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Red Bull pace the star of F1 preseason but Ferrari impresses
Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team will leave Formula One's preseason test feeling confident they can sweep all challengers again in 2024. At the end of running on Friday's final day, it was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, not Verstappen, top of the order, but all the chatter this week has centered on the reigning world champions. While things look closer on the surface when looking only at headline times, especially from Thursday and Friday's running, it is rare for rival teams to be so downbeat of their chances of challenging the lead team coming out of the tests. Rivals estimate Red Bull could be as far as half a second per lap quicker than the rest (a comfortable advantage in modern F1), although that may well change circuit to circuit as the season goes on. Verstappen won last year's final race, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, by 17 seconds. His average victory margin across the year in races which finished under racing conditions was a hefty 13.363 seconds. Those stats help underline why half a second per lap is a sizable margin for any team to overcome, especially with Red Bull likely to aggressively develop their RB20 car, which features a completely overhauled design concept to the record-shattering RB19 of last year.
kyle busch continues trick series mastery with win at atlanta
Driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in his first start of 2024, Busch inherited the lead from Grant Enfinger on Lap 129 of 135 and held off Ty Majeski and Corey Heim over the final five laps to win his seventh race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the 65th of his career, extending his series record.
austin hill wins second straight nascar xfinity series race
Hill opened the Xfinity season last week with his third consecutive series-opening win at Daytona before adding his third career win at his Atlanta home track. Hill, a native of Winston, Georgia, won Atlanta Xfinity races in 2022 and 2023. John Hunter Nemechek won 2023's spring Atlanta race, when Hill was fourth.
ragah caruth becomes 3rd black driver to win nascar series race
During a 62-lap green-flag run to the finish, crew chief Chad Walter called Caruth's No. 71 Chevrolet to pit road early in the cycle. The over-the-wall crew performed a flawless stop, and after other contenders made their stops during the cycle, Caruth inherited the lead on Lap 114 with an advantage over Taylor Gray of nearly two seconds.
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An alumnus of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program, Caruth is the third Black driver to win a NASCAR national series race, joining Hall of Famer Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.
john hunter nemecheck ends chevrolet's streak with xfinity win
Nemechek led five times for a race-high 99 laps to win for Joe Gibbs Racing, which is fielding an Xfinity Series car for Nemechek part-time this season. It was the 10th Xfinity Series win and first at Las Vegas for Nemechek, who now drives a Toyota in the Cup Series for Legacy Motor Club.
One reason to root for every MotoGP rider on the 2024 grid
MotoGP enjoyed one of its greatest title fights in the series' 74-year history in 2023, with Ducati Lenovo's Pecco Bagnaia emerging victorious over Pramac Ducati's Jorge Martín on the final day of the season in Valencia to win his second straight world championship. And the motorsport world took notice, with the two-wheeled equivalent to Formula One boasting record attendance over the course of the campaign. Despite a reasonably quiet offseason, MotoGP is primed to make even more noise in 2024. One of the greatest of all time, Marc Márquez, left the only team he's ever known in Repsol Honda for a chance to ride the all-conquering Ducati Desmosedici, intensifying this year's title fight before a single lap has been turned in anger. Nineteen-year-old Pedro Acosta moves up to the premier class as the most heralded rookie in more than a decade -- since Márquez himself came to the series and claimed the championship in his debut season.
chandler smith wins xfinity race after allgaier's late flat tire
Smith, 21, took the lead after Allgaier's stunning crash and got a huge jump on the overtime restart, easily holding off Jesse Love and Sheldon Creed over the final two laps. Allgaier's misfortune was caused by an ill-timed flat tire. In all, 13 cars were involved, and it brought out a red flag for track cleanup.
christopher bell wins nascar cup series race at phoenix
Bell surged into the lead when Martin Truex Jr. was forced to pit and then pulled away for an emotional NASCAR Cup Series win at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. Bell's win in the No. 20 Toyota also ended Chevrolet's perfect start to the season after winning the first three races.
chandler smith wins xfinity race after allgaier's late flat tire
Chandler Smith won his second career Xfinity Series race Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, earning a surprise victory for Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing after Justin Allgaier crashed while holding a big lead with four laps remaining.
