Author Archives: NASCAR Wire Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Retire following 2017 Season

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives a statement announcing his retirement from NASCAR after the 2017 season at the Hendrick Motorsports Team Center on April 25, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo – Mike Comer/Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr. today announced that he will retire following the 2017 NASCAR season.

This morning, NASCAR’s 14-time Most Popular Driver broke the news to his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports race team, followed shortly thereafter by a press release from Hendrick Motorsports to publicly announce the retirement. According to the release, Earnhardt and team owner Rick Hendrick first met about the driver’s decision on March 29. Continue reading →

Bowyer Hopes to Continue Bounce-Back Season at Bristol

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Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 Haas Automation Demo Days Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 22, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Clint Bowyer’s NASCAR career hit a crossroad last season. Racing for HScott Motorsports, the 2012 championship runner-up finished 27th in the points standings and only logged three top-ten finishes – both career lows.

Heading into this year as the replacement for Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing, there was optimism Bowyer could get his career back on track. So far, he’s experiencing a bounce-back season. He’s already matched his 2016 total with three top-ten finishes and his third-place showing at Auto Club Speedway was his best performance since finishing third at Sonoma Raceway in June of 2015. Continue reading →

Red-hot Kyle Larson Goes for Second Consecutive Win

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, applies the winners sticker in victory lane with his son, Owen, after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 26, 2017 in Fontana, California. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

…and Fifth straight top-two finish at Martinsville

After running out of gas with the lead on the final lap of the Daytona 500 and finishing runner-up in the three subsequent races, Kyle Larson finally got his first win of the season.

The No. 42 Chevrolet driver led a race-high 110 laps on his way to Victory Lane in last Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Continue reading →

Christopher Bell Ready to Continue Early-Season Success

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Christopher Bell, driver of the #4 JBL Toyota, affixes the winner’s decal to his car in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 4, 2017 in Hampton, Georgia. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

There’s been no sophomore slump for Christopher Bell in his second full-time season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The 22-year-old Oklahoman tops the standings by seven points over defending series champion Johnny Sauter after an eighth-place finish at Daytona and win at Atlanta to open the season. Bell, who became the first driver to sweep the stages and win a race under NASCAR’s enhanced format at Atlanta, leads the Camping World Truck Series with seven playoff points. Continue reading →

Larson Attempts to Extend Points Lead at Auto Club, Notch First Win

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 18, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Kyle Larson achieved a couple of “firsts” when he notched his third straight runner-up in last weekend’s race at Phoenix. He became the first NASCAR Drive for Diversity alum to top the points standings, as well as the first Chip Ganassi Racing driver to lead the standings this late in the season since 2002.

On Sunday, he’ll attempt to notch his first win of the season in the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California at 3:30 pm ET on FOX – the third and final stop of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ “NASCAR Goes West.” Continue reading →