Kelly Crandall
Kelly Crandall
@kellycrandall.net
https://racer.com/ | https://www.espn.com/ | SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | The Racing Writer's Podcast | 2x NMPA Writer of the Year | Co-author ‘NASCAR 75 Years’
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“We’re just doing what-ifs. I know the electric got a lot of buzz around it as well ... but we’re not sitting here saying any of them will be electric. … While we look at these technologies, that doesn’t always mean it’s going to be a racing series." racer.com/2026/05/01/n...
“There is nothing we can do about the past, only learn, and even though the numbers in the past didn’t look very good for them or for me, it didn’t really matter. I feel like we have done our job, but right now we have to continue to push ourselves.” racer.com/2026/04/28/s...
Red Bull would test a Cup car but say it was ARCA. Ganassi Racing had its mountain tunnel. NASCAR's R&D Center is working on potential 'what if' things. The man in all of it? John Probst. He's telling stories on the pod: 🍎 bit.ly/48pVLXA 🟢 bit.ly/4cxHBWU
Andy Street is going back atop the pit box for Kyle Busch after the two worked together in the final races of 2025:
Spire Motorsports was criticized when it was formed. They've been questioned about when they were going to win and all the moves they've made. And now that they've finally crossed the finish line first, Jeff Dickerson believes that validation is going to make them "dangerous."
VIDEO: Carson Hocevar got everything and more from winning his first NASCAR Cup Series race, and it's a moment that won't soon be forgotten. “Ultimately, I just wanted to make sure I soaked every bit of it.”
Sunday resulted in some familiar frustration for Cup Series drivers at a superspeedway. "I’ve obviously got my hand up to wanting to make a change because we’re either fuel saving or we’re running all over each other because that’s what this car is..."
It wasn't a win, and Bowman would certainly have loved to win Sunday at Talladega, but that was a much-needed result for him and his 48 team. “They’ve had an incredibly rough go of it on a lot of angles for the entire season."
“I know we have a number of areas we need to address, and we’re going to move with urgency, but what we’re going to need from this industry, and I’m talking to everyone in this industry, is their collective intelligence .."
Tyler Reddick is the first piece off the board this season as he has finalized the extension he was working on with 23XI Racing:
Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray are getting back behind the wheel this summer for Kaulig Racing. Details:
Chicagoland Speedway is ready to welcome NASCAR racing again. The facility needs a haircut and some fresh paint, but the track surface is aged and ready to show off. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin gave a thumbs-up after this week's first look at an old friend: racer.com/2026/04/25/c...
With qualifying being rained out, it's Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson on the front row:
Steve O'Donnell is set to become the first non-France family member to be at the helm of NASCAR. Ben Kennedy will also assume a new role:
Judge Susan C. Rodriguez has finally made her ruling on the preliminary injunction request from Joe Gibbs Racing. It is essentially no different from the TRO that Chris Gabehart was already operating under. Plus, he is allowed to be at the track.
Spire Motorsports might be the second-best Chevrolet team right now, and is finding more relevance each Sunday. But the hunt continues for wins. "I think slowly we're starting to understand that it's not a fluke." "The start has been, I'd say, close to solid but not solid."
Prime Video will premiere the documentary on Kyle Larson running the double in 2004 and 2026 on May 21:
Column: Well, it’s Groundhog Day again. Oh, I’m sorry. I meant to say it’s superspeedway racing week again. But let this serve as a warning that despite stage length changes, the field is still going to save fuel, so don't go into Sunday naive of what we're going to see:
Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports have filed their responses to Joe Gibbs Racing's request for an expedited trial (which they proposed be in November), and counter that it should be in May 2027.
Daniel Dye has signed a four-race deal with Live Fast Motorsports, the first of which will be his Cup Series debut this weekend:
“It wasn’t the way I wanted to get my first life advice from the boss [Rick Hendrick], but it was super helpful.” Corey Day has been fast on track while learning how to handle things off it. A chat on how it's all going: 🍎 bit.ly/3OR1CP2 🟢 bit.ly/41JBKYs
Those dissertations Cliff Daniels gives on the radio provide so much. And for Larson, it's what he wants. "It just helps me plan, and off the MBS stuff that we do here as a company, I’m a paced person, and I like planning. It helps me, I think, just get to the finish better.”⤵️
Rockstar has joined 23XI Racing to sponsor Tyler Reddick in “select” Cup Series races. Talladega Superspeedway next weekend will be the first one.
Kyle Larson is one of the best to drive a race car, and there is so much that goes into it. Like those dissertations Cliff Daniels gives. Or being able to 'see' who is better than him. And even being mopey on the radio: 🍎 bit.ly/4t5f6FH 🟢 bit.ly/4vs5ab5
Alex Bowman did not have the return to NASCAR Cup Series competition that he wanted on Sunday. “Frustrated right now, right? This is one of my favorite race tracks, and we just performed really poorly. But at the same time, it’s nice to be back driving a race car." racer.com/2026/04/12/b...
A fourth-place finish on a short track seems a big deal kind of day for Tyler Reddick and his 45 team. But in the immediate aftermath, he was thinking of what he could have done differently to win. Billy Scott, however, admitted it was a resilient day that felt close to a win.
Ryan Blaney felt he lost Sunday's race, not in overtime trying to race Ty Gibbs, but before the final caution came out. “I slipped into [Turn] 3 and was up to the track, but was side by side with Ty, and that really hurt us. Yeah, a little too late.”
Connor Zilisch is no different from other Cup Series rookies who have come before him in finding that, regardless of talent and how hard you race on Sundays, success doesn't come easy:
“I hope this never happens again. I’m tired. I went virtually 20 years racing and never wrecked a car. Never. I’ve been on fire. I have had things happen to me. But never wrecked a car. … In the last year, I’ve had five completely catastrophic events, and it’s getting old." racer.com/2026/04/09/h...
Alex Bowman is back. He'll return to the 48 car this weekend at Bristol after missing four races following a vertigo diagnosis:
Chris Gabehart has filed his response to the latest expedited discovery request by Joe Gibbs Racing: “JGR’s litigation strategy – file motion after motion, accuse first and ask questions later – cannot manufacture evidence of disclosure of confidential JGR information where none exists.”
Cleetus is not yet approved to compete in superspeedway races, per NASCAR. “I made my O’Reilly debut last Saturday with hopes of getting approval for Talladega, but they did not see enough. Granted, it was a pretty hectic race.”
“He and I had a conversation back in the fall about how he loves going skiing, and he’s going to go early in case something happens." Somehow, one of the most excruciating injuries a person can endure has slowed, but not stopped, Brad Keselowski:
"I wouldn’t wish that fire on my worst enemy. That was one that I’ll probably never forget in my life, and I wish I could.” The catastrophic incidents are piling up for Buddy Hull. But he refuses to quit. New pod🎧 🍎 bit.ly/4sfOwso 🟢 bit.ly/3OoMAzR