Nascar Race News!» Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Drivers Must Declare for One Championship in 2011

Holly Cain — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:01:00 +0000

Filed under: Chase for the Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series, NASCAR

NASCAR drivers will have to declare which championship they want to contend for in 2011 -- choosing to earn championship points in only one of the three national touring series, Sprint Cup, Nationwide or the Camping World Truck Series, according to a posting from NASCAR's official Twitter account late Monday night.

NASCAR President Mike Helton will be addressing the media in a "competition update" on Jan. 21 during the open test session at Daytona International Speedway and there was no official statement regarding the format change. However, NASCAR.com is reporting that veteran driver Kenny Wallace confirmed the change in policy after receiving his 2011 licensing agreement from NASCAR last week.

According to Wallace, drivers are asked to place a check next to the series of their choice, meaning that while they may compete in multiple series, the days are gone for a Cup driver to also run for the Nationwide title and/or truck series title. Cup driver Brad Keselowski (above), for example, is the reigning Nationwide Series champion and will have to decide whether to defend his title or stay eligible to try to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

It is still unclear how the points will be awarded to drivers competing in multiple series, but that issue and possible changes to the Cup series' Chase playoff format are both expected to be addressed next week in NASCAR's competition update news conference.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France has said repeatedly this season that he was open to changing the format in the Nationwide Series to better showcase the up-and-coming Nationwide Series-only drivers and to entice and reward teams to compete in NASCAR's triple-A series. And he has also hinted that he's open to "tweaking" the Chase format it he felt it would significantly improve the playoff feel.

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Denny Hamlin Takes Hold of Sprint Cup Race

Travis — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:23:42 +0000

The Chase for the Sprint Cup saw a shake-up this last weekend with Denny Hamlin winning the 2010 NSCS at Texas. Hamlin now sits atop the the Sprint Cup standings with 33 points separating him from four-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin has won 8 races this season with Sunday being his second win of the year at Texas Motor [...]

The Interesting NASCAR Points Dichotomy

Journo — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:04:14 +0000

As the Cup Series enters its final three race stretch, NASCAR finally has the championship race the Chase promised (a familiar refrain I know). With just 38 points separating first from third, this is still a wide open fight. Look to the two lower series though and there is a very different story. For all [...]

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Answers to Years of Speculation

Journo — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:46:53 +0000

It’s official… NASCAR has released the schedules for the 2011 season, and seasons of speculation are finally over – both Kentucky and Kansas got their long-anticipated Cup dates. I’ve never been the biggest advocated for giving Kentucky a Cup date and Kansas a second Cup date. They’re really just more of the same. That said, [...]

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NASCAR Releases 2011 Schedule

Holly Cain — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:51:00 +0000

Filed under: Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR Tracks, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

So much for the suspense.

After weeks of leaks and days of announcements and eye-rolling spectacle from NASCAR track promoters, the sanctioning body finally revealed the full 2011 Sprint Cup schedule Tuesday.

Thanks to the steady stream of announcements from individual tracks, there were no real surprises.

Most notable for the marquee Cup Series is a new venue for 2011 -- Kentucky Speedway -- which will host its first Sprint Cup event, a night race on July 9. The Chase for the Championship will begin in Chicago (Sept. 18) instead of New Hampshire, which will host the second Chase race instead.

Speedways in Atlanta and Los Angeles will only hold one Cup race instead of two, while conversely Kansas Speedway was awarded a second date in the summer (June 5) to complement its Oct. 8 Chase race.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Coming to Chicago

Travis — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:11:29 +0000

The first race of the 2011 Chase For the Sprint Cup will be held just outside Chicago, IL at the Chicagoland Speedway. The announcement could be a sign that NASCAR is looking to tap into the massive Chicago market by awarding the city one of the 10 Sprint Cup races. Chicagoland Speedway played host to [...]

NASCAR’s Summer Heats Up

Travis — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:39:04 +0000

Motorsports fans are going to need to find a good NASCAR ticket broker for all of the great upcoming races. The Sprint Cup Series will return to Daytona Motorspeedway this weekend for the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday. Kevin Harvick is right now is the only man keeping Jimmie Johnson from his fifth consecutive Sprint [...]

Jimmie Johnson: The Tiger Woods of NASCAR

Travis — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:55:03 +0000

Perhaps right now is not the best time to be comparing anyone to Tiger Woods, but in terms of dominating his sport, Jimmie Johnson is starting to fit the mold. Johnson has won the last four Sprint Cup Series and he already looks unbeatable this season winning at Fontana and Las Vegas in February. Don’t [...]

Jamie McMurray is Feeling at Home Back With EGR

Travis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:15:55 +0000

After coming off last year where Jamie McMurray won the Sprint Cup Series’ 2009 Amp Energy 500, the 34-year-old driver has moved back to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and is preparing for the 2010 season. The driver of the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevorolet Impala SS has been quite busy this off season testing race cars, competeing in go-karting, and [...]

Respect John Darby

Journo — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:46:10 +0000

From the moment the news leaked earlier in the week that Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby was moving to a new position within NASCAR, speculation has run rampant that he’s being pushed out, demoted, or being made a scapegoat. Even fans have gotten in on the act, applauding Darby’s move (in a bad way). Now [...]