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Matt Kenseth snatched the lead from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch with 13 laps to go and cruised to victory in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway on Saturday night. Busch, who dominated the NASCAR Nationwide race the night before, dominated the Sprint Cup race leading 265 laps, but he ended up in sixth.

Kenseth, won with interim crew chief Wally Brown, who stepped in while Jason Ratcliff served a one-race suspension from when the No. 20 failed post race inspection at Kansas Speedway last month.

“This is a dream come true,” Kenseth shouted on his radio. “Thank you guys very much.” Read the rest of this entry »

Kasey Kahne celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17, 2013 in Bristol, Tennessee. Image by Geoff Burke/ Getty Images for NASCAR

Last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kasey Kahne had the dominate car but was beaten by Matt Kenseth. On Sunday afternoon, Kahne was looking to win after the missed opportunity. Kahne was able to take advantage of a mistake Brad Keselowski on the final restart to grab the lead and never look back. The mistake helped Kahne pull away to a 1.7 second lead over pole sitter, Kyle Busch.

Kahne would lead a total of 109 laps to capture his first win at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”. Read the rest of this entry »

Matt Kenseth celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 10, 2013. Photo taken by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Happy Birthday, Matt Kenseth!

Matt Kenseth, who opted for fuel only on the last pit stop, was able to hold off a charging Kasey Kahne to win Sunday afternoon’s Kobalt Tools 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kenseth, who turned 41 on Sunday, became the third driver in series history to win on his birthday. Cale Yarborough did it twice, in 1977 at North Wilkesboro and 1983 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, followed by Kyle Busch who did it in 2009 at Richmond International Raceway.

The win was also his first Sprint Cup victory in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, after spending 15 years with Roush-Fenway Racing.

”I was real nervous all day,” Kenseth said. ”(Kahne) had the best car. I told (crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) with about 12 to go that I was sorry we were going to lose. We were just too tight. … We didn’t have the fastest car there, but we had it where we needed it to be.”

Kahne led a season high 114 laps on Sunday afternoon.

Kahne’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had strong performances, while Jeff Gordon struggled with the car as he complained it was loose much of the day. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next head to Bristol Tennessee for next Sunday’s Food City 500.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Bristol and the World’s Toughest Half Mile next Sunday afternoon. Time to get ready for some beating and banging!

Mark Martin poses after winning the pole during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 1, 2013 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo Taken by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Move over young guns, Mark Martin wants to show you how it’s done.

On Friday, Martin, age 54, become the second-oldest driver to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole position.

With a lap of 26.073 seconds, 138.074 mph, Mark Martin captured the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 from Phoenix International Raceway. The pole was Martin’s 56th career pole and third at the 1 mile “D” shaped Tri-Oval track.

“The car was beautiful,” said Martin. “All the guys do such a nice job. I had a lot of anxiety about it. The times are so close that one little slip-up really costs you here. Read the rest of this entry »

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Last season, Hendrick Motosports was able to put all four of their drivers into the Chase for the Sprint Cup so when you think of Hendrick Motorsports, you definitely think of dominance. They’ve been able to handle any and everything that NASCAR has thrown at them, and with a new car and a level playing field, expect HMS to soar back up to the top.

Hendrick Motorsports welcomes all four drivers back this season and to expect anything less than a championship from this great stable of drivers would be absurd. Read the rest of this entry »

Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

36 races. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is in the books. NASCAR has crowned a new champion and for the first time in 7 years, the champions name isn’t Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson.

On Sunday evening it was Brad Keselowski who hoisted the Sprint Cup after finishing fifteenth in the Ford EcoBoost 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway beating Jimmie Johnson, who ended up finishing the season in third place, by 40 points. Read the rest of this entry »

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Budweiser Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 11, 2012 in Avondale, Arizona.

35 races and it comes down to the final race this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Baring any craziness on the track, it looks like Brad Keselowski will be the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ.

Speaking of craziness, NASCAR fans definitely saw an interesting race on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Kyle Busch dominated but didn’t win, Jimmie Johsnon crashed, more on this later, and two Chase drivers crews fought. In the end, it was another chase driver, Kevin Harvick who quietly went about the business of winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in over a year. With the victory on Sunday, Harvick gained three spots in the Chase standings and is now in eighth place, just 86 points out of first.

“We want to win races, and we want to be competitive, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Harvick said.

In this weekly segment, Total Sports Blog, will rewind the race from the day before and let you know where all the Chase contenders finished and where they are in the point standings. Read the rest of this entry »

Kasey Kahne celebrates in Victory Lane at Phoenix International Raceway. (AP)

Thirty three races are in the book as the NASCAR boys head to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend.

Phoenix International Raceway, or PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 but didn’t start hosting NASCAR Sprint Cup races until 1988. A fun fact about the track: Alan Kulwicki performed the first “Polish Victory Lap”, his celebration lap.

In this race last year, Kasey Kahne celebrated in victory lane, but it was the two gentlemen who were fighting for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title that dominated the action.

There is definitely no rest for the weary this weekend as all three of NASCAR’s top series will be racing at Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series:
Laps: 150
Distance: 150 miles Read the rest of this entry »

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Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2012 in Fort Worth, Texas.

34 races down. 2 to go.

With the way Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson have been competing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series may not be decided until the final lap at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

On Sunday, Jimmie Johnson showed the NASCAR world that he is ready to edge his name in the record book as he won his fifth race of the season, and the second in just a week, at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson led 168 of the 334 scheduled laps to increase his points lead to seven points ahead of Brad Keselowski. This is the biggest points deficit Keselowski has faced since entering the chase. Aside from the points battle, the two drivers also battled on the track with eight laps to go, Keselowski’s Dodge made contact with Johnson’s Chevrolet battling for the lead. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jimmie Johnson celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 28, 2012 in Ridgeway, Virginia.

Three races to go until NASCAR crowns a champion. It’s all come down to the driver from Rochester Hills, Michigan or the five-time champion from El Cajon, California, and with the way both drivers have been competing in this 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup we may not know until the final lap in Homestead-Miami.

On Sunday, Jimmie Johnson proved he is ready for another championship as he won his fourth race of the season at Martinsville Speedway. Johnson led 193 laps to become the points leader, just two points ahead of second place, Brad Keselowski. This was also the first race back for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who missed the last two weeks after suffering a concussion at Talladega Speedway earlier this month. Read the rest of this entry »