NASCAR Drive for Diversity

60 posts

Diversity Graduate Kyle Larson Scores First NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Victory

Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 28, 2016 in Brooklyn, Michigan. Photo - Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 28, 2016 in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Photo – Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Californian Becomes First D4D, NASCAR Next Grad To Win In Sport’s Premier Series

Kyle Larson won Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway to become the first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity and the NASCAR Next programs to win at the sanctioning body’s top level.

Larson, the 24-year-old Elk Grove, California, native of Japanese-American heritage, has already won in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His first win came in 2013 at Rockingham Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He has since won another NASCAR Camping World Truck race, as well as four NASCAR XFINITY Series races. Continue reading

Kyle Larson Captures Emotional First Victory at Michigan

In the last few laps of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, tears began to well up in Kyle Larson’s eyes.

When Larson subsequently took the checkered flag to win the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career, the emotion was all but overwhelming—and for good reason.

The victory came in Larson’s 99th start in the series, long after most observers expected Larson to record his first win. It also broke a 99-race drought for Chip Ganassi Racing, dating to Jamie McMurray’s victory at Talladega in October 2013. Continue reading

Darrell Wallace Jr. Isn’t Satisfied with Fifth-Place Run at Kentucky Speedway

Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

The last four NASCAR XFINITY Series races for Roush Fenway Racing driver Darrell Wallace Jr. have produced three top-tens and a solid grip on ninth place in the standings, but that doesn’t mean Wallace is satisfied with the results.

Friday night’s fifth place run in the Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway, however, provided ample evidence the RFR program is headed in the right direction. Continue reading