By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. — Score one for the drivers in hot pursuit of Chase leader Kyle Larson. In qualifying for Sunday’s 312-lap Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Ryan Blaney claimed the pole position with a lap at 137.143 mph (26.250 seconds). Blaney is one of five drivers closest to Larson in the Chase presented by Mobil 1 standings, and those five drivers earned the top five positions on the grid for Sunday’s race, while Larson qualified a disappointing 22nd in Saturday’s time trials. Blaney,…
Author: racedaysaeditor
By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. — At the track where Corey Heim secured the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series title in the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota last year, Kaden Honeycutt took a giant step toward this season’s championship in the same ride. Taking control of the race in the third stage at Phoenix Raceway, thanks in no small part to a flawless effort from his pit crew, Honeycutt cruised to victory in Friday’s Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Powered by POET and expanded his Chase lead to 39 points over second-place Layne Riggs, who finished third. Honeycutt…
ARLINGTON – Single-day ticket options for INDYCAR’s second annual Java House Grand Prix of Arlington in March 2027 are now on sale at gparlington.com. The NTT IndyCar Series is booked to return to the streets of the Arlington Entertainment District from March 19-21, 2027, following a record-setting inaugural weekend in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. Friday, Saturday and Sunday ticket packages, paddock passes and parking currently are available. “The inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington showcased the power of partnership and the passion of North Texas sports fans,” said Troy Yarborough, event president. “By bringing together INDYCAR, the Dallas Cowboys,…
By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service One obvious solution for NASCAR Cup Chase pursuers: find Victory Lane Those chasing Kyle Larson for the NASCAR Cup Series championship might be tempted to look with dismay at the respective career statistics of the top competitors at Phoenix Raceway, site of Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500 (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Among the top six in the Chase standings—Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano—the driver with both the best average start and best average finish at Phoenix is Larson. In 24 starts at…
Courtesy of Elon Werner | Werner Communications DALLAS – For veteran Funny Car team owner and driver Terry Haddock, competing at the Stampede of Speed and Texas NHRA Fall Nationals is more than just a race. Haddock lives in New Braunfels, Texas, his primary sponsor, Concho Supply, Inc., is a Texas-based company, and he has had success at the lead-up exhibition races, winning the Texas Invitational two years in a row (2023 and 2024). This weekend, Haddock will be campaigning a red, white and blue Concho Supply Funny Car celebrating and honoring America’s 250th anniversary at the historic Texas Motorplex during…
Courtesy of Elon Werner | Werner Communications CHICAGO – For Funny Car team owner and driver Chris King this NHRA season has played out like an old school western movie where the hero is continually under siege, but he continues to fight back. Heading into the Texas Fall Nationals and second weekend of the Stampede of Speed at Texas Motorplex, October 15-18 King and the Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car are looking to circle the wagons and turn the tide. The full-time Chicago firefighter will return to Texas with his focus on continuing to improve his performance and battle into…
Courtesy of Elon Werner | Werner Communications ENNIS, TEX. — Melanie Johnson and the Speedmaster Top Alcohol Dragster team kicked off the Stampede of Speed with a strong performance at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional event at Texas Motorplex, earning a runner-up finish and setting a new career best elapsed time. Johnson set the tone early in qualifying, laying down a stellar 5.173-second pass at 277.71 mph to claim the No. 1 qualifying position. The run marked a new personal best E.T. for the California native. Carrying that momentum into Sunday’s eliminations, Johnson opened round one…
By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service With a tire leaking air and the finish line a few feet away, Chase Briscoe did Kyle Larson a big favor on Sunday afternoon. Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota collided with the No. 20 Toyota of teammate Christopher Bell near the entrance to the tri-oval, but Briscoe held on to win the Bank of America 400 by 0.029 seconds—the second-closet finish in Charlotte Motor Speedway history. Clearly, Briscoe helped himself enormously with his second straight victory. He advanced two positions to fourth in the standings and trimmed his deficit to Larson,…
By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C.—It was a gutsy three-wide pass on the backstretch that gave Corey Day his second straight victory in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase and moved the driver of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet within close striking distance of the series lead. With 10 laps left in Sunday’s rain-postponed Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Day steered his car beneath the No. 2 Chevy of defending series champion Jesse Love and the No. 7 Camaro of Justin Allgaier and surged into the lead. Pursued closely by Love for the…
By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C.—In a race that had a profound effect on the NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1, Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell banged fenders within sight of the finish line. Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota got there first to win Sunday’s Bank of America 400, just 0.029 seconds ahead of Bell in the second closest finish in Charlotte Motor Speedway history and the closest in the series this season. With his second straight victory in the Chase, Briscoe vaulted two spots into fourth place in the postseason…