Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kevin Harvick expects a rare repeat winner at Sonoma SONOMA, Calif. – Kevin Harvick expects to see a repeat winner in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). That would be a departure from the norm at a track that has produced nine different winners in the last nine years. If Harvick’s assumption is correct, the pool of potential visitors to Victory Lane is reduced to seven active drivers: Harvick himself (last year’s winner), Kasey Kahne (2009), Jimmie Johnson (2010), Kurt Busch (2011), Clint Bowyer (2012),…

Courtesy of the NHRA NORWALK, Ohio – Both Brittany and Courtney Force are the current No. 1 qualifiers in their respective nitro categories after one qualifying session due to inclement weather at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) is also a current No. 1 qualifier at the 12th event of 24 on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Weather did not allow for Pro Stock to take to the track during Friday’s qualifying. Force piloted her Monster Energy / Advance Auto Parts dragster to a 3.776-second pass at…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Sonoma holds fond memories for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion SONOMA, Calif. – Martin Truex Jr.’s 2013 victory at Sonoma Raceway holds a special place among the 17 wins the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion has accumulated since his full-time debut in 2006. Coming to California that year, Truex had been winless since his maiden Cup victory at Dover in 2007, a drought that had reached 218 races. “A long time, very long – don’t remind me,” said Truex, a featured guest at a Sonoma Raceway luncheon on Thursday in San Francisco.…

Courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin – Josef Newgarden sent a stern reminder that he’s alive and well in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship hunt, leading both practices on the opening day of the KOHLER Grand Prix weekend at Road America. The reigning series champion ran the best lap of the day in the second session around the historic permanent road course, at 1 minute, 42.6279 seconds (140.804 mph) in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden won two of the first four races this season to take the championship lead, but he hasn’t finished better…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Clint Bowyer got to celebrate his June 10 Michigan victory an extra week thanks to NASCAR’s recent off-week, but he arrived in Northern California appearing ready to add to his season two-trophy haul and swap his victory beer for the region’s fine wine. Bowyer won on the scenic 1.99-mile Sonoma Raceway road course in 2012 and is one of only seven former winners in the field for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) And looking at the season’s big picture, Bowyer, 39, is now one of four multi-time winners…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service If the right attitude can translate into a break-through trophy then Kyle Larson should be ready to gulp his share of fine Northern California wine straight from the winner’s oversized chalice Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. Larson has celebrated there before – dominating the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race, leading every single lap in his first high profile NASCAR event at the scenic 11-turn road course. And he is the defending Busch Pole sitter for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). And while…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Do you have a need for speed in a competitive atmosphere where you can drag race your personal vehicle, whether it be a Lamborghini, vintage Volkswagen Beetle or a Chevrolet pick-up truck? Texas Motor Speedway is the place to visit the next six weeks as the ever-popular Universal Technical Institute Friday Night Drags returns for its 10th anniversary season of head-to-head, street-style drag racing on the speedway’s 1/8-mile pit road. The six-week schedule will run every Friday evening beginning this week through July 27. Since its inception in 2009,…

KOHLER Grand Prix fast facts Race weekend: Friday, June 22 – Sunday, June 24 Track: Road America, a 4.014-mile, 14-turn permanent road course (clockwise) in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Race distance: 55 laps / 220.77 miles Entry List: KOHLER Grand Prix (PDF) Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. Firestone tire allotment: Eight sets primary, four sets alternate. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. Twitter: @RoadAmerica @IndyCar, #KOHLERGP, #IndyCar Event website: www.roadamerica.com INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com 2017 race winner: Scott Dixon (No. 9 NTT Data Honda) 2017…

Courtesy of the NHRA NORWALK, Ohio – Five-time Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) world champ Andrew Hines has a strong comfort level at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the site of this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Hines has four wins at the facility, which means it may be the perfect place to grab his first win of the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. A victory on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson would be music to Hines’ ears, as the current PSM points leader has been close on multiple occasions this season. His four career…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With a pole position and third-place finish at Michigan two weeks ago – and five top-10 efforts in the last six races of the season – it feels inevitable that Kurt Busch is on the verge of hoisting his first trophy since the 2017 Daytona 500. And Sonoma Raceway’s winding and picturesque Northern Californian hillside road course is a promising opportunity for the former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champ to claim his first win of the 2018 season. The Toyota/SaveMart 350 (June 24 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM…