Absence of Cup Veterans Doesn’t Hurt Dash 4 Cash Competition

Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 Cheney Brothers/Southern Foods Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 22, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

A difference in format and a ban on five-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veterans may have changed the tenor of the Dash 4 Cash races in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, but it hasn’t diminished the quality of competition in the eyes of the drivers.

This year, eligibility for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonuses is determined during the first two stages of a race, rather than through separate heat races. And though Cup drivers with five-year full-time tenures aren’t allowed to compete, there are plenty of talented drivers with less than five years of Cup experience eager to fill the top-quality rides. Continue reading

Erik Jones Dominates at Texas for NASCAR XFINITY Series Win

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What a difference a pit stop made.

Erik Jones gained two seconds over Ryan Blaney on his final trip to pit road, and that was all the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota needed for a convincing victory in Saturday’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

In winning for the second time at Texas, the first time this season and the seventh time in his career, Jones led 112 of the 200 laps and stretched his advantage to more than three seconds in the late going before driving conservatively over the last three laps and beating Blaney to the stripe by 0.512 seconds. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series’ My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series teams are at Texas Motor Speedway for the My Bariatric Solutions 300 on Saturday, April 8th. Television and radio coverage begins at 1 pm ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio with a green flag start at 1:30 pm ET.

Drivers will race 300 miles over 200 laps with Stage 1 ending on lap 45, Stage 2 ends on lap 90. Continue reading

Dillon’s Run Validates Progress at RCR

Aric Almirola, driver of the #43 STP Ford, races Erik Jones, driver of the #77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, and Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Okuma Chevrolet, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 2, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. Photo – Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

Ryan Newman’s victory at Phoenix Raceway, made possible by staying out on old tires, seemingly came out of nowhere. After all, no Richard Childress Racing driver had won an event in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2013 before Newman took the checkered flag at Phoenix.

But the speed in the RCR cars has improved, as both Austin Dillon and Newman proved in Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Dillon came home fifth, his first top-five since running fourth at Bristol last August. Continue reading

Brad Keselowski Ends Ford Drought with Martinsville Victory

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In Sunday’s STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, everything worked – but nothing more than Brad Keselowski’s race-winning No. 2 Ford.

Yes, that’s right, a Ford. The car maker found Victory Lane at the 0.526-mile short track for the first time since Oct. 20, 2002, when Kurt Busch won at NASCAR’s oldest and smallest premier series track in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Continue reading