Ryan Blaney Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor There are numerous adjectives that can be used to describe this weekend’s race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course: unpredictable, volatile, treacherous, chaotic, etc. One thing is for sure, Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 is going to be a hell of a ride. Especially with wet weather in the forecast and the issues that racing in the rain brings to the table. In an effort to spice things up back in 2018, Charlotte officials elected to switch from running another race on the 1.5-mileRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The final two races that make up the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will be a gauntlet for the drivers still in championship contention with races at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval set to wreak havoc on the Playoff field. Sunday’s Yellawood 500 at Talladega is the first wild card race that will have to be dealt with, as the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing will likely throw a wrench into even the best laid plans and leave some of the Playoff driversRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service With a career record of 0-for-21 coming into Sunday night’s South Point 400 at his hometown Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch may have felt like a “long shot.” But with fortunate track position late in the race and some sure-bet restarts at the front of the field, Busch can now count himself a Vegas winner. The victory was a high stakes haul, automatically earning a position for Busch in the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – moving the 2004 series champion fromRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs gets underway with a trip out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the South Point 400. While the Cup Series has already run on the 1.5-mile track earlier this year, it will be a vastly different environment the 12 championship contenders are walking into on Sunday, not only weather-wise, but also with the absence of fans due to the ongoing COVID-19 precautions. The 267-lap race will be crucial to the second round ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the first elimination race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Saturday night, marking the end of the road for four drivers and their championship aspirations. Several drivers entered the night within striking distance of the top-12 in points, but when the checkered flag fell Cole Custer, William Byron, Matt DiBenedetto, and Ryan Blaney would be the unlucky drivers to get the axe. All four came into the Bristol Night Race with ground to make up in the points battle, butRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Thunder Valley this weekend for the annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, a showdown under the lights on the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” that is sure to leave sheet metal twisted and tempers flaring once these drivers get done battling for 500 laps. Racing at Bristol is always intense, but when the lights go down for the night race, the intensity gets cranked to 11. The aggressiveness that the drivers will show on the high-banked bullringRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Two races down, one to go. With the conclusion of Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond, the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is nearly complete, with Bristol Motor Speedway and the first elimination race looming large next weekend for those drivers who have yet to lock themselves into the next round. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin are safe from whatever carnage may lie ahead at the Last Great Colusseum as the Playoff field is cut from 16 to 12.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Race No. 2 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is here as the championship contenders get set to take on the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway. After a barn burner in last weekend’s Southern 500 at Darlington to kick off the first round of the Playoffs, the traveling circus moves north to Virginia for its first visit to Richmond this season after the first race, originally scheduled for this spring, was moved elsewhere due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, this year’s raceRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kevin Harvick was in the right place at the right time to take the lead, then put on an impressive show of tenacity to hold off a hard-charging Austin Dillon to earn his second career Cook Out Southern 500 win at Darlington Raceway in Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener. It may have been his series best eighth victory of the season, but the veteran Harvick was emotional on the team radio, letting out a loud congratulatory yell as he crossed the finish lineRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service With his NASCAR Cup Series Playoff hopes on the line, Hendrick Motorsports’ driver William Byron earned his first career victory Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 regular season finale. The victory was an automatic berth into the Playoffs for the 22-year old Byron – a hard-fought trophy in a typically full-contact, high-emotion contest on NASCAR’s famed Daytona high-banks to settle the Playoff field. The only two Playoff positions still up for grabs on the night were filled byRead More