Author: Mike Haag

Courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power has been unbeatable at the INDYCAR Grand Prix when starting the Verizon IndyCar Series race from the pole position. The Team Penske driver is looking to make it 3-for-3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday after collecting the Verizon P1 Award in qualifying. Power, who won the race from the pole in 2015 and ’17, earned the first starting position for a third time with a lap of 1 minute, 9.8182 seconds (125.761 mph) in the Firestone Fast Six climactic round of knockout qualifying on Friday. It…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Clint Bowyer comes to Kansas Speedway with a fighting chance to win KANSAS CITY, Kan. – There’s still a major hole in Clint Bowyer’s bucket list. Bowyer hasn’t been able to win at Kansas Speedway, his home track. Neither could Carl Edwards, a Missouri driver who also claimed Kansas Speedway as his home turf. For Bowyer, though, this year is different. The driver who grew up racing on dirt at nearby Lakeside Speedway made an important career move in 2017 when he accepted a ride with Stewart-Haas Racing. This season, Bowyer has hit his…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dressed in the Roush Fenway Racing, Wyndham Rewards livery Matt Kenseth showed up at Kansas Speedway Friday ready to turn his very first laps in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car since the November, 2017 season finale. The former series champion, 46, addressed the media shortly before his season-opening practice session – the only one he will get prior to qualifying for Saturday night’s KC Masterpiece 400 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). In a typically low-key, understated manner the two-time Kansas winner managed expectation for his…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Not only is Kevin Harvick the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ winningest race car driver this season, during his time in front of the racing media Friday at Kansas Speedway, it was apparent he is also one of the most respected competitors in the garage. The 42-year old veteran is as highly regarded for opinion out of the race car as for his championship work on track, which continues in Saturday night’s KC Masterpiece 400 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Coming off his series best fourth win…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kevin Harvick essentially told his fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season dominator Kyle Busch – I’ll take your three race victories and raise you one. And after taking his fourth win last week at Dover, Harvick can expect that Busch will be ready to try and match the effort this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Harvick and Busch have won seven of the season’s first 11 races and the two former Cup champions have another four runner-up finishes between them too, dominating the 2018 season start in a way like no other…

Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – When Brandon Jones, Ryan Reed and Daniel Hemric signed up for NASCAR racing, running laps and doing burnouts around City Hall in Philadelphia wasn’t part of the job description. But that’s exactly what those three NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers were doing on Tuesday during the Xfinity Philadelphia Takeover as part of an outreach event that has become an annual occurrence in the City of Brotherly Love. More than a takeover, this was an invasion. All told, 23 Xfinity Series drivers took part in an array of activities designed to heighten awareness of…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Judging by the reaction and the general vibe, it’s hard to tell who is more excited about former champion Matt Kenseth’s return to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition this week driving the No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Fusion at Kansas Speedway for Roush Fenway Racing. The team? Fans? Kenseth? Roush? It’s been a delicate situation, but all concerned are hopeful that the new team dynamic results in better days ahead. Kenseth is going to share the driver’s seat with four-year Roush driver and 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne for the remainder…

INDYCAR Grand Prix fast facts Race weekend: Friday, May 11 – Saturday, May 12 Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (clockwise) Race distance: 85 laps / 207.315 miles Entry List: INDYCAR Grand Prix (PDF) Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate (Note: An eighth set of primary tires is available to any car fielding a rookie driver.) Twitter: @IMS @IndyCar, #INDYCARGP, #IndyCar Event website: www.ims.com INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com 2017 race winner: Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) 2017 Verizon P1 Award winner: Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service In the hours following Kevin Harvick’s impressive victory at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, his Stewart-Haas Racing team revealed a very philosophic path to not only the No. 4 Ford’s success, but to an organization operating on all cylinders. Harvick’s work in the car – four wins in the opening 11 races of the season – isn’t just a hell of a start, but a historical feat that hasn’t been accomplished for 11 years – since Jimmie Johnson won four of the first 11 races of the 2007 season. Yet for all the sporting significance,…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – The only thing that could have stopped Kevin Harvick on Sunday at Dover International Speedway was a sudden rainstorm. And even that failed. Eight laps after Sunday’s AAA 400 restarted from a rain delay of more than 40 minutes, Harvick passed Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer for the lead and pulled away to win his fourth race of the season by a whopping 7.450 seconds. All told, Harvick led 201 of the 400 laps, swept all three stages and reestablished his No. 4 Ford as the dominant car in the Monster…