NASCAR Team Penske

365 posts

Joey Logano Charges from the Back to Win at Richmond

It took Joey Logano all afternoon to drive from the back of the field to the front in Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Logano started from the rear after a post-qualifying transmission change, but when the checkered flag waved after lap 400, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was at the head of the field, having held off a bonsai charge from teammate Brad Keselowski during a 19-lap green-flag run. Continue reading →

Rain Forces Postponement of Food City 500 until Monday

Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images

With steady rain falling at Bristol Motor Speedway, and no abatement in the forecast, NASCAR and Bristol officials opted to postpone Sunday’s Food City 500 until Monday.

The eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season will be contested at 1 pm ET and broadcast on FOX.

With Friday’s knockout qualifying session also canceled because of inclement weather, series leader Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag when the race is run, with second-place Chase Elliott beside him on the front row. Continue reading →

Erik Jones Rallies from Penalty to Win NASCAR XFINITY Race at Bristol

Erik Jones found the ideal way to atone from a mistake in Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but it took a bump-and-run for Jones to complete his comeback at the-0.533-mile short track.

Recovering from a lap 230 pit road speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the field, Jones worked his way to the front through a series of quick cautions and muscled Ryan Blaney out of the way to take the lead on lap 280 of 300. Continue reading →

Bristol Brings Back Positive Vibes for Montoya

Photo – IndyCar Media

Juan Pablo Montoya got a warm welcome on his return to Bristol Motor Speedway, even if it was just to announce his sponsor for the upcoming Indianapolis 500.

Montoya will compete for Team Penske in the May spectacle with Fitzgerald Glider Kits as his sponsor, the same company that holds the entitlement for Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Bristol.

But when asked about his first trio around BMS in a stock car, Montoya waxed nostalgic.

“I love this place,” Montoya told the NASCAR Wire Service. “Because for me, the biggest problem I had with a stock car was it had no grip.  Here, with the banking, it made up a lot of grip. I always ran really well here. This was a fun place for me.”

Asked whether the relationship with Penske and Fitzgerald Glider Kits might lead to a return to NASCAR racing in a one-off situation, Montoya shrugged and smiled.

“I don’t know,” he said. “They tell me go here, I go there. I mean they say, ‘Jump,’ I say ‘How high?’”

In general, however, Montoya thinks cross-pollination between racing series is a good thing. In the Indy 500 he’ll compete against Fernando Alonso, a rival in Formula One from 2001 through 2006.

“I think it would be nice for motorsports to do a little more of that, because it’s just going to create a little more interest overall,” said Montoya, who doesn’t have a full-time IndyCar ride this season. “It is something that it would be nice to see all motorsports to be able to see top drivers jump from one to the other just for one race.

“I was lucky enough to be in all the top series in the world, and being able to win in all of them and everything. I’ve been very blessed in that point of view.”

Montoya, however, wasn’t immune from some good-natured ribbing that also recalled his NASCAR days. Fitzgerald Glider Kits founder Tom Fitzgerald Sr. introduced Montoya as “Mr. Jet Dryer,” a reference to the driver’s fiery collision with track-drying equipment under caution during the 2012 Daytona 500.

“I wasn’t going to do that,” quipped Fitzgerald, “but I couldn’t resist.”