Latest news with #WoodBrothersRacing
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Joey Logano wins Cup Series pole in Atlanta on tiebreaker
June 28 - HAMPTON, Ga. -- Joey Logano led an armada of Fords into the top eight starting spots for Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Logano clocked in at 30.979 seconds (178.960 mph) in Friday's qualifying session to secure his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at EchoPark and the 32nd of his career. Logano matched the time posted earlier by Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, but the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford got the nod for the pole on an owner points tiebreaker. Ryan Blaney posted the third-fastest lap at 178.937 mph, followed by Austin Cindric at 178.626 mph, as Team Penske drivers and the Penske affiliate Wood Brothers locked out the first two rows for Sunday's race, the opening round of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge. Logano faces ninth-place qualifier Alex Bowman in the first round. "Being up front and controlling this race is the name of the game," said Logano, who won last year's second Atlanta race, which was held in September. "If you can get up there and solidify the top position, I feel like you can stay there. The thing is, there are a lot of 'What ifs?' that play out in this race, a lot of cautions that may be timed in a different way, where it can jumble up the field. "It's hard to say you're going to be leading every lap... The good thing is that we controlled what we could today. I'm super proud of Team Penske, Roush Yates (Engines), Ford, obviously to keep our Mustangs up there. It really shows the ability to repeat from car to car, which is really hard to do. "We tied with the 21 (Berry) and the other cars were within a couple hundredths of a second." Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer and Zane Smith completed the Ford sweep of the top eight starting spots. Bowman drove the fastest Chevrolet to ninth on the grid, and Pocono Raceway winner Chase Briscoe was 10th in the quickest Toyota. Denny Hamlin, top seed in the In-Season Challenge, qualified 33rd but expects his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to fare better in race trim. Nevertheless, Hamlin starts 19 spots behind Ty Dillon, the driver he has to beat to advance to the second round of the tournament. Briscoe, the second seed, starts 17 positions ahead of close friend Noah Gragson, his first-round opponent. Qualifying was interrupted by a 30-minute lightning hold, but no rain hit the track despite storms in the area. --Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
NBC Sports
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Atlanta Cup starting lineup: Joey Logano wins pole as Fords dominate qualifying
HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano will start on the pole for Saturday night's Cup race at EchoPark Speedway, as Fords took the top eight spots in the 40-car field. He claimed the top starting spot with a lap of 178.960 mph. It is Logano's first pole of the season and 32nd of his Cup career. MORE: Cup starting lineup For the second Atlanta race in a row, Team Penske and its affiliate, Wood Brothers Racing, grabbed the top four starting positions. Dustin Long, Josh Berry, who drives for the Wood Brothers, will start next to Logano on the front row. Berry posted the same lap time as Logano but Logano got the pole because ties are broken by car owner points. Logano's car ranks higher than Berry's car in the owner standings. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney will start third after a lap of 178.937 mph, and teammate Austin Cindric qualified fourth with a lap of 178.626 mph. Ryan Preece, who drives for RFK Racing, qualified fifth at 178.092. He was followed by teammate Brad Keselowski (177.960 mph), Cole Custer (177.949) and Zane Smith (177.920). Alex Bowman (177.675) will start ninth as the top Chevrolet in qualifying. Pocono winner Chase Briscoe qualified 10th with a lap of 177.635 mph and is the top Toyota. The green flag for Saturday's race is scheduled to wave at 7:19 p.m. ET on TNT and TruTV
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Wood Brothers Wednesdays: Highlighting Pocono prowess
