Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Christopher Bell held off hard-charging veteran Brad Keselowski over the final 18 laps to win Saturday’s Lakes Region 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In winning his second straight race in the series, Bell grabbed the top spot from Keselowski on a restart on Lap 183 of 200 and kept the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion behind him the rest of the way, though Keselowski got within three feet of the rear bumper of Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with three laps left.…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Pole winner Kurt Busch expects performance pickup in season’s second half LOUDON, N.H. – As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season moves into its second half, Kurt Busch hopes to build on the notebook he and crew chief Billy Scott have been building during their initial visits to the Cup tracks. Scott worked with Danica Patrick on the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford last year but moved to Busch’s No. 41 when Patrick departed at the end of the season. He and Busch have spent the first half of 2018 getting to know…

Courtesy of the NHRA MORRISON, Colo. – Courtney Force is the current No. 1 Funny Car qualifier at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals, the first of three consecutive races of the daunting NHRA Western Swing. Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also preliminary No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at Bandimere Speedway, the 14th of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Force posted a 3.966-second run at 322.73 mph during the second qualifying session in her Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro to take the preliminary…

LOUDON, N.H. – A photographic look at the NASCAR racing action held Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. All photos provided courtesy of NASCAR and Getty Images. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Early bird Kurt Busch ran his best lap of the day in the final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s Foxwoods 301 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The first driver on the track for decisive Round 3, Busch covered the one-mile distance in 28.511 seconds (133.591 mph) to edge reigning series champion Martin Turex Jr. by .019 seconds. Truex will start from the front row for the seventh time this…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Defending New Hampshire Motor Speedway race winner Denny Hamlin is hoping that the good vibes and his excellent record at the track will translate into a positive season turnaround this weekend. The perennial Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship player is smarting from a rough month of competition – multiple races starting from the rear of the grid and disappointing results at the checkered flag. Disappointing for this No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team that is far more accustomed to hoisting trophies and challenging in the playoffs than overcoming the kind of early season…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Where dirt racing and NASCAR intersect, Kyle Larson votes for status quo LOUDON, N. H. – NASCAR’s very own dirt devil would prefer to keep the one dirt-track race currently on the schedule as a unique special occasion. Larson is well aware that Eldora Speedway owner Tony Stewart has been lobbying to bring a NASCAR Xfinity Series race—perhaps even a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event—to the half-mile dirt facility, which on Wednesday hosted the Dirt Derby for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Larson, however, believes the Cup series belongs on asphalt. “Tony…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Less than 48 hours after being honored with the ESPY Award for Best Driver, Martin Truex Jr. was still smiling about the national recognition before Friday’s opening practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion won the award on a high-profile, super-achieving ballot that also included three other 2017 racing champions – Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton, IndyCar’s Josef Newgarden and NHRA’s Top Fuel champion Brittany Force. It marked the third time in the last four years that a NASCAR champion has won the Best Driver category – also including…

By Chris Knight, NASCAR Wire Service ROSSBURG, Ohio – Coming to the finish in Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby, you didn’t know who was going to win. With dirt slinging, doors banging and the checkered flag waving, Chase Briscoe edged ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger to earn his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory in the sixth annual race at the historic Eldora Speedway. In a one-off race with ThorSport, Briscoe, on newer tires, took advantage of a Lap 145 restart to pass leader and Toyota Racing Development protégé Logan Seavey, but the event’s final caution within…

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Photos from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Eldora Dirt Derby held Wednesday night at the historic Eldora Speedway. All photos provided courtesy of NASCAR and Getty Images. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]