Tyler Reddick scores breakthrough win at Road America

July 3, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service PLYMOUTH, Wis. – It was a dogfight between two drivers, pure and simple. It was Tyler Reddick who outdueled pole winner Chase Elliott in the intense mano-a-mano battle in Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America. The victory was Reddick’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, making him the fifth first-time winner this season. As the 13th different winner this year, Reddick shrank the Playoff bubble by one position. With seven races left before the cutoff race at Daytona, there are currently three Playoff positions available on points. Reddick’s victory bumped…

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Chase Elliott sings winning song in Nashville

June 26, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service LEBANON, Tenn. – In a race twice delayed by lightning, Chase Elliott stole the thunder from a contingent of Toyota drivers who showed early dominance. After a late caution slowed the action in Sunday’s Ally 400, Elliott remained on the track and led the field to a restart with four laps left at Nashville Superspeedway. Elliott pulled away from runner-up Kurt Busch and powered his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet across the finish line with a margin of .551 seconds. In fashioning his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season,…

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Rich’s Ramblings: My Disdain for Racing in the Rain

From time to time I plan to drop in a brief recording to offer a few thoughts. I plan to make most of these on the way to or from a race track on some topic that may be of interest but not necessarily for a written story. In this edition of Rich’s Ramblings I talk about my dislike for racing in the rain following Saturday’s Pacific Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway. Just click on the play button below to give it a listen. Please consider also reading: Don’t Blame the Damaged Vehicle Policy for Team Mistakes Richard Allen…

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Rich’s Ramblings: Encouraging news of Shell-Pennzoil’s reupping with Team Penske

From time to time I plan to drop in a brief recording to offer a few thoughts. I plan to make most of these on the way to or from a race track on some topic that may be of interest but not necessarily for a written story. In this edition of Rich’s Ramblings I talk about the announcement that Shell-Pennzoil has reupped its deal with Team Penske and IndyCar. This is encouraging news not only for Team Penske and IndyCar but for racing in general. Just click on the play button below to give it a listen. Please consider…

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Rich’s Ramblings: Trackhouse makes big splash with Kimi Raikkonen announcement

From time to time I plan to drop in a brief recording to offer a few thoughts. I plan to make most of these on the way to or from a race track on some topic that may be of interest but not necessarily for a written story. In this edition of Rich’s Ramblings I talk about the announcement by Trackhouse Racing that 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen will race later this year at Watkins Glen as part of that organization’s Project 91 initiative. Just click on the play button below to give it a listen. Please consider also…

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Ross Chastain takes first NASCAR Cup Series win at COTA

March 27, 2022 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service AUSTIN, Texas – In exactly the kind of thrilling final lap, final-turn high-action finish NASCAR has so often provided on road courses, Ross Chastain persevered in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas – the sixth different winner this season. Chastain really had to earn this one – coming out on the right end of a frantic, four lead-change, two-lap final overtime. And he did – moving veteran A.J. Allmendinger and Alex Bowman in the…

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Phoenix Cup Race: Starting Lineup, Pre-Race Analysis, Predicted Winner

Analysis Counting the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, the NASCAR Cup Series is batting four-for-four so far this season in terms of excitement and intrigue. But more than just keeping the string of great races alive, the Ruoff Mortgage 500k represents an opportunity for drivers and teams to build a notebook with the Next Gen car for the most important race of the 2022 season. The championship deciding race is, of course, held at Phoenix Raceway. No doubt, the evolution of this car will be much further along by the time the Cup Series returns to Arizona in November….

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Kyle Larson wins wild Cup race in Fontana

February 27, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson waited until late in Sunday’s Wise Power 400 to flex his muscles. But in the end, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet held off a charging Austin Dillon by .195 seconds at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., to notch his first victory of the season, his second at the 2-mile track and the 17th of his career. In a race that featured 12 cautions for 59 laps, Larson, who started from the rear of the field because of unapproved adjustments…

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Cole Custer stakes claim in Xfinity victory lane at Auto Club

February 26, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service Californian Cole Custer was the only former Auto Club Speedway winner in the field for Saturday’s Production Alliance 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Fontana, Calif. Three overtimes, 12 cautions and more than three hours of official race time later, Custer was still the only former winner in the Fontana field, having beaten runner-up Noah Gragson to the finish line by .565 seconds. It was a long day’s journey into night, a race that started in mid-afternoon and unexpectedly ended under the lights in temperatures that dropped appreciably between the start…

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Austin Cindric takes Team Penske to Daytona 500 victory lane

February 20, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – On the 85th birthday of his car owner, Roger Penske, 23-year-old NASCAR Cup Series rookie Austin Cindric beat Bubba Wallace to the finish line by .036 seconds in overtime to win Sunday’s 64th running of the Daytona 500. In a thrilling run to the finish in NASCAR’s new Next Gen race car at Daytona International Speedway, Cindric held off Wallace and Chase Briscoe (.091 seconds behind) to notch his first Cup victory in his eighth start in the series. Cindric got the win in chamber-of-commerce weather with…

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