When Juan Pablo Montoya said he wanted to be racing behind the wheel of a championship car, he didn't limit himself to which series he'd be in. Those words are playing true as reports released this week show Montoya driving for Michael Andretti next season.
On Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, a series of events played out that resulted in catching a lot of people’s attention of how Michael Waltrip Racing tried to manipulate the Chase. For starters, Clint Bowyer spun with just under 20 laps to go without contact on the radio. Well it may look harmless, radio traffic would say to have proven otherwise.
NASCAR was faced with a very tough decision this past weekend...how to deal with a team that deliberately manipulated the chase outcome to benefit themselves? Four days later and race fans are still in an uproar over the biggest controversy to rock the motorsports world since the infamous "Crashgate" incident during the 2008 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
He may have only gained a handful of points on Matt Crafton with his win at Iowa Speedway, but Buescher says that "slow and steady wins the race. We're coming for this championship." Following his win at Iowa Speedway, Buescher now sits 37 points behind Crafton.
Sometime over the next ten weeks, at one of ten tracks hosting the Chase, Clint Bowyer will be sailing along. He will feel a sudden nudge in his left rear quarter-final, just a touch but enough to cause him to feel the car getting out from under him. Bowyer will try to save it, and come close in doing so but, alas, his car will find the wall. His race and his Chase hopes, done in an instant.
With everything on the line as far as Chase berths, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
The decision was unexpected even to the beat reporters who follow NASCAR daily. After Saturday’s race, thing just didn’t look right, something officials missed. By Sunday at the truck race in Iola, Mike Helton, NASCAR’s President, commented that NASCAR was going to review the race and radio transmissions. That was the first clue that something was up. A timeline was not given, however.
Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway turned into one of the most controversial races in the history of the sport. Fan response to Clint Bowyer’s well-timed and seemingly intentional spin that brought out a late race caution, coupled with an un-needed trip down pit road by Brian Vickers was unprecedented.
In an unprecedented Monday evening news conference after the wild Richmond race on Saturday night, NASCAR dropped the penalty hammer on Michael Waltrip Racing.
The four-time world champion for Tony Stewart Racing has been a model of consistency through 18 races and it’s a major reason why he’s the points leader and on the verge of a fifth world title heading into this weekend.
Penultimate event in The Chase, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series postseason that features the top ten drivers in the regular season standings competing for the 2026 championship.
In 31 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has seven top-20 results and a best finish of 12th earned by Michael McDowell in March 2025.
In 14 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has earned one win, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
Trevor Huddleston (No. 50 High Point Racing / Racecar Factory Ford) heads into the ARCA Menards Series West finale, the NAPA Auto Parts 150 Presented by West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway
