#Christopher Bell

For anyone who is drawn to the sight of fast cars and those who drive them, Saturday nights in the spring and summer mean nights spent watching racing at the local short track. In no place is this truer than Southern Virginia and the Carolinas, the very places where NASCAR racing came to be and where some of the most iconic short tracks in the…

The spotlight will be on one of the newest additions to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule on Sunday at the 2022 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Last year's NASCAR at Austin race featured 10 different lead drivers. Champion Chase Elliott only led for the final five laps, but he returns as the 9-4 favorite to win again in the latest…

While three drivers have dominated Darlington recently, none of them are having strong seasons, possibly opening the door for a sleeper in our Goodyear 400 picks. Is Austin Dillon the one? Find out in our NASCAR betting preview. The weathered surface of Darlington Raceway plays host to this weekend's Goodyear 400, as some of NASCAR's biggest names…

I trust Larry McReynolds when he says the fuel window is coming up in 18 to 20 laps of a NASCAR Cup Series playoffs race or that a late two-tire stop is the best path to victory. However, he didn't climb out on the sturdiest of limbs with one of his predictions on New Year's Day. America's Crew Chief thinks there will be a first-time champion this…

With 19 different winners in 2022, you could say it was never easier to win a race in the NASCAR Cup Series. But actually, the opposite was true. Parity and competition meant every checkered flag was as hotly contested as an early November box of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. It left playoff stalwarts like Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex winless…

Breaking down the NASCAR championship odds for the 2023 season ahead of the Daytona 500. Read on for our futures picks for the 2023 NASCAR cup series. The start of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is quickly approaching. The pursuit of the Bill France Trophy will begin in February with the Daytona 500. While several months of racing will follow,…

It's new year, new team for Kyle Busch. His farewell tour from Joe Gibbs Racing, a team where he spent 15 seasons and racked up 56 of his 60 NASCAR Cup Series wins, is over and done with. It's on to his next chapter with Richard Childress Racing. Time for the Las Vegas native to prove that he has plenty of gas left in the tank, even at 37. Just how…

Mid-week forecasts call for clear skies in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, March 27. That's a big deal for any host city on race weekend throughout NASCAR's 36-week, nine-month schedule. It's especially a big deal this weekend as drivers return to COTA 10 months after a wreck-filled EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix that Kevin Harvick called the "most…

With one trip to the reconfigured Atlanta in the books, we know what to expect this weekend. And it's largely in line with what we thought the track would look like going in. This spring's NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta very much acted like the blend of a superspeedway and a 1.5-mile track. There was drafting and chaos, but equipment still…

The 65th running of the Daytona 500, the biggest race of the NASCAR season, is only about two months away! As we painstakingly await the arrival of this big race, we are lucky enough to have odds available for who will win the Super Bowl of NASCAR. Remember on a Superspeedway style track, more so than any other week, any driver in the field can win…

NASCAR is back on a road course this weekend in Wisconsin, at Road America in Elkhart Lake. Chase Elliott took the checkered flag last week and is the favorite here - is there any question who we're behind in our Kwik Trip 250 picks? After Chase Elliott stood atop the podium last weekend, NASCAR heads to Wisconsin this weekend for the Kwik Trip…

Stewart-Haas Racing's big offseason move was replacing Cole Custer with Ryan Preece. Kevin Harvick was thinking bigger, pushing over the summer for the team to pursue Kyle Busch. We'll never know if Harvick's reasoning would have translated into success, but a reporter recently delved into the rationale, and it sounds plausible. Aric Almirola got…

Chase Elliott won the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship but struggled with only three top-10 finishes during the playoffs. It was a disappointing final 10 races after a strong year. Still, Elliott found himself in the Championship 4 against Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell. That came to an end when the driver of the…

Watkins Glen is the fifth road course race of the 2022 NASCAR season. USA Today It's time to go road racing in New York. Watkins Glen International will play host to the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend. An 11-turn road course in Western New York, Watkins Glen has hosted a summer race every year since 1986 (except for 2020 due to the pandemic). This…

Team Penske's Joey Logano continued his trend of qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 in even years by winning Sunday afternoon's round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Since the current elimination playoff format was introduced in 2014, Logano has only ever qualified for the winner-take-all final round in the even seasons,…

The NASCAR Cup Series' Silly Season front has been quiet as of late but that's mostly due to the abundance of rides already taken. However, the two-feeder series have been busy with a slew of announcements this week. On Thursday, Toyota solidified their plans for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with both Joe Gibbs Racing and Sam Hunt Racing…

