Larson, 28, was indefinitely suspended from NASCAR and fired from Chip Ganassi Racing in March 2020 for using a racial slur over the radio during a public iRacing event. He sat out the remainder of the 2020 season, with a return to NASCAR never a certainty. After fulfilling the requirements by NASCAR to lift his
NASCAR
Wally Brown, JGR’s competition director, certainly believes the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Larson and reigning series champion Elliott have an advantage heading into the Phoenix finale. “Usually a lot of times, JGR might be the favourite going into a championship race. I think we’re definitely the underdogs. We have to beat the guy – Kyle
The two drivers were battling for the lead when they made contact on lap 494 of 501, sending Hamlin’s #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spinning. Bowman went on to win the race while Hamlin finished 24th, but the veteran still progressed to next week’s Championship 4 title decider at Phoenix on points along with Chase
Although Truex ran up front for most of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, he never seemed to have quite the speed of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin. Truex, however, was in a far more precarious situation in points than Hamlin and needed every available position to have a chance of
In the closing 25 of 501 laps, Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet and title contender Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) battled side-by-side multiple times for the lead until Bowman got loose and knocked Hamlin into a spin on lap 494. As Hamlin dropped to an eventual 24th position, Bowman – who had dropped out of playoff
Larson, who dominated much of the race, powered to the lead on a restart with 39 of 267 laps remaining and held off late challenges from first Kevin Harvick and then Elliott by 3.619s at the finish. Larson has now won the first two races of the semi-final round of the series playoff and remains
Hamlin said his new-found interest in F1 has come from several of his friends paying attention to it and by watching Drive to Survive a popular documentary series produced in a collaboration between Netflix and Formula 1 to give a behind-the-scenes look at the series. “I think this year I’ve probably watched more [F1] races than
Larson had to hold off multiple contenders over six restarts in the final 60 laps – and just edged his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron by 0.459 seconds at the finish to earn his series-leading eighth win of the 2021 season. After winning Stage 2, Larson continued to lead into the final part of the
The Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver appeared to have a car that could contend with team-mate and eventual race winner Kyle Larson on Sunday, but right-front tyres issues plagued him during the race. Starting at the rear of the field after his car failed pre-race inspection multiple times, he fought up to eighth by the conclusion
Logano’s Penske Racing team was one of 21 that participated in the two-day Charlotte test – the most teams to take part in a Next Gen test so far after an earlier eight-car test at Daytona International Speedway. During the test this week, NASCAR came up with multiple possible solutions for teams to try to
Late in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Charlotte Roval, the rear bumper cover of Chase Elliott’s #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet dislodged and began dangling from behind his car. Elliott had wrecked on lap 55 of 109 after being hit by Kevin Harvick, which left the reigning Cup champion with severe rear-end damage. In
John Probst, NASCAR’s senior vice president of innovation and racing, said the updates to the Next Gen chassis that will be introduced to the Cup Series in 2022 will be primarily made to its front and rear clips – all of which can be retrofitted into an existing clip. There will also be changes to
Larson first noticed an electrical problem on his car early in Stage 2 and when he pitted under caution on lap 34, his team discovered he had lost an alternator belt. Changing the battery provided a quick fix but the team formulated a plan to change the belt under additional stops. Once the work was
The latest coming together between the pair came three weeks after a fiery post-race confrontation at Bristol, when a delayed Elliott – who had suffered a puncture in contact from Harvick while battling for the lead – deliberately held up the 2014 champion and helped his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Kyle Larson to steal victory. Stewart-Haas
Team Hezeberg, a joint effort between racing legend Toine Hezemans and Dutch entrepreneur Ernst Berg, plans to field the No. 27 Ford Mustang in several races next season as the Cup Series debuts the Next Gen car. The team’s operations in the United States will be based at Reaume Brothers Racing in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Keselowski watched race winner Wallace use a block to protect his lead, and felt he had a way to get around the 23XI driver before running out of time. Instead, a four-car wreck on Lap 117 of the scheduled 188 laps at Talladega brought out a caution, locking Keselowski into second place. Soon after the
The 42-year-old has five starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (all in GTE Pro), taking the class win once in 2016 and finishing on the podium on two other occasions. He has also enjoyed plenty of success stateside, winning overall in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2011. He then claimed a class
Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan co-own 23XI Racing, which fields Wallace’s #23 Toyota, so both also became first-time winning owners. When NASCAR called Monday’s rain-delayed Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway early for rain – again – Bubba Wallace was the leader. Although only 117 of the scheduled 188 laps were completed, the race had
It was also the first win for the 23XI team co-founded by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin for this season, while Wallace’s crew chief Bootie Barker scored the first win of his career after nearly 500 races atop the box. The 188-lap race was postponed from Sunday due to
Following earlier rain, officials got the track dry in time to fire engines at approximately 3:35pm ET, but as cars were taking pace laps, it began pouring with rain again. With no lights at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR would not be able to complete the race once the track was dried again and it was postponed
The 2021 season had been a breakout one for Bowman, after taking over the iconic No. 48 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports this season made famous by seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and amassed a career-best three wins in the 26-race regular season. That allowed him to start the 16-driver playoffs as the sixth seed, just
The styling and composition of the Next Gen car’s new common Dallara-made chassis will better replicate the manufacturer identities of their showroom counterparts. The 18-inch wheels and stylish car bodies will easily distinguish the new iteration of NASCAR stock car from its predecessors, but its updated technology – such as rack and pinion steering and
Sunday’s win means Hamlin progresses regardless of how he finishes in the next two races at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. With the final stage going caution-free, the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver successfully navigated a round of green-flag pit stops and cycled back to the lead on lap 229 of 267. Hamlin’s team-mates Kyle
With Elliott a lap down but still upset over contact with Harvick earlier in the race, he repeatedly blocked Harvick – the race leader – from getting around him which allowed Larson to close in for a pass for the lead. Larson finally got around Harvick with three of 500 laps remaining, and after a
A series which just two years ago was overwhelmingly dominated by oval tracks – including 19 of 36 races held on tracks with 1-mile, 1.5-mile or 2-mile configurations – will in 2022 feature a far more diverse portfolio. Cup Series racing in 2022 will include competition on four superspeedways, six road courses, a dirt track,
The Clash at the Coliseum on 6 February will be a signature event as a part of the venue’s centennial celebration and marks the first time NASCAR’s prelude to the annual Daytona 500 will take place somewhere other than the Daytona International Speedway. The Coliseum’s traditional surface will be converted into a quarter-mile, asphalt short
Truex, who was penalised by NASCAR for jumping the start of the race and ended up last in the running order, grabbed control of the race in the final stage and never looked back. Truex emerged as the leader following a round of green flag pitstops on Lap 350 of 400 at Richmond Raceway and
Hamlin fought off a wild charge from Kyle Larson in Turns 3 and 4 and hung on to win Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington – his first win of the year, which automatically advances him into the Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoff regardless of where he finishes in the next two races at