By Matt Crossman, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Sitting in his racecar during a red flag delay near the end of the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Kyle Larson pondered the possible routes to an overtime victory. He was in fourth-place and would restart for the final two-lap shootout behind leader Martin Truex Jr. Larson hadn’t had a fast racecar all day at Michigan International Speedway, but he thought with a gutsy move on the restart, he could steal a win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Ahead of him, Truex, the race leader, was…
Author: Mike Haag
Mike Haag
Mike Haag has covered motorsports in San Antonio and South Texas for more than 39 years. In addition to covering motorsports for the San Antonio Express-News for nearly 28 years, Mike also has co-hosted TrackSmack with Dawn Murphy for 19 race seasons. In addition to being a writer, Mike taught high school English and Journalism for 30 years before retiring in May, 2020.
News, notes and photos courtesy of NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Pure Michigan 400 The Place: Michigan International Speedway The Date: Sunday, August 13 The Time: 3 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200) Truex Wins Series-Best Fourth Race Saving fuel in the closing laps, Martin Truex Jr. passed Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, who had to pit for gas, to win the I LOVE NEW YORK…
Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will make a return to stock-car racing at Texas Motor Speedway to take part in the “Smoke Show” Fantasy Camp set for Wednesday, Oct. 11. Stewart, who retired from NASCAR competition last year, returns to the track as the host of the “Smoke Show” Fantasy Camp benefitting the Texas Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities. A limited number of spots remain to take part in this unique experience that offers fans the chance to walk in the shoes of a Cup Series driver…
Staff Report NASCAR Wire Service LEXINGTON, Ohio – Sam Hornish Jr. dominated Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Mid-Ohio Challenge, but his victory was anything but certain until the waning laps of a caution-filled race. Hornish, driving Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang, earlier had eclipsed his own qualifying record at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and edged series rookie Daniel Hemric by 1.335 seconds when the event ultimately went green for the final time with five circuits remaining in the 75-lap distance. The victory was the fifth in the series by Hornish, whose last win came in June of…
By Matt Crossman, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich.— For the final 11 laps of today’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway, Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr. protected his leading position. He blocked high and low and middle, and when he briefly lost the lead, he quickly surged his No. 99 MDM Motorsports Chevrolet back ahead. Every move he made in today’s LTi Printing 200 to earn a trip to Victory Lane turned out to be the right one. Actually getting to Victory Lane, that was another story. After laying down a massive burnout to raucous applause from…
Courtesy of Team Chevrolet Racing DETROIT — A new era in Chevrolet motorsports starts today with the introduction of the Camaro ZL1 as the new race car for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson — driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports — joined Mark Reuss, executive vice president of GM Global Product Development, to reveal the new race car at Chevrolet’s headquarters in Detroit. “Chevrolet, Camaro and ZL1 are all synonymous with winning, both on and off the track,” said Reuss. “We are thrilled to run Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series next year,…
Courtesy of the NHRA SEATTLE – Antron Brown piloted his dragster to the Top Fuel victory Sunday at the 30th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) were also victorious in their respective categories at the 16th of 24 events in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Brown took down Terry McMillen with a 3.776-second pass at 326.48 mph in his Matco Tools dragster during the final round. He earned his fourth victory of the season and second in three events. With the victory, he takes over the…
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – At a track where his father raced, and a track where he was a “garage rat” as a child, Martin Truex Jr. won Sunday’s I Love New York 355 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race by slowing down over the closing laps. Truex let Brad Keselowski pass him for the lead on Lap 77 of 90. On instructions from crew chief Cole Pearn, Truex also let Ryan Blaney past his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota on Lap 83. All the while, Truex was saving fuel, with Pearn calculating…
News, notes and photos courtesy of NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: I LOVE NEW YORK 355 at The Glen The Place: Watkins Glen International The Date: Sunday, August 6 The Time: 3 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 220.6 miles (90 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on lap 90) Busch Goes For Second Straight Win Kyle Busch notched his first win of the season – and first in 36 races – in Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Pocono…
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – With a victory in Saturday’s Zippo 200, Kyle Busch continued to tick items off his bucket list. Recovering from a wheel-hop and spin in Turn 1 on Lap 17 of 82 along with a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes, Busch claimed his first NASCAR XFINITY Series win at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course, beating polesitter Joey Logano to the finish line by 1.049 seconds. “The cars have really been working for me here and it just feels so good to finally win an XFINITY race here,” said…