Ryan Blaney recovers from spin to put Ford on pole at COTA
(AP Photo/Stephen Spillman) (Stephen Spillman)AUSTIN, Texas — (AP) — Ryan Blaney recovered from a spin in practice to win the pole for Sunday's race at Circuit of the Americas. Blaney spun in Saturday morning practice and contact with the wall left a scratch on the back of the No. “I wouldn’t have thought we’d sit on the pole after I hit the fence,” Blaney said while praising NASCAR's new Next Gen racecar for its durability. “I appreciate the soft wall that was over there and the resilient race car.”Daniel Suarez qualified second alongside Blaney in a Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing. Sunday's race at COTA is NASCAR's second appearance at the permanent road course best known for its annual Formula One race.
wftv.comLarson holds off Dillon, Suarez for NASCAR win at Fontana
FONTANA, Calif. — (AP) — Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson held off Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez in a tense finish Sunday to win at Fontana for the second time. “There was definitely some guys that were quicker than us, but they had their misfortune,” Larson said. Larson had victory in sight with eight laps to go when Chase Elliott spun and forced a race-record 12th caution. Larson made it out of the pits first, and he led off the restart with four laps to go. Dillon came in second, and Suarez slipped to fourth behind Erik Jones as Chevrolets took the top four spots.
wftv.comChip Ganassi sells entire NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — (AP) — Chip Ganassi has sold his NASCAR team to Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, and will pull out of the nation's top stock car series at the end of this season. “I'm not out of racing, I'm just out of NASCAR,” Ganassi said. I had an offer that I was required to consider.”Chip Ganassi Racing began as an open-wheel team that grew into one of the most successful organizations in IndyCar. Ganassi won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, two of the biggest races in NASCAR, with Jamie McMurray in 2010. Marks is in his first season as owner of new team Trackhouse Racing, which counts entertainer Pitbull as a co-owner.
wftv.comBusch celebrates birthday with win at Kansas Speedway
NASCAR Kansas Auto Racing A limited amount of fans watch the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 2, 2021. Busch had stalked Kyle Larson all day before beating him on a late restart to take the lead. Then, after another caution in the closing laps, Busch followed up his Truck Series win Saturday night with another trip to victory lane. “That's a Kyle Busch win right there,” he said. Even after he was beaten by Busch on that late restart, he had another chance when Christopher Bell got sideways in Turn 4 to bring out another caution.
wftv.comLogano takes the checkered flag in a haze of Bristol dirt
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Somewhere under the thick red haze floating over Bristol Motor Speedway, Joey Logano took the checkered flag for NASCAR's first Cup Series race at a dirt track in 50 years. The Logano victory closed a weekend of uncertainty and even some hysteria as NASCAR launched this drive through the dirt. “It’s only my fourth dirt race ever, so I had a lot of fun trying to figure it out," Logano said. It was impossible to handicap this first dirt race because the teams had no idea how to prepare and the drivers had wildly varying experience. "In dirt racing you don’t have a windshield in front of you, so you can pull a tearoff.
The Latest: Keselowski has no regrets about Daytona 500 end
Racers crash during the last lap in the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Latest on the Daytona 500 (all times local):12:35 a.m.Brad Keselowski has no regrets about the way he handled the final lap of the Daytona 500. ___12:15 a.m.Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 after Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked on the final lap. ___3:25 p.m.Derrike Cope was knocked out after only three laps, an ignominious end for the 62-year-old driver who won the 1990 Daytona 500. ___2 p.m.Bubba Wallace’s car failed inspection twice for the Daytona 500 and will have to start at the back of the field. AdWallace drives a new entry owned by NBA great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.
Drivers competing in the 2021 Daytona 500
Austin Dillon (3) takes the checkered flag to win the second NASCAR Daytona 500 duel qualifying auto race Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 40 drivers competing in the 2021 Daytona 500, in order of starting position:___No. This is his 20th Daytona 500; he was hired days after Earnhardt's death. Son of two-time Daytona 500 champion and Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott. Finished a career-best seventh in the 2017 Daytona 500, but has been 27th, 28th and 19th since. McLeodBORN: Nov. 17, 1983AdHOMETOWN: Wauchula, FloridaCREW CHIEF: Frank KerrSPONSOR: NASCAR HeatsTWITTER: @bjmcleod78NOTEWORTHY: Owner-driver racing in his third Daytona 500.
Hiccup for Hendrick Motorsports ahead of Daytona 500
Alex Bowman and William Byron were slated to lead the Daytona 500 field to green but that's in danger following Thursday night's qualifying races. Byron was collected in a crash in the second Duel and it ruined his Chevrolet. AdAustin Cindric and Kaz Grala both earned their first berths into the Daytona 500 by claiming the two available transfer positions in the Duels. He was the leader on the final lap of the second Duel until Dillon crossed to Wallace’s inside and inched ahead. “We’ve got an incredible race car and I can’t wait for the Daytona 500.”
Mr. WorldWide to NASCAR: Pitbull joins Trackhouse ownership
New NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing has brought entertainer Pitbull on as an ownership partner for an organization making its debut next month at the Daytona 500. Mr. Worldwide joins NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan as celebrity owners entering NASCAR this year. Pitbull has become an ownership partner in new NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing, set to make its debut next month at the Daytona 500. “NASCAR racing is about pushing boundaries; for the Trackhouse Racing team, that means more than just winning on the race track,” Marks said. “Pitbull is an iconic talent in the music industry and has tremendous passion for NASCAR racing.
Suarez on the move again after parting with Gaunt Brothers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Daniel Suarez, who landed a ride two weeks before the season-opening Daytona 500, will not return to Gaunt Brothers Racing next season and is seeking a new team for the third time in three years. Gaunt Brothers said Tuesday it was a mutual decision for the Mexican driver to leave the team. “I’m extremely thankful to my entire Toyota family for everything they have done for me, especially this year," Suarez said. “I will always be grateful to them for having my back.”Suarez has struggled with Gaunt Brothers, which is in its first full season of Cup competition. His long relationship with Toyota helped Suarez get the job with Gaunt Brothers, a team that began in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in 2010 and the Canada-based NASCAR Pinty’s Series.
Road king: Elliott wins at Daytona for 3rd straight on road
NASCARs most popular driver won the Cup Series road course race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, holding off hard-charging Denny Hamlin following a late restart and notching his third consecutive victory away from ovals. The 24-year-old Elliott also won on road courses at Charlotte and at Watkins Glen last year. Elliott, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. had the cars to beat. Making up that kind of ground on a 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course was a nearly impossible tough task, especially considering Elliott was turning mistake-free laps at the front of the field. Newman was one of the few Cup drivers with experience on Daytonas road course.