A week of rest, a week of contemplation, a week for those of faith. I so desperately pray that miracles do happen. Pit reporter Steve Byrnes is back in the hospital in his fight against neck and head cancer. He is in the ICU with pneumonia and a blood clot in his lung.
For the first time in the series history, the Verizon IndyCar Series is set to tackle the NOLA Motorsports Park road course. The 2.74-mile, 13 turn road course should prove to be an excellent event for both drivers and fans, based on the speeds shown through pre-season testing.
CFH Racing announced on Tuesday, April 7 that JR Hildebrand will drive the No. 6 Preferred Freezer Services CFH Racing Chevrolet for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 9 and the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
As the boys and girl venture on to Fort Worth, it seems apropos for some to seek a resurrection of their hopes on the season. For others, the off weekend did little to help matters from where we left off after Martinsville.
NASCAR has a long standing tradition of strictly prohibiting any manipulation or modifications of tires. But considering the extensive time and effort required to police the teams for this particular infraction, maybe it’s time for NASCAR to consider a change in the rules and allow the use of bleeder valves.
I had a feeling, and so did many others in NASCAR, that the results of the testing on tires confiscated in California would be eye opening, and they were quite eye opening. Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, the two hottest drivers in NASCAR, had tires that were confiscated by NASCAR officials after the race at Phoenix International Raceway.
Harvick finished eighth at Martinsville, ending his streak of eight consecutive results of second or better. He remains atop the Sprint Cup points standings, 24 ahead of Joey Logano.
It is common for this writer to say I love Martinsville Speedway. Some say it’s because my home is only 150 (give or take) miles from the speedway. Some try to get into my mind and say it’s because it was the first speedway I ever visited, but the truth of the matter is that little paper clip-shaped track is exactly how the whole phenomenon we now call NASCAR started.
While Team Penske dominated the weekend at St. Petersburg, it was Tony Kanaan that came in to split up the party, finishing third in the middle of a 1-2-4-5 Penske finish.
Entering the weekend at Martinsville Speedway, Denny Hamlin's main focus in his preseason media session was on the struggles that Joe Gibbs Racing has fought through to start the season. In the first five races of the season, Hamlin had only two top-10s. Despite those struggles, Hamlin still believed his team had a shot at the victory as the driver can make up a lot at Martinsville, simply by requiring a certain style and rhythm behind the wheel.
Katherine Legge will make her first NASCAR Cup Series start of the 2026 season over Mother’s Day weekend, piloting the No. 78 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports in the Go Bowling at The Glen event.
Select high quality, durable reflective tapes from reputable manufacturers like 3M, Avery Dennison, Oralite, or Nikkalite, and consider other reliable manufacturers such as Toptend
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has been named as the Official Circuit Partner of NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril and will serve as the naming rights partner of the soon-to-be constructed race track at Naval Base Coronado.
