NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are at Daytona International Speedway for the second time this season as the series starts counting down last ten races before the Chase begins at Chicagoland Speedway in September.  On Saturday, July 2nd they’ll race 400 miles over 160 laps in the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola with NBC coverage starting at 7 pm ET and a green flag at 7:45 pm ET. Radio coverage is available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Smoke Show: Stewart Fires Up Win at Sonoma

Even Smokey the Bear couldn’t have prevented the fire performance Tony Stewart produced in Sunday’s Toyota / Save Mart 350.

Stewart, who paced the field for 22 circuits, lost the lead to Denny Hamlin on the last lap, but moved him off the 11th turn to win his first race since June 2, 2013 at Dover – 110 events ago. The triumph marked Stewart’s first win in 84 starts. Continue reading

Upcoming Kentucky Test Adds New Variables to Lower-Downforce Equation

Photo - Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

For more than a third of active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, there will be no rest for the weary.

One driver from each Cup organization is eligible to participate in a test of newly repaved Kentucky Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. The test is a continuation of NASCAR’s proving-out process for a new lower-downforce competition package earmarked for 2017.

Last year, as the sanctioning body solidified the rules for 2016, races at Kentucky and Darlington were used as benchmarks for the progression toward lower downforce for the Cup cars. This year, in selected events, NASCAR is taking an additional 500 pounds of downforce and 125 pounds of sideforce away from the cars by chopping the size of the spoiler, reducing the surface area of the splitter, tapering the rear deck lid fin and eliminating rear axle offset. Continue reading

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

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