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Brandon Brown secures first Xfinity Series victory at Talladega

Oct. 2, 2021 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – As he crossed the finish line under caution on a dark race track, Brandon Brown surrendered to the emotion of his first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. “Thank God,” Brown exulted. “We did it. We did it. We won!” On a day of unexpected victories at Talladega Superspeedway—a track where the unexpected sometimes seems commonplace—Brown had a narrow lead three-wide with Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones at the previous scoring loop when NASCAR called the fifth caution of the race on Lap 102 for a multicar wreck…

Tate Fogleman slides to Truck Series win at Talladega

Oct. 2, 2021 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – That’s Talladega for you. Before upset winner Tate Fogleman could go to Victory Lane, he had to visit the infield care center after sliding sideways across the finish line in tandem with runner-up Tyler Hill and slamming into the inside wall. Fogleman claimed the win in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 after he turned then-race-leader John Hunter Nemechek sideways and passed him in the Talladega Superspeedway tri-oval as the trucks approached the stripe. The victory was Fogleman’s first in 46 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts. The driver of…

William Byron: “It’s all about the Playoffs”

Last year at this time it was iffy as to whether Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron would even make the NASCAR Playoffs. However, a win in the regular season finale at the Daytona International Speedway assured the Charlotte, NC native of a place among the sixteen drivers who would enter the final stretch of races with a chance to ultimately be crowned as the NASCAR Cup Series champion. Byron would see his title hopes dashed quickly, however, after he was eliminated from contention at the end of the first round in 2020 ultimately finishing 14th in the final series rundown….

Stewart Friesen positioning himself for multiple championships

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will end its regular season on Saturday on the road course at Watkins Glen International. When the checkered flag waves on the ‘United Rentals 176 at the Glen’, the NASCAR Playoffs field will be set for the seven-race run to the championship. There are seven drivers already locked into the playoff field with three spots still in question. While drivers Carson Hocevar, Stewart Friesen and Chandler Smith are positioned well going into the deciding race, they are not yet assured of a place. But one of those three drivers goes into the weekend with…

Aric Almirola shakes up NASCAR Cup Playoffs with unexpected win at New Hampshire

July 18, 2021 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service With a stunning victory in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Aric Almirola sent shock waves through the NASCAR Cup Series’ Playoff standings. With hard-charging Christopher Bell closing behind him, Almirola crossed the finish line at the 1.058-mile track .657 seconds ahead of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to win the third race of his career and give Stewart-Haas Racing its first ostensible Playoff berth of the 2021 campaign. After battling Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney—who waged their own internecine war shortly after the…

Matt DiBenedetto relies on faith to deal with the stress of racing, life

One might think a NASCAR Cup Series driver who is working in the last year of his contract and who is essentially in a must-win situation in terms of making the NASCAR Playoffs would be under a tremendous amount of stress. Add to that, the same driver is in the midst of putting the finishing touches on and moving into a new home which, as anyone who has ever taken on that task knows, is not an easy chore. Those circumstances describe the current life situation of Matt DiBenedetto. But even with all of those things going on, the 29-year-old driver…

Austin Hill survives to win NASCAR Trucks race at Knoxville

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took to the track at the Knoxville Raceway on Friday night to contest its second dirt race of the 2021 season. After a full night of racing in the Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers that featured heat races and the 150-lap main event, it was Austin Hill who claimed the win on the historic half-mile track located in the state of Iowa. It was a survival of the fittest type win for the Hattori Racing Toyota driver from Winston, Georgia. There were four heat races with drivers accumulating points in those…

Chase Briscoe sees NASCAR on dirt as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the disciplines

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will hit the dirt on Friday at the historic Knoxville Raceway. The Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers will serve as the first ever event for one of NASCAR’s top-three divisions held on the historic Knoxville, Iowa half-mile clay oval. This race, held at a venue more noted for Sprint Car and Late Model competition, will be the second dirt race of the season for this series after having already raced on the clay covered high banks of the Bristol Motor Speedway earlier in 2021. The NCWTS previously raced on dirt at…

NASCAR Truck Series regulars looking to use the front bumper in Knoxville

Racing on dirt is not a particularly new thing for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. However, racing at the historic Knoxville Raceway located in Knoxville, Iowa is a new thing. This Friday night the series will make its first appearance on the clay-surfaced half-mile track noted for the Knoxville Nationals event for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the Knoxville Late Model Nationals for competitors on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The Knoxville Raceway facility also serves as the home for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum. But this…

Christopher Bell points out the uniqueness of Road America

In the world of oval track racing, there isn’t always the greatest amount of variety. While the lengths of the tracks and the degree of banking may vary, the shape from one to another is relatively simple as there are basically four left turns and two straightaways. While yes, one of those “straights” may sometimes be bent to form a D-shape or a tri-oval, the differences among them are only slightly greater than subtle. Fans, media, and the competitors themselves have acknowledged the sameness of oval tracks by sometimes applying the term “cookie cutter” to them as a descriptor. However,…