Paul Menard has signed a multi-year extension with Richard Childress Racing to drive the No. 27 Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series, the team announced on Friday.
Denny Hamlin easily broke the track qualifying record at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday night to earn the pole for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 -- the longest race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
He was medically cleared for the 300-mile race at Charlotte following his MRI on Monday.
Scheduled to start in the late afternoon and conclude at nighttime, the 600- mile race at Charlotte is physically and mentally challenging for drivers.
Indianapolis 500 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indianapolis, Ind.
Former Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett and legendary engine builder Maurice Petty were among those selected in the 2014 class of inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
To no one's surprise, Danica Patrick won the fan vote to earn the 22nd and final starting position in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jamie McMurray and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gained eligibility for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race after finishing 1-2 in Saturday night's Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Carl Edwards will start on the pole for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race after posting the quickest time in Friday's qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Richard "Dick" Trickle, a retired NASCAR driver and short-track racing legend in the Midwest, was found dead on Thursday in North Carolina from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71.
"I need to get back to racing, so I can get some rest," Crafton jokingly said. "I'm always excited to go to the racetrack. But usually you go to the racetrack and you don't get much sleep, because you're worried about everything the night before the race. You think about everything. This week, I'm excited to get to the racetrack, so I can get some sleep."
NASCAR has made some format modifications, including a couple of tweaks revealed earlier this week, that will add more excitement to both qualifying and the race.
Sprint Cup Series
Denny Hamlin was sore and tired after this past Saturday night's Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, but his second-place finish there helped boost his confidence of making this year's Chase.
One day after testing an IndyCar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch set a new track qualifying record at Darlington Raceway to win the pole for Saturday night's Southern 500.
Spending the past five seasons in Sprint Cup, Smith returned to Nationwide full-time this year, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Smith won the 2012 Nationwide season-finale at Homestead, Fla. in his stellar debut with JRM. It was also his first win in the series.
"I've been fortunate to race this long and have the type of career I've had," Gordon said. "It's really cool to see that this will be my 700th start, but it's not something I really paid attention to. It's hard to believe I've run that many - especially consecutively."
The National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel on Wednesday substantially lessened the penalties assessed by NASCAR to Joe Gibbs Racing for an illegal engine used in Matt Kenseth's race-winning car last month at Kansas Speedway.
Penske Racing had the suspensions for seven of its members reduced on Tuesday after NASCAR issued heavy penalties to the team for rules violations that occurred last month at Texas Motor Speedway.
David Ragan proved that just about anybody can win at Talladega Superspeedway.
Denny Hamlin competed in a Sprint Cup Series race for the first time on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway since he suffered a serious back injury during an accident six weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
Persistent rain at Talladega Superspeedway forced NASCAR to cancel Saturday's qualifying session for the Aaron's 499.
Denny Hamlin drove his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the first time on Friday at Talladega Superspeedway since he suffered a serious back injury during a crash on March 24 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
Travis Pastrana won his first pole for a NASCAR national touring race by topping the charts in Friday's Nationwide Series qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway.
The race here two years ago featured a track-record 56-lead changes, 11 cautions and two red flags for extensive cleanup efforts. Kyle Busch was involved in a 21-car accident late in the race, but he somehow bounced back to win it. The event was extended with two green-white-checkered finishes. Busch propelled to the lead on the final lap when Joey Logano bumped him to the front. He remained the leader when the race ended under caution for an accident.
Talladega and Daytona are both restrictor-plate tracks in NASCAR, but Talladega is slightly bigger and wider than Daytona.
Penske Racing lost its appeal on Wednesday to overturn severe penalties assessed by NASCAR to Brad Keselowski's No. 2 team and Joey Logano's No. 22 team for illegal parts found on their cars earlier this month at Texas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR suspended and fined two crew members from Richard Childress Racing on Tuesday for their involvement in a physical altercation that occurred after Friday night's Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
Denny Hamlin revealed on his Twitter account on Tuesday that he has been medically cleared to at least start in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel will hear Joe Gibbs Racing's appeal on May 8 for severe penalties assessed by NASCAR to Matt Kenseth's No. 20 Sprint Cup Series team for an illegal engine used at Kansas Speedway.
Kevin Harvick is leaving Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2013 season, but he's not giving up on his team this year.
Two crew members from Richard Childress Racing have been charged with assault after a physical altercation occurred in the driver/owner motorhome lot at Richmond International Raceway following Friday night's Nationwide Series race.
Two days after NASCAR issued severe penalties to his team for an illegal engine used in last weekend's race at Kansas Speedway, Matt Kenseth won the pole for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
The 23-year-old Earnhardt is scheduled to make his 16th career Nationwide start but his first for JRM. He has five starts this season, driving the No. 79 Ford for Go Green Racing. His career-best finish in NASCAR's second-tier series is 19th, which came in the July 2011 race at Daytona.
In 16 Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond, Busch has an average finish of 5.438, which is tops among all active drivers. He has also finished on the lead lap in every one of his races here except last September, when he placed one lap behind in 16th. His four wins at this track are the most among active drivers as well.
Denny Hamlin explained on Thursday why he was not medically cleared to compete in this weekend's Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
Matt Kenseth thinks NASCAR's penalties assessed to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team for an illegal engine found in his race-winning car at Kansas Speedway were extremely unjust.
Denny Hamlin said on Wednesday that he will not be competing in this weekend's Sprint Cup Series race at his home track of Richmond International Raceway.
NASCAR handed down severe penalties to Matt Kenseth's No. 20 team in the Sprint Cup Series on Wednesday for failing post-race engine inspection following last Sunday's event at Kansas Speedway.
Johnny Sauter's team in the Camping World Truck Series was hit with heavy penalties from NASCAR on Wednesday for an unapproved fuel cell discovered on his truck during opening day inspection this past weekend at Kansas Speedway.
The engine in Matt Kenseth's No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed inspection following his win last Sunday at Kansas Speedway, according to multiple reports.
NASCAR announced on Tuesday the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel will hear Penske Racing's appeal of penalties to its No. 2 and No. 22 Sprint Cup Series teams on May 1.
The two road-course races in the Sprint Cup Series this year will have a new qualifying procedure.
Kyle Busch and Joey Logano had their race come to an end early on Sunday at Kansas Speedway when they crashed midway through the STP 400.
Matt Kenseth won the pole for the STP 400 after topping his former Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards in Friday's qualifying at Kansas Speedway.
Hendrick Motorsports revealed on Friday that team member Andrew Collier was the brother of Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, who was killed during an overnight shootout with two Boston Marathon bombing suspects.
"There's no question the season hasn't started off the way our team was hoping," Buescher said. "It's not because we haven't run well. I feel like we are always in contention for a win, but we've just been bitten by some bad luck so far and don't have the end result to show for it."
