Denny Hamlin Captures Checkered Flag in Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway
Perhaps there was no better place for Denny Hamlin to finally notch his first win of 2022. Much to the pleasure of the fans at Richmond Raceway, the hometown favorite from Chesterfield, Va., took the lead in the Toyota Owners 400 from William Byron with five laps remaining and held off the field for a .552-second victory over Kevin Harvick and Byron.
NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series races postponed until Monday
The NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series races scheduled for Sunday have been postponed until Monday, according to NASCAR. The Food City Dirt Race is rescheduled for Monday at 4 p.m., and the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt is rescheduled for Monday at 12 p.m. This follows the track’s announcement Saturday night that the Pinty Truck Race on Dirt had been postponed to Sunday at 9 p.m. due to weather. NEWS: Today’s NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series races have been postponed at @BMSupdates. Schedule for Monday:4 PM ET: Food City Dirt Race (FOX)12 PM ET: Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt (FS1) pic.twitter.com/VR5Vu5EVMw — NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 28, 2021.
Rain swamps Bristol dirt track; NASCAR to try again Monday
NASCAR canceled all Sunday activity because even if Bristol's converted dirt track could eventually be readied for night racing, the entire facility was a swampy mess. The first Cup Series race on dirt since 1970 was rescheduled for 4 p.m. Monday; trucks were set to run at noon. He openly fretted that a bad show at Bristol would damage the future of NASCAR dirt racing — and NASCAR itself seemed to admit it was a valid concern. Stewart, who has insisted Eldora can successfully host the Cup Series, declined to comment Sunday when reached by The Associated Press. “People need to understand this is not how dirt racing is and I think they need to try and appreciate how hard this is to pull off.
Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt postponed until Sunday night
The Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt scheduled for Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway has been postponed until 9 p.m. Sunday due to weather, the track announced. The Food City Dirt Race NASCAR Cup Series race remains scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Sunday, so ticket holders for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt can enter the speedway 30 minutes after the completion of the NASCAR race. For those who can’t attend the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt race on Sunday, click or tap here for information on the weather guarantee.
What a Mess: NASCAR worried about first Bristol dirt race
AdBristol also made a bold change this year by converting its facility into a dirt race as part of radical changes to the 2021 schedule. NASCAR needed a major shakeup and the dirt race joined an influx of road courses and new venues for the most adventurous schedule in sport history. So when NASCAR broadcast partner Fox pushed for a dirt race on the Cup schedule, Speedway Motorsports said Bristol would be the guinea pig. “That's probably the most uncomfortable I've ever been in a race car,” said Kevin Harvick, running his first Truck Series race since 2015. The first NASCAR Cup Series points-paying sanctioned race in the inaugural 1949 season was on dirt at Charlotte (Old) Speedway.
Martinsville Speedway to allow limited fans for spring NASCAR weekend
(AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)MARTINVILLE, Va. – Now that COVID-19 restrictions have loosened in Virginia, NASCAR fans can finally see a race in person. That’s what we wanted to do,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. NASCAR is making a comeback to Martinsville Speedway with a limited, reduced number of fans throughout the first-ever three-race weekend on April 8-10. Martinsville Speedway is set to host Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race on April 8, the Cook Out 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race on April 9 at 8:00 p.m. and the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. “We’re working our way back to normal and I think it’s going to be great to have fans here to enjoy what they’ve always enjoyed at Martinsville,” said Campbell.
Blaney wins at Atlanta after Larson fades on old tires
In the end, Larson faded on an battered set of tires, and Blaney raced by him for an improbable victory Sunday. “The car was stupid fast for a long time there.”The Cup series returned to the track where the racing world came to a halt a year ago. In March 2020, Atlanta was the first NASCAR Cup race to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Cup series will be back July 11, the first time since 2010 that Atlanta has hosted two races in a season. He was fourth behind Blaney, Larson and Alex Bowman.
Byron gives NASCAR another surprise winner at Homestead
William Byron was the third surprise winner through three races this season with his victory Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Byron controlled most of the final two stages at Homestead to win for the second time in 111 Cup starts. Byron entered the weekend as a 28-1 shot to win a race many expected would provide a return to normal for the racing series. The Roush Fenway Racing driver led five times for a total of 57 laps, but he started to fade "when as sunset neared. He ended up getting X-rays, which were negative, and was cleared to work the Cup Series event.
