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Author: Angie Campbell

  • Weekend schedule for Nashville Superspeedway

    Weekend schedule for Nashville Superspeedway

    NASCAR heads to Nashville Superspeedway this weekend with a full schedule of events as all three national series compete. The superspeedway is a 1.33-mile, D-shaped oval, and the longest concrete surface track on the 2023 schedule.

    There have been two previous Cup Series races at Nashville. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson won the inaugural event in 2021 and Chase Elliott returns as the defending race winner.

    JR Motorsports driver, Justin Allgaier, won the 2022 Xfinity Series event at Nashville. With another victory, he would become only the second back-to-back winner. Carl Edwards has the most Xfinity Series victories at the track with five (2006, 2007 sweep, 2011 sweep) and will be in attendance this weekend as the track pays tribute to his expertise at the venue.

    This will be the last race of the 2023 Triple Truck Challenge with a new winner collecting a 50,000 bonus or previous winners, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes, earning an additional $150,000 payout.

    All times are Eastern.

    Press Pass will be available after qualifying and post-race for all series.

    Friday, June 23

    4 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (All Entries) FS1
    4:30 p.m.: Truck Qualifying (All Entries) Impound/Single Vehicle/1 Lap – FS1
    5:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) USA
    6:30 P.M.: Cup Series Practice (All Entries) USA

    8 p.m.: Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200
    Distance: 199.5 miles (150 Laps)
    Stages end on Laps 45, 95, 150
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Saturday, June 24

    12 Noon: Xfinity Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries – USA
    1 p.m.: Cup Qualifying (Impound) Group A & B – Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds – USA/PRN/SiriusXM

    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 race
    Distance: 250.04 miles (188 Laps)
    Stages end on Laps 45, 90, 188
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $1,616,383

    Sunday, June 25

    7 p.m.: Cup Series Ally 400
    Distance: 399 miles (300 Laps)
    Stages end on Laps 90, 185, 300
    NBC/PRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $8,516,134

  • Weekend schedule for Sonoma

    Weekend schedule for Sonoma

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Sonoma Raceway this weekend while the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series is off until Friday, June 23 at Nashville Superspeedway. The ARCA Menards Series West will kick off the racing action with the General Tire 200 Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. on FloRacing.com with a paid subscription.

    Daniel Suárez is the defending Cup Series race winner while Martin Truex Jr. has the most Cup Series wins of any active driver (2013, 2018, 2019).

    This will be the first time the Xfinity Series will compete at the 1.99-mile Sonoma road course

    PressPass will be available throughout the weekend.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 9

    4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    6:30 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 200 – FloRacing

    Saturday, June 10

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1
    5 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS2
    6 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS2

    8 p.m.: Xfinity Series DoorDash 250
    Distance: 156.95 miles (79 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends Lap 20, Stage 2 on Lap 45, Final Stage ends on Lap 79
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,545,934

    Sunday, June 11

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350
    Distance: 218.9 miles (110 laps)
    Stage 1 ends Lap 25, Stage 2 on Lap 55, Final Stage ends on Lap 110
    FOX/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $8,054,721

  • Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup and the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams head to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway as the Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West travel to Portland International Raceway for a full weekend of racing.

    The battle for the Cup Series Playoffs is heating up as 10 different drivers have already secured a spot in the postseason. The list of winners includes Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr.

    This will be the second time the Xfinity Series will compete at the Portland road course. AJ Allmendinger won the inaugural event but is not entered in this year’s race. Of the current eligible drivers, Austin Hill leads the series with three wins while John Hunter Nemechek (the points leader) has been to victory lane twice. The remaining eligible drivers, with one win each, are Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton and Justin Allgaier.

    Six Truck Series drivers have won this season and are locked into the Playoffs – Zane Smith (Daytona, COTA), Christian Eckes (Atlanta, Darlington), Carson Hocevar (Texas), Corey Heim (Martinsville), Grant Enfinger (Kansas), and Ben Rhodes (Charlotte).

    NASCAR PressPass will be available throughout the weekend.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 2
    5 p.m.: ARCA Practice (Portland) No TV
    6:10 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying (Portland) No TV
    8 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Portland 112 – FloRacing/MRN

    6 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (Gateway) FS1
    6:30 p.m. Truck Series Qualifying (Gateway) FS1

    Saturday, June 3
    10 a.m.: Cup Series Practice (Gateway) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    10:45 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Gateway) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    11:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (Portland-No TV)
    12 Noon: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Portland) FS1

    1:30 p.m.: Truck Series Toyota 200 (Gateway)
    Distance: 200 miles (160 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 35, Lap 70, Lap 160
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $738,514

    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Pacific Office Automation 147 (Portland)
    Distance: 147.75 miles (75 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 25, Lap 50, Lap 75
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,376,231

    Sunday, June 4
    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 (Gateway)
    Distance: 300 miles (240 laps)
    Stages end on Lap 45, Lap 140, Lap 240)
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $7,425,976

  • Updated Weekend schedule for Charlotte

    Updated Weekend schedule for Charlotte

    NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a triple-header schedule of events on Memorial Day weekend. The NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola program will also be back for the ninth season to pay tribute to the U.S. military members and their families.

