Paul Menard Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Race leader Austin Hill was declared the winner of Saturday’s United Rentals 176 at the famed Watkins Glen International road course after lightning in the immediate area forced the field to stop on pit road 11 laps from the scheduled race finish. Hill had taken a 1.023-second lead over John Hunter Nemechek before the trucks headed to pit road where they waited under red flag conditions for nearly an hour before the race was officially called. The race marked the NASCAR Camping World TruckRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s running of the Daytona 500. Age: 28 Years in Cup: Five Career Wins: Zero “I’m not done yet. Something will come open. It’s going to happen. I’m here to win. Something’s going to come open.” Those are the words Matt DiBenedetto said after his greatest drive of his ongoing roller coaster NASCAR career during last August’s memorable Bristol Night Race. The sport’s favorite underdog led 93 of 500Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Wood Brothers Racing will have a new driver behind the wheel in 2020 as the team announced on Tuesday that Paul Menard will be retiring from full-time driving at the end of the season, with Matt DiBenedetto replacing him in the cockpit of the famed No. 21 Ford. Menard, who has driven for the Wood Brothers for the last two seasons and full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2008, cited wanting to spend more time at home with his family as oneRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind. – It was a dominating victory for Kevin Harvick and a statement of superiority for his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads toward its 10-race Playoff. It was an ignominious end to Jimmie Johnson’s unique and unprecedented streak of qualifying for every Cup Series postseason. And it was heartbreak for Daniel Suarez, as he chased Ryan Newman over the final nine laps of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – The last qualifier in Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series time trials at Michigan International Speedway will be first to the green flag on Sunday afternoon. The final driver to make an attempt, after shadows started to shroud the track, Brad Keselowski covered the 2.0-mile distance in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford in 37.801 seconds (190.471 mph) to knock Kevin Harvick off the provisional pole for Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor In the closing stages of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, veteran Paul Menard made it clear he was not going to put up with any shenanigans, especially from one of the youngest drivers in the field, after a late race incident with 18-year old Harrison Burton. After the two drivers raced hard and bounced off of each other at various points in the race, Menard decided he’d had enough and sent a message to the Joe Gibbs Racing driver withRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Christopher Bell got just what he needed on an uncharacteristically hot day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway—a breeze. That’s an apt description of Bell’s victory in the ROXOR 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday. In winning for the fifth time this season and the second time in as many starts at the Magic Mile, Bell led 186 of 200 laps and crossed the finish line 4.068 seconds ahead of runner-up Cole Custer. The race followed a familiar pattern. After eachRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – “Three” was the magic number in Saturday’s LTI Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway, and that was just fine with Tyler Reddick. The NASCAR Xfinity Series leader—one of the so-called “Big Three” in the series this year—saved enough fuel over the closing 44-lap green-flag run to win for the third time this season, matching fellow Big Three members Christopher Bell and Cole Custer for most so far this year. After Custer and Bell pitted for fuel from the top two positionsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – The Ford drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series apparently took the words of Edsel Ford II to heart. At a dinner with Ford drivers on Thursday night, the member of the Ford Motor Company board of directors emphasized the importance of putting a Mustang in Victory Lane after Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). On Saturday morning at the 2-mile track, Joey Logano took the first stepRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was “Damage Inc.” on the final lap of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama that ended in violent blows for several drivers, putting a damper on what was considered a thrilling 188-lap race. The situation began to unravel once the red-flag was lifted due to a multi-car crash on Lap 182 that ended with Matt DiBenedetto plowing into the back end of Chris Buescher in Turn 2. This led to the race restarting with just four laps to go. The chaos began toRead More