NASCAR Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – In a sense, Chase Elliott comes to Talladega Superspeedway with the greatest amount of freedom, simply because he has the largest challenge to overcome and the narrowest path to do so. After unfortunate results at Charlotte and Kansas, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader is 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, 25 points behind Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, who are tied for eighth. After the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN),Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – He did it again. Last in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings and faced with an uphill struggle to make the Round of 8, Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team did what they do best—win with their backs to the wall. Moments after a restart on Lap 238 of 267, Harvick cleared Carl Edwards for the lead through Turns 1 and 2 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away to win Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 byRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In the first race of the Round of 12 last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott led 103 laps before a wreck on Lap 258 ended his day and put the rookie driver three points behind the final transfer spot to the Round of 8 heading to Kansas Speedway. Elliott qualified 13th for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 and was one of just three Chase drivers that started outside the top-12. Elliott cracked the top-three at Lap 121 and passed KevinRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Near the mid-point of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, 11 of the 12 Chase drivers were running in the top-12. That changed for Brad Keselowski at Lap 190 of the 267-lap race when he slid his No. 2 Ford in front of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota. Keselowski got loose and a tap from Hamlin sent Keselowsi’s Ford spinning into the infield grass. The spin did a number on the Miller Lite Ford as the front-end looked as ifRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Kanas Speedway started with a green flag run of 58 laps before the first caution flew for fluid on the track. The remaining 142 laps featured 10 cautions for 51 laps and changed the complexion of the Chase for several drivers. A Lap 165 accident ignited when Brandon Jones made contact with Justin Allgaier collected six drivers and resulted in heavy damage for Darrell Wallace Jr. as well as Allgaier. Wallace would immediately head toRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kyle Busch turned a lap at 182.100 mph in the final round of knockout qualifying to take the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. It was the eighth pole of 2016 and 56th of Busch’s XFINITY Series career, but his first at Kansas in 12 starts. Kyle Larson qualified third, spoiling a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top-three starting positions as Erik Jones qualified second with teammate Daniel Suarez fourth. In addition to Busch andRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Matt Kenseth turned a lap at 192.089 mph in the final round of knockout qualifying to earn the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. The pole was the first of the season for Kenseth and the 18th of his career. Kenseth has two victories at Kansas and will look to clinch his spot in the Round of 8 with a third victory at the 1.5-mile track. “Our cars are pretty fastRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – With a dominant car that opened leads of more than six seconds after the final restart on Lap 152 of 200, Daniel Suárez won Sunday’s rain-delayed Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway and earned a spot in the Round of 8 in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase. The Mexican-born driver grabbed the top spot from eventual third-place finisher Justin Allgaier on Lap 155 and quickly pulled away. Ty Dillon passed Allgaier for the runner-up spot in the closing lapsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service If you don’t consider Martin Truex Jr. one of the favorites to win this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, you haven’t been paying attention to the first two races in the Chase. Truex won the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway and had perhaps the fastest car a week later at New Hampshire, though he dropped to seventh at the finish after a late restart. Now he comes to Dover, the track closest to his childhood home in Mayetta, N.J., full of confidence—and notRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – For the second time in the first three Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races this year, rain played havoc with Sprint Cup qualifying, forcing cancellation of Friday’s knockout time trials for the first elimination race of the playoffs. This is the third straight Sprint Cup event at Dover for which qualifying has been cancelled because of rain. With the field set by the rule book, Brad Keselowski, whose No. 2 Team Penske Ford leads the owners’ standings, will start Sunday’sRead More