    The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competes Friday evening followed by the Xfinity Series on Saturday, culminating with the main event on Sunday with the Cup Series Coca-Cola 600. The ARCA Menards Series will also precede the Truck Series race with the General Tire 150 at 6 p.m. on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Denny Hamlin is the defending winner of the 2022 Coca-Cola 600. Multiple race winners include Jimmie Johnson with eight wins, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick have won three times, and Brad Keselowski has won twice.

    JR Motorsports driver, Josh Berry, is the defending Xfinity Series race winner and is hoping to score his first checkered flag of the season. But, it may be a difficult feat to accomplish as there have been 10 different winners at Charlotte in the previous 10 races.

    Austin Dillon was the last repeat winner, winning both races in 2015, followed by Denny Hamlin (2016), Joey Logano (2016), Ryan Blaney (2017), Alex Bowman (2017), Brad Keselowski (2018), Tyler Reddick (2019), Kyle Busch (2020), Ty Gibbs (2021) and Josh Berry (2022).

    The 20 previous Truck Series races at Charlotte have produced 11 different race winners. Kyle Busch leads all drivers with eight trophies and has won seven out of the last 13 races.

    NASCAR Press Pass will be available after the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series races.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, May 26

    11:40 a.m.: ARCA Practice – No TV
    12:40 a.m.: ARCA Qualifying – No TV
    1:35 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
    2:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
    3:35 p.m.: Xfinity Practice – FS1
    4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Qualifying – FS1

    6 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 150 – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    8:30 p.m.: Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 30, Lap 60 and Lap 134
    The Purse: $767,542

    Saturday, May 27

    Noon: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 – Postponed to Monday, May 29 at Noon
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM
    Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    The Purse: $1,317,391

    7:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM – Canceled
    7:50 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM – Canceled

    Sunday, May 28

    6 p.m.: Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
    FOX/PRN/SiriusXM
    Distance: 600 miles (400 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 100, Stage 2 ends on Lap 200, Stage 3 ends on Lap 300, Final Stage ends on Lap 400
    The Purse: $9,421,275

  • All-Star Race weekend schedule and format

    All-Star Race weekend schedule and format

    NASCAR returns to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for the first time since 1996 to host the All-Star Race where 24 drivers will compete on the 0.625-mile track. The speedway joins an elite group as the fifth different track to host the exhibition race.

    Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is the defending race winner in what will be the 39th running of the All-Star Race.

    There are 21 drivers who have already earned their spot in the All-Star Race by winning a race in 2022 or 2023 along with past winners of the All-Star Race and past Cup Series champions who currently competing full-time in the series. 

    Those drivers include Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace.

    Sunday’s Open will precede the All-Star Race and determine the rest of the field. The top two finishers and the fan vote winner will advance to the All-Star Race for a total of 24 drivers.

    There are 16 competitors who will compete in the Open including AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Josh Berry, Josh Bilicki, Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Chandler Smith and J.J. Yeley.

    The starting lineups for the two heat races on Saturday and the All-Star Open on Sunday will be determined by the Pit Crew Challenge on Friday – the faster the pit stop, the higher starting position for the team. The fastest pit crew team will also receive a $100,000 bonus

    Saturday’s heat races will feature the 21 drivers already locked into the All-Star Race and will set their starting positions. There will be two 60-lap heat races with Heat 1 setting the inside row and Heat 2 setting the outside row.

    Saturday afternoon preceding the All-Star heat races, the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will take to the track to compete in the Tyson 250.

    NASCAR Press Pass will be available throughout the weekend.

