A Real Wild Card: Talladega Gives Playoff Drivers Chance to Rally
Might as well keep it real about the NASCAR playoffs. At some point, as Ryan Blaney says, "you're going to find yourself behind." As the 2023 postseason rolls into Talladega for the second race of the Round of 12 on Sunday (1 p.m. CDT, NBC), Blaney is one of those drivers he is talking about. The Team Penske wheelman is…
No Matter What You Call Him, Byron Impressive in Win at Texas
William Byron could use a nickname. Nothing has really stuck, but we're open for takers after he won at Texas on Sunday for his NASCAR Cup Series-leading sixth victory of the season and his first in the 2023 playoffs. "We've just been kind of Steady Eddie through the first three, four races," said the Hendrick Motorsports driver, maybe coming up…
Hamlin Riding High After Victory at Bristol
Denny Hamlin has it all — Daytona 500s, Southern 500s, a Coca-Cola 600, an All-Star Race win, wide acclaim, a spot on NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers list and a near-certain reservation in the Hall of Fame. Almost all. He just needs that one championship. And the way he feels after winning at Bristol in the playoffs on Saturday night, that…
Bristol Brings It All: Saturday Night Short-Track Elimination Race
The "World's Fastest Half-Mile," as Bristol Motor Speedway is known, is going to quickly cut down the playoff field in NASCAR. It happens on Saturday night (5:30 p.m. CDT, USA Network) when the 16 Cup Series playoff drivers run in the third and final race of the first round. Four will be out, eliminated after 500 laps on the .533-mile…
Reddick Calmly Wins Wild One in Kansas
You need to know the name Tyler Reddick. It belongs to a 27-year-old driver from California who is becoming a force in NASCAR. The racer's win at Kansas on Sunday in the second race of the first round of the playoffs put him in the Round of 12 and thus guaranteed the best points finish of his career. The racer…
Larson Opens Playoffs with Big Victory
After one race in the 2023 NASCAR playoffs, some drivers may be against the wall. Not Kyle Larson, who advanced to the Round of 12 with his win at Darlington on Sunday night — although he didn't mind being literally against the wall during the opening round of the 10-race playoffs. "Been really, really fast here my whole career," he…
Drivers Start Their Engines for NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs
Get your brackets. NASCAR has its Sweet 16 on the starting grid for the playoffs. It starts Sunday night at historic Darlington Speedway, where Cup racers have been running since 1950. But the NASCAR postseason is a relatively new circumstance, barely two decades old since the sport parked the season-long points system. Kevin Harvick is back for another run at…
Wallace Secures Final NASCAR Playoff Spot
Get in, guys, we're going to the playoffs. One problem, though — only one seat left. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 set the 2023 postseason field on Saturday night when Bubba Wallace locked in the 16th and final spot, coming home 12th in his No. 23 Toyota Camry TRD to highlight the last weekend of the regular season. It was…
NASCAR Drivers Off to Finish What They Started
The finish line to the regular season in NASCAR is at Daytona. Which is also where it starts. From the Daytona 500 in late winter — the sport's biggest race — to the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in late summer — the last chance to gain a potential playoff spot — the 2.5-mile track at Daytona International Speedway tells a…