Kyle Larson leads Cup practice at North Wilkesboro

By Dustin LongMay 19, 2023, 5:33 PM EDT

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Kyle Larson posted the fastest lap in Friday’s Cup practice session at North Wilkesboro Speedway, marking the return of the series to this track for the first time since 1996.

Larson led the field with a lap of 109.144 mph around the 0.625-mile speedway.

MORE: North Wilkesboro Cup practice results

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski ranked second on the speed chart with a lap of 108.408 mph. Denny Hamlin was third with a lap of 108.204 mph. Keselowski’s teammate, Chris Buescher, was fourth on the speed chart with a lap of 108.064 mph. Chase Briscoe completed the top five with a lap of 107.965 mph.

Briscoe ran the most laps in the session at 81. Ryan Preece was next at 78 laps. Ross Chastain ran 77 laps.

The only incident in the 50-minute session was a spin by Daniel Suarez in the opening moments.

Sonoma Cup starting lineup

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 7:49 PM EDT

SONOMA, Calif. — Denny Hamlin earned his 38th career Cup pole Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.

Tyler Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, qualified second. Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell and AJ Allmendinger completed the top five.

MORE: Sonoma Cup starting lineup

Ryan Blaney, who took the points lead last week, qualified 31st. William Byron, who is second in the points, qualified 26th.

Chase Elliott, returning from a one-race suspension, qualified 10th. Grant Enfinger qualified 35th for Noah Gragson, who is sitting out this week after suffering concussion-like symptoms from a crash last weekend at WWT Raceway.

Denny Hamlin wins Cup pole at Sonoma

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 7:39 PM EDT

SONOMA, Calif. — Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday’s Cup race at Sonoma Raceway, as Toyota took five of the top eight spots in Saturday’s qualifying session. It is Hamlin’s 38th career Cup pole.

Hamlin led the way with a lap of 92.178 mph. Tyler Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, qualified second (92.068 mph), giving Toyota ownership of the front row.

MORE: Sonoma Cup starting lineup

Toyota, which struggled at road courses for much of last year, had only one of its drivers qualify in the top 10 at Circuit of the Americas, the only road course race this season.

Michael McDowell qualified third for Ford after a lap of 92.060 mph. Christopher Bell put his Toyota fourth after a lap of 91.877 mph. AJ Allmendinger was the top Chevrolet, qualifying fifth after a lap of 91.873 mph. Toyota also had Ty Gibbs (91.819 mph) sixth and Martin Truex Jr. (91.736) eighth.

The top two drivers in the points did not fare well in qualifying. Ryan Blaney, who took the points lead last week, qualified 31st. William Byron, who is second in the points, qualified 26th.

Sonoma Xfinity starting lineup: Kyle Larson wins pole

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 4:07 PM EDT

SONOMA, Calif. — Kyle Larson will start on the pole for Saturday’s inaugural Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

Larson won the pole with an average speed of 91.393 mph around the 1.99-mile road course. Justin Allgaier joins Larson on the front row after a lap of 90.562 mph. Sheldon Creed (90.429 mph) qualified third. Aric Almirola (90.375) will start fourth. AJ Allmendinger (90.274) will start fifth.

MORE: Sonoma Xfinity starting lineup

MORE: Alpha Prime Racing’s road woes don’t keep team from competing

Larson is one of seven Cup drivers entered. The others are Almirola (starting fourth), Allmendinger (fifth), Ty Gibbs (seventh), Ross Chastain (15th), Daniel Suarez (17th) and Ty Dillon (32nd).

The green flag is scheduled to wave at 8:20 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1.

Could Daytona International Speedway host NFL games?

By Dustin LongJun 10, 2023, 1:54 PM EDT

The president of Daytona International Speedway says track officials plan to speak with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars about hosting the team’s games if Jacksonville’s stadium is renovated.

The Jaguars will need a temporary home site if plans go forward to renovate the team’s stadium. Daytona International Speedway has been mentioned as a possible candidate. The Jaguars released details Wednesday of what the stadium will look like after the renovation project.

Provided the project is approved by the city of Jacksonville, it is believed the Jaguars would need to find another home site for a couple of seasons while work is being done to its stadium. Daytona International Speedway is among possible sites for the Jaguars to play. More than 100,000 people saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win this year’s Daytona 500.

“Daytona International Speedway is a world-renowned sports and entertainment venue and hosts a full schedule of events each year,” said Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway, in a statement. “As good neighbors in the Florida sports community, DIS will be speaking with the Jacksonville Jaguars to see if we can assist them with their potential upcoming facility needs around our scheduled events.”

Daytona International Speedway hosted Soccer Fest in July 2022. An announced crowd of 7,573 fans saw the Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville play in a National Women’s Soccer League game at Daytona.

MORE: North Wilkesboro Cup practice results

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