Regan Smith Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After 500 miles around the historic Darlington Raceway last Sunday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Richmond for the final regular season race that will set the 16 driver field for the Chase with Saturday night’s running of the Federated Auto Parts 400. Often described as the perfectly designed race track by drivers, the 0.75 mile track lends itself to not only short track characteristics of beating and banging, but also the characteristics of a larger track with the side by side racing thatRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Brad Keselowski finished third at his home track in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400, but the result comes with a fine after NASCAR assessed Keselowski’s No. 2 team with a P2 level penalty. Keselowski was docked 10 points and crew chief Paul Wolfe was fined $15,000 after the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion’s car failed post-race laser inspection at Michigan International Speedway. Team Penske owner Roger Penske was also docked 10 points in the owner’s standings as a result of the penalty. However, neither Penske norRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer On Wednesday, NASCAR announced their penalties stemming from last weekend’s trip to Dover International Speedway. The most notable penalty was the P3 level penalty handed out to Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 team for Hendrick Motorsports. The team did not pass post-race inspection on the laser platform and was taken back to the NASCAR Research and Development Center for further inspection. After evaluating the car, NASCAR fined the team 15 driver and owner points, dropping Kahne out of the top-16 in points. Crew chief Keith RoddenRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Most of the time, when an athlete talks about a “team victory,” it’s nothing more than a sports cliché. But Denny Hamlin’s win in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway—by the closest margin in the history of the Great American Race—was a testament to the strength and solidarity of the Toyota teams of Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing, a JGR affiliate. In a wild last lap at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Hamlin moved into the outside lane inRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Just a month after a controversial move to drop Alex Bowman for Regan Smith, Tommy Baldwin Racing’s decision paid off with an eighth place finish in the Daytona 500. Smith, 32, started 27th in ‘The Great American Race’, rebounding from an early spin and keeping the single-car team in the fight on the lead lap. Following green flag pitstops with 45 laps to go, the No. 7 Golden Corral/Nikko Chevrolet drew within reach of the frontrunners. As Denny Hamlin made his move to a race win,Read More

By Jeff Olson, NASCAR Wire Service Chris Buescher isn’t fond of points racing or being cautious. But when it comes to Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:45 p.m. ET on NBC), he might have to do a little of both. Buescher leads Chase Elliott by 18 points, Ty Dillon by 22 and Regan Smith by 24 going into the race. With such narrow margins, Buescher will try to balance caution with aggression. “You’ve got to be a little bit more careful, but atRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – If Saturday’s DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veterans had been a court case, 39 NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers would have pleaded “no contest.” The exception was polesitter Kyle Busch, who led 190 of 200 laps in registering a dominating victory at Phoenix International Raceway, his eighth in 19 starts at the track. In a race that saw defending series champion and seventh-place finisher Chase Elliott trim XFINITY leader Chris Buescher’s margin in the standings from 24 to 18 points, Busch ran awayRead More

DARLINGTON, S.C. – You could call polesitter Denny Hamlin’s victory in Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway “dominating,” but the NASCAR XFINITY Series event wasn’t without its share of drama—courtesy of a fuel shortage and Hamlin’s own Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez. Hamlin Led 117 of 147 laps at the 1.366-mile speedway, but he didn’t make the winning pass until Lap 145, when he surged past Suarez, who was stretching fuel after foregoing a final pit stop in hopes of stealing the victory. TheRead More

BRISTOL, Tenn.  – When Chris Buescher’s Ford faltered on a green-white-checkered restart on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch took full advantage, as is his custom. In a Food City 300 that went to two laps of overtime at the .533-mile short track, Busch finished .427 seconds ahead of Kyle Larson, as Buescher faded to 11th after his car failed to pick up fuel off Turn 2 of the next-to-last lap. The victory was Busch’s third of the season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, his eighth at BristolRead More

LEXINGTON, Ohio—What a difference a week makes. After experiencing pure frustration last weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Regan Smith answered his second road course race of the season with a bump-and-run on leader Alex Tagliani in the second-to-last corner on the last lap to score his first NASCAR XFINITY Series win of the season in Saturday’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The short-track-like move ended a 52-race winless streak for Smith driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. “These guys work their butts offRead More