NASCAR Wire Service Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – As drivers battled for position behind him, Johnny Sauter pulled away his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet during the final 10-lap run to win Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “We won Charlotte!” an elated Sauter screamed over his radio as he crossed the finish line 1.340 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch, who was frustrated in his attempt at a series-record tying 51st victory. A few minutes later, in Victory Lane,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kevin Harvick, nicknamed NASCAR’s “Closer,” earned his moniker on Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, passing reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. on the next-to-last lap to add the KC Masterpiece 400 to his collection of victories this season. Charging from sixth place and chasing race leader Martin Truex Jr. after a restart on Lap 259 of 267, Harvick found speed in the top lane with five laps left and passed Truex on the outside through Turns 3Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – There are times when redemption is swift and merciful. A week after throwing away a chance to win at Dover with a wreck of his own making, Noah Gragson scored his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, beating his car owner, Kyle Busch, to the finish line in the 37 Kind Days 250 at Kansas Speedway. Starting from the pole for the second straight race, Gragson led 128 of 167 laps in his No. 18 Toyota, sweptRead More

By: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – The only thing that could have stopped Kevin Harvick on Sunday at Dover International Speedway was a sudden rainstorm. And even that failed. Eight laps after Sunday’s AAA 400 restarted from a rain delay of more than 40 minutes, Harvick passed Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer for the lead and pulled away to win his fourth race of the season by a whopping 7.450 seconds. All told, Harvick led 201 of the 400 laps, swept all three stages and reestablished hisRead More

By: NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – After what had happened moments earlier, Johnny Sauter’s victory in a two-lap overtime shootout seemed almost routine by comparison. Sauter, who turned 40 on May 1, held off fellow 40-something Matt Crafton to win Friday’s JEGS 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway-but not until Sauter won an intense struggle against pole winner Noah Gragson, whose race ended on the next-to-last lap of regulation when his No. 18 Toyota backed hard into the outside wall. The victory was Sauter’sRead More

By: NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – In a sport where differences are often measured in thousandths, Kyle Larson was in firm control of Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying session at Dover International Speedway-after an adjustment between the first and second rounds at least. Larson charged around the high-banked one-mile concrete track in 22.770 seconds (158.103 mph) to earn the pole position for Sunday’s AAA 400. Saving his fastest lap for the third and final round, Larson was the only driver to top 158 mph during theRead More

By: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joey Logano led a Ford feast on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, beating Kurt Busch to the checkered flag by .127 seconds to win the GEICO 500, the 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Logano led the final 42-of-188 laps, a race-high 70 overall, and controlled the action after a 14-car wreck on Lap 166 thinned the field. Logano led the field to the green flag for the final restart on Lap 172 and stayed out front the restRead More

By: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – In a long green-flag run fraught with spellbinding tension, Christopher Bell held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Noah Gragson to win Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. Bell spoiled Gragson’s prospects for a victory in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, passing his teammate for the lead on Lap 172 of 250 and staying in front—if only just barely—the rest of the way. Bell crossed the finish line .423 seconds ahead of Gragson, after the driver of the No. 18 Toyota gotRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Everyone knows Kyle Busch as “Rowdy,” but you could also call him “The Postman,” given that neither rain, snow, sleet nor hail could keep him from completing his appointed rounds at Bristol Motor Speedway. Executing a textbook bump-and-run against runner-up Kyle Larson on Lap 495 of 500, Kyle Busch pulled away to win Monday’s weather-delayed Food City 500, claiming his second straight victory of 2018 and his seventh win at Thunder Valley, most among active drivers. In a race delayed by rainRead More

By: NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas – In a race that saw two of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ elite drivers play chase to the checkered flag, Kyle Busch held off Kevin Harvick to win Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Harried by Harvick for 23 laps after a restart on Lap 312 of 334, Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota across the finish line .300 seconds ahead of the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. The key to Busch’sRead More