Change is coming to NASCAR. Not the kind that makes people return in droves to the grandstands, but the change that always comes through the passage of time. Martin Truex Jr. moves to a new team, as his old one folds. That means Daniel Suarez is on the move, replacing the retiring Kasey Kahne. Jamie McMurray is in search of a new ride and we await word as to what the future holds for Kurt Busch.
Yet, the big story was the start of the race. When would that be? The wet cold rainy weather punted both practice and qualifying, thus nobody would have any laps in their car when the green waved. None. Zip.
With fresher tires, Brad Keselowski was able to pass Denny Hamlin in the final laps and win Monday’s rain-delayed Monster Energy NASCAR Series (MENCS)...
Justin Allgaier took the checkered flag Monday in the rain-delayed NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his fifth win of 2018. Allgaier took the checkered 0.092 seconds ahead of Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney, with Chase Elliott in fourth and Daniel Hemric in fifth. Sixth through 10th was Matt Tifft, Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe, and Brandon Jones.
It’s been awhile since I’ve appeared in these pages. My trip to Martinsville was a disaster (snowmegaddon), so next on my schedule was Bristol, which despite gloomy skies, tremendous races happened. The crowd was good, but many wanted to make fun of the crowd. No the track wasn’t full, but a good 100,000 was there and Kurt Busch outlasted and outran one of NASCAR’s darling young drivers, Kyle Larson to claim victory, and qualify for the playoffs.
When Furniture Row Racing announced that they would cease operations Tuesday, my first reaction was shock. But as the news sunk in I realized that it should not have come as a surprise but rather another indicator that NASCAR’s efforts to reduce the cost of operating a team at the premier Cup Series level are failing miserably.
I had such high hopes for NASCAR, at least since July. That is when NBC came on board, and presented the long sought after broadcast crew that could keep fans glued to the track simply by the strength of their commentary. We have waited years for that to happen, and it is crucial for a sport that has yet to solve some on-track competitive issues and more than a few off it. If the racing is not spell binding, then the commentary damn well better be if you hope to have anyone watching.
Darlington was a day all about time. A time when in 1950 the first Southern 500 was run. A time when some of the great names from the past were brought back to be saluted by their sport in the present. A time when 0.6 seconds can mean everything.
NASCAR driver Josh Bilicki today announced that he has partnered with Flex Power for two races during the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
NHRA announced the season schedule for the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, featuring a host of special events in 2026 as Summit Racing Equipment returns as the title sponsor of the popular racing league for youth ages 5-17.