NASCAR drivers have 'completely lost respect in the garage'
Mar. 19—HAMPTON — There's pretty much always been talk and debate in NASCAR about what constitutes hard, clean racing as opposed to dirty racing and drivers intentionally taking each other out. The latest major incident happened last week at Phoenix Raceway when Denny Hamlin intentionally hit Ross Chastain. On his podcast Monday after the race, Hamlin admitted he intentionally hit Chastain, a ...
news.yahoo.comWatching from afar, Bubba Wallace's lunch: 'Humble pie'
Around the time that NASCAR drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway were getting into their cars for Sunday's race, Bubba Wallace was having lunch. Wallace spent his Sunday at the 23XI team headquarters in North Carolina, serving his one-race suspension for deliberately spinning reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson at Las Vegas last weekend in what NASCAR called a “dangerous act” of retaliation before confronting him afterward. Denny Hamlin, one of the 23XI team owners along with Michael Jordan, said Saturday that Wallace would be spending the race “back at the shop, kind of monitoring, similar to what Kurt does."
news.yahoo.comWilliam Byron wins NASCAR appeal and regains playoff points
An appeals panel on Thursday reinstated the 25 points William Byron had been docked by NASCAR for deliberately spinning championship rival Denny Hamlin, a critical decision that helps his playoff hopes. The three-person panel found that Byron did break a NASCAR rule for spinning Hamlin under caution.
news.yahoo.comNASCAR faces more questions about new car after Bristol bash
Kyle Busch deserved better than two failed Toyota engines in the first round of NASCAR's playoffs. Truex also referred back to Kevin Harvick's words after his car caught fire in the opening playoff race at Darlington three weeks ago.
news.yahoo.comWallace holds off boss, title contenders to win at Kansas
Bubba Wallace won his second career NASCAR Cup Series race and denied the playoff field of an automatic spot in the next round for the second straight week when he held off championship contenders Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell to win at Kansas Speedway.
Elliott given Pocono win after Hamlin, Busch disqualified
The siren at the Dawsonville, Georgia, pool hall that sounds whenever Chase Elliott wins a race did indeed go off Sunday night without the hometown star ever leading a lap at Pocono Raceway. “Winner, winner Joe Gibbs Racing are cheaters!” the Dawsonville Pool Room tweeted. In an extraordinary decision for a NASCAR Cup Series race, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin had his Pocono win thrown out and runner-up and teammate Kyle Busch also was disqualified after their Toyotas failed inspections.
news.yahoo.comHamlin respects NASCAR punishment for crass anti-Asian meme
Denny Hamlin said someone sent him a crass anti-Asian meme that poked fun at Kyle Larson's driving and out it went without a care — from his mobile phone to Twitter. “I thought it was hilarious," Hamlin said. NASCAR and scores of fans and casual observers who lashed out at Hamlin for linking Larson's ancestry — he's half Japanese — with an offensive stereotype linked to Asian drivers certainly didn't find the meme funny.
news.yahoo.comToo soon: Truex Jr. not ready to consider NASCAR future
Martin Truex Jr. left Richmond Raceway a winner in his last visit to the Virginia short track, a playofff victory last September that helped him get into NASCAR's championship round and showed the veteran has plenty left in his tank. The 41-year-old Truex is in the final year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing and hasn't decided how long he wants to continue his career. There is no wait-and-see going on with Truex, who in his 17th full Cup Series season is grappling with NASCAR's new Next Gen car.
news.yahoo.comKeselowski confident he can recover from huge NASCAR penalty
Brad Keselowski was optimistic he can overcome a knee-buckling penalty that potentially ended any championship chances a mere five races into his first season as a Cup team owner. NASCAR this week said an inspection at its North Carolina facility uncovered an illegal modification to the No. 6 Ford — a major infraction under tightened rules for the new Next Gen racecar. The Next Gen is primarily a spec car comprised of vendor-supplied parts and NASCAR will not permit any tinkering.
news.yahoo.comColumn: Time for Hamlin to put up or shut up in title race
It's time to put up or shut up, Denny Hamlin. Long recognized alongside Mark Martin as the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship, Hamlin gets a fifth try Sunday to at long last grab that elusive Cup Series title. Johnson sliced Hamlin's points lead by more than half to 15 points that day, but more importantly he stripped Hamlin of his confidence headed into the finale.
news.yahoo.comWhat code? NASCAR drivers lament lack of on-track etiquette
Tensions are high at every level of NASCAR as its grueling, 11-month season enters the homestretch with three weeks remaining to crown three series champions. All eyes had been on feuding drivers Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, but NASCAR last week demanded the they knock it off — a directive that sucked all the drama out of what could have been a nail-biting rivalry capable of derailing Elliott's shot at a second consecutive Cup Series title. Are drivers taking too many risks trying to make it to the championship round?
news.yahoo.comColumn: The hate follows Bubba Wallace on his biggest day
It's been nearly 16 months since Bubba Wallace was waiting out a rainstorm in his motorhome in the Talladega Superspeedway infield when NASCAR informed its only full-time Black driver that a noose had been found in his garage stall. Wallace never saw the noose, never even stepped foot in the garage. It wasn't Wallace who called in the FBI — NASCAR did that — and from what he'd been told, Wallace was led to believe he'd been the victim of a hate crime.
news.yahoo.comTruex leads 1-2-3 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing at Richmond
Martin Truex Jr. assumed the lead when Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was penalized for speeding with about 50 laps to go and won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night. The victory was the third for Truex in the last five races at Richmond. Truex led a 1-2-3 finish for JGR — the sixth in its history — with Denny Hamlin finishing second and Christopher Bell third.
news.yahoo.comKurt Busch has multiyear deal with 23XI Racing, eyes charter
Kurt Busch has a multiyear deal with 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by basketball great Michael Jordan and fellow driver Denny Hamlin. Hamlin released more details Saturday about the new partnership and said he is in the final stages of securing a charter for Busch's No. 45 Toyota in 2022. Without one, Busch would have to qualify for every race.
news.yahoo.comHuge underdog Michael McDowell wins Daytona 500, bypassing fiery final lap pileup
Daytona Beach, Florida — Somebody had to make a move to win the Daytona 500, and maybe Michael McDowell would have pulled out of traffic to take his shot at a monster upset. It was the journeyman's first career NASCAR Cup Series win in his 14th season, notes CBS Sports. "Such a great way to get a first victory - a Daytona 500. Denny Hamlin was trying for a record third-consecutive Daytona 500 victory, and the team he started with Michael Jordan was debuting with driver Bubba Wallace. "I wanted to make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and it ended up really bad," Keselowski said.
cbsnews.comHuge underdog Michael McDowell wins Daytona 500, bypassing fiery final lap pileup
Daytona Beach, Florida — Somebody had to make a move to win the Daytona 500, and maybe Michael McDowell would have pulled out of traffic to take his shot at a monster upset. It was the journeyman's first career NASCAR Cup Series win in his 14th season, notes CBS Sports. "Such a great way to get a first victory - a Daytona 500. Denny Hamlin was trying for a record third-consecutive Daytona 500 victory, and the team he started with Michael Jordan was debuting with driver Bubba Wallace. "I wanted to make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and it ended up really bad," Keselowski said.
cbsnews.comMichael Jordan and Bubba Wallace's new NASCAR team could be the sport's 'Tiger Woods' moment
John Harrelson | Getty ImagesIt's been an interesting few weeks for Michael Jordan. Jordan is the first Black majority owner of a full-time racing team in the NASCAR series since legendary driver Wendell Scott. Jared C. Tilton | Getty ImagesCompelling partnershipIn a press release announcing the move, Jordan expressed excitement in becoming a NASCAR team owner and mentioned its struggle with diversity. That could only help his NASCAR team solicit other sponsorships. "If you're a corporation, wouldn't you want to support Michael Jordan and Bubba Wallace as they try to promote positive change?"
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