Author: Mike Haag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Ryan Blaney did a double take. The No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, decked out in its traditional red, white and gold colors, drove past Blaney in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage. That was the car Blaney drove last year before moving to Team Penske for the 2018 season. He felt an eerie sense of familiarity before snapping back to reality. “I’ll be honest with you. It was really, really weird today,” Blaney said after winning the pole for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Holding off a hard-charging Johnny Sauter and Brett Moffit in the closing laps of a thrilling NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Kyle Busch claimed a milestone victory at his home track and kept alive the possibility of a three-race sweep at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch crossed the finish line .437 seconds ahead of Sauter, who outdueled Moffit for the runner-up position. Last week’s winner at Atlanta, Moffitt held the lead until contact of his No. 16 Toyota with the lapped truck of Michel Disdier gave Busch the opportunity to…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS, Nev. – With a respite from strong gusts in the final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying on Friday at windswept Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney posted the fastest lap of the day to earn the pole position for the third race of the season. After covering the 1.5-mile distance in 28.200 seconds (191.489 mph)—the fastest lap of the day—Blaney will lead the field to the green flag in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM). Kevin Harvick was second…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Clint Bowyer is a man of high energy and high expectation. And the veteran driver is hopeful that now two years into his tenure with the championship winning Stewart-Haas Racing organization, that keen spirit will continue to translate into high performance too. Bowyer, 39, arrived at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM) feeling optimistic after a third-place showing in Atlanta last Sunday. His fifth-place ranking in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup standings is his highest points position entering the Las Vegas race in five…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Conceding the weather conditions may vary between this week’s spring race weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the track’s inaugural Playoff race date coming in September 16, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers still remained confident Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM) would serve as a good reference point for the all-important return trip this Fall. Speaking with the media Friday morning prior to opening Monster Energy Series practice, Kyle Larson was confident and optimistic that this #NASCARGoesWest stop would absolutely benefit the playoff…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Keep an eye on the tires in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas LAS VEGAS – To anyone watching last Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the effect of new tires versus old tires was blatantly obvious. Alex Bowman, for instance, charged toward the front early in the first green-flag run, only to give all the positions back when his tires faded. The asphalt at Atlanta is no friend of Goodyear rubber, but the surface at Las Vegas, site of Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 (at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX,…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service #NASCARGoesWest: Las Vegas In the spirit of the “numbers game” that characterizes the Las Vegas area hosting NASCAR’s three national series this weekend, here are some jackpot trends and statistics to consider as NASCAR starts its three-race western swing (#NASCARGoesWest) with the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson is the most successful driver at the 1.5-mile speedway with four wins – the last in 2010 – six top-fives and nine top-10 finishes and he also tops the series in driver rating (112), laps led (582), laps running in…

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service “Crazy Fast.” That’s how Sunday’s third-place finisher Clint Bowyer described his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick’s day dominating the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and their Ford Fusion’s podium sweep. It was a strong statement at Atlanta and a strong statement for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. So much so that the fourth-place finisher, Toyota driver Denny Hamlin, couldn’t resist a little fun at the Fusion’s Atlanta scorecard Sunday evening. “Well, it’s clear the Fords have an unfair advantage,’’ he said, laughing. “It’s clear.” “No, just kidding.” The manufacturer…

Courtesy of the NHRA CHANDLER, Ariz. — The second event of the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series concluded Sunday as Courtney Force took home the Funny Car victory at the 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) are also winners in their respective categories at the second of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Force emerged victorious with a run of 3.834 seconds at 337.16 mph in her Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro to take down Tommy Johnson…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – On Sunday night, after 17 barren years, Kevin Harvick finally completed the second chapter of his love affair with Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, the second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, Harvick delivered a proper thrashing to the rest of the field, leading 181-of-325 laps and beating runner-up Brad Keselowski to the finish line by 2.690 seconds. Early in 2001, after Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, Harvick was thrust prematurely into a replacement role that…