RYAN BLANEY

The playoff beard had been shaved off well before fresh-faced Ryan Blaney arrived in Nashville to celebrate his first NASCAR championship.

Ryan Blaney already has his eyes on another prize.

Bubba Wallace acknowledged it was difficult for him to find joy in best friend Ryan Blaney’s first NASCAR championship.

Ryan Blaney raced to his first career NASCAR championship on Sunday by banging his way past contender Kyle Larson in the closing laps at Phoenix Raceway to give Team Penske back-to-back Cup titles.

Ryan Blaney was fastest of NASCAR’s championship contenders in the only practice session ahead of the title-deciding season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

NASCAR says Sunday’s championship finale has plenty of pizzazz.

The oddsmakers named Kyle Larson the favorite to win the NASCAR championship, but half the field believe the person with the best chance to celebrate Sunday will be a spectator at Phoenix Raceway.

The rivalry hardly reaches the heights of Petty versus Pearson or Earnhardt against Gordon as one of NASCAR’s great competitions.

Rick Hendrick first met William Byron as a local Charlotte teenager, fan of Hendrick Motorsports and budding NASCAR driver.

Ryan Blaney began to doubt himself and his ability to compete at NASCAR’s top level as he was mired in a 59-race losing streak and all his buddies he’d grown up racing against were thriving in the Cup Series.

Ryan Blaney will race for his first Cup championship after qualifying for NASCAR’s title-deciding finale with a Sunday win at Martinsville Speedway.

For the third time in this year’s playoffs, NASCAR regular season champion Martin Truex Jr. is facing elimination and wondering how his title chances have exploded spectacularly.

NASCAR’s season has entered its next-to-last week.

NASCAR on Monday rescinded Ryan Blaney’s disqualification at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when series officials found a problem with the template used during post-race inspection.

Kyle Larson edged Christopher Bell at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway finish line to become the first driver locked into NASCAR’s championship race.

Another crash has Kyle Busch last in the playoff standings and in danger of elimination Sunday on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Ryan Blaney beat Kevin Harvick to the Talladega Superspeedway finish line by 0.012 seconds Sunday to advance into the round of eight of NASCAR’s playoffs.

William Byron took the lead for the first time after the final restart with six laps left to win in Texas.

Christopher Bell will start up front for NASCAR's opening playoff race after winning the pole for the Southern 500 on Saturday.

William Byron won the rain-shortened NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Ross Chastain held off Martin Truex Jr. and won the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Kyle Busch won his second race of the season since joining Richard Childress Racing when he snatched the victory in double overtime at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR's first road course race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas feature two former Formula One champions.

As the reigning NASCAR champion, Joey Logano had no reason to panic when Team Penske had a slower than expected start to the new season.

William Byron won his second straight NASCAR Cup Series race, taking advantage of a pair of late cautions to give Hendrick Motorsports a victory in overtime at Phoenix Raceway.

Joey Logano has a simple target for the future even as he celebrates the present.

Ryan Blaney will get his crew chief back for the most important weekend of his NASCAR season after an untimely suspension.

Kyle Larson found his way into NASCAR’s headlines for yet another week.

Bubba Wallace is missing Sunday’s NASCAR race, and that’s evidently not his only sanction after losing his cool in Las Vegas last weekend.

The focus in NASCAR has yet to shift to the actual playoff racing as only three events remain to crown a new Cup champion.

Joey Logano became the first driver to qualify for NASCAR’s championship finale by using fresh tires to chase down Ross Chastain and win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Christopher Bell saved his title chances with an overtime win Sunday on the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a stunning finish that knocked reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson from the playoffs.

NASCAR says it had a productive test of its new car and promised drivers that solutions to some of their safety concerns should be implemented by next season.

Trackhouse Racing will make its 100th start on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway with drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez still in the championship competition.

Chase Elliott raced his way into the next round of the playoffs with a victory Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway in the first clean race yet of this year’s postseason.

NASCAR drivers are angry and concerned about their personal safety as the playoffs roar into one of the most chaotic and dangerous tracks on the circuit.

Tyler Reddick opened the round of 12 in NASCAR’s playoff with a victory at Texas.

Bubba Wallace won his second career NASCAR Cup Series race and denied the playoff field of an automatic spot in the next round for the second straight week when he held off championship contenders Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell to win at Kansas Speedway.

Austin Dillon avoided a massive wreck in the rain to win at Daytona International Speedway and snag a playoff spot in the Cup Series’ regular-season finale.

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway was rained out Saturday night and rescheduled for Sunday.

Brad Keselowski likes his chances at Daytona International Speedway.

Kurt Busch will miss the start of NASCAR’s playoffs with concussion-like symptoms that have sidelined him six weeks.

Kyle Larson beat Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott on a restart with five laps to go and won the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen International on Sunday.

Chase Elliott has won the NASCAR Cup pole at Watkins Glen International, edging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson for the top spot.

NASCAR has a record seven different countries represented in Sunday's race at Watkins Glen International, and the headliner is 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Kevin Harvick took the lead from Joey Logano with 66 laps to go and held off Christopher Bell at Richmond Raceway on Sunday for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are the favorites as they battle for position to make NASCAR’s playoffs.

NASCAR just got more interesting down the stretch.

Tyler Reddick closed the best month of his NASCAR career with a victory in overtime on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Chase Elliott got by Corey LaJoie with just under two laps to go and crossed the finish line under yellow after a block sent LaJoie crashing into the wall.

Tyler Reddick raced to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday, continuing the season-long trend of first-time winners on road courses.

Chase Elliott salvaged a crummy day for Hendrick Motorsports and interrupted a potential Toyota rout by winning the rain-drenched race at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night.

Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole at Nashville Superspeedway when a surprise rain shower washed out the second round of qualifying.

Joey Logano jockeyed for the lead with Kyle Busch in overtime, got around him for good just before the white flag flew and cruised to the victory Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway.

NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 was many things.

Denny Hamlin held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in overtime to win the longest — and perhaps wildest — Coca-Cola 600 in history.

NASCAR is still alive and well in Charlotte.

Kyle Larson is hoping a return to victory lane at the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday might propel him to a second straight NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Ryan Blaney may frame that window net from his No. 12 Ford.

Ryan Blaney had to go two extra laps after thinking he had already won NASCAR's All-Star race and $1 million.

The All-Stars during qualifying Saturday night were the pit crew members for Kyle Busch.

Rain postponed Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway to Monday.

William Byron took the lead on pit road after Stage 2 pit stops and held it pretty much the rest of the way at Martinsville Speedway to become the first repeat winner this season in NASCAR’s Cup Series.

NASCAR's top drivers expect some beating and banging to be on the menu when they race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night.

Ross Chastain bumped and banged his way around the final overtime lap at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday for first career Cup win and upstart NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing’s first trip to victory lane.

Ryan Blaney recovered from a spin in practice to win the pole for Sunday’s race at Circuit of the Americas.

William Byron has managed to hold off the freight train behind him, taking the checkered flag for his third NASCAR Cup victory at Atlnta Motor Speedway.

Chase Briscoe raced to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory, executing two great restarts over the final 20 laps to pull away from Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

Tyler Reddick is enjoying his status among NASCAR’s fastest drivers through the season’s first three races.

Austin Cindric drove his brand new NASCAR ride to victory in the Daytona 500 on team owner Roger Penske’s 85th birthday.

Michael McDowell opened the first Daytona 500 practice session with a top speed of 192.736 mph.

Alex Bowman spun Denny Hamlin out of the lead at Martinsville Speedway and then won in overtime as the field for NASCAR's championship race was set Sunday.

Brad Keselowski is in the final two races of his NASCAR career with Team Penske and would love nothing more than to close his 12-year run with another Cup championship.

Kyle Larson drove to his ninth victory of the season and most meaningful to date in his new job with Hendrick Motorsports.

A conversation on driver code and on-track etiquette is raging in NASCAR, and with it comes debate about the expectations of non-playoff drivers.

Kyle Larson is the first driver in NASCAR's championship four.

The third round of NASCAR's playoffs are getting started in Texas.

Kyle Larson rallied from early electrical issues Sunday to win for the seventh time this season and storm into the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs.

Kevin Harvick has never been knocked out of the playoffs in the second round since NASCAR introduced the format in 2014.

Ryan Blaney has wanted a leadership role at Team Penske.

Denny Hamlin earned his first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday night.

Hendrick Motorsports is in a precarious position heading into first playoff elimination round.

Tyler Reddick finished fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale Saturday night and secured the final spot in the 16-car postseason field.

Ryan Blaney won for the second consecutive week when the race Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway ended under caution in overtime with a typical fiery finish.

Ryan Blaney took the lead from William Byron on a late restart and bobbed and weaved his way across the final seven laps to win at Michigan International Speedway.

Chase Elliott is going for a three-peat at Watkins Glen International.

Josef Newgarden is the toast of Nashville.

With darkness closing in, Aric Almirola sprung to life late Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and pulled off a surprise for Stewart-Haas Racing’s first victory of the year.

Kurt Busch passed brother Kyle with 24 laps left and won the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday to complete a sibling weekend sweep at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are looking for redemption at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Atlanta Motor Speedway's 24-year-old track surface is finally due to be repaved.

Kurt Busch has welcomed the uncertainty of this season as he chases a playoff berth while pondering his future in NASCAR.

Alex Bowman made it six straight wins for Hendrick Motorsports when he took the checkered flag at Pocono Raceway.

William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott paced the first ever Cup Series practice at Nashville Superspeedway in yet another display of how dominant Hendrick Motorsports is right now.

Kyle Busch celebrated his 36th birthday Sunday by winning a two-lap sprint to the finish at Kansas Speedway.

Brad Keselowski made it nine different winners through the first 10 races of the NASCAR Cup Series season last week at Talladega.

Roger Penske doesn’t want a repeat of the Daytona 500, when teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski took each other out racing for the win on the final lap.

Martin Truex Jr. won a stirring, laps-long duel for the lead with teammate Denny Hamlin in the delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday night.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Somewhere under the thick red haze floating over Bristol Motor Speedway, Joey Logano took the checkered flag for NASCAR's first Cup Series race at a dirt track in 50 years. Logano got a jump on Denny Hamlin on the overtime restart to earn his third career victory at Bristol. The Logano victory closed a weekend of uncertainty and even some hysteria as NASCAR launched this drive through the dirt. It was broadcast partner Fox who wanted a dirt race on the Cup schedule and Speedway Motorsports, seeking some new energy at its beloved Bristol bullring. UP NEXTNASCAR is off for Easter and the Cup Series resumes Saturday night April 10 under the lights at Martinsville Speedway.

AdBristol also made a bold change this year by converting its facility into a dirt race as part of radical changes to the 2021 schedule. NASCAR needed a major shakeup and the dirt race joined an influx of road courses and new venues for the most adventurous schedule in sport history. So when NASCAR broadcast partner Fox pushed for a dirt race on the Cup schedule, Speedway Motorsports said Bristol would be the guinea pig. “That's probably the most uncomfortable I've ever been in a race car,” said Kevin Harvick, running his first Truck Series race since 2015. The first NASCAR Cup Series points-paying sanctioned race in the inaugural 1949 season was on dirt at Charlotte (Old) Speedway.