Alex Bowman won the rain shortened Grant Park 165 street race to take his official spot in the Cup playoffs. Bowman broke an 80-race drought that included him sidelined for a spell and wondering when he would ever see Victory Lane again.
keep the shiny side up
Denny Delivers At Dover
The fact that Denny Hamlin has three wins on the season and yet is ranked in 4th place in driver points goes to show you just how poorly he has been performing when he isn’t winning.
Tyler Reddick Sneaks Through Chaos For Talladega Win
Talladega is always a crap shoot, even when the racing is relatively tame for most of the race. Then, for some reason, drivers who were managing the race so well lose their minds with just a few laps to go.
Christopher Bell Gets First NASCAR Cup Win of 2024 in Phoenix
It’s always sunny in Phoenix, or at least it was for Toyota. Toyota drivers led nearly every lap of the Shriners Children’s 500 with Christopher Bell leading 50 of those laps on his way to Victory Lane.
William Byron Survives Wild Daytona 500 Finish
Welcome back to NASCAR 2024!
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Ryan Blaney Masters Martinsville
And then there were four.
Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and William Byron.
No Denny Hamlin or Martin Truex, Jr. No Kevin Harvick, who is heading to the broadcast booth in 2024. No Chase Elliott, Joey Logano or Kyle Busch.
Kyle Larson Cashes In At Las Vegas Cup Race
Last week I noted that if you led 100 or more laps at Las Vegas, you had a pretty good shot at winning the race. Well Kyle Larson did just that, and more. He won both stages and led the most laps with 133 and the final 45. But it almost did not come to pass.
Tyler Reddick Outshines His Team Owner Denny Hamlin at Kansas
Last week Denny Hamlin led a lot of laps and left without a win. This week the same thing occurred, but at the end saw him win as an owner with Tyler Reddick leading just two laps, but the most important two laps.
Kyle Larson Wins The First NASCAR Cup Playoff Race, And His First Ever At Darlington
It looked like this was a race that had Denny Hamlin written all over it. He signed a nice extension with Joe Gibbs Racing, he started on the front row, won both Stages and he led 177 laps. I mean, you could just write this one early and go to bed, right?
Nope.
Chris Buescher Continues to Lead RFK Racing Resurgence With Daytona Win
It was a must win for many drivers Saturday night at Daytona as the hunt to make the NASCAR Cup playoffs entered its final race. A lot of potential scenarios were in play for a number of drivers. But in the end, a driver already in the playoffs won and ended the playoff hopes for the rest.
Michael McDowell Wins at Indy, and Shakes Up the Playoffs
Michael McDowell led a race high 54 laps on his way to his second Cup win, but a win that puts a lot of pressure on several bubble drivers. While securing his place in the playoffs, he leaves Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman wondering what’s next with just two races to go in the regular season.
With Michigan Win, Chris Buescher Makes It Two in a Row for RFK
After a day-long rain delay, the race finished in a great battle between the two fastest cars on the track, as it should be. Chris Buescher backed up last week’s win at Richmond with a stout performance holding off Martin Truex, Jr. who arguably had the fastest car all day. But as we all know, the fastest car doesn’t always win.
RFK Gets Big Richmond Win With Chris Buescher
On a day that saw RFK teammates leading a combined 190 laps, Chris Buescher kept the field at bay as he won at Richmond and solidified his playoff hopes. Teammate and owner Brad Keselowski showed what strength the team had by leading a race high 102 laps and winning Stage 2.
The Art of NASCAR Racing in the Rain: Chicago-Style
I wasn’t sure how this street race in Chicago would turn out. While hoping for the best, I was on the fence not only about the drivers’ ability to not turn this into a crashfest into Turn 1, but also thought this much-hyped event was nothing more than another NASCAR gimmick to drive eyes onto the sport even for a brief period of time.
Ross “Gallagher” Chastain Smashes A Watermelon At Nashville
Well, Ross Chastain did it, and did it without driving anyone into the wall. Chastain has had speed at Nashville in the past and he took his pole position and stayed out front much of the race to grab his first win of the season.
Have at it, boys! (Or not…)
Back before the 2010 season, then Senior VP of Competition Robin Pemberton uttered those famous words, that now have many fans scratching their heads… Boys, have at it.
NASCAR was accused by many of being too strict and taking away the “rubbing is racing” attitude that fans supposedly loved.
Penske 1100 Sweep: Blaney Wins the 600, Newgarden Wins the 500
I sure hope you got your fix on racing this weekend, if not, then you are a superhuman fan!
Nashville, TN driver Josef Newgarden (yes, he is American) won his first ever Indy 500 in controversial fashion. It’s nothing he did to generate controversy, but Indy race control kind of pissed off the team of Ganassi driver Marcus Ericsson.
William Byron Recipient of Lucky Win At Darlington
Ross Chastain can’t seem to shake controversy. Love him or hate him, it follows him around like a shadow. This week, William Byron found himself to be the fortunate recipient of a win thanks to another Chastain kerfuffle. This win puts Byron on top with 3 wins this season,. While only 5th in points, he is the leading candidate for the playoffs.
Martin Truex Jr. Breaks Winless Streak at the Monster Mile
Last week I noted that Martin Truex, Jr. had three wins at Dover but hasn’t been all that great there as of late. He certainly turned that around leading 68 laps and holding off Ross Chastain after a late race restart. After being rained out on Sunday, the Cup teams returned on Monday to a green track that rubbered up nicely as the race progressed. This race was not a case of tires not dropping off as The Monster Mile started eating tires.
Kyle Larson Shows Stage Dominance At Sonoma to Earn Back-to-Back Victories
Kyle Larson won at Sonoma making it back to back victories while sweeping every Stage along the way. Larson made it look easy as he held off Chase Elliott and Martin Truex, Jr. Elliott was vying for his first won at Sonoma after being dominant at every other road course and Truex was going for his third Sonoma win.