NASCAR's 'unique' winners already altering playoff landscape
Christopher Bell celebrates at the finish line after winning the NASCAR Cup Series road course auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)HOMESTEAD, Fla. – NASCAR’s postseason landscape has been altered after just two Cup Series races. “The number of unique winners is really going to change how many cars get in on points, right? Although Bell drives for powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing, he was a rookie for that top team and in his second full season in the Cup series. The Cup Series opened on a superspeedway, then raced on a road course, and now heads to an intermediate track. Whether that’s different markets, different racetracks, it has to be different from year to year.
Mr. WorldWide to NASCAR: Pitbull joins Trackhouse ownership
New NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing has brought entertainer Pitbull on as an ownership partner for an organization making its debut next month at the Daytona 500. Mr. Worldwide joins NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan as celebrity owners entering NASCAR this year. Pitbull has become an ownership partner in new NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing, set to make its debut next month at the Daytona 500. “NASCAR racing is about pushing boundaries; for the Trackhouse Racing team, that means more than just winning on the race track,” Marks said. “Pitbull is an iconic talent in the music industry and has tremendous passion for NASCAR racing.
Elliott too fast for Hamlin, Logano, Keselowski
Brad Keselowski (2) and Denny Hamlin (11) race side by side through Turn 4 during the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Phoenix Raceway, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)AVONDALE, Ariz. – Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski got a big head start on Chase Elliott. Hamlin, Logano and Keselowski never got the caution flag they needed to catch up, with Keselowski finishing second, Logano third and Hamlin fourth. “I would have liked to have one of those late-race yellows like we saw in the Truck race and the Xfinity race,” Keselowski said. Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500 and had seven victories this year — two behind leader Kevin Harvick. “As an organization we have got to get a little better, especially on the short tracks,” Hamlin said.
Elliott races into NASCAR championship; Harvick eliminated
That's how it was supposed to play out, at least, after Harvick won a Cup series-high nine races and the regular-season title. Chase Elliott won the high-stakes race to earn his first career berth in the championship four. Just came up short," Harvick said. “It was just a move I had to try knowing that I needed one point," Harvick said. Bill Elliott was 0 for 45 at Martinsville in his Hall of Fame career, and Chase Elliott won in his 11th try.
Kyle Busch wins rain-delayed NASCAR playoff race in Texas
Kyle Busch drives on the front stretch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)FORT WORTH, Texas – Kyle Busch won for the first time this season to extend a 16-season streak while his penalized teammate missed a chance to secure a spot in the championship in the NASCAR playoff race at Texas that finished Wednesday, three days after it started. The only race before then is Sunday at Martinsville, NASCAR's oldest and shortest track where Truex won in June and last fall. Logano secured his spot in the final four with his win 10 days earlier at Kansas to open the three-race round of eight. The two-time Cup champion got his fourth Cup win at Texas.
NASCAR playoffs rained out for 3rd consecutive day at Texas
Drying trucks continue to prepare the track for a possible NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)FORT WORTH, Texas – NASCAR will make a fourth attempt to complete its playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday after persistent mist and cold temperatures continued the long delay. The resumption of the race was set for Wednesday at 3 p.m. EDT at the Texas track. The Truck Series and Xfinity Series are scheduled for Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and both series completed racing in Texas. The bigger concern is likely the NBC production crews that must complete the Texas broadcast and then prepare Martinsville for Friday night's Truck Series race.
NASCAR’s Cup playoff at misty Texas put on hold another day
(AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)FORT WORTH, Texas – The NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas was pushed back yet another day without drivers completing any more laps Monday. Another 115 laps have to be completed to get to the halfway mark of 167 laps that would make Texas an official race. The only other race between Texas and Phoenix is Sunday at Martinsville, the shortest and oldest Cup track. The race cars remained parked in the garage, never rolling to pit road. There were several periods Monday when the track appeared to be drying, before more misty conditions would further soak the track.
