Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – It took 16 tries, but Matt Crafton finally got his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Dover International Speedway. Holding off hard-charging Daniel Suárez throughout a 27-lap green-flag run to the finish of Friday’s Dover 200 at the Monster Mile, the two-time series champion picked up his first win of the season and the 12th of his career, all but assuring himself a berth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase.  “We’ve gotten close and we’ve had very fast trucks – and this truck was very, very good today,”…

BROOKLYN, Mich. (May 5, 2016) — NASCAR is back on Father’s Day at Michigan International Speedway in 2017. NASCAR released its 2017 schedule for all series Thursday, and NASCAR’s fastest track will once again host two action-filled weekends of NASCAR racing in 2017: June 16-18 and Aug. 11-13. The first of the track’s two traditional NASCAR weekends is June 16-18 with the Corrigan Oil 200 ARCA Racing Series on June 16; NASCAR XFINITY Series Menards 250 presented by Valvoline on June 17; and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 is on Father’s Day on June 18. The Sprint…

COMMERCE, Ga. — Two-time Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon believes that a number of changes he has recently made to his 10,000-horsepower Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry are about to lead to an impressive turnaround. While it is still early in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, Pedregon also knows there is no time to waste facing off against the elite competition in the Funny Car class. Pedregon made strides two races ago in Charlotte, finishing as the runner-up at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, but expects even more success as the season picks up. That includes performing…

COMMERCE, Ga. — With the uncharacteristic struggles he has had to open the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, eight-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher saw some irony ahead of this weekend’s 36th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. It is the only track where the ultra-successful Schumacher has not won during a standout NHRA career that includes 80 total victories, and now he finds himself searching for a victory to get his 2016 season on track. It has been a slow start for Schumacher in his 10,000-horsepower U.S. Army dragster, falling short…

COMMERCE, Ga. — With three world championships and 41 career victories, Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Angelle Sampey knows the components of a wi nning motorcycle. If her thoughts on the new Star Racing Buell she debuted this year are any indication, plenty of success is headed Sampey’s way during the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Feeling as good as she has since returning to the sport in 2014, Sampey hopes to add to her success at Atlanta Dragway next month. She boasts four career victories at the facility, which is also the home track for her Star…

COMMERCE, Ga. — The last time Tim Wilkerson arrived at Atlanta Dragway he was hoping to finally end a long dry spell in the winner’s circle. A year later, Wilkerson is simply aiming to add to what has been an impressive start to his 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. The Funny Car veteran has already won twice in his 10,000-horsepower Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang and shares the points lead with Courtney Force. It’s a considerable difference from 2015 when Wilkerson won at Atlanta, snapping a winless streak that dated back to 2011. But Wilkerson…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kyle Busch finally overcame his gremlins at Kansas Speedway in a race that left Martin Truex Jr. overcome with frustration. On Saturday night—in stark contrast to many of his prior misadventures at the 1.5-mile track—Busch waited until after the Go Bowling 400 to destroy his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, a feat he accomplished during his celebratory burnout. Busch took the lead for good on Lap 231 of 267 after Truex, who led a race-high 172 laps, brought his car back to pit road on Lap 215 because of…

News and Notes from the Verizon IndyCar Series Reserved seating for 100th Indianapolis 500 sold out: Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials celebrated an epic and historic milestone today, announcing that all reserved seating is sold out for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on May 29. While general admission tickets are still available in the IMS infield, the massive grandstands around the 107-year-old 2.5-mile oval, as well as all hospitality suites, will be completely filled for the first time in approximately two decades. The news was shared by IMS leadership on the steps of the…

WYNNEWOOD, Okla. (May 6) — Two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Erica Enders is featured in the current issue of the national magazine Sports Illustrated Kids with a four-page spread as well as an online story and video feature on SIKids.com. Writer Christina M. Tapper, photographer David E. Klutho, and videographer Jake Huber spent two days with Enders and her Elite Motorsports/Mopar Dodge team at the recent NHRA race at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix. “They did a really nice job of covering our sport and telling our story,” Enders said. “It’s always great to see our sport reach new fans…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – William Byron remembers watching NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races when he was six years old. Now 18, Byron has a win in the series he watched as a child. But it took a strong truck and a stroke of good luck for Byron to win Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 and reach Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway for the first time in five series starts. Driving the No. 9 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Byron was third when frontrunner Johnny Sauter led Ben Rhodes into Turn 3 on the…