Martin Truex Jr secured his spot in the next stage of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs by winning the first race of the post-season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Toyota driver came to the fore in the second stage of the 267-lap race and was consistently the fastest car on track as

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson says he is “favouring more years” in the series if he is “forced to make a decision” by Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson has a contract until the end of 2020, but after testing a Formula 1 car alongside Fernando Alonso last year, Johnson reaffirmed his interest in contesting an

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Clint Bowyer says he still regrets not pushing Martin Truex Jr out of the way to win the Richmond NASCAR Cup Series round five months ago. Bowyer just made it into the 2019 playoffs with his fifth place finish at Indianapolis last weekend, and has not won a race so far this

Matt DiBenedetto has secured a place on the NASCAR Cup Series grid for 2020, signing for Wood Brothers Racing to replace the retiring Paul Menard. DiBenedetto has enjoyed a breakthrough season in the Cup series with the one-car Leavine Family Racing outfit in 2019, lifting the team out of the struggles it had when running

Darrell Wallace Jr believes he reminded his critics that he “can drive” with his third place in the Indianapolis NASCAR Cup Series round. Richard Petty Motorsports driver Wallace famously came close to Daytona 500 victory last year at the start of his first full season at NASCAR’s top level. But he has taken just two

Jimmie Johnson blamed his first-ever failure to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs on ’25 bad races’ rather than the Indianapolis crash that ended his chance of being a Cup title contender. The seven-time champion has not won a championship race since Dover in June 2017, and his hopes of making it into the playoffs via his

Brad Keselowski hit out at the “atrocious angle” of the Indianapolis barrier that he hit in his massive NASCAR Cup crash. Penske Ford driver Keselowski tangled with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones just before one-third distance in Sunday’s race. Both cars were sent into the outside wall at the exit of Turn 2 before Keselowski’s

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick dominated to win at Indianapolis, the final race before the start of the 2019 NASCAR Cup playoffs. Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in his career, after being pitched into a spin and hitting the wall on lap 105 of the

Erik Jones has signed a new deal with his Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Cup Series team, with Autosport sources suggesting his new contract is a one-year extension. Jones earned his first win of the 2019 season last time out at Darlington, and he is in his second season with the team after a debut campaign

The reprofiled backstretch chicane at the Charlotte Roval will be 30mph slower, but more challenging and better for racing – reckons the first NASCAR Cup driver to try the layout. Leavine Family Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto, who has become a frontrunner this year following his team’s technical tie-up with Joe Gibbs Racing, drove a pace

Dale Earnhardt Jr says he was relieved with how good his form was in his annual one-off NASCAR racing comeback in the Darlington Xfinity race. Though he has mainly focused on television punditry since retiring from full-time competition at the end of 2017, the 44-year-old has maintained an annual tradition of making one start in

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch has explained how he “lost control” of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington, which was eventually won by Erik Jones after a late showdown. Busch chased down Jones in the final laps of the race but was managing wear on his right-front tyre after coming out behind his Stewart-Haas

Erik Jones survived late pressure from Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team-mate Kyle Busch at Darlington to clinch his first win of the 2019 NASCAR Cup season in his 100th start. While stage two winner Busch had controlled the early part of the final stage of the rain-delayed 367-lap race, he lost ground in the penultimate

Jimmie Johnson says he is determined to silence his critics by improving his NASCAR Cup Series form regardless of whether he makes it into the 2019 championship playoffs. Johnson is only 18th in the points with two races to go before the top 16 are locked into the series’ title fight, and faces the prospect

Denny Hamlin was disqualified from NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Darlington in the highest-level use of the category’s new approach to rules infractions so far. NASCAR has historically dealt with technical infringements via fines, points deductions and personnel suspensions because it was reluctant to confuse the picture for fans by changing race winners retrospectively. But

Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is on the cusp of missing the playoffs title shootout for the first time in his career, with just two races until the cut-off. After the upcoming Darlington and Indianapolis races over the next two weekends, the Cup points will be reset to create a 16-driver championship fight field

