NASCAR Tag

Listen to “Drafting The Circuits November 23, 2017” on Spreaker. Frank Santoroski and the DTC panel – Gray Warren and Richard Youden – discusses the fantastic NASCAR season that Martin Truex Jr. has just wrapped up, comments on the so-called manufacturer’s advantage while saying goodbye to Dale Jr, Matt Kenseth and Danica. Credits: Host – Frank Santoroski DTC Panel – Gray Warren, & Richard Youden Producers – Anthony Arnold & Keith Hayes Special thanks to Whoobazoo for hosting the DTC Podcast. Social Media: Follow DTC on Facebook Follow DTC on Twitter Follow Whoobazoo on Twitter Note: Also heardRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer A grueling 36-race season saw Kyle Busch record five victories and lead 2,023 laps but fall less than one second short of earning the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. Despite his best efforts over the 34-lap green-flag run to the checkered flag, Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Carmel Toyota crossed the line .681 seconds behind fellow Championship 4 competitor and Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. in Sunday’s Ford Eco-Boost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch led four times for 43 laps and appeared to have theRead More

Editor’s note: This is the third of a four-part series focusing on why each of the Championship Four will end Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in hand. By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer With five victories, 13 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes, eight poles and almost 2,000 laps led in 2017, most wouldn’t describe Kyle Busch’s season as “trying.” But that’s exactly how the 32-year-old driver described it when asked for one word to represent the season during Championship 4 media availability inRead More

By Brant James, NASCAR Wire Service MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Kevin Harvick’s two wins this season are fewer than any of the other three drivers eligible to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His Stewart-Haas Racing team needed half a season to finally find its footing after switching from Chevrolet to Ford. Martin Truex Jr. remains the most consistent, most consistently able to strong-arm a weekend for a Toyota contingent that has been the prime manufacturer of the season. Harvick isn’t concerned. AndRead More

By Brant James, NASCAR Wire Service Crew chief Cole Pearn spent the first 35 races of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season watching driver Martin Truex Jr. amass a bevy of insurance through playoff and stage points with his series-high seven victories. All that security is gone now, as the Furniture Row Racing team that has been the standard for the garage enters the finale on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a four-car showdown for the championship. All Truex Jr. has to do is finish better than three formerRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Blaney got what he needed in Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying session—but only by a thousandth of a second. In the final round, Blaney covered the one-mile distance at Phoenix Raceway in 26.098 seconds (137.942 mph) to edge Denny Hamlin (137.936 mph) by .001 for the top starting spot in Sunday’s Can-Am 500, the final race in the Playoff’s Round of 8 (on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET). With the Playoff field set to be trimmed fromRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jimmie Johnson won his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship with a serendipitous victory in the Championship 4 race. This year, Johnson will need more than serendipity. He’ll need what amounts to a miracle just to earn a shot at a record eighth title. Johnson comes to Phoenix Raceway eighth in the series standings, last among the drivers trying to survive the Playoff’s Round of 8. With one berth available in the Championship 4, theRead More

Listen to “Drafting The Circuits November 09, 2017” on Spreaker. Frank Santorski and the Drafting the Circuits gang – Gray Warren, Richard Youden and Seth Eggert – weighs in on NASCAR at Texas, makes predictions for the final spot in the championship four, has a healthy discussion about the economics of the sport, and looks at the open F1 seat at Williams for 2018. Credits: Host – Frank Santoroski DTC Panel – Seth Eggert, Gray Warren, & Richard Youden Producers – Anthony Arnold & Keith Hayes Special thanks to Whoobazoo for hosting the DTC Podcast.Read More

By NASCAR Wire Service Almirola, who currently drives the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports, takes over a ride that has been piloted by Danica Patrick for each of the last five full seasons. “I’ve known Aric since 2004 and have always been impressed with him on the racetrack,” said Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “I’ve raced with him and seen him mature into a really good racecar driver. He can compete for wins here at Stewart-Haas Racing and help our other driversRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Jimmie Johnson saw his quest for a record eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title take a major hit with a 27th-place finish in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 42-year-old Californian started ninth and looked to be an early favorite, having entered with seven victories at the 1.5-mile in his career. However, on Lap 65 of 334, following the first sequence of green flag pit stops, Johnson brought the car down pit road for a reported vibration andRead More