playoffs Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Noah Gragson had that first-time winning feel a year ago at Martinsville Speedway, scoring his maiden NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at the 0.526-mile circuit. Now entering the Round of 6 with a strong chance of battling for the championship, Gragson comes to the track with a different feel. Prior to all activities being cancelled due to rain, Gragson spoke to the media during Friday’s press conference and described each visit to Martinsville is different than the last because of the weather conditions impactingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A hard fought afternoon for Ryan Blaney wasn’t enough to advance into the Round of 8, coming up six points shy of beating Kurt Busch in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. After his fuel tank ran dry last Sunday at Talladega, where he finished 29th, Blaney came into Kansas in a must-win situation, as he was 22 points behind the cutoff. Once the 267-lap contest got underway, Blaney’s red No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Riggs Workwear Ford Fusion was among the early contenders, including leadingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – John Hunter Nemechek grabbed his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in a race that threw the championship battle into chaos. Pulling away with three laps after the final restart on Lap 169 of 200, Nemechek took the checkered flag 5.200 seconds ahead of Daniel Hemric to win the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, the venue where his father, Joe Nemechek, won his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in 2004. Though Nemechek fell far behind Hemric after sliding throughRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer In spite of surviving the mayhem, Tyler Reddick will leave Kansas Speedway a bit shameful after being denied a possible top-three finish in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300. Throughout the 200-lap contest, Reddick had one of his finest races this season, running in the top-five for much of the afternoon and ended up sixth in Stage 1, followed by a stellar fourth in Stage 2. While quiet, his eyes were set on a top-three result, which he hasn’t achieved thus far in the playoffs, and notRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer As Christopher Bell cruised his way to a rookie-high sixth win of the season, all eyes were glued on the battle for the eighth and final transfer spot between Ross Chastain and Matt Tifft in Saturday’s Bar Harbor 200 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware. Not even a late-race tangle between the two stopped Tifft’s march into the next round. While Chastain finished 13th, a 15th place result was good enough for the Hinckley, Ohio native to advance into the Round of 8, beating the JDRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Chase Elliott was outside the Round of 12 cutoff line heading into Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway, and he’ll leave the 0.75-mile oval just 10 points to the good after finishing fourth and leading 34 of 400 laps. Elliott was on the outside looking in after an day-shortened 36th place finish due to a two-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sept. 16. It put him in a vulnerable position of playing catch up, trailing 12th place Alex Bowman by nine points andRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the sixth time this season, a pit road penalty handcuffed Martin Truex, Jr., and he once again remains a bridesmaid on short tracks, finishing an agonizing third behind fellow “Big Three” members Kevin Harvick and race winner Kyle Busch in Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway. It was Truex’s race to lose as he lead 162 of the first 203 laps, and swept both stages in the process. Without any hurdles, it appeared that his bid of finally capturing his first short trackRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer There won’t be a playoff berth four-peat for the soon-to-be departing Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray. Needing a win to make the playoffs, McMurray was on the cusp of stealing a win, running inside the top-five, but had to settle for seventh in Monday’s Big Machine Vodka at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the highest among drivers who failed to qualify for the postseason. The regular season finale saw its turning point on Lap 145 when McMurray stayed out for valuable track position, afterRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kyle Larson’s season has included six top-five finishes, four of which have resulted in runner-up efforts, including Saturday night at Bristol, as he came up short of passing Kurt Busch to score his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. His result also clinched him a spot in the playoffs via points. Also clinching playoff berths Saturday were Busch, who snapped a 58-race winless streak, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski. He currently holds theRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Change. Whether it’s in business or in your personal life, the one and only constant is change. On Monday evening at the Charlotte Convention Center, NASCAR executives announced a major change to the racing for all three of its national series. These changes come as attendance and ratings continue to decline and the sanctioning body looks for a way to keep fans engaged throughout the course of a race. The new format breaks down as follows: Each race will have three stages Stage 1 andRead More