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Author: Angie Campbell

  • Weekend schedule for Atlanta

    Weekend schedule for Atlanta

    NASCAR travels to Atlanta Motor Speedway with all three national series competing on the 1.5-mile track. The Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series headline Saturday’s action and the Cup Series will close out the weekend’s events with the Ambetter Health 400.

    Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron is the defending race winner and has won the previous two Cup Series races (Las Vegas Speedway and Phoenix Raceway). Look for him to rebound from penalties assessed after last week’s race at Phoenix which dropped him from fourth to 29th in the points standings.

    Austin Hill currently leads the driver standings and will be one of the drivers to watch in the Xfinity Series with two wins this season at Daytona and Las Vegas.

    Four drivers entered in the Truck Series event are previous winners including Corey Heim (2022 race winner), Grant Enfinger, John Hunter Nemechek and Matt Crafton.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 17

    3:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying- FS1
    4:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1

    Saturday, March 18

    11:35 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying
    Post Cup Series Qualifying on Press Pass

    2 p.m.: Truck Series Fr8 208
    Distance: 207.9 miles (135 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 30, Lap 60, Lap 135
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $673,693
    Post Truck Series Race on Press Pass

    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series RAPTOR 250
    Distance: 251.02 miles (163 Laps)
    Stages end on Lap 40, Lap 80, Lap 163
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,274,624
    Post Xfinity Series Race on Press Pass

    Sunday, March 19

    3 p.m.: Cup Series Ambetter Health 400
    Distance: 400 miles (260 laps)
    Stages end on Lap 60, Lap 160, Final Stage ends on Lap 260
    FOX/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $8,725,965
    TV: FOX/PRN/SiriusXM
    Post Cup Series Race on Press Pass

  • Kyle Larson tops Cup Series qualifying to win Busch Light Pole at Phoenix

    Kyle Larson tops Cup Series qualifying to win Busch Light Pole at Phoenix

    Kyle Larson was fasted in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Phoenix Raceway and claimed the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500. He led the session in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a 130.237 mph lap, earning his second career pole at Phoenix and his 15th career pole.

    Larson also topped the practice session Friday and explained the significance of starting on the pole at the one-mile track.

    “It means a lot,” Larson said. “Qualifying is really important here. We got the pole in 2021 and that really helped us win the championship race. Joey (Logano) had an extremely fast car in the fall last year, but he got the pole as well and won. So I think that number one pit stall means a lot.

    “Happy to be quick this weekend,” he added, “quick in practice and have it translate to qualifying.”

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin was second fastest (129.931 mph) followed by Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron (129.922 mph). Brad Keselowski will start fourth in the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford (129.762 mph) and JGR’s Christopher Bell rounded out the top five at in his JGR Toyota (129.580 mph).

    Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones completed the top-10 in qualifying.

    The United Rentals Work United 500 is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Weekend schedule for Phoenix

    Weekend schedule for Phoenix

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Phoenix Raceway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series is off until March 18 at Atlanta Speedway. The ARCA Menards Series will kickstart the racing action with the General Tire 150 at 8 p.m. Friday night.

    Chase Elliott is recovering from a broken left tibia he sustained in a snowboarding incident and JR Motorsports driver, Josh Berry, will fill in as the relief driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at all of the oval tracks. IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car driver, Jordan Taylor, is slated to drive the No. 9 at Circuit of The Americas. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe won his first Cup Series race last spring at the 1-mile track and is the defending race winner.

    Drivers to watch during the Xfinity United Rentals 200 at Phoenix include Austin Hill who has been on a hot streak with two wins in three events this season and Cup Series regular Kyle Busch.

    Busch will make his second Xfinity start this season at Phoenix and is currently tied with Mark Martin for the most Xfinity Series wins at a single track. Busch has 11 wins at Phoenix and Martin won 11 races at Rockingham Speedway.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 10

    5 p.m.: ARCA Practice – No TV
    6 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying – Impound, Timed, All Entries – No TV

    6:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – All Entries – FS2

    7:40 p.m.: ARCA Driver Intros
    8 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 150 (150 Laps, 150 Miles) FS2/MRN/SiriusXM

    Saturday, March 11

    12:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    1:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1
    Impound: Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, All Entries – FS1

    2:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – Impound
    Group A & B, Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    4 p.m.: Xfinity Driver Intros
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series United Rentals 200
    Stages end on Laps 45/90/200 – 200 miles
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $1,385,615

    Post Xfinity Series race – NASCAR Press Pass

    Sunday, March 12

    3 p.m.: Cup Driver Intros
    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500
    Stages end on Laps 60/185/312 – 312 miles
    FOX/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $7,453,660
    Post Cup Series race – NASCAR Press Pass

  • Joey Logano claims NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Las Vegas

    Joey Logano claims NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Las Vegas

    Joey Logano earned the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lap time of 29.024 seconds at 186.053 mph in his Team Penske Ford. It was his first pole this season and the 27th of his career.

