The Chase Tag

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Kyle Busch came up short in defending his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, finishing sixth in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Busch finished third in the championship standings, five points behind race-winner and seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and two points behind second-place Joey Logano. “It’s very challenging,” Busch said of how tough it is to repeat as champion. “The biggest thing is you just don’t know where anybody is until the end. I mean, (Jimmie)Read More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Daniel Suarez started from the pole position after turning a lap at 169.924 mph  in knockout qualifying and led a race-high 133 laps en route to winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the XFINITIY Series championship. The 24-year-old driver from Monterrey, Mexico became the first Latin American driver to win a NASCAR national series championship and is the first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series championship. “Man, I don’t think IRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Sunday’s championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway marks the first time Jimmie Johnson has made it to the Championship 4 in this the third season of the current version of the Chase format. The past two seasons have seen Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch win the final race of the season to earn the championship. Despite 79 career victories, the 1.5-mile track in Florida is one of just four on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule where Johnson has yet to win. However, it’s important toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – He did it again. Last in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings and faced with an uphill struggle to make the Round of 8, Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team did what they do best—win with their backs to the wall. Moments after a restart on Lap 238 of 267, Harvick cleared Carl Edwards for the lead through Turns 1 and 2 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away to win Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 byRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In the first race of the Round of 12 last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott led 103 laps before a wreck on Lap 258 ended his day and put the rookie driver three points behind the final transfer spot to the Round of 8 heading to Kansas Speedway. Elliott qualified 13th for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 and was one of just three Chase drivers that started outside the top-12. Elliott cracked the top-three at Lap 121 and passed KevinRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Near the mid-point of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, 11 of the 12 Chase drivers were running in the top-12. That changed for Brad Keselowski at Lap 190 of the 267-lap race when he slid his No. 2 Ford in front of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota. Keselowski got loose and a tap from Hamlin sent Keselowsi’s Ford spinning into the infield grass. The spin did a number on the Miller Lite Ford as the front-end looked as ifRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kyle Busch turned a lap at 182.100 mph in the final round of knockout qualifying to take the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. It was the eighth pole of 2016 and 56th of Busch’s XFINITY Series career, but his first at Kansas in 12 starts. Kyle Larson qualified third, spoiling a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top-three starting positions as Erik Jones qualified second with teammate Daniel Suarez fourth. In addition to Busch andRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Matt Kenseth turned a lap at 192.089 mph in the final round of knockout qualifying to earn the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. The pole was the first of the season for Kenseth and the 18th of his career. Kenseth has two victories at Kansas and will look to clinch his spot in the Round of 8 with a third victory at the 1.5-mile track. “Our cars are pretty fastRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer SPARTA, Ky. – Justin Allgaier enters the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase in the fifth position in the championship standings as he seeks the title in his sixth season in the series. Allgaier competed full-time in the XFINITY Series for five seasons before making the jump to the Sprint Cup level with HScott Motorsports in 2014. The two-year stint at the top level of NASCAR competition yielded just one top-10 result – an eight-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. For the 2016 season, Allgaier returnedRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer SPARTA, Ky. – Erik Jones turned a lap at 182.207 mph in the final round of knockout qualifying to earn the 21 Means 21 Pole Award for Saturday night’s VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Jones edged teammate Daniel Suarez for the top spot as the front-row will be all Joe Gibbs Racing. The pole was the eighth of the season for Jones and his 26th top-10 start. Elliott Sadler, Ty Dillon, Sam Hornish Jr, Matt Tifft, Brendan Gaughan, Ryan Blaney, Darrell Wallace, Justin Allgaier, BrennanRead More