(L-R) Team owner Rick Hendrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, and crew chief Greg Ives celebrate in victory lane after winning the rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 15, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
(L-R) Team owner Rick Hendrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, and crew chief Greg Ives celebrate in victory lane after winning the rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 15, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
(L-R) Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, and crew chief Greg Ives celebrate in victory lane after winning the rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 15, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
(L-R) Amy Reimann celebrates with Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, in victory lane after Earnhardt won the rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 15, 2015 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
A serendipitous sequence of pit stops and a drizzle that turned into a downpour made a winner of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday night’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, with a delayed start moving the race from daytime to under the lights by rain in the afternoon.
But again, halting the race due to rain 93 laps short of its scheduled distance of 312 laps was hardly the satisfying conclusion Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch or Joey Logano had hoped for.
Eliminating those four drivers from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was disappointing, while defending champion Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. joined Jeff Gordon in next Sunday’s Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Continue reading →
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, lead Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
Yes, Jeff Gordon celebrated his 93rd career victory in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Yes, Gordon will compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Yes, there were tears of joy in Victory Lane for Gordon, who’s at the tail end of his last season in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
But Sunday’s race at Martinsville had so much more — most notably, ‘Matt Kenseth’s Revenge.’ Continue reading →
As a 19-year-old Georgia native, Chase Elliott is one of NASCAR’s brightest young stars. He’s consistently won at every level of motorsport from ARCA to the Camping World Truck Series. As the son of NASCAR hall of fame driver Bill Elliott, winning may literally be in his DNA. As a racer, the young Elliott is mature, poised and humble. He is extremely honest with himself and is his own toughest critic.
This rare set of characteristics will serve him well in 2016, as he moves full-time into the Sprint Cup Series. Elliott is taking over driving duties in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet , now driven by four-time champion Jeff Gordon. He will have some big shoes to fill, but I feel the fast ‘young gun’ has the feet to fill them. Continue reading →
With the current youth movement taking place in NASCAR, taking a look at history to see what drivers of previous youth movements are doing today is a flashback experience. On this Flashback Friday, looking at 1993, there’s a very special rookie class that is still relevant today.
Three drivers headed the famed 1993 rookie class and together they have provided many memories for decades. Those three are none other than, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Kenny Wallace. Continue reading →
