Sprint Cup Tag

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer One year ago, two days of on-and-off rain plagued the NASCAR triple-header weekend at the Kentucky Speedway.  Attempts at drying the track became an agonizingly long and frustrating process as persistent weepers came up through the surface. It was at that moment that Speedway officials realized that it was time for drastic measures. The track surface, that had survived fifteen winters of freeze/thaw cycles and become as bumpy as a washboard, would be replaced. More than 17,000 tons of asphalt was torn out and hauledRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer There was a new face in the Verizon IndyCar Series pit lane as 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, Brad Keselowski, took some laps in a Dallara DW-12 for the first time. The occasion was an open test at the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, WI in preparation for the upcoming Kohler Grand Prix for the IndyCars June 23-26. Keselowski, who drives the #2 Miller Lite Ford for Roger Penske in the Cup Series, accompanied the team to the test during an off-week for NASCAR.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer In a race, timing is everything. When you pit, how long your pit stop takes, and as Matt Kenseth’s team learned during the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the order in which a tool is placed on the car. After starting in 13th, Kenseth quickly made his way up to the front, leading early and often. During a round of green flag pit stops on lap 117, in which Kenseth pitted from the lead, NASCAR penalized Kenseth and his No.20 DollarRead More

Kansas City, Kan. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. used to own Talladega Superspeedway. After a disappointing run at Kansas Speedway in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, he’ll need to re-ascend to the throne next Sunday if he is to keep his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship hopes intact. Can do, Earnhardt, who finished 21st at Kansas and two laps off the pace at Kansas, said after exiting his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on pit road. “Don’t count us out,” he said. “We got confidence and we definitely have the car to do it…andRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. endured a weekend of rain, a three-hour-plus pre-race delay, and nine caution flags to win the Coke-Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway early Monday morning. The race ended at 2:41 a.m. and concluded with a large crash featuring Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet going airborne and smashing into the catch-fence near Turn 1 after he crossed the start-finish line. Dillon walked away from the wreck, the fourth major crash of the night. After being released from the infield care center, Dillon said heRead More

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Joey Logano strengthened his standing as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ 2015 Qualifying Meister on Friday night as he won the Coors Light Pole Award for Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway. The pole was the fourth in 11 attempts this year for the Team Penske driver and his second in the last three weeks. “Definitely cool to get another pole,” Logano said. Logano, who had never won more than two poles in a season in his previous six full seasons in Cup, wasRead More

Today the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, Mr. Bryan Moss, heard and considered the appeal of a P5 penalty issued on March 31, 2015 to Richard Childress (owner), Ryan Newman (driver), Lucas Lambert (crew chief), James Bender (tire technician) and Philip Surgen (race engineer) relative to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicle #31 at Auto Club Speedway. The penalty concerns the following sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book: 12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing 20.16: Wheels and tires Any device, modification, or procedure to the tire or wheel, includingRead More

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing announced today that David Ragan will drive the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine for the remainder of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, beginning May 9 at Kansas Speedway. Brian Vickers had planned to race the Toyota fulltime in 2015, but heart surgery in December forced the Thomasville, N.C., native to miss the first two races of the season. Vickers returned at Las Vegas on March 7, but was sidelined two weeks later by recurring blood clots in his lungs. No timetable has beenRead More

RICHMOND, Va. – Suspension to redemption. After being suspended for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races earlier this season after an alleged domestic violence incident, Kurt Busch won Sunday’s postponed Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway in a dominating performance, virtually locking up a spot in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. “It’s an incredible feeling,” said Busch, who was reinstated March 11 and granted a waiver into the Chase. “It’s a total team effort. And the way that everything came together, it just seemed like weRead More

In what has become an annual tradition of recognizing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions, President Barack Obama honored 2014 title-winner Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team at the White House Tuesday afternoon. Accompanied at the podium in front of the White House by Harvick, crew chief Rodney Childers and SHR owner Tony Stewart, Obama began his speech by congratulating Harvick and offering his condolences to the NASCAR community on the passing of FOX Sports broadcaster Steve Byrnes. Obama discussed Harvick progressing to championship form while getting usedRead More