By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
Race for the final two NASCAR Cup Championship 4 spots is wide open
In a tripleheader weekend that will decide the Championship 4 contenders in each of NASCAR’s top three national series, the marquee event is Sunday’s Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Two-time champion Joey Logano and this season’s Regular Season Champion Tyler Reddick already have qualified for the Nov. 10 Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway by virtue of their respective victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in the first two races of the Round of 8.
Cup Playoffs’ Round of 8 gets underway this weekend at Las Vegas
Las Vegas is the first chance for Xfinity Playoff contenders to lock into the Championship Four
The penultimate round of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begins this week with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a shake-up atop the standings and an important three-race slate in front of the Playoff competitors.
The last four NASCAR Cup Series champions are among the eight-driver group vying for a position in the Championship Four that will compete for the title Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway.
The zMAX CARS Tour heads to Tri-County Motor Speedway this weekend with heavy hearts amidst the ongoing cleanup in the Appalachian Mountains.
Hurricane Helene’s arrival on Sept. 27 devastated several cities and towns across North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and the surrounding states. Catastrophic flooding has left hundreds of people dead, destroyed crucial infrastructure and cut off access to several major highways in the region. (more…)
White Flag: AM Racing returns to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2024 with sophomore Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) driver Christian Rose behind the wheel of the team’s No. 32 Ford Mustang, continuing this weekend for the ARCA Menards Series season finale.
The 2024 ARCA Menards Series season will mark the first time that AM Racing has competed back-to-back full-time in the NASCAR-owned development series since three-time ARCA Menards Series winner Gus Dean drove for the organization during the 2017 – 2018 seasons, respectively. (more…)
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway… In 104 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has one win (Kevin Harvick, 2013) along with five top-five and 29 top-10 finishes. The victory was Harvick’s first at the Midwest intermediate track and came in dominating fashion after winning the pole and leading the most laps in the race. RCR owns three pole positions at Kansas: Harvick (2013), Daniel Hemric (2019) and Tyler Reddick (2022).
RCR in the Xfinity Series at Kansas… RCR has one NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Kansas: Kevin Harvick in 2006. Harvick, who led twice for 18 laps, would go on to win the 2006 series title with RCR, the second of his career. The Welcome, N.C., based organization has three poles at Kansas by three different drivers: Austin Dillon (2013), Ty Dillon (2014) and Daniel Hemric (2018). In 2023, both RCR drivers scored top-five finishes at Kansas: Sheldon Creed (third) and Austin Hill (fifth).
Welcome To The Team: For Friday night’s Kubota Tractor 200 at Kansas Speedway, Young’s Motorsports welcomes Nathan Byrd to command the team’s flagship No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado RST for his inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series debut in the heart of the Midwest.
About Nathan: Byrd, 24, began racing go-karts in 2018, just after graduating High School, and he entered his first car race in February 2020.
Welcome Back: AM Racing returns to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2024 with sophomore Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) driver Christian Rose behind the wheel of the team’s No. 32 Ford Mustang, continuing with Friday night’s Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway.
The 2024 ARCA Menards Series season will mark the first time that AM Racing has competed back-to-back full-time in the NASCAR-owned development series since three-time ARCA Menards Series winner Gus Dean drove for the organization during the 2017 – 2018 seasons, respectively. (more…)
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway… In 187 NASCAR Cup Series starts on the pavement configuration at Bristol Motor Speedway, RCR has scored nine wins, seven by Dale Earnhardt: both races in 1985 and 1987, plus victories in 1988 (fall), 1994 (spring), and 1999 (spring). Kevin Harvick won the 2005 spring event while Jeff Burton won the spring race in 2008. The Welcome, North Carolina based organization has racked up 35 top-five and 71 top-10 finishes.
25th Anniversary of “Rattle His Cage”… Saturday night’s Cup Series race at the World’s Fastest Half Mile marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most memorable finishes in Bristol Motor Speedway history featuring legendary RCR driver Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt, who started 26th, won the 1999 night race following a last-lap bump to Terry Labonte. Earnhardt said in Victory Lane that he didn’t mean to spin out Labonte – just to “rattle his cage.” Earnhardt and Labonte swapped the lead seven times over the last 200 laps in one NASCAR’s classic races.