Misty, drizzling day postpones Cup race in Texas on Lap 52
Cars sit on pit road during a red flag period due to misty rain during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)FORT WORTH, Texas – NASCAR's Cup playoff race in Texas was postponed Sunday night after 52 laps on a misty day that slowly deteriorated to drizzle while it never actually rained before the event was called off. The pandemic-reduced crowd watched Clint Bowyer emerge as the leader with Jimmie Johnson second in the last Texas race as full-time drivers for both veterans. It was fitting that Bowyer and the seven-time series champion Johnson were leading when the race was stopped. The 41-year-old Bowyer, a 10-time winner in 16 Cup seasons and twice a runner-up in Texas, plans to move into the broadcast booth next season.
Logano wins at Kansas to clinch spot in Cup Series finale
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Joey Logano spent the final 40-plus laps at Kansas Speedway keeping an eye on Kevin Harvick in his rear-view mirror. Now, he can look ahead to the NASCAR Cup Series finale at Phoenix. Using every bit of the track Sunday to hold off the winningest driver this season, Logano took the checkered flag on a cold, blustery Sunday to secure a spot in the championship round of the playoffs. Hamlin managed to hold off the 2014 series champion to win his 10th stage of the season. Then, midway through the final stage, he began to notice a problem in his car.
Race into NASCAR's championship round begins at Kansas
Elliott won the race. The path to the championship finale begins Sunday at Kansas Speedway, the first of three races in the title-setting third round. It's a fairly straightforward series with ensuing stops at Texas Motor Speedway, like Kansas a 1.5-mile intermediate oval, then half-mile Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR's shortest and oldest active track. Hamlin has won NASCAR's last two visits to Kansas, a turnaround after several so-so races. “If you fast-forward to Kansas and Texas, it’s a mile-and-a-half, so everything is just pointing in our direction right now,” he said.
DiBenedetto keeps ride as Cindric promotion to Cup delayed
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)Team Penske found a one-year solution for Matt DiBenedetto while building a long-term plan to move Austin Cindric to the Cup Series. Cindric, currently competing in the Xfinity Series for Penske, will take over the seat in 2022. Cindric will compete in both Xfinity Series next season as well as select Cup races. Cindric, meanwhile, was the Xfinity Series regular season champion and is currently racing for the championship. "Another season of experience in the Xfinity Series will be beneficial and I’m looking forward to competing in some Cup Series races in 2021 to prepare for a full season in 2022.”
Kevin Harvick nabs 9th win of season to roll into 2nd round
Busch furiously tried to catch him as the two weaved their way through lapped traffic, but Harvick held firm in the No. Only six cars finished on the lead lap in a tepid event at the 0.533-mile bullring revered for bumping and banging. Track officials sold all 30,000 tickets allowed — making Bristol one of the largest sporting events since the pandemic — and the spectators crowded the fence as Harvick celebrated his second win of the playoffs. Erik Jones, who is not eligible for the playoffs, finished third for Joe Gibbs Racing and was followed by rookie Tyler Reddick and playoff contenders Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer. Denny Hamlin, considered the closest challenger to Harvick this year, closed out a sub-par opening round of the playoffs with a 21st-place finish.
Byron wins to reach Cup Series playoffs, knocks out Johnson
Those moves got him to victory lane for the first time in his young NASCAR Cup Series career and back in the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Winless in 120 races, Johnson made a trip to victory lane to congratulate Byron and the No. Its a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron," Johnson said. Its been a hard couple of years in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win and trying to gel with this team," Byron said. WALLACE REACTSWallace said before the race that there was not much of a dialogue among NASCAR drivers regarding sitting out the Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona.
Road king: Elliott wins at Daytona for 3rd straight on road
NASCARs most popular driver won the Cup Series road course race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, holding off hard-charging Denny Hamlin following a late restart and notching his third consecutive victory away from ovals. The 24-year-old Elliott also won on road courses at Charlotte and at Watkins Glen last year. Elliott, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. had the cars to beat. Making up that kind of ground on a 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course was a nearly impossible tough task, especially considering Elliott was turning mistake-free laps at the front of the field. Newman was one of the few Cup drivers with experience on Daytonas road course.
Unpredictability ahead as NASCAR gets on Daytona road course
NASCAR takes to the retooled road course at Daytona this weekend for what surely will be a unique unprecedented, really experience for dozens of drivers who have only raced it online. The Xfinity Series race is Saturday, followed a day later by the Truck Series and the Cup Series. Both ran the Rolex 24 endurance race on the road course in January. Kenseth and Ryan Newman have victories on the Daytona road course, each winning IROC races in the mid-2000s. While Busch and Allmendinger surely provided teammates help learning the tracks nuances, many teams eager to gain an advantage turned to road course experts for assistance this week.
