Noah Gragson Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – The second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs enters the gauntlet. Following the opening race of the Round of 12 last weekend at Kansas that saw Ross Chastain play spoiler, keeping victory out of the hands of any of the championship contenders, Talladega looms large as the postseason hits the halfway mark with Sunday’s running of the Yellawood 500. Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Alabama has been a wild card on the scheduleRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain won his first pole position of the 2024 season – and second of his career – Saturday afternoon at the historic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course. Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet turned in a fast lap of 122.279 mph around the 2.45-mile, seven-turn course in upstate New York to edge former race winner Martin Truex Jr. for the top position by a mere .134-second. Ranked 15th of the 16 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers, it was an importantRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Justin Allgaier used pit strategy and a fast No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to take the lead of Saturday’s Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway with 16 laps of regulation remaining and then held off the field in two laps of overtime – before a caution came out ending the race for an accident mid-field. Allgaier pit for fuel seven laps later than the next six front-runners at the time, returned to the track and ultimately – methodically – picked each car offRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Kyle Larson has gotten his redemption at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two months removed from his debut in the Indianapolis 500, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, sporting the same paint scheme that he was scheduled to run that weekend in Charlotte, charged through the field late, putting himself in position to capitalize when the race went into overtime. As the laps were winding down, it was shaping up to be a battle among those saving fuel (Brad Keselowski and RyanRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Winner. Finally. After a season in which he had yet to win a race to punch his ticket into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Joey Logano will no longer have to answer the question of when he would win after surviving a five-overtime finish and a fuel tank running dry to win Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville. Ascending to the lead on the fourth overtime when the leaders ahead of him started running out of fuel, Logano was in just as much dangerRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Mother Nature played no favorites in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway, especially for those pulling double duty to run both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series races on back-to-back days under blazing sun. When the checkered flag flew, a number of drivers required attention in the form of ice, cold water, and a visit to the Infield Care Center to aid in recovery before strapping back in less than 24 hours later. John Hunter Nemechek fared the best ofRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LEBANON, Tenn. – John Hunter Nemechek survived a steamy hot afternoon and held off a highly-motivated field to win the Tennessee Lottery 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday afternoon. It’s the second Xfinity Series win of the season for Nemechek in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – and 11th of his career in the series. The 27-year-old North Carolinian won Stage 2 and led a race best 76 of the 188 laps, including the final 46 after taking the leadRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Gene Haas is turning back the clock to 2008 for the future endeavors of his NASCAR Cup Series operation. With Stewart-Haas Racing closing its doors as we know it at the end of the 2024 Cup Series season, the overarching opinion was that the entire operation was done for, but on Thursday, the future for the team became a bit clearer. Haas, the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, announced that instead of all four of the team’s Cup charters going up on the market, he would beRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NEWTON, Iowa – Iowa’s partial repave was the talk of the NASCAR Cup Series garage area coming into Iowa Corn 350 weekend, but after Friday’s lone practice session, tires have become the main concern. By the time all was said and done, more than a handful of drivers had issues with their tires being unable to cope with the mix-and-match between the old and new Iowa pavement. Noah Gragson finished the 63-minute practice session at the top of the board with a lap of 22.828 seconds,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MADISON, Ill. — It was with an obvious sense of pride that Michael McDowell reveled in his pole-winning run on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. McDowell claimed his third Busch Light Pole Award of the season—and of his career—but this one came at a quirky flat track, not a superspeedway, where the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, a former DAYTONA 500 winner, is expected to excel. McDowell toured the 1.25-mile irregularly-shaped track in 32.468 seconds (138.598 mph)Read More