Ryan Blaney Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Hoping to reverse the outcome of this year’s spring race at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Busch took the first step on Saturday afternoon, winning the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Busch navigated the .526-mile short track in 19.673 seconds (96.254 seconds) in the final round of knockoutRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway was the elimination race for the Round of 12, leaving four drivers out of playoff contention upon the completion of 267 laps at the 1.5-mile oval. Despite the playoff drama, the race was fairly uneventful and featured just three caution flags, with the only non-stage break yellow for an expired engine on the No. 24 Chevrolet of William Byron. Chase Elliott earned his third victory in the last 11 races, beating Kyle Busch toRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A hard fought afternoon for Ryan Blaney wasn’t enough to advance into the Round of 8, coming up six points shy of beating Kurt Busch in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. After his fuel tank ran dry last Sunday at Talladega, where he finished 29th, Blaney came into Kansas in a must-win situation, as he was 22 points behind the cutoff. Once the 267-lap contest got underway, Blaney’s red No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Riggs Workwear Ford Fusion was among the early contenders, including leadingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Elimination Sunday is upon us again. Last weekend’s visit to the the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway saw an ass kicking by Stewart-Haas Racing and other Playoff drivers foiled by fuel mileage. With the 2.66-mile Alabama behemoth in the rear-view mirror, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads west to America’s Heartland to take on the fast 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Hollywood Casino 400 – the final race of the Round of 12. First joining the circuit as a relatively tame 1.5-mileRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As is the case at the inevitably unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500-miler provided a surprise ending and for several season-long championship contenders – an uncertain Playoff situation. The last few laps changed the fortunes of teams generally expected to blaze through at least the opening rounds of Playoff competition. Yet when Talladega’s checkered flag flew, some of the sport’s biggest names were left teetering on the brink of championship elimination as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to KansasRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Talladega may not be the Round of 12 elimination race any longer, but the mammoth 2.66-mile superspeedway is still a huge wild card and will go a long way toward determining which drivers will be in position to move on to the next round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that led to unknown driver Richard BrickhouseRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Mile. Bristol on steroids. No matter the nickname, Dover International Speedway lives up to the hype as being one of the most physically demanding racetracks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit and plays host to Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400, which kicks off the second round of the playoffs. One of the only two 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 intoRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Let’s face the obvious, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course known as “The Roval” delivered. It fit their bill as being one of the most chaotic weekends in NASCAR history. It didn’t matter how experienced a driver was on road racing because the Roval was a game of survival. Some flat out struggled like Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace, who appeared to have wrecked every car they’ve competed, which has to be annoying for both young competitors, but they’re not alone. Even the best road racersRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – In a race that was as wild as advertised in the closing laps, Ryan Blaney sped past crashing Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. in the final corner to win Sunday’s inaugural Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. With his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and the second of his career, Blaney advanced to Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Johnson wasn’t as lucky. The seven-time series champion was pressuring TruexRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Final practice seemed to be going exactly as planned for 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, but things went awry for him just minutes after blazing around Charlotte Motor Speedway with the fastest lap of the session. Keselowski toured around the Charlotte road course with a lap of 1 minute, 17.730 seconds at 105.596 mph, but as the session neared its final moments, the frontstretch chicane became the bane of his existence. The lap looked to be going just fineRead More