Joey Logano beats Kyle Busch in overtime at Gateway
MADISON, Ill. — (AP) — Joey Logano jockeyed for the lead with Kyle Busch in overtime, got around him for good just before the white flag flew and cruised to the victory Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway. That led to a green-white-checkered finish at the 1 1/4-mile hairpin east of St. Louis, and Busch chose the outside lane as Logano drove his No. ZANE-Y DEBUTZane Smith, who was ninth in the Truck Series race Saturday, made his Cup Series debut in place of Chris Buescher, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. MILESTONE MOMENTMartin Truex Jr. became the 32nd driver to make 600 starts in the Cup Series when he took the green flag. UP NEXTThe Cup Series heads to the road course at Sonoma in California’s wine country next Sunday before taking a week off.
wftv.comVision of Hamlin, Jordan comes into focus with win at Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — (AP) — Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin founded 23XI Racing with a vision that extended far beyond the race track. “Obviously, they sat on the sidelines for the first year of this team," Hamlin said, "and I mentioned that in the media. You just pray for them.”Then, you do what Jordan and Hamlin have done: You try to change things for the better. The spirit was, ‘We’re a bunch of rebels, let’s go do this.’”Turns out the entire 23XI Racing team are rebels with a cause. “I’m certainly proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve built this team,” Hamlin said.
wftv.comKurt Busch takes Jordan Brand to victory lane at Kansas
NASCAR Kansas Auto Racing Justin Haley (31), Denny Hamlin (11), and J.J. Yeley (15) head into Turn 1 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 15, 2022. 45 car — one of the numbers that Jordan wore during his NBA career — to a stop at the start-finish line after his first win at Kansas Speedway. His older brother, Kurt, beat him to the line to win the second stage with Elliott again coming across in third. Larson kept riding the top line around the mile-and-a-half oval, often brushing the wall, while Kurt Busch was able to put his Toyota just about anywhere he wanted. UP NEXTThe series takes a regular-season break before the Coca-Cola 600 and heads to Texas for next weekend's All-Star race.
wftv.comLogano takes NASCAR pole; Elliott, Harvick, Hamlin to rear
DARLINGTON, S.C. — (AP) — Former NASCAR Cup Series champions Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick will start at the rear of the field Sunday at Darlington Raceway. Elliott and Harvick had Saturday in practice. Logano reached 170.720 mph and turned a fast lap of 28.805 seconds to clinch the top spot in qualifying, edging Kyle Larson. Elliott, Harvick and Hamlin couldn't say the same. Harvick blew a left-rear tire in practice and did enough damage that he was unable to make a qualifying attempt.
wftv.comNASCAR scores win with successful race inside LA Coliseum
LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Joey Logano won the exhibition Busch Light Clash on a temporary quarter-mile track built inside Memorial Coliseum for a made-for-TV spectacular intended to hype NASCAR's upcoming season. NASCAR moved the Clash to Los Angeles from Daytona International Speedway, its only home since its 1979 inception, as part of a focused effort to break from its dated traditions via innovative big ideas. A handful of Los Angeles sporting greats served as the grand marshals, and Jeff Gordon lit the cauldron built for the 1932 Summer Olympics before the race began. The name of the race was the same, but everything else about the 42nd running of The Clash was different. Nothing learned in Los Angeles will transfer into the Feb. 21 season-opening Daytona 500, but the race was the first for NASCAR's new car.
wftv.comLarson returns to Las Vegas looking for another victory
Instead, all four Hendrick drivers go to Las Vegas with their title chances still intact and Larson returning to the site of his first victory of the season. “Las Vegas has been incredible for us,” Keselowski said. That’s really what it boils down to this time of year.”ODDS AND ENDSLarson is the 10-3 favorite to win at Las Vegas, according to FanDuel. ... UFC President Dana White, country music recording artist Matt Stell and comedian Jim Breuer are among the headliners for Las Vegas pre-race activities. ... Keselowski leads all active drivers at Las Vegas with three victories.
