Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service

1236 posts

Jimmie Johnson’s Win at Martinsville Brings Talk of Seventh Title to Forefront

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News

Mr. Martinsville is back – and with him, a realistic shot at a record-tying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Winless at the 0.526-mile short track since the spring race of 2013, Jimmie Johnson ended his “drought” on Sunday with a victory in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 and earned a berth in the Championship 4 race, set for Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In winning for the ninth time at Martinsville, the fourth time this season and the 79th time in his career, Johnson didn’t take the lead until he passed Denny Hamlin for the top spot on lap 409 of 500. Continue reading →

Johnny Sauter Holds Off Chase Elliott to Advance to Championship Race

Camping World Truck Series NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Track News

With a finish that was the diametric opposite of his last run at Martinsville Speedway, Johnny Sauter punched his ticket to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship race with a victory in Saturday’s Texas Roadhouse 200 at the 0.526-mile short track.

After a restart with 18 laps left, Sauter, who finished last at Martinsville in April, held off pole winner Chase Elliott, beating the No. 71 Chevrolet driver to the finish line by 0.316 seconds. Continue reading →

Logano Advances with Win in Wild Talladega Race; Chase Field Cut to Eight

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News

If Joey Logano’s victory in Sunday’s Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was decisive—in relative terms—the race between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon for the final pot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s Round of 8 was anything but.

In an overtime race that went four laps past its scheduled distance, Logano surged ahead after a restart on lap 191 at the 2.66-mile track and beat runner-up Brian Scott to the finish line by 0.124 seconds.

Hamlin’s margin over Dillon for the eighth spot in the Round of 8 was much smaller. At the end of 510.72 miles, Hamlin outraced Kurt Busch for third place by 0.006 seconds—roughly two feet—to score the exact number of points he needed to eliminate Dillon from the Chase on a tiebreaker. Continue reading →

‘Secret’ Allies Help Hamlin Hold Chase Berth

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, walks on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo - Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, walks on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images

With his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates running at the back of the field throughout Sunday’s race to protect Round of 8 spots, Denny Hamlin had no obvious friends at the front of the field to help him join his teammates in the next round of the Chase.

But Hamlin revealed after finishing third behind Joey Logano and Brian Scott that he had received help from unexpected quarters in doing just enough to beat Austin Dillon for the final berth on a tiebreaker. Continue reading →