Perhaps befitting its New England location, there's nothing flashy about New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 1-mile oval is nearly board-flat and extremely difficult, with sharp corners that feed into long straights. In a history that dates back almost three decades, Joe Nemechek in 1999, Brian Vickers in 2013 and Aric Almirola last season are as…

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series has reached its season finale at Phoenix Raceway after 35 races. Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Christopher Bell will compete for the championship in Sunday's Championship 4 after nine playoff races that have run over the past few months. At 3 p.m.PM Est, the race will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock,…

The NASCAR Cup Series took another turn last weekend when Pocono winner Denny Hamlin and second-place finisher Kyle Busch were disqualified for failing post-race inspections. It was the first time the winner of a Cup Series race had been disqualified since 1960. Chase Elliott never led a lap, but was deemed the official winner after finishing…

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway Sunday for the 2022 Goodyear 400. The green flag is set to drop a little after 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1). Below we analyze the 2022 Goodyear 400 odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions. This is the first of two stops at Darlington, with the first Round of 16 race in the playoffs set for Sept. 4…

This week, Chase Elliott will try to pull off a feat that has not been accomplished since the legendary Jimmie Johnson was in his prime. Elliott, one of four remaining contenders for the NASCAR Cup Series title, will attempt to become the first driver to win consecutive since Johnson's run of five from 2006 to 2010. Elliott is one of two Hendrick…

Since last year's race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Martin Truex Jr. is the reigning winner of the Toyota Owners 400. The former NASCAR Cup Series champion led 186 of the event's 400 laps en route to recording the first of his seven series victories in 2019. Truex will attempt to become the sixth repeat winner and first since Kyle…

Chase Elliott must have begun thinking his 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship was a curse, as he failed to capture a checkered flag over the first 13 races of the 2021 season. The drought finally ended last weekend, as the 25-year-old won the rain-shortened EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin. After…

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images. Pictured: NASCAR Cup Series drivers Chase Elliott (No. 9) and Joey Logano (No. 22) The final race of the 2022 NASCAR season is here with four drivers battling for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix (3 p.m. ET, NBC). Arguably the four most deserving drivers have made it to the championship…

Kevin Harvick won his fourth career NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship a year ago after notching seven victories, including one at Darlington Raceway. The 45-year-old opened the playoffs with another triumph on the track and finished the year with a personal-best nine wins. Harvick will attempt to start the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series…

So far this season, we've seen a+3300 winner at Daytona, a+2000 winner at Las Vegas, a+5000 winner at Phoenix and a+1200 winner at Atlanta. Will that type of balance carry over to a road course? Bettors are about to find out. The series on Sunday competes at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where the next-generation car introduced for this…

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Five races have taken place during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule thus far, and five different drivers have captured checkered flags. The latest was William Byron, who registered his third career victory and first in 38 starts last weekend at Atlanta. The 2018 Cup Series Rookie of the Year will try to become the first repeat winner of the year…

There are 10 races remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. The NASCAR Digital Media editorial team has 10 questions its staff answered. Now you can, too. ALBERT: Aric Almirola. The SHR pilot started solidly with three top 10s in the first three Cup Series races of the year, but his spot on the bubble remains precarious. That perch will…

Alex Bowman overcame a penalty and used a late surge to edge Denny Hamlin for the win at Richmond Raceway last spring. The Hendrick Motorsports driver will hope to repeat when he participates in the 2022 Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday. Bowman received a pit-road speeding penalty in last year's NASCAR Austin race and did not own the lead until after a…

The parity NASCAR is achieving with the advent of the Next Gen car is reflected in the betting market, as bettors are seeing more evenly dispersed pricing on the oddsboards. Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 exemplifies this trend. Kyle Larson resides at his familiar spot atop the betting board, priced at a consensus+550 odds to take the checkers at Charlotte…

Kyle Larson will begin the defense of his NASCAR Cup Series championship when the new season begins with the 2022 Daytona 500 on Sunday. Larson won 10 races last year, including four of the final five, after recording a total of six over his first eight Cup Series seasons. The 29-year-old has yet to finish in the top five in 15 series starts at…

Kyle Larson will try to become the ninth driver with multiple NASCAR Cup Series victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when he takes part in the 2022 Pennzoil 400 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The reigning series champion, Larson was runner-up twice in his first nine starts on the track before taking the checkered flag last year. Denny Hamlin, who won…

There is only one more opportunity to bet on NASCAR for the next few months, as the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship will take place on Sunday at Phoenix. Chase Elliott, who won the fall race at this track in 2020, is one of four drivers in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship field who is still alive for the title. He is the 12-5 favorite to…