To celebrate 75 years worth of memories, the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team will be celebrated throughout the summer with 'Wood Brothers Wednesdays' on The NASCAR Channel. Wood Brothers Racing has been around since 1950, when Glen and Leonard Wood teamed up to pioneer a legacy that has transcended time. Advertisement Glen was behind the wheel of their car at Bowman Gray Stadium in 1960 and took the Wood Brothers Racing team to Victory Lane for the first time. The team scored its 101st NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2025, when Josh Berry took the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bookending those victories were triumphs everywhere from Daytona to Darlington to Rockingham and everywhere in between. Twenty of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers have piloted a car for the team throughout their storied history, one that is well worth celebrating. RELATED: How to watch The NASCAR Channel This weekend will celebrate memorable Wood Brothers moments throughout the 1980s. It also highlights some of their success at Pocono Raceway, the site of this weekend's Cup Series race (Sun., 2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Advertisement The thrilling 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond Raceway will be the first full race on tap Wednesday. The race was won by Kyle Petty, marking his first victory in the Cup Series. Ryan Blaney's victory at Pocono in the 2017 Axalta Presents the Pocono 400 will be on the schedule. It was the first victory of Blaney's Cup Series career, as well as the team's first victory at the track since Neil Bonnett was victorious at the 'Tricky Triangle' in 1980. Bonnett's victory in July 1980, as well as the 1983 Firecracker 400 from Daytona International Speedway, finish out the day's races. That Daytona contest was won by Buddy Baker. It was the 19th and final victory of his Hall of Fame career. The 'Memory Lane' original content series will relive both the race from Richmond in 1986, as well as Blaney's 2017 Pocono victory. Advertisement The NASCAR Channel delivers 24/7, always-on content, featuring the latest news and information from around the sport, original programming and race replays. It is a FAST channel (Free-Ad Supported Television) and can be watched on your TV or mobile device via one of the streaming partners, such as Tubi or Xumo Play.
Newsweek
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Harrison Burton Opens Up On WBR Relationship After NASCAR Cup Series Exit
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. NASCAR driver Harrison Burton has spoken about his relationship with Wood Brothers Racing following his exit from the team at the end of the 2024 season, insisting that he still has a strong connection with the team. The team announced in July 2024 that the 24-year-old driver would be replaced by Josh Berry in 2025, despite later clinching his first career Cup Series win at the Daytona summer race. As a result, Burton now competes full-time in the Xfinity Series with AM Racing, driving the No. 25 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Speaking about his relationship with Wood Brothers Racing following his exit, Burton explained on SpeedFreaks: "That's something that I think is one of my biggest strengths. Harrison Burton, driver of the #25 Dead On Tools/DEX Imaging Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2025 in Concord, North Carolina. Harrison Burton, driver of the #25 Dead On Tools/DEX Imaging Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2025 in Concord, North Carolina."I was so lucky to have a great relationship with everyone at the Wood Brothers that there was no bad feeling. They truly care about me. "I mean they still send me stuff — it's their 75th season — or Leonard Wood built me [a radio-controlled] car, as well. I just have a great relationship with that group, so it made it a way less bitter taste in my mouth." Effectively stepping down from the Cup to the Xfinity Series, Burton is using the opportunity to come back to the top series stronger. He added: "It was really to me about self-reflection and what I can do to be better, and I feel I'm doing those things to be better and it's starting to show in the AM Racing team. "We're turning that program around which I'm super excited about. We've got the right people over there. Obviously, for me, it's all been about moving forward and what's next. "That's been the biggest weapon of mine and I've raced the best drivers in the world for the past three years, so I've learned a lot and I feel I can take that with me to the future and hopefully when I get back to the Cup Series, I'll be ready to go again and understand and fire off with some pace."
