Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Johnny Sauter won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with a third-place finish in Friday night’s Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leaving race winner William Byron to consider what might have been. As Byron and Tyler Reddick battled for the lead, Sauter passed Championship 4 contender Matt Crafton for third-place on Lap 119 of 134 at the 1.5-mile track. Sauter then pulled away to claim the championship as Crafton faded to seventh in the closing laps. Byron, the polesitter, claimed his rookie-record seventh victory of the season to…

The following are excerpts from a recent teleconference with three world champions from the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Ron Capps (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock), and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were featured on today’s teleconference. THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us today. We are going to talk with the champions from the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Joining us now is Ron Capps, the Funny Car world champion, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T. Ron had five victories and five runner-up finishes this year en route to securing his…

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Antron Brown, Ron Capps, Jason Line and Jerry Savoie were the headliners crowned as world champions Monday evening during the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series awards ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. The four drivers were honored for their season-long achievements and presented with checks and trophies for winning 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championship titles during the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s playoffs. Brown celebrated earning his third Top Fuel world championship. He secured the crown at the penultimate race of the season in…

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joey Logano earned a return trip to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after a year’s absence. Kyle Busch will head to the South Florida track to try to defend his 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title. And Kevin Harvick won’t be competing for the title for the first time since NASCAR debuted its elimination Chase format in 2014. Needing a victory to advance, as it turned out, Harvick finished fourth in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. In a race that featured spectacular side-by-side racing and a substitute…

POMONA, Calif. – Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) claimed NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championships Sunday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Line clinched his third Pro Stock world championship after he raced to victory in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro in the semifinal round, putting the points out of reach for second-place teammate Greg Anderson. “It’s been a great year and thanks to all of our competitors; they kept us honest and made us work hard right to the end,” said Line, who also won…

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – It was just another routine Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway for Kyle Busch. But nothing else in the Ticket Galaxy 200 was at all ordinary. All the drama unfolded behind Busch, as eight drivers scrambled for four positions in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase’s Championship 4 Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch led 190 of 200 laps on the way to his 10th NASCAR XFINITY Series victory of the season, his 10th at the one-mile track and the 86th of his career, extending his own series record. Busch beat runner-up Austin…

POMONA, Calif. – Funny Car racer Ron Capps clinched his first NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championship on Saturday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Capps, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T, had a 92-point lead over second-place Matt Hagan when qualifying concluded and needed an 81-point lead to clinch. Before being crowned, Capps was the winningest driver, with 50 victories, to have not won a championship. “I can’t even tell you how focused [crew chief] Rahn Tobler has been this year,” said Capps, who was the series…

POMONA, Calif. – Ron Capps scored valuable qualifying points and Jack Beckman sprinted to the qualifying lead in Funny Car on Friday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 24th and final event of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. The Auto Club NHRA Finals marks the conclusion of the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Capps posted the lowest elapsed time in the first…

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – William Byron’s bitter disappointment proved a boon for two of his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. When the engine in Byron’s No. 9 Toyota expired on Lap 141 of 150 – ending the championship run for the series’ most prolific winner this year – Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Daniel Suarez took over the race lead and went on to score the first NCWTS victory of his career. Byron’s elimination from the inaugural Camping World Truck Series…

GLENDORA, Calif. – Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec are used to competing against one another for NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championships, as the Pro Stock Motorcycle teammates have won four of the past five world titles in the class. They enter this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at historic Auto Club Raceway tied for first place, promising another entertaining duel at the season finale, but Jerry Savoie has his own plans for the weekend. Savoie won in Vegas to pull within three points of the perennial title contenders in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, setting…