Cup Category

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent For the second race at Martinsville Speedway in a row, Halifax, VA native Jeb Burton will compete with Rick Ware Racing. Burton will drive the No. 52 Muzzy Bowfishing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500. The last time Burton competed for Ware at Martinsville he started 39th, and finished 33rd. The 26-year-old driver has three starts at his hometrack with a best finish of 27th in the 2015 Playoff race. Burton also has seven NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series startsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Racing at Auto Club Speedway has had its ups and downs over the years, but the annual trek to California in 2013 became one of the best races in the track’s history. Due to the worn out track surface, drivers were racing from the very bottom of the track all the way to the outside wall, creating three and four wide racing throughout the event, especially on restarts. All just an appetizer for the main event at the end of the race. With the race windingRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart and the late Neil Bonnett are among the list of new nominees eligible for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Five inductees from a list of 20 nominees will be chosen for the 2020 induction class on Voting Day, Wednesday, May 22 – the list of new honorees decided on by both the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel and a nationwide fan vote on NASCAR.com Stewart may join one of his former rivals andRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer In a span of 12 races, only four times Kevin Harvick has failed to lead a single lap at ISM Raceway, a track that’s been his playground for over half a decade. Sunday’s Ticket Guardian 500 was one of those four instances after a ninth-place result marked his worst result since March 2013 where he ended up 13th, his last non-top-10 finish. After a relatively uncharacteristic 10th place run in Stage 1, Harvick’s best stint took place in Stage 2, when he ran inside the top-fiveRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Kyle Busch seemed to be unstoppable en route to the win Sunday at ISM Raceway, but Ryan Blaney sure put up a hell of a fight in an effort to give Team Penske a victory sweep on the day. “We’ve been poised to have days like this, contend for wins and run top 5 it just hasn’t happened this year,” said Blaney.  “We haven’t gotten the finishes we deserved and this is more like it, so that was good.  This is a good place to startRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – There was an air of inevitability to Kyle Busch’s closing run in Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway. Busch was tracking down race leader Ryan Blaney after restarting fourth on Lap 239 of the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Running in Blaney’s wake for 37 laps, Busch finally made the winning pass on Lap 296 of 312 and nursed his car to the finish line. Busch’s third victory at the one-mile track and his 52nd in theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent After being a non-factor the last two weeks, tire strategy earns Jimmie Johnson a top-10 finish in the Ticket Guardian 500. The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion ran inside the top-10 throughout much of the race at ISM Raceway. Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team led by crew chief Kevin Meendering elected to take two tires under caution with 91 laps to go. On not one, but two ensuing restarts, he held his own in the melee at theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent Road rage consumed Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell as fists flew during Busch Pole Qualifying. The two drivers were angry with each other after an incident on track at ISM Raceway. After the incident, Suarez confronted McDowell on pit road. McDowell shoved Suarez before grabbing him by the throat. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver quickly turned the tables, throwing the Front Row Motorsports driver to the ground before the crews intervened. In the first round of qualifying for the TicketGuardianRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Blaney ended the day the way he started it—with the fastest car at ISM Raceway. After leading opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice with the quickest lap of the day (141.716 mph), Blaney put his No. 12 Team Penske Ford on the pole for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at the one-mile track. Blaney covered the distance in 25.480 seconds (141.287 mph) in the final round of knockout qualifying to outpace Chase Elliott (140.045 mph) by a comfortable .203 seconds. The BuschRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The West Coast swing for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls on this weekend with a trip to Arizona and ISM Raceway in Phoenix for Sunday’s running of the TicketGuardian 500. With two races with the new aero package under their belts in two different low horsepower configurations, drivers and teams get their first crack at the high horsepower configuration that will feature 750 horsepower and the standard larger spoiler, but not the aero ducts. In addition, the Cup Series will see the new trackRead More