Innovative Format for Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race Announced

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The competition package and format for NASCAR’s highly anticipated May 19 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race will have a new look, one the sanctioning body feels confident will provide a lot of excitement for both fans and drivers in the annual non-points event. Continue reading

NASCAR Champ Bobby Labonte to Race for NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Title

Photo – Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

First American NASCAR Champion to Compete Full-time in the International Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 9, 2018) –  The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is about to get some American flavor. Continue reading

Innovative Evernham Finds Pot of Hall of Fame gold at the End of the ‘Rainbow’

A portrait of Ray Evernham, crew chief for the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Du Pont Chevrolet talking with his driver Jeff Gordon during the1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Pepsi Southern 500 race on 6 September 1998 at the Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. Photo – Hulton Archive

Note: This is the fifth in a five-part series of features detailing the careers of each of the five inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018. The inductees, who will be officially enshrined on Jan. 19 (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), are Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Even before answering the first question from a ready group of racing reporters about his induction Friday into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Ray Evernham, 60, insisted on making an important point. Continue reading

Pressure Builds as Playoff Round of 16 Concludes Sunday at Dover

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Dover International Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Apache Warrior 400, several teams are feeling intense pressure to advance into the next round of the playoffs. Following the first two playoff races at Chicagoland and New Hampshire, only 12 drivers will advance to the next round following playoff race number three at Dover this Sunday, meaning four teams are in jeopardy of elimination from playoff contention. Continue reading

DiBenedetto will Return to Go Fas Racing in 2018

Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Matt DiBenedetto will return to the No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford, he and team general manager Mason St. Hilaire announced on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Amid a flurry of silly season moves, this is the rare one that affords a driver and his team to build on consistency.

“Our business model, in the beginning, was be able to survive,” St. Hilaire said. “We had a revolving door of drivers for a long time, and it kept the doors open, and it kept people working, and I wouldn’t take it back for anything.”

Still, working with DiBenedetto and crew chief Gene Nead has given the team stability, and with that stability has come improvement. The team’s average finish this year (26.1) is more than six spots better than the team’s historical average.

The team has its first two top-tens this season–in the season opening Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400.

“We had some little growing pains and had a couple little issues happen a few (races) in a row, but we’ve had that speed there all year and the more we go along, the more that we’re prepared and keep bringing better race cars to the racetrack,” DiBenedetto said.

By Matt Crossman

NASCAR Wire Service