Dogged by Kevin Harvick for the final eight laps of Sunday’s Axalta presents the Pocono 400, Ryan Blaney held off the 2014 series champion in a breathtaking battle to claim the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career.
After a restart on lap 148 of 160, Blaney grabbed the lead from polesitter Kyle Busch on lap 151, with Busch on older tires, doing everything he could to block Blaney’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Racing side by side with Busch’s No. 18 Toyota down the Long Pond straightaway, Blaney stayed in the gas through the tunnel turn and cleared Busch’s Camry off the corner. Continue reading →
The man who once made his parents stop at Hardee’s because he thought it was Cale Yarborough’s race shop pulled even with his childhood hero in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway.
Getting the jump on Kyle Larson on an overtime restart at the Monster Mile, Jimmie Johnson crossed the overtime line on the backstretch moments before a multi-car wreck brought out the 15th caution of the race and froze the field with Johnson in the lead and a frustrated Larson running second. Continue reading →
Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Ryan Blaney topped the speed chart in Saturday morning’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a best lap at 188.055 mph, but Blaney’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford wasn’t the only fast Fusion in the session.
The Fords from the much-improved Roush Fenway Racing stable appear poised to mount a challenge in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race. Trevor Bayne (186.239 mph) was fifth fastest on Saturday morning, with teammate and recent Talladega winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. close behind at 186.207 mph.
“We unloaded pretty good today, but we know that off-the-truck speed isn’t what matters,” Bayne said. “It’s being able to go on the long runs as the day gets hotter and the track slicks up. I actually felt like we held on to our speed pretty well at the end of practice, so I think both of us have made huge gains.
“I need to give a big shout out to these guys for working their butts off this last week after (last Saturday’s) All-Star Race, when we didn’t have the performance that we wanted. They’ve dialed our cars in a lot.”
There’s no longer a goose egg in the win column next to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s name.
With a last-lap pass in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Stenhouse collected his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in his 158th start and delivered the first win for Roush Fenway Racing since Carl Edwards triumphed at Sonoma in June 2014. Continue reading →
