Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Erik Jones thinks victory is a distinct possibility this season BROOKLYN, Mich. – When will NASCAR’s young guns start firing on all cylinders? There’s little doubt that the critical mass of young talent in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is as potent as it’s been since the turn of the century. Only one problem: the veterans in the series are decidedly reluctant to give up the spotlight. Three drivers in particularly have hogged the trophies and severely limited the winning chances available to the younger competitors. Between them, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and…

FORT WORTH, Texas – A photographic look at Friday’s racing action at Texas Motor Speedway. All photos are provided courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway and Getty Images. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

By John Sturbin, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas – Johnny Sauter continued his uncanny mastery of Texas Motor Speedway Friday night, holding off Stewart Friesen on a three-lap shootout to win the 22nd annual PPG 400 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. The series point-leader, Sauter posted his fifth career win on TMS’ 1.5-mile oval and fourth in eight events this season. But he and crew chief Joe Shear Jr. had to gamble on fuel as the laps wound down and then keep pole-sitter Friesen at-bay following a restart on Lap 165 of the scheduled 167. Sauter finished 0.092-seconds…

FORT WORTH, Texas – A photographic look at the PPG 400 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. All photos are provided courtesy of Dr. Michael C. Johnson. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

FORT WORTH, Texas – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Todd Gilliland received his high school diploma from track president Eddie Gossage during a pre-race ceremony Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. The 18-year-old and third-generation NASCAR driver walked across the stage prior to the start of the PPG 400 and officially graduated from high school. Gilliland started on the outside pole position. He is the fourth high school graduate/driver to be presented a diploma by Gossage. In past years Erik Jones (2014), Cole Custer (2016) and Noah Gragson (2017). Below is a photographic look at Gilliland’s graduation ceremony. All…

Courtesy of the NHRA DINWIDDIE, Va. – Courtney Force continued her early-season dominance in the Funny Car class as she currently sits as the No. 1 qualifier at the inaugural Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also preliminary No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 10th of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Force jumped atop the category lead with a pass of 3.983-seconds at 323.35 mph in her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Josef Newgarden paced Team Penske to a top-three sweep during Friday’s U.S. Concrete Qualifying Day for the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. Newgarden, the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion, earned the pole position by touring Texas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval in a combined two-lap total of 46.9964 seconds/220.613 mph in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Penske’s Simon Pagenaud, the 2016 series champion, will start second after posting a two-lap average of 47.0607 seconds/220.311 mph in his No. 22 DXC Technology Chevy. The last driver with…

Courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series FORT WORTH, Texas – Team Penske continued its dominance at Texas Motor Speedway, sweeping the top three spots in qualifications for the DXC Technology 600. Josef Newgarden, the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion, was the fastest qualifier and earned the Verizon P1 Award with a two-lap average speed of 220.613 mph in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. It marked the eighth time a Team Penske driver has captured the pole position for an Indy car race on the 1.5-mile superspeedway oval. Team Penske has won nine of the past 17 races…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Clearly, Kurt Busch enjoyed the rush of putting his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on the pole on Friday at Michigan International Speedway. “To go 217 (mph) into the corner—just hauling the mail—I love that feeling,” said Busch, who ran his fastest lap of the day at the 2-mile track to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “This one is fun, because I could trust the car, and I knew I needed to go after it hard. Watching…

FORT WORTH, Texas – A photographic look at Friday’s Verizon IndyCar Series practice sessions at Texas Motor Speedway. All photos provided courtesy of Dr. Michael C. Johnson. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]