Carl Edwards’ Exit Could Hasten Christopher Bell’s Advancement to XFINITY Series

Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

How long do you think it took Christopher Bell to do the math?

Carl Edwards’ shocking announcement of his abrupt exit from the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has had a ripple effect that could go far beyond the promotion of Daniel Suárez to a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ride.

Because Suárez will fill Edwards’ seat in NASCAR’s premier series, he won’t defend his NASCAR XFINITY Series title. Bell will be one of the beneficiaries of the changes in Suárez’s schedule. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, AAA Texas 500 at Texas Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are racing 334 laps over 501 miles in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 6th at 2 pm ET. Television coverage is on NBC with radio coverage available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

 

What to Watch For: Jimmie Johnson goes for his fifth straight fall win at Texas as he attempts to tie NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with a record seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Drivers try to move into the top-four of a Chase Grid led by Johnson (clinched berth in Championship 4 with win at Martinsville), followed by Denny Hamlin (six points above Joey Logano on the cutoff line), Matt Kenseth (+6), Kyle Busch (+4), Joey Logano (-4), Kevin Harvick (-16), Kurt Busch (-18) and Carl Edwards (-32). Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Drivers Test at Homestead-Miami Speedway

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Trevor Bayne, drives the #6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford during testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Trevor Bayne, drives the #6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford during testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 set for November 20, drivers in NASCAR’s top series made their way to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday to participate in the first of two scheduled team testing sessions. They are slated to conclude testing Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In Tuesday’s session, teams and their drivers took advantage of a full day’s worth of testing to prepare for November’s championship race. The 11 teams who took part in the tests had the opportunity to gain valuable racing data while experimenting on the Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval. Continue reading

“Best in Class” isn’t where Kyle Busch Wants to Be

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Core Toyota, is introduced prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 2, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo - Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Core Toyota, is introduced prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 2, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Runner-up Kyle Busch finished a whopping 7.527 seconds behind Martin Truex Jr., winner of Sunday’s Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Though the Joe Gibbs Racing organization that fields Busch’s cars gets its engines from Toyota Racing Development (TRD), as does Truex’s Furniture Row Racing, and though the organizations maintain a technical partnership, Truex’s team has enjoyed an edge in speed of late, winning two of the first three races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Don’t think Busch hasn’t noticed. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series teams will race 300 miles over 200 laps in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, September 24th at 8 pm ET. Television coverage on NBC Sports Network begins at 7:30 pm ET with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: Twelve drivers will compete for the championship in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.

Regular season points leader Elliott Sadler embarks on his quest for his first career NASCAR national series championship. He finished second in the XFINITY Series standings in 2012 and 2013. Sadler is the only driver to earn a berth in both the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (2004) and the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase (2016). Continue reading