Matt Tifft celebrates significant milestone about brain surgery recovery

By Jerry BonkowskiJan 9, 2019, 9:28 PM EST

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NASCAR Cup rookie driver Matt Tifft was in a celebratory mood Wednesday — and for good reason.

Tifft, who will drive for Front Row Motorsports this season along with David Ragan and Michael McDowell, took to social media to update followers that he has reached a significant milestone in his ongoing recovery from brain tumor removal surgery on July 1, 2016.

MORE: Matt Tifft starting to feel like normal human again after brain surgery removed low-grade tumor

MORE: Matt Tifft to drive third car for Front Row Motorsports

Tifft told followers his recovery has been so good that he won’t have to undergo another routine followup brain scan and exam for at least a year.

“It’s a huge step,” Tifft said in a Twitter video. “Almost three years out from surgery now. It’s really awesome to see that nothing has come back. … Hopefully, I can keep the good health up for many more years to come.”

Tifft competed in just 10 races in the 2016 Xfinity Series before undergoing surgery. He came back to run full Xfinity seasons in 2017 (finished 7th) and 2018 (6th, including a career-best six top-5s and 19 top-10s.

Check out Tifft’s post and video from Wednesday:

Big news today! Moved to 1 year check ups for my brain tumor spot after it has further stabilized. Check it out below 👇🎊 pic.twitter.com/Yd1y0xXvkp

— Matt Tifft (@matt_tifft) January 10, 2019

By comparison, here’s how Tifft’s brain looked six months after surgery in January 2017.

Here is 1st before/after pic shared. LEFT is brain tumor, RIGHT is hole in my brain where tumor was taken out and what it looks like today! pic.twitter.com/5W2fbL1qPN

— Matt Tifft (@matt_tifft) January 31, 2017

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Xfinity starting lineup at Portland: Sheldon Creed wins pole

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 1:27 PM EDT

Sheldon Creed scored his first career Xfinity Series pole by taking the top spot for Saturday’s race at Portland International Raceway.

Creed, making his 50th career series start, earned the pole with a lap of 95.694 mph on the 1.97-mile road course.

MORE: Portland Xfinity starting lineup

Cole Custer will start second with a lap of 95.398 mph. He is followed by Josh Berry (94.242 mph), John Hunter Nemechek (95.127) and Charlotte winner Justin Allgaier (94.897). Road racing specialist Jordan Taylor, driving for Kaulig Racing, qualified sixth at 94.772 mph.

The green flag is scheduled to wave 4:46 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1.

Sunday Cup race at WWT Raceway: Start time, TV info, weather

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 12:48 PM EDT

Twelve races remain until the playoffs begin in early September. Ten drivers have won races. The pressure to secure a playoff spot builds as the Cup Series heads into the summer months.

Details for Sunday’s Cup race at WWT Raceway

(All times Eastern)

START: Six-time Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee will give the command to start engines at 3:32 p.m. … The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:42 p.m.

PRERACE: Cup garage opens at 12:30 p.m. … Drivers meeting is at 2:40 p.m. … Driver intros are at 2:55 p.m. … Tim Bounds, pastor at The Crossing Church St. Louis, will give the invocation at 3:24 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed by Bebe Winans and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra at 3:25 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 240 laps (300 miles) on the 1.25-mile track.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 45. Stage 2 ends at Lap 140.

STARTING LINEUP: Cup starting lineup

TV/RADIO: FS1 will broadcast the race at 3:30 p.m. … Coverage begins at 2 p.m. … Motor Racing Network coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. and also will stream at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the MRN broadcast.

STREAMING: Fox Sports

FORECAST: Weather Underground — Partly cloudy with a high of 90 degrees and a 15% chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST YEAR: Joey Logano won the inaugural Cup race at this track. Kyle Busch was second. Kurt Busch placed third.

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Drivers to watch at World Wide Technology Raceway

Cup starting lineup at World Wide Technology Raceway

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 12:34 PM EDT

Kyle Busch will lead the Cup starting lineup to the green flag in Sunday’s Cup race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

Busch will be joined on the front row by Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney.

MORE: Cup starting lineup

The second row will have Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. The third row has Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano.

Corey LaJoie, driving the No. 9 car in place of the suspended Chase Elliott, qualified 30th after hitting the wall on his lap.

The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:42 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1.

Kyle Busch wins Cup pole at WWT Raceway

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 12:17 PM EDT

Kyle Busch collected his first Cup pole of the season and will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Busch last won a Cup pole at Phoenix in November 2019. He earned his 33rd career Cup pole Saturday with a lap of 137.187 mph on the 1.25-mile speedway.

MORE: Cup starting lineup

“Being able to get a pole here with Richard Childress Racing, Team Chevy and everybody on this No. 8 team is good for us and just try to get some momentum rolling,” Busch said. “Our short track stuff hasn’t been the greatest this year so far, but this isn’t the short track aero package here this weekend, so that might pay dividends hopefully for us to just have a better day than what we anticipated. Just excited to have the guys pumped up and raring to go, and knowing that their hard work is paying off.”

Busch will be joined on the front row by Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney, who qualified at 137.153 mph. Blaney’s car failed inspection twice before qualifying. He will lose his pit selection for Sunday’s race. His car chief also was ejected. Brad Keselowski‘s car also failed inspection twice before qualifying. He loses pit selection and had the team’s car chief ejected. Keselowski qualified 19th with a lap of 135.743 mph.

Denny Hamlin (136.903 mph) starts third and is followed by Kevin Harvick (136.766) and Martin Truex Jr. (136.360). Harvick has two top-five starts this season and both have come in the last two events.

“I think we have a little bit of work to do on our car in race trim, but a lot of it is just getting into a rhythm I think – more than anything,” Harvick said. “Qualifying, we were just a little bit tight through Turns 1 and 2, and the car was good in 3 and 4. So, we have to have a better balance, and that’s what probably cost us a little bit of speed to get the pole. But, still a good day and a good starting spot.”

Corey LaJoie, subbing for the suspended Chase Elliott, will start 30th after hitting the wall on his qualifying lap. He qualified at 134.561 mph. Carson Hocevar, making in his Cup debut in LaJoie’s car, qualified 26th with a lap of 135.220 mph.

Green flag for Sunday’s race is scheduled to wave at 3:42 p.m. ET on FS1.

MORE: Portland Xfinity starting lineup

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Details for Sunday’s Cup race at WWT Raceway

(All times Eastern)

CATCH UP ON NBC SPORTS COVERAGE:

Read more about NASCAR

MORE: Cup starting lineup

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