William Byron Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service You can call Ryan Blaney “The Spoiler.” With a pass for the lead with eight laps left in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Blaney took the air out of an otherwise dominating performance by Kyle Larson, who had to settle for second place after winning the first two stages and leading 269 of 325 laps. “Gosh, we had a great long-run car all day,” Blaney said after climbing from his No. 12 Team Penske Ford. “It took us aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor A year after the COVID-19 pandemic threw the brakes on the 2020 season, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the epicenter of where it all came to a screeching halt – Atlanta Motor Speedway. The series would return to the 1.5-mile quad oval later in the year to make up the rescheduled Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, albeit without spectators. Fast forward to this Sunday and NASCAR’s best will have a limited number of fans in the stands to cheer them on as they tackle Atlanta’sRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Inspection problems were the name of the game for Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. The trio had to work from the rear of the field to score top-10s in the Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Following the Xfinity Series race Saturday, NASCAR reported that Larson and Byron failed pre-race tech twice. Therefore, relinquishing their second and 10th starting spots. Sunday morning rolled along and Elliott, who won last November, was also sent to the rear. He was scheduled to roll offRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Martin Truex Jr. overcame an early-race brush with the wall and took the lead on the final restart with 25 laps remaining to earn his first victory of 2021 and first in 31 career starts at Phoenix Raceway. Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ultimately held off Joey Logano’s No. 22 Penske Racing Ford by a convincing 1.698-seconds for the win in the Instacart 500. The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Truex took the race lead from the outside on a bold restartRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson left little to chance Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway leading a race best 103 laps and pulling away to a convincing 3.156-second win over former NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski to win the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube – his first victory in two years. Larson, 28, of Elk Grove, Calif. became the quickest winner in Hendrick Motorsports long and esteemed history, taking the checkered flag in only his fourth start in the team’s famous No. 5 Chevrolet. ItRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service In a No. 24 Chevrolet that steadily improved its performance as the sun went down, William Byron streaked to a decisive victory in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. battling for second place behind him, Byron cruised to a 2.777-second victory over Reddick, who charged through the field late in the final 60-lap green-flag run to the finish. Truex ran third, with Larson coming home fourth. The victory was Byron’s first of the season,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Alex Bowman swapped car numbers for the 2021 season – from 88 to 48 – but has certainly retained his Daytona magic, earning the pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver a record fourth consecutive front row start in the NASCAR Cup Series season-opener. Bowman, 27, went out late in the qualifying order (38th of 44 drivers) Wednesday night – the first night-time pole qualifying session in race history –Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch may carry the nickname “Rowdy” but it was a couple of his competitors acting that way that allowed him to move into the lead out of the final turn and earn his second career Busch Clash victory Tuesday night. Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led only the length of a football field en route to the checkered flag – the only time he was out front all night at the excitingRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Chase Elliott won the biggest race of his life – rallying from a last place starting position to cross the Phoenix Raceway finish line first in the Series Finale 500 – earning his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship at the age of 24 – the youngest champion in NASCAR’s premier series in 25 years. Ultimately Elliott won by 2.74-seconds over former fellow title contenders, Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. The fourth championship-eligible driver, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, finished fourth.Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Joey Logano held off Kevin Harvick by a scant .312-seconds in a high speed duel to the checkered flag to win the Hollywood Casino 400 Playoff race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday and earn the first position in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 that will vie for the season title Nov. 8 at Phoenix Raceway. Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford beat Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford off pit lane and then successfully held off the 2020 regular season champion for theRead More