Martin Truex Jr. Wins Pole for Chase Cutoff Race at Talladega

TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 22: Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the NNASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

TALLADEGA, AL – OCTOBER 22: Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Just 13 points to the good entering Sunday’s Round of 12 cutoff race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Martin Truex Jr. gave himself as much of a cushion as possible, winning the pole for the Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway during Saturday’s knockout qualifying session.

Seventh in the Chase standings, and 13 points ahead of Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, Truex covered the 2.66-mile distance in 49.508 seconds (193.423 mph) to claim the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s race at 2 pm ET on NBCSN that will trim the Chase field from 12 drivers to eight. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will race 400.5 miles over 267 laps in the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 16th at 2:15 pm ET at Kansas Speedway. Television coverage begins at 1:30 pm ET on NBC with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for its second race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12. Jimmie Johnson leads the Chase Grid due to his win at Charlotte. He is followed by Matt Kenseth (31 points above Austin Dillon on the cutoff line), Kyle Busch (+27), Brad Keselowski (+25), Kurt Busch (+24), Carl Edwards (+20), Martin Truex Jr. (+19), Denny Hamlin (+3), Austin Dillon (three points behind Denny Hamlin on the cutoff line), Chase Elliott (-3), Joey Logano (-6) and Kevin Harvick (-8). Continue reading

Kenseth Battles to Front for Win at New Hampshire

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In a race that saw many of the usual suspects go into hiding in the closing laps, Matt Kenseth battled to the front of the field from the 18th starting position and pulled away after a late restart to win Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Winning for the second time this season and for the third time at the Magic Mile, Kenseth crossed the finish line 1.982 seconds ahead of Tony Stewart, who solidified his position in the top-30 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings – and in the Chase – with the runner-up finish.  Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series New Hampshire 301 Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will race all 301 laps covering 318.46 miles in the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway today, Sunday, July 17th.  NBC Sports Network will begin their coverage at 1 pm ET with a green flag around 1:30 pm ET. Radio coverage is on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Keselowski Goes for Third Consecutive Win

Brad Keselowski has asserted himself as the hottest driver in NASCAR this summer after winning the last two consecutive races at Daytona and Kentucky. Dating back to his May 1 win at Talladega, the No. 2 Ford driver has recorded three wins, six top-fives and eight top-tens in his last nine starts. His four wins this season lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Continue reading

Keselowski Saves Fuel, Wins Wild Race at Repaved Kentucky Speedway

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Brad Keselowski had his mojo working in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

Saving just enough fuel to get to the finish line, Keselowski eked out a heart-thumping victory over Carl Edwards to win his second consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and his third at Kentucky Speedway.

But this was not the same bumpy, abrasive Kentucky Speedway where Keselowski went to Victory Lane in 2012 and 2014. This was a repaved, reconfigured 1.5-mile intermediate track fraught with treachery, especially when combined with the lower-downforce aerodynamic package in use for the race. Continue reading