Jimmie Johnson will not retire from racing when he leaves the NASCAR Cup Series at the end of the 2020 season, although he has ruled out an IndyCar switch. The seven-time Cup Series champion, who has 83 wins to his name, announced on Wednesday he will leave the #48 Hendrick Motorsports squad at the end
NASCAR
Seven-time NASCAR champion and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson will retire from the Cup Series at the conclusion of the 2020 season. Johnson was keen to delay his call on when to retire for as long as possible, although one of his major sponsors had committed to 2023. The 44-year-old’s seven cup championships is equal
Kyle Busch claimed his second NASCAR Cup Series title by winning the 2019 season finale at Homestead, ending a 21-race winless streak in the process. The Toyota driver was one of three Joe Gibbs Racing entrants competing for the championship alongside Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin, as well as Stewart-Haas’ Kevin Harvick. He held
The 2019 NASCAR Cup championship will be fought out between Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch at Homestead later on Sunday. Under the series’ playoff system, the points have been reset and the quartet start equal – whichever of them is first over the line after 267 laps (or more if
Qualifying for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series title decider at Homestead has been cancelled and the four championship contenders handed the first two rows of the grid. After persistent rain showers washed out both Friday’s planned practice sessions, NASCAR made the decision to forgo Saturday’s scheduled qualifying session and replace it with 50 minutes of
Stewart-Haas Racing will promote its Xfinity Series driver Cole Custer to replace Daniel Suarez in its NASCAR Cup Series line-up for 2020, Autosport has learned. Sources have suggested the 21-year-old’s deal will be officially announced within the coming week. A request for comment from a SHR spokesperson was not immediately returned. Custer is one of
Until a late-race caution set up a three-lap dash to the finish, last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup playoffs semi-final race at Phoenix was short on drama. And that’s a problem for NASCAR, because in 2020 Phoenix will be hosting the championship decider. The need for clean air appeared to dominate and left overtaking at a premium,
NASCAR Cup title contender Martin Truex Jr said he effectively raced with “half a team and an old car” at Phoenix last weekend as he prepared for the championship decider. Truex, the 2017 champion, became the first driver to cement a place in the ‘championship four’ field for Homestead when he won the opening race
Reigning NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano was left completely perplexed by the Phoenix race slump that ended his title defence. During much of the first two stages of Sunday’s penultimate round of the season, Penske Ford driver Logano looked almost unbeatable. He led 93 of the first 176 laps and took the stage two victory
Denny Hamlin survived a late restart in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix to claim his sixth win of the season and secure a spot in the championship shootout. He will go up against Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr and Kevin Harvick for the title at Homestead next weekend, with reigning champion Joey Logano
The identity of the four drivers who will fight for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series title will be settled at Phoenix on Sunday, with an early favourite in jeopardy. Martin Truex Jr and Kevin Harvick have guaranteed the first two slots in the ‘championship four’ with their wins at Martinsville and Texas. Behind them, Kyle
Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR driver Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr has been penalised after admitting that he intentionally caused a caution period in last weekend’s race at Texas. Wallace was fined $50,000 and docked 50 championship points for his actions. His Chevrolet had suffered a deflating rear tyre but he appeared only to have successfully caught
NASCAR’s plan to revise its technical ethos and think about its long-term future has opened up the prospect of a fourth manufacturer. Could it be Honda that steps forward? In recent years, the topic of who the next manufacturer is in NASCAR could be answered by the question: When is Dodge coming back? But NASCAR
Kyle Larson says only penalties from NASCAR will stop drivers spinning intentionally, after he accused Bubba Wallace of deliberately causing a caution at Texas that hurt his Cup title hopes. Larson was running fourth when he pitted during a green-flag period in the second half of the race, five laps before Wallace spun his Richard
Kevin Harvick overcame a mid-race penalty to lead home a Stewart-Haas 1-2-3 in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas, booking himself a spot in the championship decider. Harvick was slapped with the penalty for loose equipment on pitroad following a stop just after half-distance in the 334-lap race. That dropped him into the midfield
