Ryan Blaney Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Jimmie Johnson weathers collision, sees Playoff position improve WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Nineteenth wasn’t what Jimmie Johnson wanted in his first race with Cliff Daniels as his crew chief, but solid runs in the first two stages of Sunday’s GoBowling at The Glen were enough to lift the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion into a tie for 16th in the series standings, the last spot eligible for the postseason Playoffs. Johnson started the race eighth and finished sixth in the first stage.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent Leavine Family Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto shined once again as he scored a top-10 finish at Watkins Glen International. The driver of the No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry broke into the top-10 on the final restart of the Go Bowling at the Glen on lap 66. DiBenedetto picked off several positions on the chaotic restart. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver passed Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski as the field jockeyed for position. DiBenedetto then battled Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Ryan Blaney for position.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – It was a striking case of déjà vu. In a replay of Last year’s GoBowling at the Glen, Martin Truex Jr. chased pole winner Chase Elliott lap after lap around the 2.45-mile road course, using everything in his arsenal to try to deprive Elliott of his second straight victory at the track. Nothing worked for Truex, who crossed the finish line in the wake of the winning No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, .454 seconds in arrears. Elliott logged his secondRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Opportunity knocked for Austin Cindric after a mechanical failure knocked Kyle Busch out of Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. And after Cindric and road course ace AJ Allmendinger traded knocks on the final two laps of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Cindric—on fresher tires—emerged the winner for the first time in his career. Following post-race inspection, Allmendinger’s No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet was disqualified for a rear height violation, dropping Allmendinger to last place in the running order.Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The first of four upcoming road course events for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Saturday’s Zippo 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is always a must-see event pitting series championship contenders against Cup regulars and quite often against road course ringers just competing for the chance to win at the historic track. Team Penske’s Joey Logano has won three of the last four races, but won’t be competing this weekend. Instead his MonsterRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Thanks to a fast No. 11 Toyota, a feel for fuel economy and a first-ever application of traction compound to the asphalt at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin rediscovered the magic at the Tricky Triangle that marked his spectacular debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2006. Leading a 1-2-3 finish by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers—none of whom, surprisingly, was Kyle Busch—Hamlin passed teammate and race runner-up Erik Jones on Lap 144 and saved enough fuel to last through an overtime that carriedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – The drought is over. Blanked for 21 straight races, Kevin Harvick was winless in 2019 until he held off Denny Hamlin on older tires to win Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The victory was Harvick’s fourth at the Magic Mile, most among active drivers and tied with Jeff Burton for most all-time. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang won his second-straight race at the one-mile flat track and his third in theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Starved for a pole position for nearly two years, Brad Keselowski put a decisive end to the qualifying drought on Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, edging Kyle Busch for the top starting spot in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Fastest on the first of his two laps in time trials, Keselowski beat Busch by .015 seconds, covering the one-mile distance in 27.927 seconds (136.384 mph). Busch clocked in at 136.311Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season is officially at the halfway point, crossing the threshold last weekend in Daytona. To kick off the second half of the season, the series heads to the Bluegrass State for Saturday night’s running of the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Kentucky first joined the Cup Series schedule in 2011 and has played host ever since, with just four different drivers claiming victory in the eight races held at the track so far. The track was knownRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent Halfway into the season, Bubba Wallace is a championship contender, just not where one may think. With support from Domino’s and Sunoco, Wallace is competing in the BoJangles Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 0.250-mile frontstretch oval every Tuesday night for Chris Rogers. His No. 76 Legend Car has not finished outside the top-five in the four races he has competed in. Plans for Wallace to compete weekly at the Summer Shootout date back to February. With a team needing a new driver, theRead More