Category: NASCAR

Police: Ex-driver Killed in Dispute Involving Estranged Wife

ATHENS, Ga.—Former NASCAR driver John Wes Townley was shot to death over the weekend during a dispute that involved a hatchet after showing up at a house occupied by his estranged wife and another man, police said Monday. The 31-year-old Townley, who raced eight seasons, had the weapon at some point before he was fatally…


Former NASCAR Driver Townley Killed in Georgia Shooting

ATHENS, Ga.—A former NASCAR driver was killed Saturday in a shooting in Georgia that also wounded a woman, investigators said. John Wes Townley, 31, died in the shooting in a neighborhood around 9 p.m., Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson told the Athens Banner-Herald. A 30-year-old woman was hurt, but police didn’t give details about her…


NASCAR Charges Into Talladega for Unpredictable Playoff Race

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Denny Hamlin is already through to the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs with nothing to worry about at Talladega Superspeedway. His championship rivals? Not so much. NASCAR’s challenging second round of the playoffs—three wildly different circuits—moves Sunday to the behemoth 2.66-mile Alabama superspeedway where luck is as important as skill. The white-knuckled race falls…


NASCAR Adds Gateway, Returns Homestead to Playoffs for 2022

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Homestead-Miami Speedway will return to the playoff portion of the season in 2022, while St. Louis was awarded a Cup Series race and NASCAR will race on Easter Sunday for the first time in more than three decades in schedule changes released Wednesday. Homestead hosted the season finale from 2002 through 2019 but was…


Headaches Galore: Contenders Struggle in NASCAR Playoffs

DARLINGTON, S.C.—Kyle Busch slammed into the wall and wiped out several orange cones on his way to the garage. Chase Elliott told his crew chief simply, “It’s killed,” after he was crunched against the wall at Darlington Raceway. It was a layout certainly “Too Tough To Tame” for some of the top contenders in the…


Byron Takes Pole for 1st Cup Race on Indy Road Course

INDIANAPOLIS—William Byron got some help this week preparing for NASCAR’s first road race at Indianapolis. It paid off Sunday. The 23-year-old North Carolinian captured the pole for the Brickyard 200, posting a fast lap of 100.044 mph on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s the first time Cup Series drivers will…


Champion Elliott Learns to Savor Wins in Season of Growth

Chase Elliott heard the roar of the crowd begging for more burnouts and NASCAR’s most popular driver didn’t disappoint his supporters. He knew his tires couldn’t hold up for a second smoke show at Road America, but Elliott didn’t care following his seventh career road course victory in the first Cup Series race at the…


‘Iron Man’ Racer, NASCAR Champion Jack Ingram Dies at 84

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Jack Ingram, a hard-hosed, hot-tempered racer who won five NASCAR championships and more than 300 races, has died, the NASCAR Hall of Fame said Friday. He was 84. No details were released by the Hall of Fame. A 2014 inductee, Ingram lived in the Asheville area and had been hospitalized in May. “Jack was…


NASCAR Power Rankings: The Best Cup Drivers Heading to Nashville

By Alex Andrejev From The Charlotte Observer NASCAR is back to racing with points on the line this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway after completing its All-Star Race last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Below are The Charlotte Observer’s NASCAR power rankings for the week of June 14. This list is updated each week. Honorable Mention…


Larson Wins 2nd NASCAR All-Star Race, This One in Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas—Kyle Larson was back in the NASCAR All-Star race, and got another $1 million by winning it again. Larson held off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski during the final 10-lap shootout at Texas on Sunday night, after a slippery three-wide pass for the lead, and pushed Hendrick Motorsports to its second consecutive win, and…