William Byron Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – After Friday afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Kansas Speedway, the question “What’s wrong with the Stewart-Haas cars?” may be a dead issue. Hurtling around the 1.5-mile track in 30.131 seconds (179.217 mph), Kevin Harvick led a four-car Stewart-Haas Racing sweep of time trials for Saturday’s Digital Ally 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harvick was .083 seconds faster than teammate Aric Almirola (178.725 mph), who in turned topped Clint Bowyer (178.324 mph) byRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – Persistent rain on Sunday foiled NASCAR’s attempts to start the Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway, forcing postponement of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race until noon Monday, to be broadcast on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The cars started rolling before 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, but the rain, which had stopped long enough to dry the track, picked up again as the field took pace laps around the Monster Mile. Accordingly, pole winner Chase Elliott andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – In a battle of Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Chase Elliott knocked William Byron off the pole for Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), stealing the top starting spot late in Friday’s single-car qualifying at the one-mile concrete track. As expected with a new competition package that features a taller rear spoiler and consequent added downforce, Elliott set a track record at the Monster Mile, covering the distance in 21.692 secondsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was “Damage Inc.” on the final lap of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama that ended in violent blows for several drivers, putting a damper on what was considered a thrilling 188-lap race. The situation began to unravel once the red-flag was lifted due to a multi-car crash on Lap 182 that ended with Matt DiBenedetto plowing into the back end of Chris Buescher in Turn 2. This led to the race restarting with just four laps to go. The chaos began toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Uncertainty surrounded the first day of on-track activity at Talladega Superspeedway, with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series getting their first glimpse at the new post-restrictor plate aero package that will be used at the 2.66-mile facility as well as Daytona for the foreseeable future. The new package features a tapered spacer instead of a restrictor plate, making it the first race since 1987 to feature the horsepower sapping device. To counteract the increase in horsepower, about 100 more than the teamsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Chaos ensued in the opening laps of Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, where it collected multiple cars but only one wasn’t able to continue and that’s Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Shazam! Ford Mustang, who’s top-10 streak at six ended and pending on post-race inspection, he’ll take 37th place. Almirola started in sixth and right out of the gate, moving up to third after the first lap. Then coming into Turn 2, Almirola was running the high line and targeted on passingRead More

By Kenny Bruce, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, TENN. – Forget about the superspeedways. Chase Elliott roared to his first pole of the season Friday, capturing the No. 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Elliott, driver of the No 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, toured the 0.533-mile, high-banked track with his final round run of 14.568 seconds at 131.713 mph. Prior to Friday’s effort, all four of Elliott’s previous poles had come on what had been the series’ restrictor-plate tracks – three at Daytona International SpeedwayRead More

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas — A fast car can cure a lot of mistakes. Just ask Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. The reigning Daytona 500 winner overcame a slew of penalties—some self-inflicted—to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Although the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry got down, he was never out of contention. Hamlin led three times for 45 laps en route to his third win at Texas, his second win of the season and the fourthRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent The O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 appeared to be a return to form for Jimmie Johnson. The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion earned a top-five finish at Texas Motor Speedway, his first since last year’s Coke 600. His No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 led the way for 60 laps, more than all of the laps the Hendrick Motorsports driver led last season. When the final caution waved with 80 laps to go, Johnson, along with most of the field, pitted. He restarted fromRead More

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas – Jimmie Johnson is back in the saddle again. After leading first practice at Texas Motor Speedway and the first two rounds of qualifying, the seven-time champion bumped his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott from the top spot with seconds remaining in the final round with a lap at 188.890 mph to win the pole for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 (at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Busch Pole Award is the first for Johnson in 96Read More