Author: Mike Haag

FORT WORTH, Texas – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Chris Buescher and Verizon IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter joined Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage for the ceremonial first lap Monday as the track’s major renovations were officially unveiled. Amid fireworks on the frontstretch, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell and INDYCAR President of Competition and Operations Jay Frye waved the green flag on Buescher, Carpenter and Gossage as they drove the speedway’s official Chevrolet SS pace cars three wide for the inaugural lap on the newly repaved and re-profiled 1.5-mile oval. The lap…

FORT WORTH, Texas – Wise Health System has signed a multi-year agreement with Texas Motor Speedway to serve as the entitlement sponsor for April’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race and as the speedway’s official healthcare provider. The five-year agreement is a multi-pronged sponsorship that is anchored by the entitlement rights for the XFINITY Series race that will be re-branded as the “My Bariatric Solutions 300.” The 300-mile, 200-lap race is scheduled for Saturday, April 8, and will be televised live on FOX beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT. Wise Health System also will be the “Official Healthcare Provider of Texas Motor Speedway”…

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – In a race whose aftermath left hometown driver Kyle Busch with a bloody forehead, Martin Truex Jr. passed the faltering car of Brad Keselowski on the white-flag lap and cruised to a sweep of all three stages in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As Truex approached the checkered flag to win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time this season and the first time at LVMS, Joey Logano’s Ford slid up into Kyle Busch’s Toyota in a battle for third position. Busch spun into…

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 1 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Chevrolet, 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion): “It’s definitely a champion team for regrouping like they did, understanding the issue we had in qualifying. This morning in the warmup, I was back home in my car. It was great to get that feeling back. The race, the car was fantastic. We got very lucky at the start, I would say. We went through the chaos. I think God had something to play with it actually, because he put the car back where it needed to go. Very lucky. Then after that, we…

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Sebastien Bourdais went for a Sunday drive in his adopted American hometown, but it was far from leisurely. The Frenchman charged from last to first to win today’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the opening race on the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Bourdais piloted his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda to a 10.3508-second victory over countryman Simon Pagenaud in the 110-lap race on the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit to secure the 36th victory of his illustrious Indy car career. It moved the 38-year-old Bourdais past Bobby Unser into sole possession of sixth place…

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway wasn’t a drag race, but lane choice proved critical to Joey Logano’s 28th NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Choosing the top side for a restart on Lap 196 of 200, after Ty Dillon’s spin on Lap 192 necessitated the ninth and final caution of the afternoon, Logano cleared Kyle Larson off Turn 4 after an intense side-by-side battle and pulled away to win by .602 seconds. “It was hard to figure out what to do, what…

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 1 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Chevrolet): “Well, we’re certainly disappointed, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to pack up and go home. The PPG Chevrolet team and I will go to work and figure out how we can improve. They are the best in the business. We have our work cut out for us, but once the race starts, all sorts of things can happen.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “I have been told numerous times that this car has been victorious twice in the last two years here. So no pressure,…

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Will Power continued his mastery of Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg qualifying, winning the pole position today for the seventh time in the last eight years for the opening race to the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, Power navigated the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street course in 1 minute, 1.0640 seconds (106.118 mph) on his final lap in the climactic Firestone Fast Six – the third and final round of knockout qualifying. The 2014 series champion’s lap was 0.1579 of a second better than Scott Dixon in the…

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Kobalt 400 The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway The Date: Sunday, March 12 The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 3:30 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on lap 267) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Grand Theft Auto: Keselowski Steals Win At Atlanta, Goes For Second Straight Victory At Las Vegas Brad Keselowski took advantage of Kevin Harvick’s late speeding penalty by passing Kyle Larson with six laps left to win…

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 1 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Chevrolet): “I feel good about the PPG Chevrolet. I think we made good progress throughout the sessions and collected a lot of good data. There is more speed to find and I feel we’ll be able to do that and be ready for the qualifying session. It’s important to qualify well to make race day a little easier. It’s awesome to be at the track again for an actual event. The atmosphere here is tremendous.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “It was a good day for the…