    “The car was wicked good,” Logano said. “It really just handled well and obviously has really good speed which is what you hope for when you get here. You hope you make the right changes and adjustments from the fall when we were here last.

    “Obviously, we were pretty good then but you have to keep evolving and trying things. It gets a little nerve-wracking when you try to make these changes that you are married to for the most part when practice starts.

    “I think Paul (Wolfe) made some great changes there, some good decisions, gave me a really fast Pennzoil Mustang today that has good speed in it. Hopefully that transfers to the race tomorrow. I think it will. We have some fine-tuning to do in race trim which we will talk about tonight and try to make some adjustments tomorrow morning.”

    William Byron qualified second in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    I felt good (during qualifying). That was a wide open lap there, so I’m not sure what I could have done different. Maybe cut a little bit of the track off (turn) four and I could have just let the car kind of wind out. I’m happy with the lap though. Being second is good. Not pumped to be second for the fact of not getting the pole, but at least it’s a good starting spot. I’m excited for that.

    “We just need a good, solid day tomorrow with the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy. Hopefully we can get ourselves a win and move up the points standings.”

    Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney, was third fastest in his No. 12 Ford. Ty Gibbs was the fastest qualifying rookie and will start fourth in the No. 54 Toyota with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

    Harrison Burton hit the wall during practice in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and was unable to qualify. He will go to a backup car and will start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube.

    Tyler Reddick will start at the back of the field due to an engine change in his No. 45 12XI Racing Toyota.  

    Live Fast Motorsports driver, BJ McLeod, who did not practice or qualify due to a transaxle issue, will also start at the rear of the field in his No. 78 Chevrolet.

    The Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube will air live on FOX Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with radio coverage by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • Chase Elliott sidelined after surgery to repair fractured leg

    Chase Elliott sidelined after surgery to repair fractured leg

    NASCAR 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott will miss an indefinite number of races after undergoing surgery Friday night to repair the fractured tibia of his left leg. The injury occurred while Elliott was snowboarding in Colorado.

    Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, emphasized that Elliott’s recovery was their top priority.

    “Chase’s health is our primary concern. He’s spoken with several members of our team and is understandably disappointed to miss time in the car. Of course, he has our full support, and we’ll provide any resources he needs.”

    When asked about a probable return date for Elliott, Jeff Andrews, president and general manager, said, “At this point in time, we would expect this obviously to be several weeks. But beyond that, I don’t have a timeline to offer for you. We will obviously work with Chase and his doctors in the future to help determine that.”

    “But again, I just can’t reiterate enough that for Mr. Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, the most important thing is Chase’s health and his well-being. We will work with him on that timeline.

    “We’re going to race a long time together with Chase Elliott, and we’re going to win a lot more races together. It’s certainly a little bit of a setback, and obviously, Chase is very disappointed, but again, I want to reiterate that the most important thing is Chase’s health. We’ll have his seat ready for him when he’s healthy and ready to get back into a race car.”

    Andrews also confirmed that the team does not prohibit their drivers from taking part in activities that could result in injuries.

    “These guys have to go out and live a life outside of the race track, and certainly what Chase was doing was not anything abnormal for him,” Andrews stated. “He’s an experienced snowboarder. He’s been doing it most of his life, and it was an accident. A similar injury could happen falling off a mountain bike or stepping off a curb while you’re jogging. It was an accident, and Chase feels awful about it, but our stance is just that – it was an accident, and our guys have to go out and live their lives.”

    JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver, Josh Berry, is scheduled to substitute for Elliott this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Berry characterized it as both a challenge and an opportunity.

    “It’s going to be a great challenge,” he said, “but that comes with a lot of opportunity in there, as well. We’ve talked – I don’t think we have a lot of expectations for how this is going to go. Obviously my focus is winning a Xfinity Series Championship this year, but to get this opportunity to get some experience in a Cup car is great for me. Obviously I want to be in the Cup Series one day, so you never know what could happen.

    “We’re just trying to be realistic. As for this, I’ll be available for these guys whenever they need me and hopefully I can do a good job for them.”

    Hendrick Motorsports has also applied for a playoff waiver. This would allow Elliott to remain championship eligible even though he will not compete in all of the regular season races. If granted, he would have to win a race or earn enough points to contend for the championship.  

  • Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    NASCAR travels to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend with a full schedule of competition in all three series.

