Upcoming Kentucky Test Adds New Variables to Lower-Downforce Equation

Photo - Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

For more than a third of active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, there will be no rest for the weary.

One driver from each Cup organization is eligible to participate in a test of newly repaved Kentucky Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. The test is a continuation of NASCAR’s proving-out process for a new lower-downforce competition package earmarked for 2017.

Last year, as the sanctioning body solidified the rules for 2016, races at Kentucky and Darlington were used as benchmarks for the progression toward lower downforce for the Cup cars. This year, in selected events, NASCAR is taking an additional 500 pounds of downforce and 125 pounds of sideforce away from the cars by chopping the size of the spoiler, reducing the surface area of the splitter, tapering the rear deck lid fin and eliminating rear axle offset. Continue reading

Saving Fuel Gets Kurt Busch a Sprint Cup Win at Pocono

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Working with a substitute crew chief, and saving enough fuel to get to the finish line and complete a celebratory burnout, Kurt Busch won Monday’s rain-delayed Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Busch won for the first time this year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and for the third time at Pocono, a 2.5-mile speedway featuring three widely different corners. And Busch claimed his 28th victory in NASCAR’s premier series with race engineer John Klausmeier leading the team in place of crew chief Tony Gibson, who was serving a one-race suspension for a lug nut violation last week at Charlotte.

Told he was two laps short at the start of the last 33-lap green-flag run, Busch saved enough fuel to get to the finish while keeping race runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind him. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Preview

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Sprint Cup Series teams  are racing 400 miles over 160 laps today in the Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway. FOX Sports 1 coverage begins at 11:30 am ET with a green flag around 1 pm ET. Radio coverage is available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Moment Of Truex:

Furniture Row Driver Goes For Second Straight Win, Pocono Repeat

Martin Truex Jr., from the one-car Furniture Row Racing team based in Denver, Colorado, set a NASCAR record and Charlotte Motor Speedway record on his way to his first victory of the season in the Coca-Cola 600.

Truex’s 588 miles led in a single race were the most in NASCAR history. The previous-best total was Jim Paschal’s 502.5 miles led in the 1967 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are preparing for one of their première races of the season, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29th.  One of the most grueling events on the track, drivers will need the stamina to race 600 miles over 400 laps from day into the night on Sunday. Television coverage starts at 5:30 pm ET on FOX with a green flag around 6 pm ET. Radio Coverage is on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Smoke Searches for First Coca-Cola 600 Win in Final Start

Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart ranks tied for 13th on the all-time victories list, but has never won the Coca-Cola 600.

The member of the Coca-Cola Racing family will attempt to capture his first checkered flag in his last start in NASCAR’s longest race on Sunday.

Stewart’s best finish in the Coca-Cola 600 was a third-place showing in 2001. In 33 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway (tied with Matt Kenseth for the most among active drivers), Stewart claims one win (fall of 2003), six top-fives, 13 top-tens and an average finish of 14.5. Continue reading

Joey Logano Triumphs in Scintillating NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte

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At the end of a wild and crazy Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Joey Logano got the upper hand in an intense battle with last-chance qualifier Kyle Larson and took home the million-dollar prize as the winner of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Trying to block the stronger car of Logano in the closing 13-lap last segment of the race, Larson buried his car into turn one as Logano edged ahead. Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet got loose and sailed up the track into the outside wall with less than two laps left. Continue reading