Team owner Tony Stewart stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Tony Stewart has been cleared by his doctors and NASCAR to return to racing, effective immediately. He will drive the No. 14 Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy Chevrolet SS fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing throughout this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Stewart missed the first eight races of the season after sustaining a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra in a Jan. 31 all-terrain vehicle accident. The prescribed rehabilitation regimen instituted by his doctors following a March 9 evaluation proved successful, allowing the three-time series champion to return for his final Sprint Cup season. Continue reading →
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s / Superman Chevrolet, races Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016 Photo – Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s / Superman Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s / Superman Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016 Photo – Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s / Superman Chevrolet, celebrates after taking the checkered flag during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s / Superman Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016 Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson won the battle between hometown heroes on Sunday, outdueling Kevin Harvick in overtime at Auto Club Speedway
“Awesome teamwork, boys!” Johnson shouted on his radio after taking the 77th checkered flag of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, breaking a tie with the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time victory list. “There’s nothing like winning at home.”
The six-time series champion from El Cajon got the chance he needed when Kyle Busch blew a tire and hit the turn three wall on lap 198 of a scheduled 200 to cause the sixth and last caution of the afternoon. With the race destined for overtime, the lead-lap cars came to pit road for new tires, with Denny Hamlin leading Harvick and Johnson back on to the track. Continue reading →
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kicks off its three-race NASCAR Goes West trip with Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Following its trip to Vegas, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway before closing its West Coast road trip at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Kevin Harvick, from Bakersfield, California, dominated last season’s edition of NASCAR Goes West, winning the first two races (Las Vegas and Phoenix) and finishing second in the last contest at Auto Club. Continue reading →
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered and yellow flags to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 under caution at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2016 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2016 Photo – Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2016 Photo – Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
With wrecks erupting behind him, Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag in overtime under caution in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway—and then he remembered.
Almost lost in the euphoria of Johnson’s second straight victory at the 1.54-mile track was the realization that, with his 76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, he had tied the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list.
But as the No. 48 Chevrolet rolled around the track on its victory lap, heading in a clockwise direction à la Alan Kulwicki, the six-time champion thrust his arm out the driver’s side window with a three-finger salute to the crowd, acknowledging the bond he now shares with The Intimidator. Continue reading →