    During the 2022 season, we saw 19 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers in victory lane. Will the trend continue this year?

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the season-opening Daytona 500 and last week, Kyle Busch won at Auto Club Speedway in only his second start with Richard Childress Racing.

    Las Vegas Stats:

    NASCAR Cup Series – Jimmie Johnson leads the series with four victories at Las Vegas in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. There are eight active drivers who have previously won at the 1.5-mile track led by Brad Keselowski (2014, 2016, 2018) and Joey Logano (2019, 2020, 2022) with three victories each.

    NASCAR Xfinity Series – Three NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers head to Las Vegas hoping to add another win to their resume. JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry has won twice, in 2021 and 2022, along with current Cup Series driver Kyle Busch with two wins in 2016 and March 2019. Busch will be driving the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet this weekend. Tyler Reddick has one previous win in September 2019 and will be competing in the No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota.

    NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – It will be a busy three days for Kyle Busch who is also entered in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at his home track driving the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Chevrolet. In six Truck Series starts at Las Vegas, he has three wins. Previous winners in the series include John Hunter Nemechek (2021), Christian Eckes (2020), Grant Enfinger (2018) and Ben Rhodes (2017).

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 3

    4:35 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
    6:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    7:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1
    9 p.m.: Truck Series Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts
    Green Flag: 9:13 p.m.
    Distance: 201 miles – 134 Laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 30, Stage 2 ends on Lap 60, Final Stage ends on Lap 134
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $703,062

    Saturday, March 4

    1:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS2/FS1 at 2 p.m.
    2:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS1
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Green Flag: 4:49 p.m.
    Distance: 300 miles – 200 Laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,716,356

    Sunday, March 5

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube
    Green Flag: 3:49 p.m.
    Distance: 400 miles – 267 laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 80, Stage 2 ends on Lap 165, Final Stage ends on Lap 267
    FOX/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $8,960,174

  • Kyle Busch claims first win for Richard Childress Racing at Fontana

    Kyle Busch claims first win for Richard Childress Racing at Fontana

    In only his second NASCAR Cup Series race for Richard Childress Racing, Kyle Busch earned his 61st career win in the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet. It was his fifth triumph at Auto Club Speedway and the 19th consecutive season that Bush has been to victory lane in the series.

    The win advanced Busch to first all-time over Richard Petty, who had wins in 18 consecutive seasons.  Kyle and Kurt Busch also broke a record for the most victories brothers with a combined Cup Series win total of 95 races, overtaking Bobby and Donnie Allison with the most wins among brothers.

    Busch was ecstatic after the race.

    “I think it’s just phenomenal,” he said post-race. “I can’t thank Richard and Judy (Childress) enough. I can’t thank Austin (Dillon) for calling me and getting me talking and getting me this opportunity to be able to come over here to RCR and be a part of Chevrolet and be able to race this Lucas Oil Camaro today. To be able to put it up front like that, man.

    “The guys did a great job, Randall (Burnett, crew chief), everybody that has worked so hard during the off-season. We’ve done a lot of sim stuff; we’ve done a lot of testing in general just with trying to get up to speed, systems and all that sort of stuff. But man, there’s nothing more rewarding than being able to go to Victory Lane.”

    Chase Elliott finished second in his No. 8 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, rebounding from a disappointing 38th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

    “Just really proud of our team,” he said after the race. “We obviously didn’t run very good there toward the end of the year last year, and everybody really went to work hard over the winter to try and get better.

    “Appreciate everybody on our NAPA team for just sticking with it and sticking with each other. Obviously, I think we still have some work to do, but it was really nice to just see a lot of that hard work pay off and have the car driving like we were wanting it to do. So that’s always a good thing. Appreciate everybody’s effort; everybody at Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet.”

    Elliott also acknowledged Busch’s win while looking ahead to the next race.

    “Congratulations to Kyle (Busch). For him to leave and then to go get the job done like that is pretty cool. He’s always been really good to me, so happy for them.

    “Looking forward to getting to Vegas and hopefully competing for some more wins.”

    Chevrolet was dominant with Ross Chastain finishing in third after leading a race-high 91 laps and winning the first two stages followed by Daniel Suárez in fourth, giving Chevrolet four of the top five spots. Kevin Harvick completed the top five in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.  

    Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano completed the top 10.

    Several cars were taken out of contention after a multi-car accident during a restart on Lap 86, including pole-sitter Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece and Tyler Reddick.

    There were 8 cautions for 38 laps during the race and 28 lead changes among 13 drivers.

  • Xfinity race postponed, NASCAR doubleheader set for Sunday at Auto Club Speedway

    Xfinity race postponed, NASCAR doubleheader set for Sunday at Auto Club Speedway

    The Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 has been postponed to Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on FS2 following the Cup Series Pala Casino 400 on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET for a doubleheader Sunday.

