Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race ended with a sweep, and overtime and two broken hearts. Five laps later than the scheduled 100, Kyle Larson got the victory in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 by .005 seconds over Elliott Sadler, who finished second at Daytona for the third straight race. But Larson’s victory wasn’t official until NASCAR demoted Justin Haley, who made a dramatic pass for the lead coming to the finish line but dipped below the yellow line dividing the racing surface from the apron, a violation of NASCAR rules.…

Courtesy of the NHRA EPPING, N.H. – Matt Hagan continued his recent hot stretch in the Funny Car class by earning the preliminary No. 1 qualifier at the sixth annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway. Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are also preliminary No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 13th of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Hagan jumped atop the category lead with a pass of 3.932-seconds at 322.04 mph in his Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger R/T recorded during his second qualifying run…

Courtesy of the NHRA EPPING, N.H. – The bigger and more excitable the fanbase, the better Ron Capps seems to perform. It’s one reason why the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car world champion enjoys heading to New England Dragway, the site of this weekend’s sixth annual NHRA New England Nationals, where Capps will again be greeted by the huge fanbase in the area. It has already brought out the best in Capps on two occasions in the first five years of the race, as the veteran claimed Epping wins in 2014 and 2016 in his 10,000-horsepower…

Courtesy of the NHRA EPPING, N.H. – There has been a lot for Mike Salinas to celebrate in what will be his most extensive season on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit. But after earning his first final round appearance in just his 25th race, the Top Fuel driver is not satisfied. Despite being young in his Top Fuel career, Salinas has already made a big impression, currently sitting ninth in points heading to New England Dragway for this weekend’s sixth annual NHRA New England Nationals. That includes making a final round appearance last month in Bristol driving…

By Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR Wire Service The deep appreciation Dale Earnhardt Jr. carries for NASCAR’s history includes him often re-watching races from decades before. It was fitting then that Sunday his debut Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series broadcast as a full-time NBC analyst just happened to be a race harkening to the classics Earnhardt likes to view. A thrilling last-lap duel featuring Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson saw them bump-and-bang off one another multiple times, culminating with Busch nudging Larson out of the lead in Turn 3, then maintaining control of his battered car to drive it across the finish line…

Courtesy of the NHRA EPPING, N.H. – Everything is starting to go according to plan for Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III, and that could make for a memorable celebration when the Hope, R.I., native heads to New England Dragway for the sixth annual NHRA New England Nationals on July 6-8. Coming off his first final round of the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season at Bristol in his 10,000-horsepower Ford Performance Shelby Mustang, Tasca is thrilled with the progress his team has made in recent weeks. They have jumped into the top 10 in the loaded Funny…

JOLIET, Ill. – A photographic look at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 400 held Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. All photos provided courtesy of Getty Images and NASCAR. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Clint Bowyer disappointed despite remarkable rally at Chicagoland JOLIET, Ill. – Without doubt, Clint Bowyer will look at Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway as a race that got away. Bowyer had driven from his fifth-place starting position to the front of the field before the first round of green-flag pit stops. But when he brought his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to pit road on Lap 39 of 267 and gave up the lead, Bowyer was too fast on exit. That meant a pass-through penalty, and on his next trip down pit road, Bowyer…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service JOLIET, Ill. – Like two boxers in the final round of a closely-contested slugfest, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson traded hard shots on the last lap of Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Moments later, it was Kyle Busch who was still standing—with his car parked on the finish line and his fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in his pocket. In the closing three laps, Larson gained on Busch, who had led from a restart on Lap 213 of 267. Busch was slowed by lapped traffic, and Larson had…

News, notes, photos and audio courtesy of NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Overton’s 400 The Place: Chicagoland Speedway The Date: Sunday, July 1 The Time: 2:30 p.m. TV: NBCSN, 2:00 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267) Same Dale, New View With the return to Chicagoland Speedway also comes the return of NBC Sports to the broadcast schedule…and a face very familiar to all NASCAR fans will be wearing a rookie stripe…