NASCAR Tag

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

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — NASCAR Xfinity Series title contender Cole Custer is far from slowing down during the series off-week as he made the trip to Sonoma Raceway to gain track experience for the upcoming road races this summer. Custer will be driving a third Sunrise Ford Racing entry in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and is one of two Xfinity regulars that’ll participate in Saturday’s Procore 200. “We reached out to Bob (Bruncati, owner of Sunrise Ford Racing). Obviously, he’s a Ford team and heRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Former NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150, has been suspended for one race due to his actions during Sunday’s M&Ms 200 at Iowa Speedway. The feud began two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway after Sauter was taken out by Austin Hill, eliminating him from a race win. Their clash continued during Sunday’s race, specifically on the 137th lap. Hill turned Sauter around in Turn 3, which led the former champion to retaliate under cautionRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Tempers flared between the only full-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series winners who are in the playoffs entering Sunday’s M&Ms 200 at Iowa Speedway. Dover winner Johnny Sauter and Daytona winner Austin Hill were involved in a Turn 3 crash on Lap 137, resulting the former being parked by NASCAR. Well then… pic.twitter.com/vfRBzPvgQA — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 16, 2019 Both have already had a few exchanges a few laps prior, including Sauter’s No. 13 Tenda Heal Ford F-150 nearly snapping out of control entering TurnRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Saturday’s M&Ms 200 at Iowa Speedway in Newton has been postponed due to rain and has been rescheduled to Sunday June 16 at Noon ET, airing live on FS1. Rain and lightning delays have plagued several on-track activities for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, including qualifying being cancelled. As a result, the starting lineup was set by team owner points. This meant 16-year-old Chandler Smith, who won Friday’s ARCA Menards Series race at Madison International Speedway, will start on the pole in the No. 51Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer After five-full seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, Nationwide Insurance won’t return as a primary sponsor at the end of the 2019 season. Nationwide is the current sponsor for Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 20 out of the 36 races as part of their two-year agreement signed last August. The insurance company released a statement Wednesday about their decision, which came down to a marketing decision that would benefit them more as a business entity. “As Nationwide’s business needs evolve, we are adjusting our marketingRead More