Nemechek docked 10 points for failing post-Iowa inspection

Harvick wins pole on rainy day at Richmond (The Associated Press)

Rain washed out qualifying at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, giving Kevin Harvick the pole position Sunday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race based on being the fastest in an abbreviated morning practice session. Harvick won the pole with a speed of 129.069 mph, edging Joey Logano for the top spot. The top five also includes Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and hometown favorite Denny Hamlin.

 

Driver Council agrees to pay Tony Stewart $35,000 fine (The Associated Press)

Tony Stewart’s peers will pay the $35,000 fine NASCAR levied against the three-time champion for criticizing the series about a potential safety hazard during races. The nine-member driver council said in a statement released by Denny Hamlin it agreed to equally pay the fine. Stewart is a member of the council, which was formed last year and its members are elected by all the drivers in the Sprint Cup Series.

 

NASCAR fines Tony Stewart $35,000 for criticizing officials (The Associated Press)

NASCAR fined Tony Stewart $35,000 on Thursday after he criticized the series about a potential safety hazard during races. The fine falls under NASCAR’s new behavioral policy and came one day after the three-time champion warned that a driver is going to get hurt if the series doesn’t start policing pit stops for missing lug nuts. ”I’m beyond mad, I’m P.O.’d at NASCAR about it,” he said Wednesday.

 

Tony Stewart cleared to race, will be in car at Richmond (The Associated Press)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tony Stewart has been cleared to return to racing and will be back in his car Friday at Richmond International Raceway.

 

NASCAR suspends Xfinity Series crew chief for Ty Dillon (The Associated Press)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has suspended the Xfinity Series crew chief for Ty Dillon for a penalty at Bristol Motor Speedway.

 

Carl Edwards wins Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Speedway (The Associated Press)

Carl Edwards took his first celebratory back flip of the season and easily stuck the landing. Edwards avoided tire issues that plagued his teammates and took off on the final restart to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on the half-mile bullring. Starting on the pole for the second straight week, Edwards’ Camry led eight times for 276 of 500 laps en route to his first victory since September at Darlington and fourth at Bristol.

 

Super Bowl champ Manning attends NASCAR race at Bristol (The Associated Press)

For one day, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the second most popular guy at a NASCAR race. Manning was a guest of the NASCAR driver for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race. The five-time NFL MVP got big cheers when he was introduced at the prerace drivers meeting and was understandably in demand while making his way around the Bristol Motor Speedway infield.

 

Wreck knocks Cup series champ Kyle Busch out at Bristol (The Associated Press)

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has wrecked at Bristol Motor Speedway and failed to finish for the first time since June at Michigan.

 

Kyle Busch riding the momentum of consecutive weekend sweeps (The Associated Press)

Whether Kyle Busch earns his third consecutive NASCAR weekend sweep remains to be seen, he’s savoring his current success. It’s not like starting position matters to Busch, who leads the Cup standings by six points over Jimmie Johnson. Busch has swept Martinsville and Texas to become the first driver since Harry Gant went back-to-back at Richmond and Dover in 1991.

 

Jones rallies on late restart to win Xfinity race at Bristol (The Associated Press)

Erik Jones blew past Kyle Larson soon after the final restart and held off Kyle Busch in the final laps to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Larson led a race-high 94 of 200 laps thanks to a series of daring moves between cars on the tight half-mile track that kept Busch at bay during the final third. Then came the final caution that left a three-lap sprint on the restart, when Jones’ No. 20 Toyota Camry got past Busch’s No. 18 Toyota on the outside before he eventually cleared Larson, whose No. 42 Chevy finished third.

 

Logano, Kenseth hope Bristol success continues this weekend (The Associated Press)

Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano hope their recent success at Bristol Motor Speedway helps them reach victory lane for the first time this season. Both drivers have two wins over the past five races at Bristol. Another win could land Logano or Kenseth a spot in the Chase for the championship, and both drivers believe a breakthrough is possible.

 

Carl Edwards takes pole at Bristol Motor Speedway (The Associated Press)

Carl Edwards won his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup pole Friday, helping Joe Gibbs Racing take four of the top five spots in qualifying Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards, the winner at Bristol in March 2014, earned his third pole at the track and second consecutive No. 1 spot after also topping qualifying last week at Texas. Kurt Busch also won consecutive poles this season.

 

Column: NASCAR clouding its image with politics (The Associated Press)

There are Democrats who enjoy NASCAR. You wouldn’t know it lately, not after several events this season, including the invocation before Saturday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Robertson, a star of ”Duck Dynasty,” has publicly voiced his support for Ted Cruz in the presidential race.

 

Drive and win: Kyle Busch sweep is NASCAR’s 1st in 25 years (The Associated Press)

Four races in NASCAR’s top three series over eight days – and Kyle Busch won them all. From Martinsville to Texas, Busch had consecutive weekend sweeps, something last done in NASCAR 25 years ago. ”I think the magic is Kyle Busch, but that’s just me,” Busch said with a smile before looking to car owner Joe Gibbs, who started laughing and told the No. 18 Toyota driver to not freak out on him.

 

Kyle Busch wins at Texas to complete another NASCAR sweep (The Associated Press)

A broom was waiting for Kyle Busch in Victory Lane at Texas. Busch took the lead after the final restart Saturday night, completing his second NASCAR weekend sweep in a row and becoming the first driver to do that since Harry Gant in 1991. ”It’s pretty darn good, I’ll tell you that,” Busch said when asked what it’s like to be him right now.

 

NASCAR race in Texas starts after one-hour, 50-minute delay (The Associated Press)

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Texas has gotten underway after a delay of 1 hour, 50 minutes.

 

Kyle Busch 4th NASCAR Xfinity win of 2016 is 80th overall (The Associated Press)

Kyle Busch completed a NASCAR sweep in a week. Busch led 150 of 200 laps at Texas on Friday night for the fourth victory in five Xfinity Series starts this season. After wins in the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck races at Martinsville last weekend, he has won in each of NASCAR’s top three series in a seven-day period.

 

Jimmie Johnson certainly knows way to Victory Lane in Texas (The Associated Press)

Jimmie Johnson certainly knows his way to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway. Already with two wins this season, Johnson is back in Texas, where he has won the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup races and five of the last seven. Johnson started eighth or better is all six of his victories at Texas.

 

Edwards on Texas pole, 7th pole winner in 7 Cup races so far (The Associated Press)

Carl Edwards became the seventh different pole winner in the seven NASCAR Sprint Cup races this season, posting the fast lap of 194.609 mph in the final round of qualifying for Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500 at the Texas track where he has won three times. ”My confidence level was pretty decent, but now it’s really good,” Edwards said after Friday’s qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway. Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. both had qualifying laps of 193.306 mph. Logano will start on the front row beside Edwards, with Truex third.

 

Stewart still weeks from knowing when he can drive again (The Associated Press)

Tony Stewart is anxiously waiting to find out when he will be able to return from a broken back to debut in what is supposed to be his last season as a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. ”Then (doctors) will be able to have an idea of when exactly it’s going to happen,” Stewart said. Until then, Stewart will continue in his role as co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing while Brian Vickers and Ty Dillon share the role as the replacement driver in Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet.