Monster Energy Cup Category

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer  With his future unknown, Matt Kenseth was able to go out on a high note. Kenseth, who is without a ride for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, earned a top-10 finish in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kenseth’s No. 20 DeWalt Hurricane Relief Toyota Camry (fashioned to look like his rookie car), quietly ran inside the top-10 throughout the night. He shared his final career race with his friend and competitor, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who announced his retirement earlier thisRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Brad Keselowski will have to wait another year in his quest for a second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship. Keselowski was close his rivals in the Championship Four all night long, but never had the speed. He ended up fourth in the Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway when the checkered flag waved. Throughout much of the Ford EcoBoost 400, Keselowski was towards the rear of the those in the Championship picture. His No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion briefly led his competitors before fading backward.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer It was 25 years ago when NASCAR saw a changing of the guard, and today will be no different. ‘The King,’ Richard Petty ran his final race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Hooters 500, and a young Jeff Gordon made his debut. After an epic battle for the Championship, Bill Elliott won the race and Alan Kulwicki became one of the last owner-drivers to win the then-Winston Cup Series Championship. This is something that I am calling “The ’92 Effect.” Like the 1992 season,Read More

Editor’s note: This is the third of a four-part series focusing on why each of the Championship Four will end Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in hand. By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer With five victories, 13 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes, eight poles and almost 2,000 laps led in 2017, most wouldn’t describe Kyle Busch’s season as “trying.” But that’s exactly how the 32-year-old driver described it when asked for one word to represent the season during Championship 4 media availability inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Editor’s note: This is the second of a four-part series focusing on why each of the Championship Four will end Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in hand. Martin Truex, Jr. enters Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the championship favorite, but there’s more to it than just his on track accolades this season. Heading into the final race of the season, Truex is enjoying the best year of his career, with seven wins (half of hisRead More

By Brant James, NASCAR Wire Service MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Kevin Harvick’s two wins this season are fewer than any of the other three drivers eligible to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His Stewart-Haas Racing team needed half a season to finally find its footing after switching from Chevrolet to Ford. Martin Truex Jr. remains the most consistent, most consistently able to strong-arm a weekend for a Toyota contingent that has been the prime manufacturer of the season. Harvick isn’t concerned. AndRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Ahead of this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway that will see one of four drivers walk away with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy, we’ll take a step back to 2004 and the first year of the Chase format, along with the drama that played out in the season finale to deliver Kurt Busch with his first Cup championship. With Sprint/Nextel taking over the series title sponsorship from Winston at the end of the 2003 season, a new championship format was introduced, calledRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It all comes down to this. After 35 race weekends, the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season comes down to one final race to determine the champion. Four drivers head into Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Ford Ecoboost 400 with an equal shot at the championship, while the other 36 drivers in the field are simply looking for a win to cap off the season. Since its reconfiguration in 2003, Homestead has provided some great racing on its progressive banking on one of the trueRead More

By Brant James, NASCAR Wire Service Crew chief Cole Pearn spent the first 35 races of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season watching driver Martin Truex Jr. amass a bevy of insurance through playoff and stage points with his series-high seven victories. All that security is gone now, as the Furniture Row Racing team that has been the standard for the garage enters the finale on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a four-car showdown for the championship. All Truex Jr. has to do is finish better than three formerRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Editor’s note: This is the first of a four-part series focusing on why each of the Championship Four will end Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in hand. It’s hard to believe, but Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway marks Brad Keselowski’s first foray into the Championship Four. With that in mind, this is also Keselowski’s best chance at earning his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. His championship rivals this year: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch,Read More