Teamwork is the Mantra for Ford Racing as 2017 Season Begins

If there truly is strength in numbers, then Ford’s presence in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has grown in magnitude with the addition of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four-car organization.

The benefit was immediately obvious. Stewart-Haas’ Kevin Harvick, driving a Ford in the heat of battle for the first time, helped former nemesis Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski break up a four-car Toyota train at the front of the field in last Saturday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona, the season-opening exhibition race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Continue reading

From Small Beginnings, Rick Hendrick Reached Pinnacle of Success in Business and NASCAR

HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 17: Jimmie Johnson (C), driver of the #48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, poses with team owner Rick Hendrick (L) and crew chief Chad Knaus (R) in Champions Victory Lane with their six trophies after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 17, 2013 in Homestead, Florida. Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

It’s said reaching the top is the easy part; staying there is more difficult.

For Rick Hendrick, the climb up the mountain required a decade of hard work culminating in Hendrick Motorsports capturing its first NASCAR premier series championship in 1995.

Two decades later, Hendrick’s Chevrolet team remains stock car racing’s platinum standard: a record 12 NASCAR premier series titles – including Jimmie Johnson’s record-matching seventh crown in 2016 – and 245 victories with 16 different drivers.

“It just seems like yesterday we didn’t think we’d even make it through our first year (1984) and now we’ve won 12 of these things, and it’s hard to do,” said Hendrick following Johnson’s title-winning victory last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway in south Florida.

The 67-year-old Hendrick will reach yet another career milestone on Friday when he’s inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). The Class of 2017 includes fellow team owner Richard Childress, former Hendrick Motorsports drivers Mark Martin and Benny Parsons and pioneer car owner Raymond Parks. Continue reading

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

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 Sprint Cup Series, STP 500 at Martinsville Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will race 500 laps for 263 miles at Martinsville Speedway in the STP 500 on Sunday, April 3rd. Coverage begins on FOX Sports 1 at 11:30 am ET with a green flag round 1 pm ET and radio coverage available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Short-Track Standouts Go for First Win of 2016

As NASCAR continues its third ‘win and you’re in’ season for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, six now winless short-track standouts will attempt to make their first visit to Victory Lane this year in Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway – Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Joey Logano. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series News & Notes – March 2016

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F4R-SCS-News-NotesThe NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will return to action next weekend for the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Teams will race 263 laps for 500 miles on Sunday, April 3rd. FOX Sports 1 will begin their pre-race show at 2 pm ET with the green flag at around 2:30 pm ET. Fans can also listen to the race on MRN or SiriusXM, channel 90.

Thrilling Competition Continues at Fontana with

Track-Record 51 Passes for the Lead

The high quality of racing produced in the first four races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season continued at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, where drivers tallied a total of 51 green flag passes for the lead, a high at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana since loop date began in 2005.

That marks the second time in the first five races this season for setting a new track record of green flag passes for the lead, as Atlanta had 44 green flag passes for the lead. Continue reading