Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, passes Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, for the lead during the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski’s love affair with the Lone Star State continued in full force on Saturday with a hard-fought NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.
Keselowski grabbed the lead from Coors Light Polesitter Austin Dillon on lap 189 of 200 after a restart with 16 laps left in the race. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford finished 1.137 seconds ahead of the No. 88 JR Motorsports entry driven by Kevin Harvick, who passed Dillon for the runner-up spot with four laps left. Continue reading →
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2015 Photo – Josh Hedges/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, races Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Pretty In Pink Foundation Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2015 Photo – Josh Hedges/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Plaid Chevrolet, lead the field to a restart during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2015 Photo – Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, races to the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2015 Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2015 Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2015 Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Congratulations, Joey Logano. You just drew the first get-out-of jail-free card for Talladega.
With a dominating victory in Sunday’s rain-delayed Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Logano punched an early bird ticket to the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Now Logano can take a carefree trip to unpredictable Talladega two weeks hence. The same can’t be said for three of the sports superstars. Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch all had major issues at Charlotte and will have to rebound in the remaining two races of the Contender Round to keep their title hopes alive.
Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford led 227 of the 334 laps and crossed the finish line 0.703 seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick, who posted his 11th runner-up finish of the season to go with three victories.
The win was Logano’s fourth of the season, his first at Charlotte and the 12th of his career. Most important, however, was the free pass into the Eliminator Round. Continue reading →
Regan Smith, driver of the #7 Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway on October 3, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Regan Smith, driver of the #7 Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory LanVictory Laneafter winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway on October 3, 2015 Photo – Brian Lawdermmilk/Getty Images
Regan Smith charged from fourth to first during a restart on lap 121 and stayed there for the rest of the Hisense 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Dover International Speedway Saturday, posting his second victory of the season and working his way back into championship contention.
After a 31-minute rain delay, Smith passed Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and leader Elliott Sadler on the restart on lap 121 of 200, staved off intense pressure from Hamlin midway through the last green-flag run and pulled away as the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates battled for second place. Continue reading →
‘Chasing’ Earnhardt And Petty: Johnson Sets Sites on Seventh Series Title
Ten races separate Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup No. 1 seed Jimmie Johnson from potential immortality. If Johnson wins NASCAR’s 16-driver, four-knockout round playoff, he will capture his seventh series title, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the all-time lead.
Johnson begins his quest in Sunday’s MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. He has never won at the Windy City track, but boasts seven top-fives, and seven top-tens to go along with the series-best average running position (7.129) and driver rating (115.5) there. Chicago remains one of four active tracks at which Johnson has not won – Homestead, Kentucky and Watkins Glen.
The No. 48 Chevrolet driver has won four races this season, but has made 13 starts since his last victory. He tends to elevate his élite skill to an even higher level during NASCAR’s playoffs though, as he leads all drivers with 25 total Chase wins.