    Friday, May 19
    3:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
    4 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    5:45 p.m.: Qualifying (All-Star Pit Crew Challenge)

    Saturday, May 20
    10:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
    1:30 p.m.: Truck Series Tyson 250
    156.25 miles (250 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 70, Lap 140, Final Stage ends on Lap 250
    Fox/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $696,922

    7:20 p.m.: All-Star Heat Race 1 – FS1
    8:15 p.m.: All-Star Heat Race 2 – FS1

    Sunday, May 21
    5:10 p.m.: Driver Intros for All-Star Open
    5:30 p.m.: All-Star Open – 62.5 miles/100 Laps
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $664,600

  • William Bryon Tames Darlington, wins third race of the season

    William Bryon Tames Darlington, wins third race of the season

    William Byron was in the right place at the right time at Darlington Raceway and took advantage of the opportunity to score his third NASCAR Cup Series win of the season in overtime at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”

    As the final laps wound down, Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson wrecked each other while racing for the win, bringing out the final caution flag and setting up an overtime finish in the Goodyear 400.  

    “Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, was furious and expressed his anger on the team radio.

    How does that make any sense, running us into the fence? That’s three races he’s taken us out of—the 1 car—three races he’s taken us out of.”

    Chastain, who finished 29th, took the blame for the incident but indicated it was not intentional.

    “Full commit into Turn 1,” he said. “I got really tight and drove up and turned myself. I wanted to squeeze him. I wanted to push him up. We’d been racing back and forth all day. But I definitely didn’t want to turn myself.”

    Bryon, now in the lead, led the field back to green and held off Kevin Harvick to capture his seventh career Cup Series victory and the 100th NASCAR win for the No. 24 car.

    But it was also a bittersweet moment for Byron.

    “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” he said. “My granddad passed away on Thursday, and just, man, I wish my family could be here. Just things have a way of working out, honestly. It just worked out that way today. We didn’t have the best third stage. We just kept battling, and things just kind of come back around. Definitely didn’t expect this.”

    Kevin Harvick finished second followed by Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace, rounding out the top five.

    “We had a good car all day,” Harvick said. “We just never could get up towards the front in our Sunny Delight Ford Mustang. Struggled in traffic today, but we were really good at the second half of the run and just struggled at the beginning of the run.

    “But we had good track position, then had a bad pit stop under green, and then wound up having everything work out there at the end, didn’t have anything for William. The front is torn up pretty good. But they did a great job and just kind of kept ourselves in the game, and you never know what’s going to happen.”

    Martin Truex Jr. was dominant for much of the race, winning Stage 1 and leading 145 laps, but developed handling issues after contact with Chastain and finished in 31st.

    “When we got into Chastain there at the end of the second stage going for the win in that, it knocked the toe out, so we were tight from there on out,” Truex said. “Just an unfortunate deal. There was plenty of room there, but he just came off the wall and hit me.

    “Like I said, knocked the toe out in the right front. Pretty crappy from there, and then on that restart (Lap 281), I guess I just got real tight, and I don’t even know who I squeezed into the wall, but I apologize to them. Probably my fault, just got real tight and couldn’t stay down the track.”

    Ross Chastain currently leads the Cup Series points standings. Christopher Bell is second (– 27), Harvick is third (– 29), Denny Hamlin is fourth (– 36) and William Bryon is fifth – 42.

  • Kyle Larson wins NASCAR Xfinity Series Darlington Duel

    Kyle Larson wins NASCAR Xfinity Series Darlington Duel

    Darlington Raceway lived up to its Too Tough to Tame moniker as Kyle Larson battled John Hunter Nemechek for the win in the Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 Saturday afternoon.

    It all came down to the end of the race with Nemechek in the lead as a relentless Larson finally overtook him on the final lap to win in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

    Larson’s victory was hard fought after a penalty for speeding on pit road relegated him to the back of the field for the final stage of the race.

    I knew we were going to have time to get to the front if we had a caution,” Larson said. “We were picking off cars really fast and had some lane selections work out for me. We were just bouncing off each other a little bit. I don’t know what happened in (Turn) 3. It seemed like he (Nemechek) tried to get behind me to shove me into the corner. It kind of hooked me right, and I hit the wall, and I was trying to stay away from him and get off of (Turn) 4.” 

    Nemechek, who lead a race-high 57 laps, was understandably disappointed after his contact with Larson resulted in a fifth-place finish, but indicated that he will use it as motivation moving forward and learn from his mistakes.

    “I feel like we both had dominant race cars at times,” Nemechek said. “I feel like him and I were definitely the class in the field as the day went on, and I don’t know if he wouldn’t have got a speeding penalty how we would’ve ended up but I felt like we were really good for portions of the run, and he was really good other portions of the run.

    “So ultimately, he probably should’ve won the race. He shouldn’t have been that close to me, come the white-flag lap, but he was fast, and he’s one of the best in the sport. There’s a reason that he’s a NASCAR Cup Series champion and wins a lot. So we’ll take it and move on with it. I learned a lot today for when we come back here in the fall and just got to be a little bit smarter about it.”

