Author: Mike Haag

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – A photographic look at Wednesday’s NASCAR events at Champion’s Week in Las Vegas. All photos courtesy of NASCAR and Getty Images.

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Understandably, the proudest moment of Martin Truex’s racing life was simultaneously a source of enormous frustration for Kyle Busch. But both drivers recall with indelible clarity the closing laps of the Nov. 19 Ford Eco-Boost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that made Truex a champion and Busch a disappointed runner-up for the title. For the record, Truex powered his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota across the finish line, with Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota .681 seconds in arrears. But the outcome was in…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Matthew, a sixth grader, took a long look at the hero card. Then he glanced up at Martin Truex Jr.’s face and made the connection. “Wow!” exclaimed Matthew, a pediatric patient at Sunrise Children’s Hospital, as he recognized the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. Truex smiled back, happy to provide a moment of pleasure to a stricken child whose every step is accompanied by an IV machine. A knot of reporters and photographers followed Truex on his visit to the hospital, but the champion’s appearance—during a week set aside to…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Tony Stewart had some sage advice for Dale Earnhardt Jr., as NASCAR’s most popular driver faced his first season of retirement from full-time driving in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. “Stewart told me that first year’s a weird one,” Earnhardt said on Tuesday night before a gala at the Cosmopolitan simultaneously celebrating his career and his partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “I’m starting to understand a little bit of what he meant.” Earnhardt won’t be away from the race track, though. He’ll be highly visible as the co-owner of his four-car…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Registration is open for the Speedway Candy Cane Classic Holiday 5k and Reindeer Dash set for Saturday, Dec. 16, at Texas Motor Speedway. Texas Motor Speedway, in partnership with The Cowtown C.A.L.F., will play host to the event that incorporates the iconic 1.5-mile speedway and the festive Gift of Lights holiday display. Registration for the 5k is $20 for those 17 and under and $30 for 18 and over while the Reindeer Dash is $20 for all ages. Runners and teams can register online by visiting https://raceroster.com/events/2017/13773/speedway- candy-cane-classic-5k-reindeer-dash . The…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Motor Speedway opened the holiday season in grand fashion Monday evening with nearly $400,000 being distributed to North Texas children’s organizations during the Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter Grant Ceremony and Tree Lighting held on The Speedway Club Circle. The annual outdoor public event also was highlighted by the lighting of one of the state’s largest living Christmas trees, a holiday-themed fireworks show and distribution of bicycles to 100 less fortunate children. The biggest gift under the 59-foot Douglas fir tree was a Founder’s Grant for $125,000 that was presented…

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas – The official lighting of one of the state’s tallest living Christmas trees followed by a holiday-themed fireworks show will highlight the annual Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter Grant Ceremony set for tonight on The Speedway Club Circle at Texas Motor Speedway. The outdoor event, free and open to the public, will feature nearly $400,000 in grants being distributed to North Texas children’s organizations and the lighting of a massive 59-foot Douglas fir that culminates with a fireworks display in front of Texas Motor Speedway’s administration building located at 3545 Lone Star…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – At the end of a riveting, breathtaking battle that had fans in the grandstands on their feet long after the checkered flag, Martin Truex Jr. held off Kyle Busch by .681 seconds at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win Sunday’s Ford Eco-Boost 400 and his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title. In Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last race in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Truex—one of Earnhardt’s closest friends—kept Busch behind him during a 34-lap green-flag run to the finish. “It’s just overwhelming,” a tearful Truex said in Victory Lane. “To think…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Deteriorating handling dooms Kevin Harvick’s title shot HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Before the shadows crept over Turns 1 and 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kevin Harvick had a car capable of challenging fellow title contenders Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. In the early stages of Sunday’s Ford Eco-Boost 400, he often had the best car among those eligible for the championship. But as the sun set, Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford tightened up in the corners. Then a piece of flying debris from David Starr’s Chevrolet shot a hole in his championship hopes.…

By Brant James, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The final race came down to the finals laps, among the top cars from the dominant manufacturer, and ultimately, the most successful driver won the championship. But even still, 2015 series champion Kyle Busch couldn’t take much comfort in fellow Toyota-driving Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing winning his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. Busch, driving for affiliate Joe Gibbs Racing, would have much preferred that he had made up the final .681-second distance between the race-winner and champion and his slot in second…