Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind. – With a new competition package that produced a race-record 16 lead changes and the closest NASCAR XFINITY Series finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, William Byron threw more blocks than an NFL fullback in holding off charging Paul Menard to win Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250. Byron made the decisive pass for the lead on Lap 85, surging past JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler into the top spot. Menard gained two spots, from fourth to second over a six-circuit stretch from Laps 90 to 96 but couldn’t overtake Byron, who blocked each of…

Courtesy of the NHRA MORRISON, Colo. – Leah Pritchett powered to the Top Fuel No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the 38th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Courtney Force (Funny Car), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 14th of 24 events on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Pritchett set an elapsed time track record with a 3.733-second pass at 326.24 mph in her Papa John’s dragster during the fourth and final qualifying session. She has four No. 1…

Courtesy of the NHRA MORRISON, Colo. – Courtney Force powered to the Funny Car qualifying lead Friday night at the 38th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 14th of 24 events on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Force set both ends of the track record after a 3.889-second pass at 328.30 mph in her Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro during the first qualifying session. She is aiming for her…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Motor Speedway has been named one of the best NASCAR tracks of 2017 in the annual USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice poll. After four weeks of daily voting by fans, TMS finished fifth among the 30 tracks that are run on in all three NASCAR national series. Watkins Glen was first followed by Martinsville, Charlotte and Eldora. “We are honored to be voted one of the top ten tracks in NASCAR by USA Today readers,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “We offer a lot for fans. We…

By Chris Knight NASCAR Wire Service ROSSBURG, Ohio – Using a late-race restart 18 laps from the finish and a strategy to ‘go where the others aren’t,’ Matt Crafton muscled past veteran dirt racer Stewart Friesen to win Wednesday night’s fifth annual Eldora Dirt Derby 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway. Over the last forty laps of the race, Crafton patiently worked his way from the bottom of the top-10 and took advantage of a Lap 127 caution to position himself to challenge a dominant Friesen for his first win since Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway last…

Courtesy of the NHRA MORRISON, Colo. – Already on an impressive stretch in his 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence believes he can continue that momentum at one of the most difficult tracks on the circuit to navigate, Bandimere Speedway. It plays host to this weekend’s 38th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals and racing at an altitude of more than 5,800 feet is never easy. But Torrence and his team have found something that works on the mountain in his 10,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster, qualifying No. 1 a year ago and winning the…

Courtesy of the NHRA MORRISON, Colo. – The first time Jack Beckman went to the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, he was a wide-eyed teenager and fan who simply wanted to take as many pictures and get as many autographs as he could. More than 30 years later, it’s come full circle for Beckman. The former Funny Car world champion is a three-time winner at the scenic facility and the event remains one of Beckman’s favorite races on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. Returning for this weekend’s 38th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals in his 10,000-horsepower…

Courtesy of the NHRA MORRISON, Colo. – Deric Kramer has almost two decades of experience racing at his home track, Bandimere Speedway, the site of weekend’s 38th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, starting in junior dragster and including his Pro Stock debut in 2012. Despite all those passes on the mountain, racing in the unique conditions at Bandimere Speedway doesn’t get any easier for Kramer, who will make his sixth appearance of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season this weekend. Looking for his first round win of the year in his American Ethanol Dodge Dart, the Sterling,…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – The annual Solar Car Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway is underway with a record number of teams participating. This year 36 teams are competing in the four-day competition at TMS, which makes the event the largest Solar Car Challenge in the Western Hemisphere. “We are excited to get this started,” Dr. Lehman Marks of the Solar Car Challenge Foundation said. “We have teams from all over the United States and other countries to produce a moving product on the race track and it has been very successful.” The Solar Car…

Race notes, news, preview and photos courtesy of NASCAR The House That Tony Stewart Built Eldora Speedway is a half-mile dirt racing facility located in western Ohio. The facility is owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart. Stewart, an Indiana native, purchased the neighboring state dirt track from Earl Baltes in 2004. Eldora Speedway has hosted four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since the 2013 season. In those four races, there have been four different winners. Starting with the most recent, below are the four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winners at Eldora Speedway: Winner …