Courtesy of Werner Communications LAS VEGAS — On the heels of a standout weekend at his home track, Texas Motorplex, during the always-competitive Texas Fall Nationals, Funny Car driver and team owner Terry Haddock is eager to tackle another challenge. This weekend at the MOPAR Las Vegas Nationals, Haddock and the Priority Systems Mechanical Services Funny Car team will face steep odds in qualifying, with 21 Funny Cars on the entry list. Two weeks ago, Haddock raced into one of the quickest Funny Car fields in history, and the veteran driver and fan favorite will be looking to duplicate that…
Author: racedaysaeditor
Courtesy of NASCAR at COTA PR AUSTIN, Texas – RelaDyne, North America’s leading lubricant distributor, will be the driving force behind the March 5-7 NASCAR at COTA race weekend through a new multi-year partnership with Speedway Motorsports. The multi-year agreement will deliver unmatched brand visibility for the Houston-based RelaDyne and its subsidiaries with entitlements surrounding the entire weekend at Circuit of The Americas. RelaDyne’s Sun Coast Emergency Services division will jumpstart the events with First Responder Friday followed by the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race Powered by RelaDyne and the marquee DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne NASCAR…
By Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Kyle Larson turned in one of the most dramatic victories of his two-time NASCAR Cup Series championship career going from 11th place to Victory Lane on the final lap of overtime to win Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Larson maneuvered his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet low and passed seven cars in just the final quarter-mile of Talladega’s famed 2.66-mile high banks to claim his first ever win in 59 races on a big drafting-style track. He celebrated the “statement win” with his three children who climbed into…
By Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – As Sammy Smith walked away from the interviews and Victory Lane celebrations following an overtime win in Friday night’s NASCAR truck race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, he smiled and promised there would be no post-race party because he had a race to win Saturday. And he did just that. The 22-year old JR Motorsports driver snapped a 53-race winless streak in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Saturday afternoon with a dramatic last lap pass in his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to claim a .084-second win over the day’s…
By Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe will start from the same position he finished last year’s Talladega Superspeedway Fall classic – in front. The 31-year old driver of the No. 19 JGR Toyota earned the pole position for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a fast lap of 186.065 mph around the famed 2.66-mile high banks during Saturday time trials. The mark is the fastest NASCAR Cup Series pole speed at the track – by a significant 3-mph – since 2021. It is the first…
By Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service EVEN WITH PREPARATION, UNPREDICTABILITY RULES AT TALLADEGA TALLADEGA, Ala. – The 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway high-banks easily provide the most unpredictable setting in the closing races of this 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship Chase. A lot is on the title line in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) but drivers say they expect this race to be no different than any other here – ultra-competitive and highly-dramatic. The approach here can be defensive – just trying to hold steady and escape with a reasonable finish, or it can…
By Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. — Only a few hours after announcing he’ll be competing fulltime in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next year, Sammy Smith went out and delivered a strong message to the competition – leading the final lap of overtime to claim the win in Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 on the famed Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway high banks. Smith’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line a mere .091-second ahead of a four-wide battle for second place which ultimately went to McAnally-Hilgemann’s Tyler Ankrum, a scant .002-second ahead of Smith’s…
By Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service Talladega turbulence awaits as Cup title race tightens TALLADEGA, Ala. – With only three races remaining to settle the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship, Sunday’s iconic Fall 500-miler at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway stands to, once again, play a major role in shaping the final push to the Bill France Performance Cup trophy. The YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the ultimate wildcard in this late season Chase run. Many drivers consider it as much a test of survival as show of skill in the close-quarter racing…
By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. — After a phenomenal start to the 2026 season, followed by an agonizing dry spell, Tyler Reddick returned to Victory Lane on Sunday—and simultaneously did NASCAR Cup Series leader Kyle Larson a significant favor. Snookering the top contenders in the Chase presented by Mobil 1 after a restart on Lap 294, Reddick surged past Chase Briscoe into the lead a lap later and pulled away to beat runner-up Ryan Blaney by 0.801 seconds in the Freeway Insurance 500, as Briscoe faded to eighth on older tires. Reddick’s sixth win of the…
By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. — Last November at Phoenix Raceway, Jesse Love won the NASCAR O’Reilly Series championship. On Saturday at the same one-mile track, he may have done it again with a victory in the Timberland PRO 200. Unlike last year, however, there are three races left in the O’Reilly Series Chase, run under a new nine-race format this season. But with his second win at Phoenix, his second this season and the fifth of his career, Love established himself as the convincing frontrunner for the series title. In a race that spelled disaster for…