Tag Archives: Fireball Roberts

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are at Daytona International Speedway for the second time this season as the series starts counting down last ten races before the Chase begins at Chicagoland Speedway in September.  On Saturday, July 2nd they’ll race 400 miles over 160 laps in the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola with NBC coverage starting at 7 pm ET and a green flag at 7:45 pm ET. Radio coverage is available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Smoke Show: Stewart Fires Up Win at Sonoma

Even Smokey the Bear couldn’t have prevented the fire performance Tony Stewart produced in Sunday’s Toyota / Save Mart 350.

Stewart, who paced the field for 22 circuits, lost the lead to Denny Hamlin on the last lap, but moved him off the 11th turn to win his first race since June 2, 2013 at Dover – 110 events ago. The triumph marked Stewart’s first win in 84 starts. Continue reading →

Flashback Friday: NASCAR in Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway

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01 Apr 1984: Darrell Waltrip won the last of seven consecutive NASCAR Winston Cup Series races at the Bristol International Raceway by winning the 24th Annual Valleydale 500. He was joined in Victory Lane by wife Stevie. Photo - Getty Images

01 Apr 1984: Darrell Waltrip won the last of seven consecutive NASCAR Winston Cup Series races at the Bristol International Raceway by winning the 24th Annual Valleydale 500. Joining him in Victory Lane is wife Stevie. Photo – Getty Images

As NASCAR Sprint Cup, XFINITY and K&N Pro Series teams head to Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee for races this weekend, we’ll take a closer look at the history of NASCAR in Tennessee on this ‘Flashback Friday.’

NASCAR In Tennessee – NASCAR has competed in the state of Tennessee all the way back to the 1950s. The very first NASCAR national series race held in the state of Tennessee was at Tennessee-Carolina Speedway in 1956 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts. NASCAR has held 327 national series races among eight different tracks. The NASCAR XFINITY Series has held 108 races among four Tennessee tracks including Bristol Motor Speedway, 67; Nashville Superspeedway, 21; Memphis Motorsports Park,11; and Nashville Speedway, 9. The first XFINITY Series race held in the state of Tennessee was at Bristol in 1982 – won by Phil Parsons. 

Tennessee Drivers In NASCAR – One-hundred-five drivers who have made at least one start in a NASCAR national series race have their home state recorded as Tennessee. Of the 105, 35 of them competed in the XFINITY Series. Of the 35 Tennessee drivers to compete in the XFINITY Series, ten visited Victory Lane, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip with 13 series victories.

Waltrip also had 12 victories in the Sprint Cup Series, known as the Winston Cup during his era.  Waltrip and his wife Stevie live in Franklin, Tennessee. 

Tennessee Native Bayne Barrels Into Bristol Following Season-Best Finish
Trevor Bayne, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, takes the track in his home state in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 2012 Daytona 500 champion enters the race coming off a season-high 15th-place finish at Texas. Bayne has made three starts at Thunder Valley where he logged a track-best showing of 15th last August.

NASCAR IMC

Todd Gilliland Chasing #NASCAR History with Winning Ways

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Todd Gilliland (L) looks to make history by beating Dan Gurney's (R) record of winning four straight races. Photo - Getty Images

Todd Gilliland (L) looks to make history by beating Dan Gurney’s (R) record of winning four straight races. Photo – Getty Images

NASCAR K&N Pro Victory At Kern Would Match Gurney’s 50-Year-Old Mark

Todd Gilliland heads to Bakersfield, California, on the hottest winning streak in 50 years.

Even if he doesn’t equal the all-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series mark for consecutive victories to start in the series, the 15-year-old from Sherrill’s Ford, North Carolina, is in pretty exclusive company.

It’s a club that includes two drivers in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the 2015 Daytona 500 winner and Gilliland. That’s it. In the 62-year history of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series – dating back to the West Series’ beginnings as the Pacific Coast Late Model Series – just four drivers in both the East and West have won the first two series races to start their career. Continue reading →

Darlington Raceway Celebrates their NASCAR History over Labor Day Weekend

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Photo – Getty Images

As the son of a history teacher and a fan of anything motorsport,  I find the idea of a ‘throw back’ Darlington race thrilling. This year’s race will feature  fourteen NASCAR Hall of Fame members in attendance, at least thirty-two retro inspired Sprint Cup cars, pit crews wearing and drivers wearing retro style clothing.  Goodyear Tire is even supplying a tire with the look of a ‘old school’ tire for the weekend. This race will be a ton of fun and I applaud the track, sponsors and drivers for putting on this retro themed event.

For  the first time since 2003, the Bojangles Southern 500 will be held on its traditional Labor Day weekend.   Continue reading →

Sprint Cup Series, Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Preview

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Coke Zero 400 full color on white bkg logo

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Next Race: Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola

The Place: Daytona International Speedway

The Date: Sunday, July 5

The Time: 7:45 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBC, 7 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 400 miles (160 laps)

 

NBC You On Sunday:

NASCAR Debuts On NBC With The Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes its triumphant return to NBC on Sunday, July 5 with the broadcast of the Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca-Cola.

Coverage starts with the pre-race show at 7 p.m. ET and the race broadcast begins at 7:45 p.m. ET.

Rick Allen (play-by-play), 21-time NSCS winner Jeff Burton (analyst) and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte (analyst) are commentators from the booth, while Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast will report from pit road. Continue reading →