Matt Kenseth Edges Teammate Kyle Busch for Kansas Pole

KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 14:  Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas.  (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, KS – OCTOBER 14: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

To learn how to master the track that continued to jinx him, Kyle Busch paid close attention to the way Matt Kenseth drove Kansas Speedway.

Though Kenseth was helpful, he apparently kept a thousandth of a second in his pocket. That was the margin by which Kenseth edged Busch in Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series knockout qualifying session at the 1.5-mile track.

Touring Kansas in 28.112 seconds (192.089 mph) to Busch’s 28.113 seconds (192.082 mph), Kenseth earned the top starting spot for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (at 2:15 p.m. ET on NBC), the fifth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the second race in the Chase’s Round of 12. Continue reading

NASCAR Continues Trend Toward Lower Downforce with 2017 Rules

Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Xfinity Toyota, holds a press conference after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas Photo - Josh Hedges/Getty Images

Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Xfinity Toyota, holds a press conference after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas Photo – Josh Hedges/Getty Images

With the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in full swing, driver Carl Edwards hasn’t had time to review or digest the 2017 rules package released to Sprint Cup teams this week.

But Edwards did applaud the continued direction NASCAR is taking with measures that will remove downforce from the cars that race in the sanctioning body’s premier series. Continue reading

Chase Elliott Reflects on Rookie Sprint Cup Season before Crucial Mid-Way Point in The Chase

Photo - Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

All eyes were on rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Chase Elliott, before he ever gripped the wheel of the famed No. 24 Chevrolet this season. As the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott and the successor of four-time champion Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports in the 24, the shadows of past racing legends and fan expectations loomed for the young talent even during his reign as the 2014 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion.

The younger Elliott grew up racing go-karts and late models while watching his father compete in NASCAR-sanctioned events long after his 1988 championship. But for the 20-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia, native, the realization that the baton had officially been passed didn’t set in until he headed to Daytona International Speedway in early 2016. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are preparing for racing 501 miles over 334 laps in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday October 9th. NBC coverage begins at noon ET with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: Martin Truex Jr. tries to defend his spring Charlotte victory. He has won three of the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and led the most laps in the two he didn’t win.

Joey Logano attempts to repeat as the Charlotte fall winner.

Jimmie Johnson looks to add to his track-record seven wins. Continue reading

Carl Edwards Expects JGR Cars to Close the Gap on Martin Truex Jr.

Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Carl Edwards and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates have high expectations in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – if only they can catch a certain “rabbit.”

The hare in question is Martin Truex Jr., who drives the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota, which maintains a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, and like JGR, gets its engines from Toyota Racing Development (TRD).

Truex won two of the three races in the Chase’s Round of 16 and, appropriately, has earned the designation as favorite for this year’s championship. Even though Truex finished 7.527 seconds ahead of JGR’s Kyle Busch last Sunday at Dover, Edwards says the JGR cars aren’t far behind. Continue reading