Tag Archives: Neil Bonnett

Blaney Honoring the Late Neil Bonnett at Talladega

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Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are planning an encore presentation of their throwback theme first used at the Darlington Raceway earlier this season.

Blaney, at his own request, will wear the same uniform he wore during the Southern 500 to honor David Pearson.

At Talladega, he’ll wear the uniform in honor of both Pearson and the late Neil Bonnett, who was from Bessemer, Ala., and considered Talladega his home track.

Bonnett succeeded Pearson as driver of the iconic No. 21 midway through the 1979 season and used a uniform just like the one Pearson wore. Once aboard the No. 21, Bonnett won in his third start, at Dover International Speedway. He won twice more that season, at Daytona and Atlanta. Continue reading →

Throwback Thursday: A Dover Race Lost Because of a Lug Nut

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Photo - Courtesy of Wood Brothers Racing

Photo – Courtesy of Wood Brothers Racing

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, with rookie driver Ryan Blaney now at the wheel, will be back on the track at Dover International Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2008, when the team cut back to a partial Sprint Cup schedule.

For the Wood Brothers, it’s a return to one of the tracks where they had great success in years past.

The Woods won seven times at Dover over the years, beginning with their first trip there in the fall of 1972.

David Pearson led 350 of that race’s 500 laps to win by three laps over second-place Richard Petty. Pearson swept the Dover races in 1973, beating Cale Yarborough in the spring and Bobby Allison in the fall.

Pearson won two more, in the spring of 1975 and the spring of 1978. Continue reading →

#NASCAR XFINITY Series, Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Teams are  at Talladega Superspeedway for the Sparks Energy 300 and racing that covers 300.58 miles over 113 laps on Saturday, April 30th. FOX will start their pre-race coverage at 2:30 pm ET with a green flag around 3 pm ET and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

 

Suárez Opens Up Points Lead as Talladega Approaches

Tension within the XFINITY Series championship battle has slightly loosened for standings leader Daniel Suárez after he posted his fourth top-five of the season, increasing his lead to nine points over new second-place driver, Elliott Sadler. Heading into Richmond, Suárez held a six-point lead over Erik Jones.

In eight starts this season, Suárez has posted four top-fives, seven top-tens and an average finish of 6.3 – best among title contenders.
Continue reading →

Talladega’s a Special Place for Ford and the Wood Brothers

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Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 1, 2015 Photo - Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 1, 2015
Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Ford Motor Company in general, and the Wood Brothers in particular, have had some glorious Sunday afternoons at Talladega Superspeedway through the years.

In the early years of the track that opened in 1969, the Wood Brothers won five races from the spring of 1971, when Donnie Allison drove the iconic No. 21 to victory at his home track, until the fall of 1979, when another Alabama driver, the late Neil Bonnett, scored the victory.

In between were three consecutive wins in the spring race by David Pearson, from 1972-1974. Continue reading →

Notes ‘n Nuggets – The Sprint Unlimited

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NASCARlogoThe Sprint Unlimited Notes ‘n Nuggets

The number of participants has ranged from a low of seven in 1981 to a high of 28 in 2009 (19 are scheduled to compete in this year’s event). Continue reading →