Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – Take a bow, Kyle Busch. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota got what he needed late in Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway—cautions and short runs in the final 40 laps—to win his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, matching Kevin Harvick’s feat from earlier in the season. Busch streaked away from the rest of the field on a series of late restarts, ultimately beating Chase Elliott to the checkered flag in overtime to record his fifth victory at the .75-mile short track and the 46th…

Courtesy of the NHRA BAYTOWN, Texas – Leah Pritchett set the Top Fuel elapsed time track record during the final qualifying session on Saturday to secure the top spot at the 31st annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the fifth of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Defending event champion Pritchett raced her Mopar Dodge dragster to a pass of 3.680-seconds at 326.00 mph. This is her first No. 1 qualifier of the season…

Courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Josef Newgarden didn’t have to look far for the benchmark in qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park. Team Penske teammate Will Power is a four-time Verizon IndyCar Series pole winner at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn permanent road course. Newgarden knew he would need to outperform Power in the Firestone Fast Six today to collect the Verizon P1 Award in qualifying for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by America’s First, and he did just that – barely. Newgarden’s last lap in the final round of knockout qualifying clipped Power by a…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Chase Elliott tries for two important milestones at Richmond RICHMOND, Va. – With a season-best qualifying effort on Friday at Richmond Raceway, Chase Elliott is in ideal position to make personal history—not to mention achieving a major milestone for the Hendrick Motorsports organization that fields his No. 9 Chevrolets. Elliott put his car on the outside of the front row for Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the .75-mile short track, a race that will mark Elliott’s 86th start in the Monster Energy NASCAR…

News, notes and photos courtesy of NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Toyota Owners 400 The Place: Richmond Raceway The Date: Saturday, April 21 The Time: 6:30 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 6 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 300 miles (400 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 100), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 200), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series There’s No Place Like Home For Hamlin Denny Hamlin doesn’t just love to come home to Virginia for sentimental reasons, he considers Richmond Raceway, in particular, a place he…

BAYTOWN, Texas – After four races on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel and Funny Car circuits, Kalitta Motorsports drivers Doug Kalitta, Richie Crampton, J.R. Todd and Shawn Langdon are off to a successful start. As the drivers get ready to compete this weekend at the NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway, no team has won more races than Kalitta Motorsports. While Toyota drivers Kalitta, Crampton and Todd have already notched early-season victories, Langdon is looking to become the fourth Kalitta driver to win this season. He already reached two semi-finals in his first season behind the…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – In a long green-flag run fraught with spellbinding tension, Christopher Bell held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Noah Gragson to win Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. Bell spoiled Gragson’s prospects for a victory in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, passing his teammate for the lead on Lap 172 of 250 and staying in front—if only just barely—the rest of the way. Bell crossed the finish line .423 seconds ahead of Gragson, after the driver of the No. 18 Toyota got to the bumper of Bell’s No. 20 in the…

Courtesy of the NHRA BAYTOWN, Texas – Matt Hagan powered to the Funny Car qualifying lead under the lights Friday evening at the 31st annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. Brittany Force (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are also provisional qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the fifth of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Hagan sits atop the Funny Car category with a run of 3.913-seconds at 308.78 mph in his Pennzoil/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T. He’s chasing the top position as he aims for his second No. 1 qualifier…

Courtesy of Bob Wilber, Worsham & Fink Racing HOUSTON, Texas — While competing at this weekend’s NHRA SpringNationals in Houston, Funny Car star and two-time NHRA World Champion Del Worsham announced that his racing operation will be temporarily parked and on the sidelines after the Houston event, while he continues to pursue additional funding for his organization. At this point in time, Worsham has plans for a return to NHRA competition at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 27-29 at Sonoma Raceway in California. If funding can be secured in the interim, the team will be ready to compete immediately. Worsham has competed at…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch hopes to rediscover magic touch at Richmond RICHMOND, Va. – For a driver with a two-race winning streak, Kyle Busch wasn’t exuding confidence when he took questions from reporters Friday afternoon at Richmond Raceway. Busch used to own the spring race at Richmond. He won it four straight years from 2009 through 2012. In each of those years, the race fell on or near his May 2 birthday, and Busch was unabashed about gifting himself with the Richmond trophy. But times have changed, and so have NASCAR rules. In recent years, Busch…