NASCAR Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Sunday’s Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway is currently under the red flag due to a lengthy weather delay that’s gone past three hours. Despite spotters raising concerns of lightning striking within the vicinity of the 1.5-mile circuit, the race got underway as planned a few minutes past 3:00 pm EST with pole sitter Austin Dillon leading the way. Tremendous action took place between the top-five with Jimmie Johnson getting by Dillon for the race lead before the caution was waved due to weather on LapRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the fourth time this season, Justin Allgaier failed to see the checkered flag after having a tough day in Saturday’s Camping World 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. In front of his and sponsorship’s (Brandt Professional Agriculture) home crowd, Allgaier started off the 200-lap race on a good note after qualifying fourth and worked his way up to second, trying to hold off Joey Logano. Then on Lap 11, his No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro lost control on the bottom after battling with Joey Logano.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. have had their share of battles in NASCAR, dating back to 15 years ago when both were championship contenders in the Busch Series (now known as Xfinity). The duo combined for 11 wins and 12 poles in 2004, with Truex winning his first of two championships that season. Meanwhile, Busch ended up second in the final standings, but dominated the Rookie of the Year battle by winning top honors. Fast forward to 2019, they’re now both champions in the MonsterRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Not even seconds after the green flag dropped in Friday’s Camping World 225 at Chicagoland Speedway, Ben Rhodes’ night was over. After qualifying 18th, Rhodes’ No. 99 Carolina Nut Company Ford F-150 was hoping for a stellar result as he’s struggled matching his ThorSport Racing teammates speed at the 1.5-mile circuit. Not only that, Rhodes had ECU issues during practice and also switch batteries which contributed to the struggles before the 150-lap race commenced. That all paled in comparison once the 150-lap contest commenced as aRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — In 223 NASCAR national touring starts, with 155 in the Cup Series, Matt DiBenedetto has never scored a top-five. That all changed Sunday as a fourth-place result in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway capped off a career-defining afternoon. Through tremendous strategy and a solid all around car, DiBenedetto and the entire Leavine Family Racing kept working on the No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry all afternoon, and it paid off as he’s now 25th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standingsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — Hungry for his second Toyota/Save Mart 350 victory, Kyle Busch was a man on a mission to beat Martin Truex, Jr., but the bid fell 1.861 seconds short Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. With fresher tires, Busch’s caved-in No. 18 M&Ms Hazelnut Toyota Camry kept cutting down his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate’s 8.3 second lead with 20 laps remaining. Several laps later, Busch’s deficit just kept decreasing and the question would now become can he pass Truex? Lapped traffic would also play a pivotalRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — Sonoma Raceway is once again Kyle Larson’s yard after scoring his third straight pole in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Larson’s No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet Camaro ran a qualifying speed of 95.712 mph, beating out William Byron by 0.043 seconds. It’s not only the Elk Grove native’s first pole of the season, but joins Ricky Rudd (1990-92) as the only drivers to have won three straight Sonoma poles. Larson described his final round qualifying performance a bit slower than what he didRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — William Byron is still trying getting used to Sonoma Raceway as he’ll make his second start at the now 2.52-mile circuit this Sunday. Even if it’s his second Cup rodeo, Byron learned right away that launching into the corners in “The Carousel” will be key, but his biggest surprise from the two practice sessions on Friday was the amount of grip being different than last year where he finished 25th. “I’m surprised how much grip the track has lost in areas that weRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — Although 23 points behind Daniel Hemric for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors after 15 races, it has been quite the rookie campaign for Ryan Preece. The former Modified champion has already gotten people to notice his skillful driving with astonishing results in both plate circuits, scoring an eighth in the Daytona 500 and a career-high third at Talladega. Not only that, he also had strong showing at Atlanta before a pit road accident with B.J. McLeod eliminated him from a astonishingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — The return of the “Carousel” wasn’t the sole subject of both Friday practice sessions for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Instead, all eyes were on both Kyle Larson and last year’s winner Martin Truex, Jr. Both competitors set blistering pace on a the dirty track surface, but the sessions proved to be relatively tamed. On the opposite end, some competitors such as Bubba Wallace and Cody Ware, struggled in both sessions as it pertained of finding a proper groove to getRead More