Ryan Newman Breaks Drought with Late-Race Strategy at Phoenix

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When the winner of Sunday’s Camping World 500 was announced, officials might have thought for a moment that they got the wrong envelope, à la Warren Beatty at the Oscars.

But, no, there was no mistake. Ryan Newman was the unexpected winner of the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season after a late caution gave his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team the chance to break a drought dating to 2013. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series DC Solar 200 at Phoenix Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series’ teams will race the DC Solar 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, March 18th at 4 pm ET. FOX is providing television coverage with MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio also providing radio coverage.

The DC Solar 200 is 200 miles over 200 laps with Stage 1 ending on lap 60 and Stage 2 ending on lap 120. Continue reading

After Rough Start, Suarez Returns to Comfort Zone

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 ARRIS Toyota, stands by his car during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 17, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

The start to the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season hasn’t gone the way Daniel Suarez would have hoped.

Pressed into service at NASCAR’s highest level by the abrupt departure of Carl Edwards during the offseason, Suarez crashed out of the Daytona 500 in 29th place and finished 21st and 20th in the subsequent two races at Atlanta and Las Vegas. Continue reading

Kyle Busch Hits Points Pressure Limit at Las Vegas

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, is escorted away by a NASCAR official after an incident on pit road with Joey Logano (not pictured), driver of the #22 Pennzoil Ford, after the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 12, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Busch and Logano made contact on the track during the last lap of the race leading to the incident on pit road
Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images

With so much discussion about the scuffle this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano one point that comes clearly into focus is that Busch hit his points pressure limit with the on track mishap between the two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

The pressure point actually started at the end of last season, if you recall the last four drivers competing for the championship title were eventual 2016 champion Jimmie Johnson from Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards from Joe Gibbs Racing and Joey Logano from Team Penske.  In the point standings after Homestead, Logano who finished fourth came in second in the point standings. Kyle Busch finished the race in sixth-place making him third in the point standings while his teammate Carl Edwards finished 34th at Homestead after an accident on the track.  Continue reading

Joey Logano Holds Off Kyle Larson for NASCAR XFINITY Win at Las Vegas

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Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway wasn’t a drag race, but lane choice proved critical to Joey Logano’s 28th NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.

Choosing the top side for a restart on lap 196 of 200, after Ty Dillon’s spin on lap 192 necessitated the ninth and final caution of the afternoon, Logano cleared Kyle Larson off turn four after an intense side-by-side battle and pulled away to win by 0.602 seconds. Continue reading