With just six races left in the Cup Series regular season, a number of NASCAR veterans are still searching for their first victories of the year. Entering the 2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 on Sunday, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney have yet to claim a checkered flag, though all are still in contention for the NASCAR Playoffs.…

Last Wednesday, Kaulig Racing Fan Day solidified two more seats in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup, as Kaulig Racing confirmed that Justin Haley is set to remain behind the wheel of the #31 Chevrolet and current Xfinity Series driver A.J. Allmendinger is set to go from part-time to full-time driver of the #16 Chevrolet. The lineup for next…

Martinsville Speedway has been one of Martin Truex Jr.'s favorite tracks, as he has posted top-10 finishes, including three wins, in 15 of his 22 NASCAR Cup Series starts there. The former series champion will try to capture his third straight checkered flag in the NASCAR Martinsville spring race when he participates in the 2022 Blue-Emu Maximum…

Kevin Harvick has gone 46 NASCAR Cup Series starts without a victory since posting his career-best ninth of the 2020 season at Bristol. If there's a venue at which the 2014 series champion can end the lengthy drought, it's Phoenix Raceway, where he's captured nine checkered flags, his highest total at any track. Harvick will hope to reach…

The new NASCAR Cup Series season officially commences at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, when the 2022 Daytona 500 takes place at 2:30 p.m. ET. Three-time winner Denny Hamlin hopes to make it three victories in four years and pull even with Cale Yarborough for second-most wins in "The Great American Race." Richard Petty took the checkered…

The 2022 NASCAR playoffs will continue on Sunday with the 2022 YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The green flag drops at 2 p.m. ET. With only two races remaining until the number of championship-eligible drivers is slashed from 12 to eight, every point becomes more and more critical. Chase Briscoe is currently eighth in the 2022 NASCAR…

Saturday's 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona will mark the final regular season race of the year, as several drivers are still trying to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Kyle Larson was another repeat winner in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series last week, so Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are still fighting for a playoff spot. Blaney has a 25-point…

It took until the eighth NASCAR Cup Series race before a repeat winner was crowned last year. The 2022 season has begun with similar parity, as four drivers have won the first four races, with Austin Cindric, reigning series champion Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe capturing checkered flags. Each member of the quartet will be in action…

The 2022 NASCAR playoffs are starting to wind down, as this weekend's race at Martinsville will set the table for the season finale. As has been the case numerous times this season, Chase Elliott is favored to win the 2022 Xfinity 500. Elliott is priced at 13-2 in the latest 2022 Xfinity 500 odds at Caesars Sportsbook, while Denny Hamlin is 7-1.…

Joey Logano made history last year, taking the checkered flag in the first NASCAR Cup Series race on Bristol Motor Speedway's dirt track. Not including the Busch Light Clash exhibition in February, the 31-year-old hasn't won since, going 37 starts without a victory. Logano attempts to end the drought when he takes part in the 2022 Food City Dirt…

Chase Elliott is returning to the road-course drawing board this week as he drags a five-race winless drought on the track type into the Kwik Trip 250. And the NASCAR betting public is predicting Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports crew will assemble a Next Gen masterpiece at Road America. Elliott is the defending champion at the 4.048-mile track…

With a 28-point cushion from the second- and third-place drivers - and a path of little resistance to the Championship 4 - Kyle Larson heads into the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs as the clear betting favorite to claim the title. But with Larson priced at less than 3/1 odds at all three of NASCAR's official betting partners, many gamblers will be…

In January, a subscriber to The Athletic named Al M. dropped his predictions into the comments section of our annual NASCAR preseason questions post. Even then, before we'd seen a car on the racetrack, Al seemed to sense this year was going to be a tough one for prognosticating. "Always appreciate being able to state my thoughts and then have them…

In the course of five seconds, Ross Chastain made a move that changed the course of NASCAR Cup Series history. If he becomes champion Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, we'll all point back to a Mario Kart-style move at Martinsville that seemed so outrageous, drivers openly wondered if it was even real. In football, there are Hail Marys. For this…

Every year, the NASCAR Cup Series season begins with an exhibition race known as The Clash. It's an exciting way for the sport to come back from the offseason and generate hype in February before the Daytona 500 arrives later in the month and the season truly gets underway. This year, The Clash is going to be like none before it. Because instead of…

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Ross Chastain skyrocketed to motorsports infamy for wall-riding his way into NASCAR's championship race with a video-game style move that has overshadowed the finale and his fellow title contenders. With that comes a ton of pressure on the eighth-generation Florida watermelon farmer and journeyman NASCAR driver who once took…