NASCAR Tag

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — Nine drivers were unable to take a qualifying lap on Friday for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. All nine were stuck in the technical inspection line after failing on their first pass through. Among the nine drivers were some really big names like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne. Saturday morning, those drivers got their first shot to prove how fast their cars really are, and spoiler alert someRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, TEXAS — When walking around Friday afternoon before qualifying for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, I couldn’t help but notice there were a ton more fans sitting outside the grandstands checking out the midway than what were actually up in seats watching the racing action. When I asked many of them if they were going to go inside to watch qualifying, they said that they didn’t think qualifying was worth the price of admission. Once qualifying began, I immediatelyRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer FORT WORTH, Texas — Bubba Wallace comes into this weekend’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on a hot streak of sorts, as he has four-consecutive sixth place finishes. Wallace continued that hot streak by posting the fastest lap of the day in the NASCAR Xfinity Series — a 188.692 mph lap in the second practice session of the day. Wallace looked relaxed and confident Thursday during a surprise visit to an assembly at B.B. Owen Elementary School in The Colony, Texas. AndRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Writer Many people have argued for years that 1.5-mile tracks are too cookie cutter. Well, they can’t claim that about Texas Motor Speedway anymore. This offseason, the track underwent a massive repaving and re-profiling which flattened the banking four degrees on one end of the track, which now gives crew chiefs a dilemma of what end of the speedway to adjust their cars for. In opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, the new track layout bit several of the sport’s top drivers. In all three driversRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – When it came to Chase Elliott’s performance in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was suffering from a severe lack of self-esteem. After Sunday’s STP 500 at the .526-mile short track, Elliott will have to reevaluate. Starting on the outside of the front row after rain washed out Friday’s time trials, Elliott ran in the top five for the bulk of the afternoon and rolled home third, by farRead More

By April Furst, Staff Writer In what certainly has to be the most ambitious announcement in racing history, Team Penske announced that not one, but two, of their drivers will attempt the Indy-Charlotte Double on Memorial Day Weekend. Monster Energy NASCAR Series regular, Brad Keselowski and Verizon IndyCar Series driver, Josef Newgarden will attempt to qualify for, and compete in, both the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte scheduled for May 28, 2017. Both drivers will be sponsored by MillerCoors and allRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – For the second straight week, Kyle Larson will start on the pole for a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event. He can only hope the result of the race is the same, too. Last week, Larson won the pole at Auto Club Speedway and went on to win last Sunday’s race at the two-mile track. On Friday, when rain washed out time trials at Martinsville Speedway, Larson earned the top starting spot for Sunday’s STP 500 (2 p.m. ET on FS1)Read More

By Beth Lunkenheimer, NASCAR Contributor Dale Earnhardt Jr. just completed his 600th career start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series last weekend at Auto Club Speedway. During that time, the 42-year-old has 26 career victories, including two Daytona 500 wins. Oh, and that doesn’t include that he is also a 14-time Most Popular Driver. “I just wanted to drive. I wanted to race cars for a living. I wanted to do it well enough to be able to afford to make a living doing it,” Earnhardt said. “I didn’tRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – What a difference one position makes. After three straight second-place finishes in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, polesitter Kyle Larson finally found Victory Lane, pulling away after an overtime restart to win Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. Larson took the checkered flag at the end of the second extra lap as team owner Chip Ganassi celebrated from his perch atop the pit box. “It’s great to be Kyle Larson right now,” said the 24-year-old driver. Resilient BradRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – The driver who has finished second in the last three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races will start first on Sunday. Moving up the track for his final run, series points leader Kyle Larson navigated rough, bumpy Auto Club (Fontana, California) Speedway in 38.493 seconds (187.047 mph) on Friday to win the pole for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX), the fifth race of the season. The 24-year-old Larson edged Denny Hamlin by .014 seconds, as Hamlin coveredRead More