The agony of defeat saturated the air on pit road Sunday night at Phoenix Raceway.It battled the tire smoke and the cheers from Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports as they celebrated the NASCAR Cup Series championship. It brought tears to the eyes of those wearing Joe Gibbs Racing logos, both...
Jeff Gordon was all too happy to welcome Kyle Larson into the multi-time NASCAR Cup Series championship club on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway.Gordon, the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, celebrated with, and for, Larson in multiple ways. The first being as a teammate and friend, and the second as...
Chase Briscoe would have liked a chance at competing for the NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday but, given the adversity he and his team faced, it was as if they never did.
Kyle Larson had a moment while celebrating his second NASCAR Cup Series championship when his mind drifted elsewhere. “Iit kind of hit me like, ‘Oh, man, I can't imagine what he's feeling right now,’” Larson said of fellow championship contender Denny Hamlin.
“It just doesn’t seem right, you know?” Byron said. “He had beaten us, and we’re running second, and it’s four laps to go, and you go into the wall and cause a caution. I don’t want to be that guy..."
When William Byron hit the Turn 3 wall with bone-jarring impact on lap 310 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, the gut punch it delivered to Denny Hamlin was exponentially more painful.The resulting caution and strategic call by crew chief Cliff Daniels allowed Kyle Larson to snatch the Cup...
Denny Hamlin admitted he didn’t feel much emotion Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway, but the post-race scene told the tale.
Jesse Love turned in the ultimate season bookends winning the opening race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series 2025 schedule at Daytona then closing it out with the biggest win of his young career to claim the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway.The 20-year-old Californian had to best...
Denny Hamlin will begin his NASCAR Cup Series championship quest from the pole Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway. William Byron and Kyle Larson, two of the three other Cup Series title contenders, qualified second and third.
NASCAR’s Cup Series title race is old hat for William Byron.“When I hear you say that – third straight – it’s really cool,” Byron said of his consecutive appearances in the Championship 4. “We should take pride in that as a team, honestly, because it’s hard to do, especially with...
NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch looks ahead to this weekend's Phoenix finale, back on his debut there 25 years ago, returning to IROC and more.
It’s not quite a revival of the NASCAR Thunder Special exhibition races at Suzuka, but six NASCAR vehicles will make a demonstration run around Fuji Speedway – including the 2023 Le Mans Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.The demo run will take...
Cup Series drivers with more than three years of full-time experience will be allowed to enter a maximum of 10 races in the O’Reilly Auto Parts (currently Xfinity) Series and eight in Trucks in 2026.
The best man won on Friday night, but it was far from a foregone conclusion.Statistics might suggest otherwise. In winning the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, Corey Heim swept the first and second stages, led a race-high 100 of 161 laps and took the checkered flag...
The odds say Chase Briscoe is the long shot of the four NASCAR Cup Series title contenders going into Sunday’s battle at Phoenix Raceway. The driver, however, says he’s fine with that, even if he doesn’t agree.“My whole career, I've been the underdog with the longest odds, so I kind...
Final practice for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season happened to be one of the most eventful, including for the title contenders.Ty Gibbs was fastest at 131.868mph (27.300s) with Ryan Blaney second at 131.406mph, Austin Cindric third at 131.377mph, Ryan Preece fourth at 131.353mph and Denny Hamlin (P) fifth at...
NASCAR is not ready to announce a new playoff format, but one is certainly coming in the near future.
NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps offered the most lengthy and in-depth remarks the sanctioning body has made about its ongoing litigation when he read from a prepared statement on Friday.
Kyle Larson is not only seeking his second NASCAR Cup Series title on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway, but also the chance to move closer to the champions who came before him.
One of the best NASCAR Cup Series drivers without a championship is ready to shed that title Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs talk on a regular basis, but don’t necessarily talk about racing unless it’s a congratulations about something.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not only a believer in Carson Kvapil, but is adamant about giving him the chance to succeed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. “We had other opportunities this year to do something else entirely with some pretty cool names and up-and-coming projects that would have been good...
It’s the final race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series, and a champion will be crowned Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway. Will it be Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Denny Hamlin or Kyle Larson lifting the trophy? Kelly Crandall joins the RACER Debrief to run the rule over the Championship 4...
Kaulig Racing will not compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season nor for the foreseeable future, as confirmed on Wednesday morning by team president Chris Rice.
Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters that include a question are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will be saved for the following week.Q: Is...
NASCAR issued multiple suspensions on Tuesday afternoon following the tripleheader weekend at Martinsville Speedway, including for Xfinity Series driver Sam Mayer.Mayer (main image) has been suspended for the final race of the Xfinity Series season on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway after he intentionally wrecked Jeb Burton. The incident occurred in...