wftv.comLarson wins at Bristol while Harvick and Elliott feud
BRISTOL, Tenn. — (AP) — Kyle Larson denied Kevin Harvick his first win of the season with a masterful pass at Bristol Motor Speedway that was overshadowed Saturday night by a post-race skirmish between Harvick and reigning Cup champion Chase Elliott. Elliott led a race-high 175 laps but Harvick passed him with 33 laps to go in an aggressive sequence in which their cars touched. It caused a flat tire on Elliott's Chevrolet while Harvick was able to drive away unscathed. The slowdown gave Larson a chance to close the gap and Larson made the race-winning move with four laps remaining. But as the eliminated drivers sulked over their fate and Larson celebrated on the frontstretch, Harvick and Elliott fumed on pit road.
wftv.comNASCAR shifts season-opening exhibition to L.A. Coliseum
NASCAR Richmond Auto Racing Denny Hamlin (11) leads Kurt Busch (1) and Joey Logano (22) into turn one during the NASCAR Cup series auto race in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (Steve Helber)CHARLOTTE, N.C. — (AP) — NASCAR will open the 2022 season inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in one of the biggest shakeups to its schedule in years. The annual exhibition Clash, held at Daytona International Speedway since 1979, will shift to Los Angeles next year. The invitation-only race was always the kickoff to competitive NASCAR racing and held the week before the season-opening Daytona 500. “Los Angeles is synonymous with major sports and entertainment events, so we seized an innovative opportunity to showcase NASCAR at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of strategy and innovation.
wftv.comKurt Busch has multiyear deal with 23XI Racing, eyes charter
Kurt Busch has a multiyear deal with 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by basketball great Michael Jordan and fellow driver Denny Hamlin. Hamlin released more details Saturday about the new partnership and said he is in the final stages of securing a charter for Busch's No. 45 Toyota in 2022. Without one, Busch would have to qualify for every race.
news.yahoo.comKurt Busch moving Monster to Hamlin and MJ's team in 2022
NASCAR 23XI Kurt Busch Auto Racing FILE - In this July 18, 2021, file photo, Kurt Busch smiles at a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Loudon, N.H. Busch will drive next season for 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, in a long expected expansion move for the first-year organization. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (Charles Krupa)CHARLOTTE, N.C. — (AP) — Kurt Busch will drive next season for 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, in a long expected expansion move for the first-year organization. Seeing the number compete again, under the 23XI Racing banner, with Kurt behind the wheel, is exciting for us. Both Hamlin and Busch are qualified for the 10-race playoffs, while Hamlin is racing for the regular season title Saturday night. Ganassi in July announced he was selling his two-car NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing, and Trackhouse kept Ross Chastain for its second seat.
wftv.comJordan's first year in NASCAR a missed layup with Wallace
LOUDON, N.H. — (AP) — The 23XI Racing team posted a slideshow of the Bubba Wallace firesuit collection and asked fans to comment on their favorite. For a driver who spent most of his NASCAR career scraping together sponsorship deals for underfunded teams, Wallace is flush with Fortune 500 cash. Jordan said at NASCAR’s kickoff at Daytona that Wallace should “probably win at least a couple races.”Cool. Wallace, driver Corey LaJoie and New England Patriots return specialist Gunner Olszewski, the honorary pace car driver, tossed around the football with fans during a rain delay in Sunday's race. Busch’s deal was up and Chip Ganassi, his current car owner, sold his NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks.
wftv.comBusch brothers closing in on Allisons' record for Cup wins – WFTV
The Busch brothers are moving up on the Allisons on NASCAR's all-time wins list for siblings. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya)HAMPTON, Ga. — (AP) — The Busch brothers are banging on the Allisons' rear bumper for the top spot on the list of NASCAR Cup Series wins by siblings. It might help Kyle to be reminded that he and Kurt are closing in on that record for most Cup Series wins by brothers. Bobby Allison (84) and Donnie Allison (10) combined for 94 Cup wins, the record for brothers. “I ain’t worried about it.”Indeed, the Busch brothers' sibling rivalry burns strong.
wftv.comKurt Busch chases NASCAR playoffs with future uncertain
Nascar Road America Auto Racing FILE - Drivers race through a turn in the Bucyrus 200 Nascar Nationwide series race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wi., in this Saturday, June, 19, 2010, file photo. Busch posted the fastest practice time Saturday as NASCAR's Cup Series returned to Road America for the first time since 1956. Road America, located on 640 acres about halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay, has hosted an Xfinity Series race each year since 2010. Drivers have debated whether the competitors with Xfinity Series experience at Road America could have an edge. Sure enough, Austin Cindric posted the third-fastest practice time after winning the Xfinity Series race here last year.