    Justin Allgaier finished second followed by Cole Custer in third and Austin Hill in fourth, with Nemechek rounding out the top five.  

    Nemechek currently leads the Xfinity Series driver standings with 424 points, followed by Austin Hill (-1), Allgaier (-53), Josh Berry (-57) and Cole Custer (-9).

    Next up for the Xfinity Series is the Alsco Uniforms 300 on Saturday, May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It will be televised on FS1 with radio coverage provided by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Results:

  • Truex snares pole for Darlington Throwback Cup Series main event

    Truex snares pole for Darlington Throwback Cup Series main event

    Martin Truex Jr. topped qualifying Saturday morning with a lap of 169.409 mph at Darlington Raceway in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota and will lead the Cup Series field to green for Sunday’s Goodyear 400.  It’s his first Busch Light Pole Award at Darlington, his first this season and the 21st of his career.

    Truex described the pole-winning run as a team effort.

    “It’s, I think, just a matter of everything coming together with your team,” he said. “Our cars are fast, we’re executing and we’re making good decisions. Things are coming together lately and it feels like momentum but it’s really just things coming together. It takes a lot to be running good in this series at this level consistently.”

    Bubba Wallace will join Truex on the front row in his 23XI Racing Toyota after posting a 169.339 mph lap while Chevrolet drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr., William Byron and Ross Chastain completed the top five fastest drivers in qualifying followed by Daniel Suárez, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski. Keselowski was the lone Ford in the top 10.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Christian Eckes wins Darlington Truck Series race in dramatic double-overtime finish

    Christian Eckes wins Darlington Truck Series race in dramatic double-overtime finish

    Christian Eckes led the most laps, 82 of 158, and held on through two overtimes Friday night to claim victory in the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington Raceway. The win was even more rewarding after lackluster finishes in the previous five races this season of three 30th place and two 15th place results.

    “I don’t really feel that excited, because the truck was so good it drove itself,” Eckes said, adding, “It’s been a really, really rough couple of weeks.”

    “To come back and win shows the resilience of this team, and how we had to win it just shows the fight in this team. I was really determined. It’s really, really fun to be here, man, and when you have a truck like this, you’ve just got to finish it out.”

    “We needed a little bit longer runs, I think,” he said. “Our truck was strong on longer runs – we just had too many medium to short runs, and it was hard to get track position there to advance forward.

    Stewart Friesen finished second posting this third top-10 result of 2023. Tanner Gray, William Byron, and Carson Hocevar completed the top five at Darlington. Rajah Caruth finished sixth and was the highest-finishing rookie.

    Full-time Cup Series driver Bryon, was piloting the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry, and won Stage 2, but had to settle for a fourth-place finish.

    “Hopefully, we learned some stuff for the Cup race. We usually run really good here, so it’s just a matter of trying to put it all together and learn some nuances with the race track, so hopefully we did that.”

    Zane Smith currently leads the driver standings with 338 points, followed by Ty Majeski (-9), Corey Heim (-15), Ben Rhodes (-37) Christian Eckes (-39), Grant Enfinger (-39), Matt Crafton (-78), Tanner Gray (-84), Nick Sanchez (-105) and Stewart Friesen (-111).

    The first two stages of the race were caution-free, excluding state breaks, but the final stage had six cautions with two overtime attempts to finish under green flag conditions.

    Next weekend the Truck Series travels to North Wilkesboro Speedway. Television coverage will be provided by FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Results:

  • John Hunter Nemechek grabs pole for Xfinity Series race at Darlington

    John Hunter Nemechek grabs pole for Xfinity Series race at Darlington

    John Hunter Nemechek won the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 with a 29.613 lap at 166.062 mph in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was his second career pole in the series and his first this season.

    “I feel really, really good about our Pye-Barker Toyota,” Nemechek said. “The guys on this 20 team have worked really hard and have prepared really fast race cars every single week.

    “Darlington is one of my favorite racetracks to come to. So really proud of all the guys on this team, proud to come out here and get the pole.”

    Ryan Truex, who won at Dover in the most recent Xfinity race, will start on the front row next to his teammate, Nemechek, after a lap of 165.275 mph. Kyle Larson, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, qualified third at 165.081 mph. Sam Mayer (164.749 mph) in the JR Motorsports Chevrolet and Sewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer (164.578) completed the top five in qualifying.

    Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, Parker Retzlaff, Sammy Smith and Austin Hill will start the race in positions six-10th, respectively.

    The Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 will be televised on FOX at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineup: