Author: Mike Haag

Courtesy of the NHRA POMONA, Calif. — For the first time since 1982, a female has captured a NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel world championship. Brittany Force clinched the category crown in the quarterfinals of eliminations Sunday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Bo Butner (Pro Stock) also won world championships in their respective categories at the final 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event. The race winners at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona were Force (Top Fuel), Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car), Butner…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Payback from Martinsville knocks Denny Hamlin out of title race AVONDALE, Ariz. – During driver introductions before Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Denny Hamlin was roundly booed for something that happened nearly 2,000 miles away. Two weeks ago at Martinsville Speedway, Hamlin shoved the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Chase Elliott into the Turn 3 wall while Elliott was leading with fewer than four laps left. The fans at Phoenix hadn’t forgotten what had happened. Payback, whether intentional or not, came on Lap 270 on Sunday. Racing for the third position, Elliott…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – The middle-aged man without a ride for 2018 drove a dagger through the heart of the youngster expected to shine in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for years to come. With nine laps left in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway, 45-year-old Matt Kenseth passed 21-year-old Chase Elliott for the lead and pulled away to win for the first time since the July 2016 New Hampshire race, breaking a 51-event winless string. Kenseth’s victory, the 39th of his career, deprived Elliott of a chance to run for the series championship…

News, notes and photos courtesy of NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Can-Am 500 The Place: Phoenix Raceway The Date: Sunday, Nov. 12 The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET TV: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 312 miles (312 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on lap 312) 5 Drivers To Fight For Final Championship 4 Berth At Phoenix The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for its penultimate race of the season and the Playoffs Round of 8 cutoff…

Courtesy of John Force Racing POMONA, Calif. – Monster Energy driver Brittany Force is on the cusp of an historic achievement after speeding to the No. 1 qualifying spot for the Auto Club NHRA Finals on Saturday at Auto Club Raceway. Force could become the first woman since Shirley Muldowney to win the Top Fuel championship, and she could join her father, John, as title winners in the family. Force cut Steve Torrence’s points lead to nine after a stellar qualifying effort, earning eight bonus points and the No. 1 spot. With 30 points awarded per round win, the…

Courtesy of Kelly Topolinski, Team Summit PR POMONA, Calif. – The 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock world championship will come down to Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, and only three drivers are in the hunt. The championship trophy will be going home with KB Racing no matter what, and incoming points leader Greg Anderson is starting his quest for a fifth Pro Stock title locked in as the No. 1 qualifier. The pole was the 93rd of Anderson’s career and sixth of the season. “The great news is that my Summit Racing Chevy…

Courtesy of the NHRA POMONA, Calif. — Eddie Krawiec clinched his fourth NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship, and first since 2012, by qualifying Saturday at the season ending Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. En route to the world title Krawiec rode to seven victories including the first race of the season for the two-wheeled category at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. and his second Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals win in Indianapolis. In the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, Krawiec cemented his fourth crown with…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Brad Keselowski isn’t comfortable trying to protect points advantage AVONDALE, Ariz. — Brad Keselowski doesn’t think he can afford to play defense. But the question remains whether he’ll have a good enough No. 2 Team Penske Ford to mount a strong offensive in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET) at Phoenix Raceway. Entering the final event in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff, Keselowski is fourth in the standings with a 19-point edge over fifth-place Denny Hamlin. Three of the four positions in the Nov. 19…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – With a pickup pit crew, at the track that cost him a shot at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title last year, William Byron won Saturday’s Ticket Galaxy 200 to advance to the Championship 4 race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Behind him, JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler also qualified for the title race with finishes of 10th and 18th respectively. The JRM trio will join Daniel Hemric in an all-Chevrolet finale, after Hemric ran fifth and held off a valiant bid from Cole Custer after a…

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Three red flags told the story of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway. The third of the three gave defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter the chance he needed to win the race that set the field for next Friday’s championship event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. When Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates Christopher Bell and Noah Gragson wrecked during an intense side-by-side duel with seven laps left, Sauter inherited the lead for a restart on Lap 149 of 150, and held off John Hunter Nemechek by .668 seconds…