Keselowski still seeking 1st win at home track in Michigan
Keselowski still hasn't won a Cup race in his home state, and it seems like every year that is a story when NASCAR comes to Michigan. I was actually talking to Joey Logano about it, because I won last weekend at his home track in New Hampshire. Normally, Michigan hosts races in June and August, but the pandemic pushed them both onto the same weekend this year. The races in Michigan always take on a special importance for Ford, which has swept the MIS Cup races each of the past two years. DOUBLEHEADERMichigan is set to become the second track in series history to run a doubleheader at the same facility on back-to-back days.
Hamlin holds off Keselowski for fifth Cup victory of season
KANSAS CITY, Kan. Denny Hamlin raced to his his series-leading fifth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Thursday night, passing Kevin Harvick in the closing laps and holding off Brad Keselowski to make it back-to-back victories at Kansas Speedway. Joey Logano led early before his night went sideways and took some playoff contenders with him. His problems began when a tire got loose on pit road during the first stage, sending him to the back. He was working his way forward early in the final stage when his left front tire went down, sending Logano into the outside wall. Weve had some really bad weeks, Stenhouse said.
Lot of room for NASCAR fans at Texas due to virus and heat
(AP Photo/Larry Papke, File)FORT WORTH, Texas The massive grandstands at Texas Motor Speedway are 2/3 of a mile long and were empty for the last race there. On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series race becomes the first major sporting event in Texas in more than four months to allow spectators. Speedway Motorsports, which owns Bristol and Texas, is a private company like NASCAR, and does not release official attendance numbers. Texas hosted the IndyCar season opener June 6 without any spectators, then submitted and received approval by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office to have fans at the NASCAR race.
NASCAR Cup rookie Cole Custer wins in upset at Kentucky
SPARTA, Ky. Cole Custer became the first rookie winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in nearly four years, surging to the lead in a four-wide, final-lap scramble Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. The victory was the first by a series rookie since Chris Buescher at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2016. Making his 20th series start, the 22-year-old Custer celebrated with a frontstretch burnout as his crew happily ran to greet him. That didn't last long as Truex quickly stalked him on the last-stage restart and took over on 181 in hopes of his third Kentucky win in four years. Truex settled for watching Custer take the win.
Day trippers: Familiarity key for drivers at Kentucky oval
Kevin Harvick, on far side of wall, celebrates with his crew after winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, July 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)SPARTA, Ky. The Kentucky Speedway winners' club is exclusive just five drivers have combined to win the first nine NASCAR Cup races. That trio also has multiple Kentucky wins, which speaks volumes of their mastery of the 1.5-mile oval. 48 Chevy again after missing his first career race last week in Indianapolis following a positive COVID-19 test. Kyle Busch remains the perennial Kentucky favorite with sevens wins across NASCARs three national series, including two in Cup, and a slew of top-10s.
Hamlin caps marathon day of racing at Pocono with 4th win
Hamlin raced to his fourth victory of the season and sixth at Pocono to cap a wild, marathon day of racing at the track, with three NASCAR races and a near-darkness Cup finish. Pocono doesn't have lights -- but the pit road numbers were lit up and glowed as Hamlin took the checkered flag for Joe Gibbs Racing. The rain wreaked havoc with the third NASCAR race of the day at Pocono. Brandon Jones opened the day with a win in the Truck Series race and Chase Briscoe won the Xfinity race. Pocono became the first track in NASCAR history to hold three national series races on the same day.
NASCAR set for Truck, Xfinity, Cup tripleheader Sunday
NASCAR says it's the first time three NASCAR National Series races will be raced on the same day at the same track. Rain washed out the Truck Series race on Saturday in what was already a packed schedule. The Truck Series was scheduled for Saturday and the second-tier Xfinity Series was scheduled for Sunday. The rainout forced the Truck Series to run at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, followed by 225 miles of Xfinity racing and a 350-mile Cup race. The Cup Series race scheduled for Saturday is still on with a 3:54 p.m. green flag start time.