National Speed Sport News

HAMPTON, Ga. – On a night where the racing was good all over the track all night long, Tony Stewart had the fastest car and ended a personal 31-race winless streak by taking Sunday's Emory Health Care 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Ring the bell, baby!," Stewart yelled as he crossed the finish line for his 38th career victory and third on the 1.54-mile D-shaped oval.

"I've never been so happyread more

HAMPTON, Ga. - With only two races left to make it into NASCAR's Chase for the Cup, Clint Bowyer needs a good showing this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway to inch closer to securing his spot.

Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 General Mills Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, has one top-five and seven top-10 finishes at the 1.54-mile oval and hopes he can put some distance between himself and 13thread more

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Martinsville Speedway will remain on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule for at least the next five years thanks to an agreement between the International Speedway Corp. and the Virginia Tobacco Commission.

As part of the agreement the Tobacco Commission awarded Martinsville Speedway with a $1.5 million grant, which will be matched by Martinsville Speedway for a total of $3 millionread more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - With a convincing performance in Saturday night's Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch and the No. 18 Doublemint Toyota team visited victory lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the third time this season, picking up the race win and three post-race contingency awards.

While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series celebrated its 100th race at Bristol Motorread more

DENVER - Regan Smith has signed a contract extension with Furniture Row Racing that will keep him with the team through the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

"Regan is a young, talented driver with an outstanding future," said Joe Garone, Furniture Row Racing general manager. "He has done a great job as our athlete and also as a spokesperson for our organization. The contract extension doesread more

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series schedules were released Aug. 18.

The significant changes, including a new race at Kentucky Speedway July 9 and a second race at Kansas Speedway, had previously been announced.

Other highlights include the first night race at Texas Motor Speedway April 9 and Chicagoland Speedway hosting the first race in theread more

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Superlatives for what Kyle Busch accomplished last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway are a little hard to come by.

Eddie D'Hondt, Busch's spotter and the man responsible for keeping the front end of the No. 18 Toyota clean all night, perhaps said it best: "We're in the presence of greatness."

Crew chief Dave Rogers, who is the man charged with keeping the often-impetuous youngsterread more

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Kyle Busch made news Friday night for spinning Brad Keselowski to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Saturday, he made history again at Bristol, becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to sweep all three national-series events at one track on the same weekend by winning the Irwin Tools Night Race on the .533-mile high-banked oval.

"It hasn't really completely sunk in yet,"read more

BRISTOL, Tenn. - It's been awhile since Carl Edwards has visited victory lane - two years in fact.

This weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway the driver of the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford is hoping to break that streak at a track where he has had success in the past, including two Sprint Cup victories in 2007 and 2008.

"The new surface at Bristol is extremely competitive," said Edwards, who hasread more

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR officials released the 2011 schedules for its three national touring divisions Wednesday with each schedule featuring very few surprises.

Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., received a second NASCAR Nationwide Series race next year. Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, announced earlier Wednesday it would also add a second Nationwide race in 2011.

The majority of the NASCARread more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing team used a strategic call by crew chief Gil Martin to take the checkered flag, clinch a spot in the Chase and win three post-race contingency awards at Sunday's Carfax 400 at Michigan Int'l Speedway.

Martin collected his fifth DirecTV Crew Chief of the Race Award this season, taking the lead in the race for the annual award.read more

CONCORD, N.C. - Marcos Ambrose will drive the No. 9 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports next year with sponsorship from Stanley Black & Decker.

Ambrose replaces Kasey Kahne, who will leave to drive a Red Bull Racing Toyota next season, before joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.

"I'm very excited to join Richard Petty Motorsports," said Ambrose. "It's an incredible honor to be able to race for aread more

WELCOME, N.C. -Budweiser will join Richard Childress Racing next season to sponsor NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship leader Kevin Harvick.

However, the longtime NASCAR supporter is pulling in the reins on its sponsorship, backing the team for only 20 events on the 36-race schedule.

The Budweiser sponsorship will move to RCR after three seasons with driver Kasey Kahne, encompassing Evernhamread more

BROOKLYN, Mich. - Seventeen days after crashing an airplane - for the second time in his life - Sprint Cup car owner Jack Roush was back at the race track.

"I feel great," he said, adding that the heat was a bit of a shock. "I've been in an air-conditioned room (at the Mayo Clinic) for the past 14 days."

The 68-year-old Roush walked away from the crash with back and facial injuries, the latterread more

BROOKLYN, Mich.
Sometimes you need to just step back and take a look at your situation.

That's what has happened at Richard Childress Racing and, from the stark reality of a race team in turmoil a year ago, a legitimate threat to the dominance of the likes of Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, a formidable challenge has emerged.

And it's growing.

