NASCAR

9:33 PM ET Associated Press AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ty Gibbs took the lead with 21 laps left and held off rival Noah Gragson for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday night. The only non-JR Motorsports driver in the winner-take-all finale, Gibbs started on the pole at the 1-mile oval and

12:48 AM ET Associated Press AVONDALE, Ariz. — It took overtime in his third attempt for Zane Smith to finally win a NASCAR championship. Smith held off reigning Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes and Chandler Smith in a two-lap overtime sprint Friday night to win at Phoenix Raceway and at last win the series title.

12:51 PM ET Associated Press AVONDALE, Ariz. — Jimmie Johnson‘s NASCAR retirement and IndyCar experiment lasted all of two seasons. The seven-time NASCAR champion is returning in 2023 to the series that made him a global motorsports star as the part-owner of Petty GMS. He’ll also enter about five Cup races. Johnson announced that his

10:00 AM ET One of Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell will be crowned 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion on Sunday in Phoenix. Sean Gardner/Getty Images After nine months, 35 points-paying races, two exhibition events, 19 different race winners, paddock parity like we’ve never seen before and nearly as much controversy as there

4:05 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Ty Gibbs knew his teammate had to win the final regular-season race to qualify for the Xfinity Series championship. And yet Gibbs still spun Brandon Jones out of the lead on the final lap last week at Martinsville Speedway as Gibbs picked up his sixth win of the

9:07 AM ET Trick or treat. On Monday night, we had to choose. Something sweet to consume or something clever that someone comes up with, maybe even something we’ve never seen before? On Sunday evening at Martinsville Speedway, we weren’t forced to pick one or the other. We got it all at once. And that

6:50 PM ET Associated Press Christopher Bell won his way into NASCAR’s championship race, while Ross Chastain used a move more suited for a video game to also advance in Sunday’s thrilling regular-season finale at Martinsville Speedway. Bell had to win to advance to the final four next week at Phoenix Raceway, and he pulled

8:10 PM ET Associated Press MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Ty Gibbs wrecked teammate Brandon Jones out of the lead in the third overtime of Saturday’s Xfinity Series in a controversial victory that had the Martinsville Speedway crowd booing Gibbs. When the 20-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs went to victory lane, fans chanted “thank you,

3:38 PM ET Associated Press MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Larson will start on the pole in Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Larson turned a fast lap at 96.078 miles per hour, edging Chase Elliott for the top spot. Elliott’s lap came at 96.019 mph, putting the last two NASCAR Cup Series champions on the front

2:07 PM ET Associated Press Bubba Wallace returned to NASCAR competition on Saturday and said last week’s one-race suspension was difficult, but he recognizes that the penalty was warranted. Going forward, though, Wallace wants NASCAR to be consistent in officiating. Wallace was suspended one week under NASCAR’s behavioral policy for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson, walking

11:25 AM ET Associated Press Alex Bowman will return for the NASCAR season finale after missing five races with a concussion suffered in a crash in the new Next Gen car. Hendrick Motorsports said Bowman will be back in the No. 48 Chevrolet next weekend at Phoenix Raceway, his home track. The team said the

1:42 PM ET Associated Press An appeals panel on Thursday denied the attempt by Stewart-Haas Racing to overturn $200,000 in NASCAR fines for manipulation of a playoff race. The behavioral penalty was issued to Cole Custer, crew chief Mike Shiplett and team owner Gene Haas after the Oct. 9 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR

11:22 AM ET Associated Press David Gilliland will move his racing organization from Ford to Toyota next season and rebrand it as TRICON Garage, which will field entries in both the Truck Series and ARCA Series. TRICON, formerly known as David Gilliland Racing, will run three full-time Toyota Tundras and one part-time entry beginning with

2:17 PM ET Marty Smith Close ESPN ESPN NASCAR lead reporter Former NASCAR.com senior writer 15 years covering NASCAR Ryan McGee Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com 2-time Sports Emmy winner 2010, 2014 NMPA Writer of the Year A week after being in the middle of an incident with

7:07 AM ET Associated Press NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will make his drag racing debut this weekend at the NHRA Nevada Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Stewart will compete for McPhillips Racing in a Top Alcohol dragster — the equivalent of NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series. “I’m excited and nervous at the same

6:35 PM ET Associated Press HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kyle Larson found his way into NASCAR’s headlines for a second consecutive week. This time for a much more pleasant reason. Larson held off Ross Chastain to cap a dominant showing in the third-to-last race of the NASCAR season at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, leading 199 of

Oct 22, 2022 Associated Press HOMESTEAD, Fla. — William Byron‘s playoff push will start from the ideal spot Sunday. He won the pole in Saturday’s qualifying laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway, turning in a lap of 32.454 seconds. That was 0.049 seconds ahead of fellow playoff entrant Bell. Another driver still in the playoff, Chase Elliott,

8:55 PM ET Associated Press HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Noah Gragson gave JR Motorsports two drivers in the Xfinity Series championship finale with his win Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gragson led 127 of the 200 laps, then held off Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger on a late restart to earn his eighth win of the season