Tire call propels Keselowski to victory at Fontana

March 22, 2015 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif.—After Sunday’s Auto Club 400, there may be a warrant issued for Brad Keselowski. After all, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford committed his own version of “Grand Theft Auto” at Auto Club Speedway—he stole an entire race. Benefitting from a four-tire call on the last lap of regulation and two opportune cautions that extended the event nine laps beyond its scheduled distance, Keselowski passed polesitter Kurt Busch on the final lap (209) and pulled away to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season. Trying…

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Kevin Harvick cruises to XFINITY Victory Lane at Fontana

March 21, 2015 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif.—It’s about time to start reserving a spot on the NASCAR podium for Kevin Harvick. With a dominating victory in Saturday’s Drive4Clots.com 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race, Harvick won his second race of the season, his first at Auto Club Speedway and the 46th of his career, third-most all-time. Incredibly, Harvick scored his 28th consecutive top 10 in the XFINITY Series, dating to 2013. With two victories and two seconds in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year to go with two wins and a third in the XFINITY Series, Harvick has…

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The Perfect Time: Bayne Is Ready For Big-Time

By Ben White Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 Roush-Fenway Fords, took a giant step toward stardom when he became the surprise winner of the Daytona 500 in 2011 while driving for Wood Brothers Racing. It all started for the Knoxville, Tenn. native when he was five years of age racing go-karts. Over the next eight years, he collected three world championships with over 300 feature wins. Bayne competed in the Allison Legacy Series at age 13 and was named their youngest top rookie. He logged 14 wins, 19 pole positions and 30 top-five finishes in 41 starts in 2005. That…

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Auto Club Preview: Harvick Tries for the Trifecta

By Jared Turner As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California for Race No. 5 of the 2015 season, one question is at the top of everyone’s minds: Can anyone beat Kevin Harvick? Over the past two weekends, the reigning champion and Stewart-Haas Racing team led by crew chief Rodney Childers have overwhelmed the competition on the way to victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway. What’s really scary is that with his triumph on Sunday at PIR, Harvick became first driver to finish in the top two in seven consecutive races since…

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A Two-Horse Race: Harvick vs. Logano for title?

By Aaron Burns A friend of mine moved from Louisiana to North Carolina a little more than 20 years ago. He grew up around race tracks, so when someone invited him to accompany them at a local race track, he took them up on it. But it wasn’t what he was accustomed to. In North Carolina, a race track is where stock cars compete. In Louisiana, it’s where horses race. NASCAR, though, may as well be a two-horse race. It’s been Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and everyone else. Sure, Jimmie Johnson won at Atlanta and until he finished last on Sunday, Dale…

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Last-Place Finisher: Dale Jr. has brake, tire issues

By Aaron Burns Dale Earnhardt Jr. began the 2015 Sprint Cup season on a tear, posting three consecutive top-five finishes. It all went downhill Sunday at Phoenix Int’l Raceway. Earnhardt was busted for speeding on pit road while running in the top 15 early, then made his way up to 21st before a blown right-rear tire sent his No. 88 Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet SS into the wall. He ended up 43rd. Earnhardt said the culprit was more than just a tire. It was a loose-handling condition, coupled with overheating brakes. The good news for Earnhardt? He won’t need to brake as much…

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