Cup Category

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service JOLIET, Ill. – Paul Menard had the hottest shoe on the hottest day of the NASCAR season. Torching Chicagoland Speedway with a lap at 180.102 mph (29.998 seconds) in the final round of Saturday’s knockout qualifying session at the 1.5-mile track, Menard won the pole for Sunday’s Overton’s 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Nearly 10 years had passed since Menard last claimed a Busch Pole Award. His only previous top qualifying effort cameRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After spending the past seven years as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener, Chicagoland returns to its mid-summer roots this weekend as they get set to host Sunday’s Overton’s 400. The track, which joined the circuit in 2001, only hosts the Cup Series once each season, boasting banking of 18 degrees as well as a curved back straightaway that allows drivers to carry their momentum around the entirety of the track. Having not been repaved in its 18-year history, the track also allows forRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — For the second time in his career, Martin Truex, Jr. scored a win at Sonoma Raceway, ending the streak of nine different winners in nine years. After being heartbroken last year, Truex spoke about his two wins during the press conference, saying how he still recalls winning in 2013 for at the time, Michael Waltrip Racing, and treats each win as if it’ll be his last. “I remember that win like it was yesterday. It was huge,” said Truex. “I really feelRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Extra seat time at Sonoma Raceway paid off for Aric Almirola. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veteran competed in his first Sonoma Cup race since 2016 after being sidelined last year due to a back injury. Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team cut the final stage into thirds, like his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates. As the laps wound down, he found himself battling with Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, and Daniel Suarez. Almirola and his crew chief Johnny Klausmeier banked on the possibility of aRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — Banking on a late race caution to score his second straight win at Sonoma Raceway, Kevin Harvick didn’t get one and finished second in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350, leading 35 of 110 laps. “We all make mistakes, and we all do things for a split second that you might be right after it all happens,” said Harvick. “These guys do a great job. Everyone on our Mobil 1 team has done a great job the last five years now.” Harvick said ratherRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For third-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott, Sonoma Raceway has been one of his worst tracks throughout his career, but on Sunday, that all changed with a fourth-place finish on the 12-turn, 1.990-mile road course. “It was a lot more fun, this trip out here, than it was the last two times,” Elliott said. “I made a lot of gains, personally, I think, for me at this track. It’s been one of my worst. To come here and have pace on Friday andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SONOMA, Calif. – Using a contrarian strategy that included bluffing Kevin Harvick onto pit road earlier than planned in the final stage of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350, Martin Truex Jr. pulled off a convincing victory in the 16th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. On Lap 73, during the final stage of the race, Truex’s crew chief, Cole Pearn, ordered the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota to pit road. On the spur of the moment, Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, optedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — The quest for a hometown victory for Los Gatos native A.J. Allmendinger went up in smoke on Lap 34 during Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Allmendinger, who started fifth, is always a threat to win on the road courses and things were going well in the opening stage that after ten laps, he was trailing race leader Martin Truex, Jr. However, as the run went on, Allmendinger struggled finding speed to compete for the race lead. Then with three lapsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — For the second straight year in a row, Elk Grove native Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Larson clocked in a time of 75.732 seconds (94.597 mph), earning him the Busch Pole Award for the sixth time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. In addition of scoring a pole, he’ll lead the Chevrolet banner as six out of the first eight fastest drivers represent the Camaro ZL1 brand.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — Kurt Busch wasted no time during Friday’s final practice at Sonoma Raceway, scorching the fastest time of the session at 76.163 seconds (94.061 mph), edging Denny Hamlin by 0.040 seconds. Martin Truex, Jr., Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Trevor Bayne, Aric Almirola, and Michael McDowell rounded out the top-10. Bayne, who was in the bottom eighth during morning practice, drastically improved this session and ended up eighth quickest. Sonoma marks Bayne’s his first start since Dover in May. WithRead More