NASCAR Wire Service Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – A post-qualifying inspection failure? No problem. A starting position deep in the field for Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway? Just another challenge for Kyle Busch to overcome. Holding off a determined charge from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Suarez in two late restarts—the first after a brutal wreck that sidelined Bubba Wallace—Kyle Busch powered his No. 18 Toyota to his sixth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season, tying fourth-place finisher Kevin Harvick for the series lead.Read More

By Robert Gray, NASCAR Wire Service NEWTON, Iowa — How long had it been since a non-Monster Energy Cup regular triumphed in three straight Xfinity Series races? Even NASCAR star-turned-NBC Sports Network commentator Dale Earnhardt, Jr., didn’t seem to know the answer when asked on-air — and he was the most recent driver to accomplish the feat in 1999. Until Saturday at Iowa Speedway. Christopher Bell somehow steered clear of a spate of potential disasters within the final 15 laps of the mostly-green U.S. Cellular 250, wheeling his No. 20 RuudRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – Thanks to a double disqualification of two of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ so-called “Big Three,” Daniel Suarez earned the first Busch Pole Award of his career. In the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying at Pocono Raceway, Suarez navigated the 2.5-mile track in 50,851 seconds (176.988 mph) to claim the top starting position when the cars of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch failed post-qualifying inspection. Both Harvick and Busch had posted faster laps than Suarez, but Harvick’s No. 4Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – In his last start of the season, Kyle Busch got the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory he coveted most. Holding off a charge from Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Erik Jones—who started the race in place of ailing Noah Gragson—Busch, the pole winner, powered his No. 51 Toyota across the finish line 1.469 seconds ahead of Jones’ No. 18 to win the Gander Outdoors 150 at Pocono Raceway. The number “51” had added significance on Saturday. In winning for the secondRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – On two straight laps late in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick nudged the No. 18 Toyota of race leader Kyle Busch with his front bumper. Busch retained the lead. But Harvick took more aggressive action on Lap 295 of 301, tagging Busch’s car in the center of Turns 1 and 2. Busch slid up the track as Harvick powered the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford into the topRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Christopher Bell held off hard-charging veteran Brad Keselowski over the final 18 laps to win Saturday’s Lakes Region 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In winning his second straight race in the series, Bell grabbed the top spot from Keselowski on a restart on Lap 183 of 200 and kept the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion behind him the rest of the way, though Keselowski got within three feet of the rear bumper of Bell’s No.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Early bird Kurt Busch ran his best lap of the day in the final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s Foxwoods 301 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The first driver on the track for decisive Round 3, Busch covered the one-mile distance in 28.511 seconds (133.591 mph) to edge reigning series champion Martin Turex Jr. by .019 seconds. Truex willRead More

By Chris Knight, NASCAR Wire Service ROSSBURG, Ohio – Coming to the finish in Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby, you didn’t know who was going to win. With dirt slinging, doors banging and the checkered flag waving, Chase Briscoe edged ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger to earn his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory in the sixth annual race at the historic Eldora Speedway. In a one-off race with ThorSport, Briscoe, on newer tires, took advantage of a Lap 145 restart to pass leader and Toyota Racing DevelopmentRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – AJ Allmendinger didn’t hold back when he talked to reporters during a break in Tuesday’s road course test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I think there’s going to be a lot of contact, for sure,” Allmendinger predicted. “Through the infield, it’s pretty narrow. In general, through the infield, I think there’s going to be contact.” The bus stop chicane on the backstretch may be the most challenging section of the 2.28-mile course. Drivers will carry tremendous speed into those two quick cornersRead More

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPARTA, Kentucky – Martin Truex Jr., made it a clean sweep at Kentucky Speedway this weekend. After starting from the pole, Truex won all three stages and successfully defended his victory from last year’s Quaker State 400. Truex led 174 laps en route to his fourth win of the season and his 19th career victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. “What a hell of a night this was,” Truex said. “We try to do this every single week but that just shows youRead More