Christopher Bell was digesting the disappointment of a second consecutive year of being eliminated from NASCAR Cup Series championship contention at Martinsville Speedway when he offered an astute observation about those who are title contenders.“The four who are going there are legitimate contenders,” Bell told NBC Sports, “and whoever the...
Joe Gibbs Racing has taken the precautions in hopes of avoiding mechanical failures in the NASCAR Cup Series championship race this weekend.
Ross Chastain will be paired with new crew chief Brandon McSwain in 2026, sources with direct knowledge of the move have confirmed to RACER.
Kyle Larson took the final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series title race in a battle for the bubble with Christopher Bell.William Byron, who was below a transfer spot entering Sunday’s race, won at Martinsville Speedway, leaving the bubble battle to the No. 5 and No. 20. Just a single...
Ryan Blaney had one word to summarize his Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, where he and his Team Penske team were eliminated from championship contention, but not without a valiant fight.“Bummer,” he said.A victory was the only path forward to have the opportunity to race for a second NASCAR Cup Series...
With a heroic, gloves-off drive on Sunday in the crucible that is Martinsville Speedway, William Byron earned a shot at the NASCAR Cup Series title and simultaneously saved the rest of the Championship 4 field from its worst nightmare.Byron led three times for 304 laps – a career best for...
Not only did Taylor Gray have plenty of reason to celebrate his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway, but he also made Carson Kvapil’s day.Driving the No.54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Gray pulled away from former nemesis Sammy Smith after an overtime restart on lap 252...
Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney believe Sunday’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway will be quite the battle to settle who competes for the championship.“You get to this round of the playoffs and everybody is good,” Logano said. “That’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s supposed to...
William Byron earned the first small victory of the weekend at Martinsville Speedway by grabbing the pole for Sunday’s elimination race.Byron, approaching the race as a must-win situation, put down a lap of 98.185mph (19.286s). Although he is a two-time winner at Martinsville, it was Byron’s first pole win at...
Chase Elliott led practice for the NASCAR Cup Series elimination race at Martinsville Speedway, which he goes into needing to win to advance.Elliott (P) put down a lap of 95.796mph (19.767s). The Hendrick Motorsports driver does have one prior win at Martinsville Speedway – the 2020 elimination race.Denny Hamlin (P)...
William Byron most likely needs to win Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway if he wants to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship for the third consecutive year.Some drivers might consider it the worst-case scenario, or at least not ideal. Byron, however, isn’t going to complain.“I think it’s way better...
Cliff Daniels would argue that the version of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team that will race Sunday at Martinsville Speedway is as strong or stronger than it’s ever been.“It’s a very simple cliché statement, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Daniels said on Saturday. “We’ve been through...
While Corey Heim continued his propensity for sweeping stages and races, a missed shift Friday at Martinsville Speedway likely cost Layne Riggs a chance to race for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series championship.Heim won both stages in the Slim Jim 200 on the way to his 11th victory of the...
Christopher Bell goes into Sunday’s final elimination race in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a 37-point advantage on the cutline. It’s a solid position but not a safe one, as he and crew chief Adam Stevens know all too well.
“I think desperation is a big thing,” team co-owner Jeff Dickerson said. “He doesn’t want to be in this situation again next year. I don’t want to be in this situation."
Smith will remain paired with crew chief Ryan Bergenty, who has overseen the team for the last four seasons.
NASCAR and the two teams that it is being sued by failed to reach a settlement after two days of a court-mandated judicial settlement conference.
Spire Motorsports made it official on Wednesday that Daniel Suarez will join the organization beginning in 2026 to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet.
Hendrick Motorsports has partnered with Anduril Industries in a multiyear sponsorship deal of William Byron’s Chevrolet.
NASCAR will open its 2027 season a week later than it has recently, as the Daytona 500 will be held on Feb. 21, 2027.
The Drivers Advisory Council filed a brief in federal court on Tuesday in the antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR that offers the position of the drivers as the future of the sport hangs in the balance.The biggest issue, per the brief, is “The DAC is concerned that its drivers’ rights and...
NASCAR’s inaugural event in San Diego on Naval Base Coronado will feature a 16-turn course measuring 3.4 miles.It will be the longest course on the 2026 schedule. The lap distance of the event is still to be determined, but NASCAR unveiled renderings of the course on Tuesday. NASCAR heads to...
It was early in the second stage of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when Leigh Diffey in the NBC Sports booth made an observation about Chase Briscoe."He is amped up today," Diffey said.The broadcast had been following the battles of Briscoe, William Byron, and Denny...