    After continual rain and random snow flurries amid efforts to dry the track, NASCAR canceled all of Saturday’s scheduled on-track activity at Auto Club Speedway, including practice, qualifying and the Xfinity Series race.

    Every effort was made to start the Xfinity Series race, originally scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET Saturday evening. At approximately 6 p.m. ET, the drivers were sent on track and made a few pace laps but the rain persisted and the cars were sent back to pit road, prompting the decision to postpone.

    The lineups for both series were set by the performance matrix based on last week’s results at Daytona International Speedway, as specified in the NASCAR rule book.

    It is comprised of the driver’s fastest lap time position (15%), the driver’s final race position (25%), the owner’s final race position (25%) and the owner’s points position (35%).

    Christopher Bell will be on the pole for the Cup Series race with Austin Hill leading the field to green for the Xfinity Series event.

    Lineups:

  • Updated Weekend schedule for Auto Club Speedway

    Updated Weekend schedule for Auto Club Speedway

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Auto Club Speedway this weekend. It will be the final race on the current 2-mile configuration. The Craftsman Truck Series is off and will return to competition on March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Kyle Busch leads all active Cup Series drivers with four wins at the speedway in 2005, 2013, 2014 and 2019. Also of note, the race will mark Kevin Harvick’s 750th consecutive Cup Series start. He joins Jeff Gordon (797) and Ricky Rudd (788) with the third-most consecutive starts in the series.

    There are two former Xfinity Series Auto Club Speedway winners entered in this weekend’s race. Current full-time Xfinity driver Cole Custer has two previous victories (2019, 2022) and current Cup driver, Austin Dillon (2016), will be competing in the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, Feb. 25

    12:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1 – Canceled
    12:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1 – Canceled

    2:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM – Canceled
    2:35 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM – Canceled

    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Driver Intros
    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 – Postponed to Sunday at 8 p.m. (approx.)
    Distance: 300 miles (150 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 35, Stage 2 ends on Lap 70, Final Stage ends on Lap 150
    FS2/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,659,396

    Sunday, Feb. 26

    3 p.m.: Driver Intros
    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Pala Casino 400
    Distance: 400 miles (200 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 65, Stage 2 ends on Lap 130, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    FOX/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $8,484,302

  • Daytona 500 Speedweeks schedule of events

    Daytona 500 Speedweeks schedule of events

    NASCAR’S 75th season officially kicks off this week at Daytona International Speedway. Country music recording artist Dierks Bentley will provide the entertainment Sunday afternoon prior to the running of the historic 65th Daytona 500.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with three wins in this prestigious event (2016, 2019 and 2020). Jimmie Johnson has visited victory lane twice (2006, 2013) as he returns to NASCAR this year on a part-time schedule with Legacy Motor Club. They are joined by drivers Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick, who have one Daytona 500 victory to their credit.

    Three active drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have previous wins heading into the, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300, race. Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley won the event in 2020 and 2021 and Austin Hill went to victory lane in his rookie season last year with Richard Childress Racing. Jeremy Clements is the defending race winner and will make his 26th career start at Daytona.

    In the last six Craftsman Truck Series races at Daytona, there have been six different winners – Kaz Grala, Johnny Sauter, Austin Hill, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith. Four of those drivers are entered in this weekend’s NextEra Energy 250 including Johnny Sauter, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith, the defending race winner.

    Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series driver Chase Elliott will also participate in the Truck Series race along with Spire Motorsport’s Corey Lajoie. Travis Pastrana, driving for 23XI and attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500, will join them on the track in the No. 41 Niece Motorsports entry. Pastrana has five previous starts in the series.

    Wednesday, Feb. 15

    8:15 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Thursday, Feb. 16

    4 p.m.: Truck Series random drawing for Qualifying
    4:05 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice – No TV
    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    7 p.m.: Cup Series Duel 1 (60 laps/150 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    8:45 p.m. (approx.) Cup Series Duel 2 (60 laps/150 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Friday, Feb. 17

    1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying (Impound, Groups)
    3 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound-Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    5:30 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Race – (Stages 20/40/100 Laps = 250 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,025,847

    Saturday, Feb. 18

    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1/FS2/MRN/SiriusXM
    11:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound-Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Race – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Race (Stages 30/60/120 Laps = 300 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $3,327,595

    Sunday, Feb. 19

    2:15 p.m.: Cup Series Driver Intros
    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series 65th Daytona 500 (Stages 65/130/200 Laps = 500 Miles) FOX/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $26,934,357