wftv.comBowman zips past Larson after late flat and wins at Pocono
Larson had won three straight Cup races and was in prime position to take this one at Pocono when he passed Bowman with three laps left in the race. Bowman was in the right spot to take advantage and win for the third time in his last 10 races. “I don’t know what to say.”For team owner Rick Hendrick, the wins keep coming. The Xfinity Series races Sunday followed by the second Cup race. Bowman is in his sixth full season of Cup racing and his fourth with Hendrick.
wftv.comBell snags first Cup victory in another surprise Gibbs win
Bell won in his second race driving for Joe Gibbs Racing to give the team a pair of surprising victories at Daytona International Speedway. Ty Gibbs, the 18-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, won the Xfinity Series race Saturday night in his first career national series start. “I've prepared my whole life for this moment to race in the Cup Series, last year was such a learning curve for me. Kevin Harvick finished sixth and AJ Allmendinger, in his first Cup race since the 2018 season finale, finished seventh. It was the highest finish in three Cup races for Kaulig Racing, an Xfinity Series team formed in 2016 that wants to be full-time Cup next season.
Rain washes out NASCAR’s final practices for Daytona 500
Heavy rain soaked the track early, though, prompting officials to shift gears before the Xfinity Series opener later Saturday. An ARCA series race also was scheduled for the middle of the day. “I'm fine without it,” said 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch. Ad“I’m still confident in the backup car the guys brought us," said Byron, adding that it's the car he drove to victory lane at Daytona last August to slip into the playoffs. ..."Obviously, we didn’t want to go to a backup car, but I think we’re still in a really good place for the 500.
Ready to retire? Kurt Busch leaves NASCAR fans guessing
“If you’re asking me if this is a retirement video, I’m leaving it open for interpretation,” Busch told The Associated Press on Saturday. Ad“Who gets to go and take a NASCAR car to Key West at 200 mph,” Busch asked. Gronkowski partied in victory lane when Busch won the 2017 Daytona 500 and the fellow Monster athlete says: “Don’t do it, man! Don’t retire!” Busch lives in South Florida near Vanilla Ice, the “Ice, Ice, Baby” rapper who pulls up next to the Chevy and gets caught up in smoke from a burnout. Whether this was a true retirement video, simply a marketing ploy for the energy drink or even a negotiating tactic for another contract remained unclear.
Rain washes out NASCAR's final practices for Daytona 500
“I think we proved as an industry last year that track time was a little overrated," said David Wilson, head of Toyota Racing Development. Heavy rain soaked the track early, though, prompting officials to shift gears before the Xfinity Series opener later Saturday. An ARCA series race also was scheduled for the middle of the day. “I'm fine without it,” said 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch. ..."Obviously, we didn’t want to go to a backup car, but I think we’re still in a really good place for the 500.
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.
Elliott races into NASCAR championship; Harvick eliminated
That's how it was supposed to play out, at least, after Harvick won a Cup series-high nine races and the regular-season title. Chase Elliott won the high-stakes race to earn his first career berth in the championship four. Just came up short," Harvick said. “It was just a move I had to try knowing that I needed one point," Harvick said. Bill Elliott was 0 for 45 at Martinsville in his Hall of Fame career, and Chase Elliott won in his 11th try.
NASCAR resumes Texas playoff race 3 days after it started
FORT WORTH, Texas – NASCAR's playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway finally resumed Wednesday, three days after it started. The restart came nearly 72 1/2 hours after the race was red-flagged Sunday because of misty conditions and drizzle in the area that persisted until early Wednesday. It was overcast with temperatures still in the mid-40s when the race resumed, but there was no more precipitation in the forecast. The 40-car field resumed with four caution laps before going green on lap 57. Harvick won the last three fall races in Texas and is a nine-time winner this season, but was running 36th and a lap down.
Logano wins at Kansas to clinch spot in Cup Series finale
Chase Elliott (9) leads Joey Logano (22) on the first lap of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. It was the first win for Logano since before the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the track to reduce the crowd to about 10,000 fans. The message not got through, and Elliott took a left turn onto pit road and lost a handful of spots. Hamlin and Harvick, who had combined for 16 wins this season, wound up dueling for the stage win. Kurt Busch had to serve a penalty for speeding on pit road that hurt him in the opening stage.