Chase Briscoe is headed to the NASCAR Cup Series championship race for the first time in his career and in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing.Briscoe, 30, entered the year acknowledging and embracing that driving the No. 19 Toyota was the best opportunity he’s had at the Cup Series...
The final lap at Talladega Superspeedway turned sour quickly for Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron.It started off well enough with Larson and Byron leading in the inside lane off Turn 2, but then Larson ran out of fuel and had to get out of the way of...
Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney were where they wanted to be late Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, but felt the lack of help from behind changed the outcome.“We just can’t be saving gas at the end of the race,” Logano said after finishing 16th. “Ryan was not, but...
In a typically dramatic push to the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway checkered flag, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe made a last lap pass on the frantic field to claim victory in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race and earn his first ever career shot at the season title.The 29-year...
Chase Elliott will need to win at Martinsville Speedway in the final elimination race of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason after crashing out at Talladega.
Joey Logano is “cautiously optimistic” about the Sunday afternoon he’ll have at Talladega.Logano knows nearly every driver says that, but that’s what superspeedway racing produces. However, the Team Penske driver is a former winner on the Alabama high banks, and a victory would not only advance Logano and his No....
Kyle Busch says Jim Pohlman was the standout of those considered to be his next team leader at Richard Childress Racing.“We had a few conversations with a few individuals, and Jim seemed to rise to the top of all of that,” Busch said Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. “I’m excited about...
It is McDowell's second pole of the season and the eighth of his Cup Series career. Sunday, however, will be the third straight race he’s led the field at Talladega, having swept the season poles at the facility in 2024.
Byron saw his race end and his championship hopes take a swing when he ran into the back of Ty Dillon in a bizarre incident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Rookie Gio Ruggiero capped a typically dramatic afternoon of racing on the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway high banks with the 21-year old’s first career trip to Victory Lane in Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.Though not in the Playoffs, Ruggiero held off his Tricon Garage teammate and...
Daniel Suarez is a candidate to land at Spire Motorsports next season after the organization confirmed earlier this week that it will part ways with Justin Haley.Suarez and Haley have been in the rumor mill for much of the summer. For Suarez, it came after he and Trackhouse Racing announced...
Jim Pohlman will join Richard Childress Racing next season as the crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team.Pohlman is the current team leader for Justin Allgaier at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. He guided Allgaier to his first series championship in 2024, a long-awaited championship for...
Kaulig Racing has named Brenden Queen as its first Ram driver in the Craftsman Truck Series next season.Queen, affectionately known as Butterbean, is the newly crowned ARCA Menards Series champion. He is the first of five drivers to be announced by Kaulig Racing. The organization will be the anchor team...
Joe White, who had served as the spotter for Ty Gibbs, posted on social media on Wednesday that he’s been fired by Kaulig Racing ahead of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.White wrote, “Got to Talladega. Parked the bus, got fired. In an Uber to the airport...
Ryan Blaney is not in the position he wants to be after the first race in the Round of 8, but the good news is that he doesn’t believe there is only one path forward.
Q: I’m curious what happened to the final three episodes of the 2025 season of 100 Days To Indy (Season 3). The first three episodes aired before the 500. The final three episodes were supposed to run at the end of the season and cover the final championship run. Did...
Justin Haley will not return to Spire Motorsports next season. The parties have agreed to part ways following the season finale at Phoenix Raceway next month. Haley, who drives the No. 7 Chevrolet, returned to Spire at the end of 2024, but has struggled this season, earning two top-10 finishes...
Gayle and Hamlin won for the sixth time Sunday in Las Vegas. It is the most wins Hamlin has had in a season since 2020.
The build-up to his 60th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series led Denny Hamlin to admit that Sunday was the most emotional he had ever been in his career.
Chase Briscoe felt like the slow driver on the highway who gets his doors blown off with the way Hamlin drove by him for the win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.It was an unfair fight between the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates. Briscoe was on two tires when Hamlin, on four...
Denny Hamlin scored an emotional victory and claimed a significant career milestone with a dramatic win in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.Hamlin passed two cars in the final 10 laps, ultimately taking the lead from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase...
William Byron struggled to find the words at times, seemingly in disbelief and still digesting the crash that ended his afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.He was running second to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson when he plowed into the back of Ty Dillon in Turn 4. Dillon slowed to...
The 2023 series champion was the first NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver to encounter trouble in the Round of 8 with an early exit from Sunday’s race after a hard crash from a blown tire.
An incredible race-long scramble among the day’s front-running trio of veteran Aric Almirola and young talents Connor Zilisch and Jesse Love ended in favor of the experienced Almirola, but he really had to earn this trophy in Saturday’s Focused Health 302 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor...
