NASCAR Unveils 2017-18 NASCAR Next Class

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Photo – Getty Images

Future Stars of the Sport Ready to Make Their Mark

Forty wins and 124 top-tens in 148 NASCAR starts during their 2016 and 2017 seasons, to date. … Three series champions, two of whom are the youngest in their respective NASCAR touring series. … The 2016 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Rookie of the Year and the 2015 Snowball Derby runner-up.

These are just a few of the accomplishments already earned by the nine drivers in this year’s NASCAR Next class, and they’re just getting started. Continue reading

NBCSN and NASCAR Productions Present ‘NASCAR Seasons: 2001’ Sunday at 6:30 pm ET

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60-minute Original Documentary Chronicles the Dramatic, Tragic and Uplifting Chapters that Marked the 2001 NASCAR Season

Immediately following this Sunday’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage at Martinsville Speedway, NBCSN presents “NASCAR Seasons: 2001,” a new, 60-minute documentary that chronicles a NASCAR season and a year that will never be forgotten. Unfolding through Dale Earnhardt’s tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500, the enormous outpouring of emotions that followed, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s stirring victory at the July Daytona race, “NASCAR Seasons: 2001” also covers the sport’s passionate reaction to the tragic events of the September 11th attacks. Continue reading

Dale Earnhardt Jr Joins Sprint Cup NBC Sports Broadcast Booth for Talladega and Martinsville

Photo - NBC Sports Group

Photo – NBC Sports Group

 NBC Sports announced Wednesday on NASCAR America that Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet, will join the NBC Sports broadcast booth for portions of two upcoming Sprint Cup broadcasts. Earnhardt, who has not raced since July as he recovers from a concussion, will lend his expertise as an analyst during NBCSN’s coverage this Sunday from Talladega Superspeedway, as well as the following Sunday from Martinsville Speedway.

Inside the NBCSN broadcast booth, Earnhardt will reunite with his former crew chief Steve Letarte, and work alongside race announcer Rick Allen and fellow analyst Jeff Burton. Sunday marks Earnhardt’s first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup broadcasting assignment. Continue reading

Ryan Reed Readies for NASCAR Sprint Cup Debut

Ryan Reed, driver of the #16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, waits as his car is inspected by NASCAR officials prior to qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Ryan Reed, driver of the #16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, waits as his car is inspected by NASCAR officials prior to qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Young driver beats odds to race at NASCAR’s Highest Level

This weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway marks a milestone for Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed, who will attempt to make his Sprint Cup debut in the Hellmann’s 500.  Reed, who in 2011 was diagnosed with diabetes and told he would never race again, will pilot the No. 99 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford Fusion. Continue reading

Gordon Driving the No. 88 Doesn’t Change his Legacy

Photo - Daniel Shirey/Getty Images

Photo – Daniel Shirey/Getty Images

For the first time in his 23-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, Jeff Gordon drove a different number than his iconic No. 24 last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Gordon came out of retirement and filled in for an ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. and wheeled the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet to a 13th-place finish in the 400-mile race. He hadn’t raced since last November and got the call from Rick Hendrick to sub for the second-generation driver who was dealing with concussion-like symptoms.

Does this change Jeff Gordon’s legendary presence in NASCAR’s top-series?

Not one bit. Continue reading