NASCAR Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – What Jimmie Johnson perceives as a deficiency in his qualifying efforts was compounded on Friday when the driver of the no. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet spun in Turn 4 during a mock qualifying run at Auto Club (Fontana, California) Speedway. Johnson’s car turned in front of the No. 41 Ford of Kurt Busch, which was rolling slowly on the apron. There was no contact between the cars, but Johnson’s Chevy plowed into the infield grass, creating enough damage for crew chiefRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – When the winner of Sunday’s Camping World 500 was announced, officials might have thought for a moment that they got the wrong envelope, a la Warren Beatty at the Oscars. But, no, there was no mistake. Ryan Newman was the unexpected winner of the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season after a late caution gave his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team the chance to break a drought dating to 2013. Staying out on old tires forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Apparently unfazed by last week’s controversy at Las Vegas, Joey Logano put his No. 22 Team Penske Ford on the pole for Sunday’s Camping World 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix International raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). In winning his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Phoenix and the 18th of his career, Logano saved his best lap for the third and decisive round, streaking around the one-mile track in the SonoranRead More

By NASCAR Wire Service It’s early in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, but it looks like the ultra-talented Kyle Larson is poised for a breakout year. He led on the final lap of the DAYTONA 500 before running out of gas and has finished runner-up in the last two races. Dating back to last season’s penultimate race at Phoenix Raceway, Larson boasts three runner-ups and a third-place finish in his last five starts. On Sunday, the No. 42 Chevrolet driver hopes to notch his first win ofRead More

By NASCAR Wire Service Ryan Reed has been the surprise of the NASCAR XFINITY Series season so far. The 23-year-old Roush Fenway Racing driver won the season-opener at Daytona and sits second in the points standings – four points behind Elliott Sadler – following his ninth-place finish at Las Vegas. Reed will continue his run at the top spot in Saturday’s DC Solar 200 at Phoenix Raceway (4 p.m. ET on FOX). He finished sixth in the fall race there last year. “Phoenix is obviously a really cool race trackRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The roster of talented drivers for Team Penske in both the Verizon IndyCar Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series prepared for a race of their own this week and it involved marshmallows and saying the words “chubby bunny.” It is as hilarious as it sounds as IndyCar drivers Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden were more than up to the task against NASCAR’s trio of Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. All in good fun as Easter is coming up, butRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Motor Speedway’s repave and reconfiguration are officially complete and on Monday, both NASCAR and IndyCar joined in on the fun. The 1.5-mile oval began the process in January with the aim to add extensive draining to help with its irrigation issues that plagued it the past few years. None more apparent than last year when IndyCar underwent a 70-plus day red flag rain delay, with the race being completed on August 27 in a thriller won by Graham Rahal by justRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief There are times in motorsports that you just need to sit back and appreciate the moment. Yesterday, we witnessed one of racing’s greatest champions remind the world of his capabilities and put everyone on notice that he’s still one of the best to ever compete in an Indy car. Every headline imaginable that would be perfect for a Hollywood movie took place on the streets of St. Petersburg. The ‘little team’ at Dale Coyne Racing that reunited a decade old all-star team and a former four-timeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – In a race whose aftermath left hometown driver Kyle Busch with a bloody forehead, Martin Truex Jr. passed the faltering car of Brad Keselowski on the white-flag lap and cruised to a sweep of all three stages in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As Truex approached the checkered flag to win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time this season and the first time at LVMS, Joey Logano’s Ford slid up into Kyle Busch’sRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway wasn’t a drag race, but lane choice proved critical to Joey Logano’s 28th NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Choosing the top side for a restart on Lap 196 of 200, after Ty Dillon’s spin on Lap 192 necessitated the ninth and final caution of the afternoon, Logano cleared Kyle Larson off Turn 4 after an intense side-by-side battle and pulled away to win by .602 seconds.Read More