Race into NASCAR's championship round begins at Kansas
Elliott won the race. The path to the championship finale begins Sunday at Kansas Speedway, the first of three races in the title-setting third round. It's a fairly straightforward series with ensuing stops at Texas Motor Speedway, like Kansas a 1.5-mile intermediate oval, then half-mile Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR's shortest and oldest active track. Hamlin has won NASCAR's last two visits to Kansas, a turnaround after several so-so races. “If you fast-forward to Kansas and Texas, it’s a mile-and-a-half, so everything is just pointing in our direction right now,” he said.
Elliott wins at Roval as champ Busch bounced from playoffs
Chase Elliott won on the hybrid road course-oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Busch and three others were trimmed from title contention. Elliott, meanwhile, won for the second consecutive year at “The Roval” and third time this season. “Best way to get into the next round is to win,” Elliott said. Bowman battled anxiety through the race as he worried Kyle Busch would win and bump him from the playoffs. When Busch didn't pit, Bowman nervously asked his Hendrick Motorsports team if he was about to be eliminated.
NASCAR champion Busch tries to stave off elimination
Busch doesn't need to win on the “Roval” to advance, but there's only five races remaining for him to improve his season. The Sunday forecast calls for an 80% chance for rain and the road course portion of the Roval permits NASCAR to race in wet conditions. The Cup drivers have never before used rain tires in competition. NASCAR stopped the Xfinity Series race for about 40 minutes Saturday so its track dryers could push water off the racing surface. "What is the drainage like at that racetrack through the infield road course?
Hamlin wins in 3rd overtime of Talladega's longest race
Denny Hamlin (11) races William Byron (24) and Matt DiBenedetto (21) to the finish line during the YellaWood 500 NASCAR auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020, in Talladega, Ala. Hamlin won. His sweeping three-wide pass in triple overtime Sunday brought an end to the sloppiest race of the season. “To win the championship, you have to win the last race and you have to get to the last race. But Talladega's finish line is unusually close to Turn 1 and Elliott had not made it there before a crash behind him. DiBenedetto was initially denied his first career victory a year ago by Hamlin the same week DiBenedetto learned he was out of a job.
Kurt Busch ends 0-for-21 skid to finally win at home track
LAS VEGAS – Two decades of heartbreak at his home track finally ended for Kurt Busch when a little bit of luck fell his way at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch then took the checkered flag to the finish line and smacked it on each of the letters in Las Vegas. Kyle Busch appreciated the milestone his older brother achieved in finally winning at Las Vegas. Not only had Kurt Busch never won before at Las Vegas, but he had just five top-10 finishes before the win. “It was pretty cool to finally see him get a victory here in Las Vegas and score a hometown win.
NASCAR champion returns home mired in 29-race losing streak
LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch is in a terrible slump, winless this Cup season and his 15-year streak of at least one victory a year in danger. Las Vegas has rarely been good to him, though, and he's got just one win in 18 career Cup starts. Busch won just once that year and tied a career-low with just nine top-five finishes. Busch needs to be near the front to contend and gets his chance when the green flag flies at Las Vegas. His challengers have been wary about this second round, but Harvick has tunnel vision and is taking it one race at a time.
No fans, no problem: Some Coca-Cola 600 fans turn out anyway
The only people to see the race were those working it and those who live in the turn one condominiums at the track. But there were 33 motorhomes on his properties, with race fans traveling from as far away as New York, Texas and Maine. Like many around the country, Little has taken a financial hit due to fans being shut out of sports, but the third-generation owner of the campground said, honestly, I feel just terrible for the race fans." The Coca-Cola 600 promotional signs that normally adorn from the front of restaurants during race week were non-existent. Usually we would be packed out with NASCAR fans," said Mindy Segovia, the general manager of Iron Thunder Saloon, about a mile from the track.
Keselowski wins 600 to extend Johnson's losing streak
Keselowski extended Jimmie Johnson's losing streak to 102 races by holding off the seven-time NASCAR champion in overtime early Monday to win the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. It was the first win for Keselowski this season, his first Coca-Cola 600 victory and the first win at this event for Ford since 2002. I wanted to win the 600 my whole life and wanted to win in front of everybody, Keselowski said. But almost two hours after the race, NASCAR disqualified Johnson because his Chevrolet failed post-race inspection. I was a lap-and-a-half away from winning the 600, Elliott said.