Backstretch Motorsports

Last Sunday at Talladega, Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Crown Royal Ford) ended quite a few droughts.

First, he ended a personal 86-race winless drought that dated back to July 2007.

Second, he ended a Roush Fenway Racing drought that dated back to this year’s first Auto Club Speedway race, won by teammate Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford). That was 30 races long. [read more...]

FORT WORTH, Texas - Helio Castroneves won for the third time at Texas Motor Speedway, grabbing the lead off a Lap 175 stop, courtesy of his Tim Cindric-led crew and was followed across the finish line by his Penske Racing teammate Ryan Briscoe with a gap of 0.3904 of a second.

“It was an incredible day for Team Penske,” said the popular Brazilian. “All the credit also goes to Ryan Briscoe and his team. They push us and we push them, and together we’re pushing towards the top. Having first and second at Texas is not easy, so that’s a compliment for everyone. [read more...]

Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dario Franchitti added more fuel the TCGR/Penske 2009 IRL feud by winning the PEAK Performance Pole Award for tonight’s running of the Bombardier Learjet 550k under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway, in the process, securing another 2 all-important championship points.

Franchitti , the 13th qualifier on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval, wrestled the provisional pole from Penske’s Ryan Briscoe with a four-lap average of 214.513 mph (1 minute, 37.6725 seconds) in the No. 10 Energizer car.
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Conquest Racing and Alex Tagliani are heading to Texas this week looking to build on their Indy 500 performance registered a couple of weeks ago. The team put in a strong run starting from the back of the field to gain 22 spots and finish 11th in their first oval race of the season. Thanks to his performance, Tagliani also took home Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors.

The 2009 Indy 500 Chase Rookie of the Year, Alex Tagliani, kept busy last week. After attending the Indy 500 Victory Banquet on Monday night, Tag was home less than 24 hours before heading to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alex spent time in Edmonton doing promotional work for the upcoming IndyCar Series’ Rexall Edmonton Indy race. [read more...]

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Jeff Gordon can rest easy. He won again Sunday… the first time in 47 races.

The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion held off teammate Jimmie Johnson the last 26 laps to win the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

This one, the 87th win of Gordon’s fabled career, was a dandy. It came on a day when a bunch of hard-charging drivers had the lead at one time or another. [read more...]

By Reid Spencer

FORT WORTH, Texas — It’s high time Kyle Busch got a new nickname.

“Shrub” is no longer worthy of the younger Busch brother — so how about “The Dominator?”

Busch led a track-record 178 of 200 laps in winning Saturday’s O’Reilly 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway by 1.447 seconds over fast-closing Tony Stewart. [read more...]

Qualifying Fast Facts
Texas Motor Speedway
SAMSUNG 500

Coors Light Pole Winner: David Reutimann
Age: 39
Team : No. 00 - Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
Owner: Michael Waltrip
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers [read more...]

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Eyebrows were raised on July 10, 2008 when Tony Stewart announced that after spending his entire, 12-year NASCAR career with Joe Gibbs Racing, he was leaving to become a driver/owner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing. The last driver/owner to win a Sprint Cup race was Ricky Rudd on Sept. 27, 1998 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, and many pundits saw Stewart’s new undertaking as a massive, if not impossible, challenge.

Fast forward to last Sunday at the same Martinsville Speedway. It was there where Stewart, in just his sixth race as a driver/owner, finished third in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. Augmenting Stewart’s best result of the year was the effort of his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman, who came home a season-best sixth.
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Qualifying Fast Facts
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly 300

Coors Light Pole Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 23
Team : No. 18 - NOS Energy Drink Toyota
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Crew Chief: Jason Ratcliff

[read more...]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 30, 2009) – Jeff Gordon has come close to Victory Lane in 2009.
He came close a number of times last season.
He has come close a number of times at Texas Motor Speedway.
But close doesn’t cut it.
Gordon’s career-long winless drought reached 47 races after Sunday’s event at Martinsville, but the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has shown signs that it won’t last much longer.

[read more...]