Reuters
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
For Josh Berry, competitive performance is antidote to frustration
May 17 - After his victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the fifth NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, Josh Berry's luck went from bad to worse. On March 30 at Martinsville Speedway, Berry led 40 laps before electrical problems in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford -- necessitating a battery change -- dropped him to 32nd at the finish. A week later, a crash on Lap 195 ended a promising run at Darlington Raceway. After a 12th-place finish at Bristol, Berry drew a speeding penalty at Talladega that dropped him to a 26th-place result. He led 41 laps with an extremely fast car on May 4 at Texas Motor Speedway, before the bumps in the final corner upset his car and shot the No. 21 Mustang into the outside wall. After he scraped the wall during qualifying last Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Berry's fortunes began to improve. He drove from his 38th starting position to finish sixth, despite a pit road speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the field for a second time. Rather than becoming frustrated by his series of misfortunes, Berry has been buoyed by the speed in his cars. "The frustration is considerably less compared to last year," Berry said of his lame-duck season at Stewart-Haas Racing. "Being competitive is the biggest thing. That's the hardest thing to figure out is how to be fast and lead these races and get yourself in contention, and we've done that a lot. "It's frustrating to make mistakes and those mistakes fall on me, but all we can do is just continue to put me in that position and keep working on those things and getting better and the finishes will come. We're fortunate to have that win in the bank and, like I said, I'm not very frustrated with how it's been going. "Last week (at Kansas), I think we had a chance at that one if I didn't speed on pit road, so that one stung a little bit more, but all in all, our whole team is doing a great job. Our cars are fast, and we've just got to do the little things a little bit better, and we'll be up there." --Christopher Bell needs more speed on intermediate tracks After winning three straight NASCAR Cup Series races early this season, Bell hasn't fallen off the face of the earth -- but at times it might feel that way to the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The reason? A lack of optimal performance at intermediate speedways. The finishes may not show the deficiency, because Bell acknowledges that he and his team have been outperforming the potential in the cars. In the three most recent downforce races, Bell ran third at Darlington Raceway, ninth at Texas Motor Speedway and a fast-closing second at Kansas Speedway, but to the driver, those results are somewhat illusory. "Well, I wouldn't say that I'm not surprised that we haven't won (since the three-race streak) because winning is very hard, but I've definitely been surprised about just lacking pace on the intermediate tracks," Bell said. "At the end of last year, we did really well at the intermediates, and (were among) the strongest contenders. "And then the last couple of weeks, week-in and week-out, we just haven't been there yet. Hopefully, we make gains on it. I feel like Kansas was a little bit better than what we had at Texas and Darlington, so if we can make another step like that going into Charlotte, maybe we will be contending for the win, but we are definitely lacking a little bit at this point in time." Charlotte was good to Bell last year. He led 90 laps and won the Coca-Cola 600, which was shortened from 400 laps to 249 because of rain. --North Wilkesboro brings a new experience to modified driver Tim Connolly News of his selection as one of the top 40 drivers in the history of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour left Connolly speechless -- a rarity for the popular, garrulous competitor. Connolly was driving from his home in New York to North Wilkesboro Speedway when he got the news. "Pretty big surprise," Connolly said of his selection as one of the first 10 drivers revealed during the 40th anniversary of the series. "A lot of great company out there. It's like race weekend -- it's a tough field. "It's just very flattering, very honored and also humbling." A former star quarterback at Ithaca College, Connolly found his calling in racing. His career blossomed when he landed a ride in the iconic "Mystic Missile," the No. 4 car owned by Robert Garbarino. In 1997, driving Garbarino's car, Connolly claimed four of his nine career victories and finished second in the series standings. Connolly ran three races in 2002 and subsequently left the tour, only to return in 2023 at age 62 with his own car. But Connolly faces a new experience in Sunday's Whelen Modified Tour race at North Wilkesboro. Ryan Newman, not Connolly, will be driving the car. "I miss the seat horribly-I won't lie to you," said Connolly, who is on his third back surgery. "The problem is I keep forgetting I'm 64. I'm not making any promises to anyone about anything right now. I'm going to keep my mouth shut and my options open." Even with a fierce competitor like Newman in his car, Connolly said it will be difficult to spend the race as a spectator. "I want to kick Ryan out and get back in my car," Connolly quipped. "You've got a lot of big names in the show. It's not going to be a lot of fun being on the sidelines, honestly. I'd rather be out there. "This will be my first time, having somebody else drive my car. I don't even let people drive my passenger car. I don't let anyone drive my hauler other than me." By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
