Cup Category

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – When the winner of Sunday’s Camping World 500 was announced, officials might have thought for a moment that they got the wrong envelope, a la Warren Beatty at the Oscars. But, no, there was no mistake. Ryan Newman was the unexpected winner of the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season after a late caution gave his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team the chance to break a drought dating to 2013. Staying out on old tires forRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Add another runner-up finish to the tally for Kyle Larson and his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team. After finishing second in three of the previous four races entering Sunday’s Camping World 500 at Phoenix, Larson finished as the runner-up once again for the third week in a row with another strong performance in the Valley of the Sun to come away as the points leader Starting the day in fourth place, Larson ran inside the top-10 for the majority of the day, even takingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor On a scorching hot day at Phoenix Raceway, temperatures in the mid 90’s wreaked havoc with brake heat and tire issues as a couple of big names had their days come to an early end as a result. The first of those drivers to have their day end short of the finish was Matt Kenseth, who qualified 12th for the Camping World 500 and ended final practice in second place, so there was hope that the team could score a third straight top-10 finish afterRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Apparently unfazed by last week’s controversy at Las Vegas, Joey Logano put his No. 22 Team Penske Ford on the pole for Sunday’s Camping World 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix International raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). In winning his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Phoenix and the 18th of his career, Logano saved his best lap for the third and decisive round, streaking around the one-mile track in the SonoranRead More

By NASCAR Wire Service It’s early in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, but it looks like the ultra-talented Kyle Larson is poised for a breakout year. He led on the final lap of the DAYTONA 500 before running out of gas and has finished runner-up in the last two races. Dating back to last season’s penultimate race at Phoenix Raceway, Larson boasts three runner-ups and a third-place finish in his last five starts. On Sunday, the No. 42 Chevrolet driver hopes to notch his first win ofRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series gets set to head to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend for the second stop of the West Coast Swing and the Camping World 500, we’ll take a step back in time for this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater” to the 2007 running of the Subway Fresh Fit 500. This time last year, fans, drivers, and media alike were all talking about Jimmie Johnson winning at Atlanta, tying the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. at 76 wins on the all-time winsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After the kickoff to the West Coast swing last weekend in Las Vegas culminated in a victory by Martin Truex, Jr. to mark the third different winner in the first three races of the season and also featured a post-race pit road brawl, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Valley of the Sun this weekend to take on the Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Phoenix has resided on the Cup Series schedule since 1988, but the track looks completely differentRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Motor Speedway’s repave and reconfiguration are officially complete and on Monday, both NASCAR and IndyCar joined in on the fun. The 1.5-mile oval began the process in January with the aim to add extensive draining to help with its irrigation issues that plagued it the past few years. None more apparent than last year when IndyCar underwent a 70-plus day red flag rain delay, with the race being completed on August 27 in a thriller won by Graham Rahal by justRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Following the aftermath of Sunday’s post-race fight between Joey Logano and Kyle Busch at the conclusion of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all eyes turned to NASCAR to see if they would levy any fines or penalties on the two drivers in the days ahead. On Monday morning, NASCAR Vice President Steve O’Donnell made an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to give the sanctioning body’s thoughts on the incident to this point and the possibility of penalties going forward. “It’s certainly underRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Kyle Busch looked to be on the way to a top-five finish in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but after last lap contact between Busch and Joey Logano, Busch went for a spin that not only left him with a bad finish at his home track, but with his tempers flaring. As Brad Keselowski was dropping back with a wounded car after losing the lead, Busch and Logano both dove low under Keselowski’s Ford entering Turn 3 on the last lap, nearlyRead More