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s plan to contest next weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington is still on despite his recent plane crash. Earnhardt, who retired from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the 2017 season, has still competed in one Xfinity race each season. His lone start this year was planned for August 31

NASCAR has taken further steps to reduce Cup drivers’ participation in its lower level Xfinity and Trucks series. Stock car racing’s governing body has made a series of rules adjustments in recent years to prevent its top tier drivers dominating the support categories too. From next season drivers with more than three full-time seasons in

NASCAR Cup Series leader Kyle Busch feels his part of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team is “getting our ass kicked right now” by his team-mates. Though Busch retains the points lead as the series approaches its playoffs phase, he has not won a race since the early June Pocono round and has had largely

NASCAR Cup Series team owners would be “idiots” not to sign Matt DiBenedetto, according to Bristol winner Denny Hamlin – one of several frontrunners backing the axed Leavine Family racer. DiBenedetto had previously talked of his “fight” to keep his seat at the single-car team Leavine team, which has been boosted by a tie-up with

Collapsed landing gear caused the plane carrying ex-NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr and his family to crash off the runway before bursting into flames, says the National Transportation Safety Board. Earnhardt’s jet caught fire and burned out within minutes during the incident at Elizabethon Municipal Airport in Tennessee. The plane had careered off the end

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin recovered from being two laps down to beat Leavine Family Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto in the NASCAR Cup race at Bristol. Hamlin had led the race in the opening stages before clipping Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet as the Hendrick Motorsports’ driver was collected when Austin Dillon suffered a puncture. While Hamlin’s

Retired NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr and his family escaped a fiery plane crash on Thursday with only minor injuries. Earnhardt’s jet caught fire and burned out within minutes during the incident at Elizabethon Municipal Airport in Tennessee. According to Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford, the Cessna Citation 680 owned by Earnhardt’s JRM Air ran

Despite “fighting” for his place, Matt DiBenedetto has failed to secure a Leavine Family Racing NASCAR Cup Series drive next year in what he described as “devastating news”. DiBenedetto has impressed this season for LFR, after its technical affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing has allowed it to score improved results. The NASCAR Cup Series underdog

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick survived a stage one puncture at Michigan to claim his second NASCAR Cup Series win of 2019. Harvick was running in second behind Penske’s Brad Keselowski in the opening stages, before he picked up a right-front puncture on his SHR Ford as he rounded Turn 3. Diving into the pitlane for

Jimmie Johnson says he has no regrets about his ‘quivering lip’ spat with NASCAR rival Ryan Blaney at last weekend’s Watkins Glen Cup race. After Penske Ford driver Blaney collided with Johnson’s Hendrick Chevrolet as they battled for a place in the top 10, Johnson confronted Blaney in the paddock. He later gave a furious

Matt DiBenedetto says he is “fighting” to remain in the NASCAR Cup Series, with his seat under threat from Joe Gibbs Racing protege Christopher Bell. The 28-year-old Leavine Racing driver scored his fourth top 10 finish of the year at Watkins Glen, having scored all of those results in the last seven races, and is

Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has hit out at Penske’s Ryan Blaney following their clash at Watkins Glen, hinting that he could retaliate in a future race. Blaney started from the rear of the field after making unapproved pre-race adjustments, but climbed to fifth at the finish. But Blaney had pitched Johnson into a

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick says William Byron had to “stand his ground” in his NASCAR Cup Series clash with Kyle Busch at Watkins Glen. Busch had started the race in third and ran alongside Bryon for second at Turn 1 before spinning out as the pair battled, seemingly without contact. The two then had

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott resited pressure from Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr to clinch a second NASCAR Cup win of 2019 at Watkins Glen. Polesitter Elliott led 81 of 90 laps and swept the stages at the venue at which he claimed his maiden Cup victory last season. But Truex posed a significant threat