Three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart has slammed the decision to hold Formula 1 and NASCAR events in Texas on the same day as “asinine”. This weekend’s United States Grand Prix at Austin is clashing with NASCAR’s event at Texas Motor Speedway 200 miles away – forcing motor racing fans to choose which event they
Tension between NASCAR Cup title rivals Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin over their Martinsville pitlane scuffle lingers going into this weekend’s Texas Motor Speedway race. Logano confronted Hamlin in the pitlane after being knocked into a spin during last weekend’s race, and shoved the Joe Gibbs Racing driver as he walked away – which triggered
Kurt Busch has secured a new multi-year deal with the Chip Ganassi Racing NASCAR Cup Series team. The 2004 champion’s move to Ganassi for this season was initially just a one-year contract following his split with Stewart-Haas Racing. The 41-year-old then took Ganassi’s first win of 2019 at Kentucky Speedway in July and made it
Chevrolet will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next season with an updated version of its Camaro, the ZL1 1LE. The manufacturer announced Thursday that its teams in the Cup Series in 2020 will field the Camaro ZL1 1LE, which it calls the “fastest, most track-capable production Camaro ever”. The Camaro model name replaced the
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano says he should not have shoved Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin after the pair clashed on pitroad following the Martinsville race. Logano and Hamlin made contact late in the race, which sent the Penske Ford into a spin and forced Logano into a recovery drive from 19th to
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola says he is going to make Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff run “hell for him” after the pair clashed at Martinsville. Almirola and Busch were battling inside the top 10 on lap 361 of 500 when Busch tapped Almirola’s Ford through Turn 3, before the SHR driver retaliated at the
Martin Truex Jr became the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to book his place in the title-deciding final race by dominating at Martinsville for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex, who led a crushing 464 laps out of 500, moved into the lead of the race at the 0.5-mile circuit after quick work from the JGR crew
Martin Truex Jr became the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to book his place in the title-deciding final race by dominating at Martinsville for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex, who led a crushing 464 laps out of 500, moved into the lead of the race at the 0.5-mile circuit after quick work from the JGR crew
Denny Hamlin has explained why the crew chief switch that took him from a winless 2018 to a contender for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series title has been a “game-changer”. Hamlin recorded the first winless campaign of his 13-year Cup career last season, despite a consistent run of results that allowed him to make the
Denny Hamlin secured victory in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas for Joe Gibbs Racing as Chase Elliott edged Brad Keselowski out for the final playoff spot in overtime. With 10 laps of the scheduled 267 to run, Hendrick Motorsports’ Elliott was three points below the cutoff line for the ’round of eight’ stage
NASCAR Xfinity Series title contenders Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick ended up in a scuffle after Saturday’s race at Kansas Speedway. Reigning champion Reddick – who has already secured a Richard Childress Racing Cup Series seat for 2020 – and Custer made slight contact after a late-race restart, sending Stewart-Haas racer Custer into the outside
Ricky Stenhouse Jr has secured a NASCAR Cup Series lifeline after signing a multi-year deal to drive for JTG Daugherty Racing, racing alongside team-mate Ryan Preece in 2020. Stenhouse, a two-time Cup race-winner, joins the team after ending a 10-year spell with Roush Fenway Racing. Roush had opted to replace Stenhouse with Chris Buescher (pictured
After a huge crash at Talladega, 44-year-old Brendan Gaughan joked that he will need the permission of his parents to race in the NASCAR Cup Series again. With less than 10 laps to go, leaders Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Kyle Busch made contact on the backstretch, sending Busch up the race track into then race
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney booked his spot in the next stage of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with victory at Talladega, in a race of high attrition. The race, suspended after just one stage on Sunday due to poor weather, boiled down to a two-lap shootout for the win after a red flag was thrown
The NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Talladega has been suspended until Monday afternoon, after rain left the field stranded in the pitlane after 55 of the scheduled 188 laps. Having begun racing at 2pm local time on Sunday afternoon, the 40-strong field for the second race in the ’round of 8′ was able to