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By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in Sunday Night’s Cook Out Southern 500 and simultaneously broke three hearts. Ending a 73-race winless streak for moribund Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe foiled Kyle Larson, who led 263 of 367 laps and won the first two stages but finished fourth and lost the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season title to Tyler Reddick by a single point. With the second victory of his career and his first since March 2022 at Phoenix, Briscoe eliminated Chris Buescher from the Playoffs. In aRead More

By Holly Cain and Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.— The margin between the last driver currently eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and the first driver out is a mere 21 points. But that could change as quickly as a Cup car can pick up a “Darlington stripe” in Sunday night’s regular-season finale, the Cook Out Southern 500 at historic Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). At the conclusion of Sunday’s race, 16 drivers will have claimed Playoff spots. Heading into the race, 13 have wonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It all comes down to Darlington. With Harrison Burton claiming a season and career defining win to punch his ticket into the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, just three spots remain up for grabs to finalize the list of drivers that will be eligible to contend for the championship. As it stands after Daytona, Martin Truex, Jr. is in the best position of those still not locked in, carrying a 58-point advantage into the regular season finale even after getting collectedRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Poor weather interrupted NASCAR Cup Series practice and forced a cancellation of qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin being awarded the pole position for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) based on a metric analyzed by NASCAR factoring in the previous race outcome among other factors. It’s the second pole position start in as many weeks for Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – It took a controversial full-contact finish but Austin Dillon claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in two seasons in Sunday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway – vaulting from a 32nd place in the points standings before the race to an automatic Playoff berth with the win. Coming to the checkered flag during the final lap of overtime, Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevy hit the rear bumper of the race-leading No. 22 Team Penske driven byRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – The Beast is most definitely Unleashed. For the second day in a row, Tyler Reddick and his No. 45 Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry has found its way to the top of the timing sheet, this time Reddick’s lap of 49.469 seconds, 181.932 mph was enough to earn him the pole for the Brickyard 400. “I was one of the last cars to go in Group B, so I watched a lot of drivers in Round one have issues in Turn 4 and a couple ofRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Long Pond, PA – Corey Heim earned his series’ best fifth victory of the season in Friday evening’s rain-interrupted CRC Brakleen 175 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The 21-year old swept both stages and led 55 of the 70 laps to add to his trophy total. But, he had to battle competitors and climate for this win. The Georgian’s No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota led Grant Enfinger’s Chevrolet across the finish line by .867-second to take his 10th career victory – quickly re-establishing himself asRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – The NASCAR Cup Series is back in Music City for the fourth straight year to take on Nashville Superspeedway and Sunday’s running of the Ally 400. Prior to its Cup debut in 2021, the track located on the outskirts of Nashville in Lebanon, Tennessee, was no stranger to hosting NASCAR events with both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series running there from 2001 to 2011 before the track was shuttered. The Nashville track serves as an oddity on the CupRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Christopher Bell continued his dominance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway claiming a sweep of the NASCAR race weekend, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver really had to earn that “broom” in Sunday’s weather-challenged USA Today 301. The 29-year-old Oklahoman beat Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe to the finish line by 1.104-second in overtime in a race that lasted six hours including a two-hour-plus rain delay and ultimately ended with the field on damp surface tires; only the second time in NASCAR historyRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service NEWTON, Iowa — In a race of tire management and hurt feelings, Sam Mayer held off Riley Herbst in overtime to win Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to Iowa Speedway after a four-year hiatus. Mayer’s No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line 0.146 seconds ahead of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Herbst, who felt Mayer had abused him earlier in the race. The victory was Mayer’s second of the season and the sixth of hisRead More