Monster Energy Cup Category

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Since returning to Watkins Glen in 1986, the 2.45 mile, 11 turn road course in upstate New York, has provided some of the most exciting racing on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule and the 1988 Budweiser at The Glen was no exception. As one of two road courses on the calendar at the time, Rusty Wallace entered the 90 lap race as the favorite as he had won the year before at Watkins Glen, as well as the two previous road course racesRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series made their second trip of the season to Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s Overton’s 400, which led to yet another new winner in 2017. To break down the top storylines of the day, NASCAR editor David Morgan is here with his five takeaways leaving the Tricky Triangle. Kyle Busch Wins…Finally It may have taken 21 races, but Kyle Busch is finally a winner in the Cup Series in 2017 after a dominating day at Pocono. Busch has had a handfulRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – Barely more than three hours after the Pocono crowd greeted Kyle Busch with a chorus of boos during driver introductions, Kyle Busch made converts of the fans in the grandstands – at least a large portion of them – with a spectacular burnout after his long-awaited victory in the Overton’s 400. Benefitting from a splendid pit call by crew chief Adam Stevens, Busch charged through the field after his final stop and pulled away to beat runner-up Kevin Harvick toRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Even a spin on the first lap of the Overton’s 400 could not keep Matt Kenseth from earning a Top 10 finish. Kenseth used pit strategy to climb back up through the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field to finish ninth in his No. 20 ToyotaCare Toyota Camry. Kenseth’s crew chief Jason Ratcliff brought his driver to pit road late in many of the green flag pit cycles. This kept Kenseth up front throughout the day, except at the end of the first two stages.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway was a quiet race for most of the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All five of the ROTY contenders have had experience at the 2.5-mile track nicknamed the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ Daniel Suarez was the best rookie, for the second week in a row, finishing seventh at Pocono after having a quiet race in his No. 19 Stanley Tools Toyota Camry. Although the stage finishes do not show it, SuarezRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For Kevin Harvick, Pocono Raceway has been one of only three tracks that he has yet to win at in his 17-year career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. After finishing second in the first race of the year at the 2.5-mile track in June, Harvick came into Sunday’s Overton’s 400 looking to improve one position and cross Pocono off of his list. However, a Pocono win will have to wait until next season as the No. 4 team finished as the runner-up toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a marathon race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Pocono Raceway for their second visit of the 2017 season as they get set for Sunday’s running of the Overton’s 400. With only three turns, instead of the four turns at all other ovals on the circuit, Pocono is definitely one of the most unique tracks on the schedule. The three turns all have differing banking with Turn 1 and its 14 degree banking modeled afterRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. were the class of the field through the first half of last Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, but after the two crashed while battling for the lead on a restart at lap 112, tensions flared between the Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing pit crews. In a video first seen on Fox Sports 1’s NASCAR Race Hub, Busch’s crew chief Adam Stevens was walking back to the garage when a member of Truex’s pit crew sarcastically clapped atRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Last July at Pocono, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was postponed to Monday wound up getting shortened by fog, leading to Chris Buescher scoring his first career win in NASCAR’s premier division. Turns out that wasn’t the first time a race at Pocono has been shortened by fog and visibility issues. The first race shortened by fog came 31 years ago in the 1986 Summer 500 at Pocono, leading to not only a shortened race, but one of the closest finishes everRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor A day after announcing that Brad Keselowski would be sticking with the organization for the foreseeable future, Team Penske revealed more of their plans for next season by announcing that Ryan Blaney would be moving over to the team in 2018 as they expand to a three car operation. While no mention was made of who would sponsor Blaney’s car, the team announced he would be piloting the No. 12 car, which returns to the track full-time for the first time since 2010. Blaney’s contractRead More