Paul Menard Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – Austin Dillon delivered a parting shot that turned out to be a called shot. After taking questions from reporters after Friday’s opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Auto Club Speedway, Dillon paused to watch the last minute of Middle Tennessee State’s upset victory over Michigan State in the NCAA basketball tournament. On his way out the door, Dillon was asked about his prospects for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX) at the two-mile track. “Ask me tomorrowRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor On a bright, sunny day at Phoenix International Raceway, brake heat altered the day for several drivers and teams. Two drivers — Ryan Newman and Paul Menard — who are looking at returning to the playoffs after making the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2015, took big hits to their 2016 post-season hopes Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Both drivers, who are teammates at Richard Childress Racing, slammed into the outside wall hard in separate accidents in the Good Sam 500. Newman, who entered the day 17th inRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Scratch another race track off Kyle Busch’s checklist. In what evolved into a two-man battle against Kyle Larson on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion continued his mastery in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, beating Kyle Larson to the finish line to win the Heads Up Georgia 250. The victory was Busch’s first at the 1.54-mile track and the 77th of his career, extending his own series record. But the outcome was far from a foregoneRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Richard Childress Racing drivers Ryan Newman and Paul Menard qualified for last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Austin Dillon didn’t make NASCAR’s playoff in his sophomore season at the sport’s highest level, but this year, he’s determined to change that scenario and put his No. 3 Chevrolet “where it deserves to be.” Dillon’s Chevy got a jump-start after the 15th race of the 2015 season, when veteran crew chief Richard “Slugger” Labbe took over the pit box. Four ofRead More

RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. But JGR’s Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better — he brought a howitzer. Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by .951 seconds over his teammate. Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie JohnsonRead More

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – The decision to compete in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series sixth annual Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America (Wis.) paid off in a huge way for Paul Menard who scored his third career XFINITY victory at his hometown track. Menard, a native of Eau Claire, Wis. started eighth and saw a decision to stay out after pitting on Lap 24 work to his advantage as he edged out a relentless Ryan Blaney by 0.573 seconds at the 14-turn road course. After theRead More

BROOKLYN, Mich.—From Matt Kenseth’s point of view, the competition package NASCAR used at Michigan International Speedway could well have had a big, bright bow on it. The Coors Light Polesitter for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Kenseth quickly exhibited his mastery of the high-drag aerodynamic package, leading 146 of 200 laps in winning for the third time this season, the third time at Michigan and the 34th time in his career. The 2003 premier series champion had to survive a restart with 13 laps left, afterRead More

INDIANAPOLIS—With a relentless charge that forced Ryan Blaney into a mistake on the final lap, Kyle Busch grabbed the lead with a half-lap left at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and took the checkered flag in Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race. Blaney missed his mark in Turn 2 as Busch closed in, and with his momentum broken, the driver of the No. 22 Ford couldn’t stave off Busch’s winning pass on the backstretch. The No. 54 pulled away to win by .421 seconds, as Busch continued his white-hot runRead More

CONCORD, N.C.— Greg Biffle led every lap of the caution-free first 20-lap segment of Friday night’s Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Clint Bowyer needed an early caution in the second segment to validate crew chief Brian Pattie’s four-tire call. Though they arrived at the finish line through different routes, Biffle and Bowyer earned the two transfer spots into Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (May 16 on FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. ET) and will compete for the million-dollar top prize. Ninth-place finisher Danica Patrick also made theRead More

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Thanks to a brief but wild Kansas spring storm and the long delay it produced, Jimmie Johnson on Sunday became the first Sprint Cup driver to win a race on Mother’s Day since 2007. Johnson, who is pursuing a record-tying seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship this season, held off Kevin Harvick over the final six laps to win Sunday morning’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway. Johnson’s victory – which was recorded just after midnight local time because of a delay of 2 hours andRead More