RCR will become a four-car team nextread more

Fin. St. No. Driver Car Laps Money Status
1 8 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 200 $211,901 Running
2 33 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 200 144,325 Running
3 24 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 200 146,998 Running
4 6 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 200 112,575 Running
5 7 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford 200 134,351 Running
6 4 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spiceread more

BROOKLYN, Mich. - With NASCAR's Chase for the Championship opener just four races away, several Sprint Cup teams find themselves on the brink.

Down in "Bubble Land," Kurt Busch stumbled big time, but the rest of the denizens merely traded spots.

Busch, who blew the engine in the Miller Lite Dodge after only 30 laps Sunday, dropped six spots to 10th place after a 40th-place finish.

Disappointed butread more

BROOKLYN, Mich. - While others were struggling to get into, or stay in, The Chase, Kevin Harvick went about becoming the first to nail down a spot in The Chase

Harvick won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Carfax 400 Sunday at Michigan Int'l Speedway with a stirring late-race charge to take the victory, his first at MIS, away from Denny Hamlin.

The victory gave car owner Richard Childress his firstread more

BROOKLYN, Mich. - It wasn't all that long ago that Denny Hamlin seemed unstoppable.

Between March 29 and June 13 the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 FedEx Toyota collected five victories in 10 starts, an impressive stat no matter how you look at it. But since his last victory, which came at Michigan Int'l Speedway June 13, Hamlin hasn't had much luck.

He's had four finishes outside the top-10,read more

ATLANTA - After several years away from the sport, former NASCAR team owner Bill Stavola is back in the game.

Stavola has teamed with two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Terry Labonte to form Stavola Labonte Racing. The duo have partnered with sports marketing and sponsorship professional Bill Henneberry, who will oversee their sales and marketing efforts.

The team plans to enter three Sprintread more

CRANDON, Wis. - Kyle Busch will try out a new racing discipline when he makes his off-road racing debut in the Pro 2WD class during the Traxxas TORC Series event at Chiacgoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Aug. 24-25.

"I've always wanted to try out one of the Traxxas TORC Series trucks, so being able to race one at Chicago is going to be a lot of fun," Busch said. "Racing an off-road truck has been onread more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Using road-course prowess, raw horsepower and strategic calls in a dominating performance in Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team visited victory lane for the first time this season while collecting six post-race contingency awards.

Montoya, who manhandled the 2.45-mile road course all day, pulled awayread more

WELCOME, N.C. - Paul Menard will leave Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season to join Richard Childress Racing.

Menard will drive a fourth RCR Chevrolet with sponsorship from Menards, the Wisconsin-based home improvement company owned by Menard's father, John Menard, Jr.

"Paul has developed into a very good race car driver, and we see his move to RCR next year as an opportunity for himread more

SPARTA, Ky. - Kentucky Speedway finally has a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

The track will host its inaugural 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup event Saturday, July 9. The 1.5-mile speedway becomes the 23rd track on the 36-race schedule and the first new facility to host a Sprint Cup Series race since Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway joined the tour in 2001.

"The passionate NASCAR fans throughoutread more

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - After nearly three months Kasey Kahne knows where he will be working in 2011.

Kahne, who signed a contract with Hendrick Motorsports to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet beginning in 2012 earlier this year, will be farmed out to drive a Red Bull Racing Team Toyota in 2011.

Which interestingly puts Kahne in a Toyota. The 11-time Sprint Cup Series race winner started his Cup career in aread more

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.
It's been 11 years since I worked my last Cup Series race as a Dover Int'l Speedway employee, and even longer since I was involved in the ticket-selling side of the business. Race promotion at NASCAR's premier level has become far more difficult and every customer, individual or corporate, is now a jewel to be treasured.

I remember meetings where we debated how many tickets weread more

Fin. St. No. Driver Car Laps Money Status
1 3 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 90 $247,306 Running
2 5 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite/Vortex Dodge 90 185,323 Running
3 11 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Toyota 90 161,223 Running
4 4 43 A.J. Allmendinger Insignia HDTV Ford 90 144,701 Running
5 1 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 90 140,023 Running
6 2 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald'sread more

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - There was little question that the winner of Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen would be the driver who saved the most for the final sprint.

Juan Pablo Montoya kept his Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet under him and earned his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, but first in his last 113 starts.

Montoya added another victory to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing'sread more

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - In the last six years, Tony Stewart has made Watkins Glen Int'l his own personal playground.

Since 2004 Stewart has led 191 laps at the 2.45-mile road course and finished no worse than second. That's six-straight finishes inside the top two, which includes four of his record five victories at the historic New York race track.

This year Stewart returns to Watkins Glen winlessread more

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - A.J. Allmendinger has signed a multi-year contract extension to remain with Richard Petty Motorsports.

Allmendinger will continue to drive the No. 43 Ford for the team next season.

"I have to say that I'm pretty excited about moving into the next chapter of my career with Richard Petty Motorsports," said Allmendinger. "There were several other good opportunities out there, butread more