Date: Race - Winner
Sat, Feb 3: Clash at the Coliseum - Danny Hamlin
Thu, Feb 15: Duel #1 - Tyler Reddick
Thu, Feb 15: Duel #2 - Christopher Bell
Sun, Feb 18: Daytona 500 - William Byron
Sun, Feb 25: NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta - Daniel Suarez
Sun, Mar 3: NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas - Kyle Larson
Sun, Mar 10: NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix - Christopher Bell
denny hamlin earns fourth career nascar victory at btistol
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps for his fourth victory at the famed short track.
Wolff puts Verstappen top of Mercedes' list to replace Hamilton
Max Verstappen would be top of Mercedes' list of possible replacements for seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2025 if available, according to team boss Toto Wolff. The triple world champion has a contract with Red Bull until 2028 but his future at the team has been clouded by a breakdown in relations between his father Jos and principal Christian Horner. Mercedes are losing Hamilton at the end of the season to Ferrari, with Sunday's Australian GP winner Carlos Sainz losing his seat. Verstappen has not ruled out a move to Mercedes in the long term but said in Australia he was comfortable at his "second family" Red Bull and it would be a great story to finish his F1 career with them. Once-dominant Mercedes failed to win a race last season and suffered a double retirement in Melbourne, their first since 2018.
Date: Race - Winner
Sat, Feb 3: Clash at the Coliseum - Danny Hamlin
Thu, Feb 15: Duel #1 - Tyler Reddick
Thu, Feb 15: Duel #2 - Christopher Bell
Sun, Feb 18: Daytona 500 - William Byron
Sun, Feb 25: NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta - Daniel Suarez
Sun, Mar 3: NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas - Kyle Larson
Sun, Mar 10: NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix - Christopher Bell
Sun, Mar 17: NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol - Denny Hemlin
Sun, Mar 24: NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of the Americas - William Byron
chandler smith, joe gibbs racing big winners at xfinity richmond
Smith led a 1-2-3 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing -- the seventh time the organization has done it -- with Aric Almirola second and Taylor Gray third in his first start in the series. The victory was the second for Smith this season and the third of his career.
Date: Race - Winner
Sat, Feb 3: Clash at the Coliseum - Danny Hamlin
Thu, Feb 15: Duel #1 - Tyler Reddick
Thu, Feb 15: Duel #2 - Christopher Bell
Sun, Feb 18: Daytona 500 - William Byron
Sun, Feb 25: NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta - Daniel Suarez
Sun, Mar 3: NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas - Kyle Larson
Sun, Mar 10: NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix - Christopher Bell
Sun, Mar 17: NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol - Denny Hemlin
Sun, Mar 24: NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of the Americas - William Byron
Sun, Mar 31: NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond - Denny Hamlin
Sun, April 7: NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville - William Byron
William Byron leads Hendrick Motorsports to 1-2-3 finish at Martinsville
William Byron said he had nightmares coming to Martinsville Speedway this weekend, remembering his last visit when he struggled to a 13th-place finish.He not only overcame those fears, he put a cherry on top of the weekend when Hendrick Motorsports celebrated the anniversary of its first win 40 years ago by picking up No. 305.
jesse love, 19, claims first xfinity win in wild talladega finish
Love held off Brennan Poole, who pulled alongside roaring into the trioval, and took the checkered flag 0.141 seconds ahead of Riley Herbst. Anthony Alfredo and Leland Honeyman claimed the next two spots, Poole faded to fifth and one last crash sent Joey Gase spinning behind the frontrunners.
chase elliott ends 42-race winless streak with ot victory at texas
Elliott pulled ahead and cleared Ross Chastain on the first lap after the second restart in overtime Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, ending a 42-race winless streak for NASCAR's most popular driver.