Carl Edwards Wins Pole at New Hampshire, his Sixth this season

LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 23:  Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Comcast Business Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole board after qualifying for the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 23, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire.   Photo by Chris Trotman/NASCAR via Getty Images

LOUDON, NH – SEPTEMBER 23: Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Comcast Business Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole board after qualifying for the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 23, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire.
Photo by Chris Trotman/NASCAR via Getty Images

Carl Edwards never had the reputation as a spectacular qualifier – until this year.

On Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Edwards ran 135.453 mph (28.119 seconds) in the money round of knockout qualifying to earn the top start spot in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN), the second race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Continue reading

Sunday Chicagoland Notebook

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Pit road penalty thwarts strong run by Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson had mixed feelings about his 12th-place run in Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

On the positive side, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet showed excellent speed in the opening race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The six-time Sprint Cup champion led a race-high 118 laps, but he drew a pit road speeding penalty during a green-flag stop on lap 234 of 270, and that infraction cost Johnson a shot at victory. After serving a pass-through penalty, he fell to 18th in the running order but rallied to finish 12th. Continue reading

Truex Triumphs in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Opener at Chicagoland

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You could see it coming from a mile-and-a-half away.

On new tires, Martin Truex Jr. rocketed around the outside lane after a restart in overtime at Chicagoland Speedway and pulled away to win Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the opening race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

With the victory—his first at the 1.5-mile track, his third of the season and the sixth of his career—Truex also rocketed into the Chase’s Round of 12. But Truex wasn’t satisfied with a ticket into the next round and the prospect of racing stress-free at New Hampshire and Dover, the final two Round of 16 events. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will race 400.5 miles over 267 laps in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 on Sunday, September 18th at Chicagoland Speedway. Television coverage begins at 2 pm ET on NBC Sports Network with a green flag around 2:30 pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Cowabunga!

The Chase Kicks Off At Chicagoland With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400

The field is set and the drivers are ready to compete in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which kicks off with Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Continue reading

Saturday Chicagoland Notebook

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Daniel Hemric Signs NASCAR XFINITY Series Deal with RCR

Daniel Hemric, who qualified for the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase in the No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford on Friday night, will drive full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet next season, RCR announced Saturday.

Hemric’s sponsor, crew chief and car number will be named at a later date. Continue reading