRead More

By Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – He may not win all the time, though considering the frequency in which Kyle Busch does visit Victory Lane it certainly creates the impression that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is omnipresent in the winner’s circle. Busch’s most recent Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory occurred Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Yet unlike so many of Busch’s wins — including his previous two this season — Busch didn’t have the dominant car in the Food City 500. Yes, his Toyota Camry was strong,Read More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service Harvick works way back from four laps down to finish 13th BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kevin Harvick finished 13th in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol and on the lead lap and that’s about an amazing of a comeback as you’re likely to see at Bristol Motor Speedway. Making up a lap or perhaps two is difficult. Harvick, at one point, was scored four laps in arrears. Down. Out. Finished. Done. Thanks to an incredibly fast No. 4 Ford Mustang, the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR CupRead More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kyle Busch wasn’t the only driver to overcome adversity during Sunday’s running of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. But he was the only one to end up in victory lane. The race winner was involved in a multi-car crash on the second lap of the 500-lap affair, sustaining damage to the rear of his car. But he patiently worked his way back through the field. He took his first lead at lap 384. The key to the win cameRead More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Christopher Bell overtook Brandon Jones with less than 20 laps remaining to capture Saturday’s Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race and pocketed a $100,000 bonus for his efforts. Bell, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was one of four drivers competing for the series’ Dash 4 Cash bonus. Other eligible drivers didn’t finish far behind – Tyler Reddick finished second, Chase Briscoe finished fourth and Michael Annett wound up eighth. “That’s pretty cool to get my first win hereRead More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service Daniel Hemric has family ties to the hardwood BRISTOL, Tenn. – Many NASCAR competitors can trace their racing roots to family members, those from a generation or so removed who raced on either the local or national stage. Daniel Hemric, driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has a different sports heritage. And it’s a fitting one to note this weekend as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four gets under way in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hemric, 28,Read More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, TENN. – Forget about the superspeedways. Chase Elliott roared to his first pole of the season Friday, capturing the No. 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Elliott, driver of the No 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, toured the 0.533-mile, high-banked track with his final round run of 14.568 seconds at 131.713 mph. Prior to Friday’s effort, all four of Elliott’s previous poles had come on what had been the series’ restrictor-plate tracks – three at Daytona International SpeedwayRead More

By Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR Wire Service The speed has been present nearly every race. There is no disputing that, as Ryan Blaney has had a fast car capable of contending in all seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season. But while Blaney has had speed and led the third-most laps, that speed has not translated into winning. Instead, happenstance and miscues have contributed to what Blaney acknowledges has been a frustrating season heading into the Food City 500 on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1,Read More