Christopher Bell went bust in the last two NASCAR Cup Series playoff races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver believes eventually his number will come up.“I definitely feel confidence and positivity every time [I think] of Vegas,” Bell said. “Even though I haven’t won here,...
Denny Hamlin led a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the Round of 8 began.Hamlin won the pole at 184.849mph (29.213s). It's his first pole at Las Vegas in 28 starts and the 47th of his Cup Series career. He won...
Ty Gibbs led an eventful NASCAR Cup Series practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the series shifts focus to the start of the Round of 8 in the postseason.Gibbs clocked in at 181.733mph (29.714s). He ran 36 laps.William Byron (P) was the fastest playoff driver and appeared to have...
William Byron approaches NASCAR Cup Series racing with a one weekend at a time focus, and nowhere will that be more important than Sunday at Las Vegas.
RACER’s Kelly Crandall joins the Debrief to rate the contenders, lay out the potential curveballs ahead and mark your cards for the pressure-packed weekends coming up.
NASCAR did not find anything in its review of the Charlotte Roval that warranted a penalty for race manipulation, but a reminder will be given to teams before the Round of 8 begins.
Joe Gibbs. Rick Hendrick. Roger Penske.It was always going to come down to this in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason. Sunday, NASCAR finalized its Round of 8 contenders, and when the smoke cleared from the frontstretch after a chaotic finish with three different drivers crossing the finish line backward, the...
NASCAR Cup Series drivers were treated to another Shane van Gisbergen road course invitational on Sunday on the Charlotte Roval.Van Gisbergen led a race-high 57 of 109 laps and picked up his fifth win of the season. But it was his fifth-straight on a road course, which made him just...
Denny Hamlin doesn’t fault Ross Chastain for making the move that wiped them both out on the final lap of Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval, but he does wish he knew what was going on.Hamlin was spun in the frontstretch chicane by Chastain coming to the checkered flag. The...
Joey Logano was the final driver to advance into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as his title defense lives to see another day.Logano prevailed after a chaotic final lap in Sunday’s elimination race saw Ross Chastain go for broke in the final chicane, wiping out...
Joey Logano had a big belly laugh when describing what he saw coming through the final chicane at the end of Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval, and how could he not?
As expected, road course maven Shane van Gisbergen won Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400, but that was only a small part of the story at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.Long after van Gisbergen took the checkered flag to record his fifth straight road course victory of the NASCAR...
Ross Chastain shouldered the responsibility of his Trackhouse Racing team not advancing in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason after multiple mistakes Sunday at the Charlotte Roval.
After Sunday's race on the roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR Cup Series rookie driver Riley Herbst will be 32 races into his freshman season. Herbst is very much looking forward to heading back onto the 20-degree backing of the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway trioval as the season heads...
It was another routine victory for NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie phenom Connor Zilisch, who hit double digits with his 10th win of the season.Behind Zilisch, it was a chaotic scramble for the remaining five berths in the Round of 8 of the series Playoffs.It was a banner day for JR...
Denny Hamlin wanted to have a face-to-face conversation with Bubba Wallace after the events of last weekend, which is why it took six days for it to happen.“It takes time,” Hamlin said Saturday at the Charlotte Roval, where the two met. “I got a lot of stuff going on, so...
Tyler Reddick will lead the field to the green flag Sunday at the Charlotte Roval as the Cup Series playoff field prepares to get trimmed once again.Reddick, below the cutline and facing elimination, won the pole with a lap of 95.510mph (85.939s). It is his second pole on the Charlotte...
Joey Logano will be fighting to keep his NASCAR Cup Series title defense alive on Sunday as he enters the elimination race at the Charlotte Roval sitting on the final transfer spot.Logano and the No. 22 team from Team Penske have a slim 13-point margin on Ross Chastain, but he...
AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs paced Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Charlotte Roval, which saw playoff drivers scattered throughout the leaderboard.Allmendinger led the way at 94.748mph (86.630s). Gibbs clocked in at 94.707mph.Daniel Suarez was the third fastest at 94.545mph, Kyle Busch was fourth at 94.474mph, Zane Smith was...
Kyle Busch will work with Andy Street for the final five races of the NASCAR Cup Series season, and it’s to be determined what happens to the crew chief position at season’s end.“I think right now there has to be a greater plan with Richard [Childress] and [Mike] Verlander,” Busch...
Bubba Wallace cleared the air with Denny Hamlin on Saturday at the Charlotte Roval, but it didn’t completely erase the pain of not winning last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race.“It was definitely a somber week, for sure, and I hate that it got to this point,” Wallace said. “But Denny...
Chase Briscoe is on the top side of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid entering Sunday’s elimination race at the Charlotte Roval, but he doesn’t feel assured of advancing.