Ryan Blaney Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the second year in a row, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the banks of the Mississippi River to take on World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for Sunday’s running of the Enjoy Illinois 300. Located just across the river from St. Louis, the 1.25-mile oval resembles the layout of Darlington Raceway from overhead, with different radius corners on either end of the track. Turns 1-2 are also banked differently than Turns 3-4, providing a unique challenge for the drivers to tackle. The massive demandRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Finally.  Breaking a 59-race drought in Monday’s rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney gave team owner Roger Penske his first same-year sweep of IndyCar’s biggest race and NASCAR’s longest. With a dominant No. 12 Team Penske Ford that gained long-run speed as the race progressed, Blaney led a race-high 163 of 400 laps and held off polesitter William Byron for his first victory on the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval and the eighth of his career. A day after JosefRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The rebirth is nearly complete. North Wilkesboro Speedway, which had sat dormant for many years until a groundswell of support emerged to bring the track back from the dead, officially makes its return to the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend with the running of the NASCAR All-Star Race. First joining the circuit in 1947, the 0.625-mile oval served as a mainstay on the schedule for nearly 50 years before being shutdown following the 1996 season, as its race dates were shipped off to Texas Motor SpeedwayRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service William Byron took full advantage of a late on-track incident between Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson to triumph in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 Darlington Raceway and become the first three-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.  For Byron, the victory was sweet redemption for last season’s spring race at the Lady in Black, where Joey Logano’s bump-and-run denied Byron his first victory at the fabled speedway.  “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” said Byron, who earned the 100th victory for the No. 24 team. “My granddadRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service You could say NASCAR’s stop at Dover (De.) Motor Speedway was “All in the Family;” a kin-to-win kind of weekend.   Martin Truex Jr. answered his younger brother Ryan’s NASCAR Xfinity Series victory on Saturday with a win in Monday’s rain-delayed Wurth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race – the fourth win of his career at the one-mile oval he considers his “home track.”  Truex, who started 17th in the 36-car field after qualifying was cancelled due to weather, methodically worked his way forward in the No.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The Monster Mile. Bristol on steroids. No matter the nickname, Dover Motor Speedway lives up to the hype as being one of the most physically demanding racetracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. One of just a few concrete tracks currently in use by NASCAR’s top division, drivers have likened a lap around the one-mile oval to riding a rollercoaster, as they drop off the straightaways into the turns before rocketing back uphill on corner exit. By the time the checkered flag flies on Sunday’s runningRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Kyle Busch found himself in the right place at the right time Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, scoring his second win of the season after a crash in overtime brought the GEICO 500 to an early end. The driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was running third in double overtime when Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney, who were running first and second, made contact, sending Wallace spinning and allowing Busch to ascend to the lead. As Wallace’s Toyota spun back throughRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Denny Hamlin will have the best seat in the house when the green flag waves on Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega after scoring the pole. The two-time winner at the 2.66-mile superspeedway propelled his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the top of the scoring pylon with a lap of 52.979 seconds, 180.751 mph to capture the first superspeedway pole of his NASCAR Cup Series career. “This was the first one for sure. I was well aware this was my first speedwayRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. — From the smallest track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule to the largest. Following last weekend’s race on the flat half-mile of Martinsville, it’s on to the biggest and baddest track on the circuit – the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway and Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500. Since opening its doors in 1969, the track just off Interstate 20 in Eastern Alabama has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full display over the past half-century,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Kyle Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports team gambled on a late race two-tire pit stop to give him a fighting chance for the victory, and he took the opportunity and drove away to a commanding 4.142-second win in Sunday’s NOCO 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It was the 2021 Champion’s first victory at the famed half-mile track; making the pass for the win in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy with 30 laps remaining, but then having to holdRead More