Monster Energy Cup Category

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer It has been long rumored and is now official, Paul Menard will replace Ryan Blaney at the Wood Brothers in 2018. Menard, who is in his 11th full season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, will take his Menard’s sponsorship to the Team Penske alliance team. Menard’s will sponsor 22 races on the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Team Ford Fusion. Plans for long-time Wood Brothers partner Motorcraft / Quick Lane, along with additional sponsorship will be announced later. The Wood Brothers, the oldestRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With his contract set to expire at the end of the 2017 season, Brad Keselowski was primed to be one of the biggest free agents in the sport had he chosen to drive for someone else other than Team Penske. On Tuesday, Keselowski and the team announced that he will be staying put for the foreseeable future, inking a multi-year contract extension with the organization to keep him behind the wheel of the No. 2 Ford. “Roger and everyone at Team Penske have given meRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the 24th time, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400 and it was a story filled race from start to finish. Just what were some of the top storylines from Indianapolis? NASCAR editor David Morgan is here to break it all down. What Winless Streak? Though he had not won a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race since August of 2014, Kasey Kahne drove like a man possessed in the waning laps of Sunday’s Brickyard 400, holding offRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With a 102-race winless streak hanging over his head more than halfway through the 2017 season and only three top-10 finishes in the first 19 races of the year, the rumor mill has been swirling on what exactly Kasey Kahne’s future would be behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018 and beyond. On Sunday afternoon, Kahne silenced the noise surrounding his future by willing his way to a win in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, holding off Brad KeselowskiRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For all of his accomplishments on the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Roger Penske still has one trophy missing from his trophy case – a Brickyard 400. As the daylight dwindled in Sunday’s 24th running of NASCAR’s annual trip to the 2.5-mile speedway, the Captain looked to be in the catbird seat to be able to capture that trophy for the first time with 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski up front. However, Keselowski still had to contend with Kasey Kahne, who was looking forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind. — In semi-darkness, as the sun set behind the frontstretch grandstand at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kasey Kahne did all he could to dispel the shadow overhanging his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season and his racing career. With a phenomenal restart in the second overtime of Sunday’s Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400, Kahne cleared race leader Brad Keselowski through the first two corners and crossed the overtime line on the backstretch before NASCAR called the record 14th caution of the race. ThatRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was an eventful race for most of the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five ROTY contenders Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding have no experience at the historic 2.5-mile track. Daniel Suarez was the best rookie, finishing seventh at Indianapolis by being the only rookie to avoid trouble. Suarez avoided the attrition and survived to score another Top 10. Suarez ran inside theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer By staying out of trouble, Matt DiBenedetto snuck away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a Top 10 finish. DiBenedetto finished the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine 400 in the eighth position. The biggest moment for DiBenedetto came on the first attempt for overtime. Coming to take the green flag on the restart, contact sent Trevor Bayne spinning in front of the field. Seven cars piled into the wreck, and yet DiBenedetto skirted through the carnage. When he emerged, he found himself inside the Top 10. DiBenedettoRead More

By NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Kyle Busch’s quest for an unprecedented third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway couldn’t have gotten off to a better start on Saturday evening. Streaking around the 2.5-mile track in 48.051 seconds (187.301 mph), Busch won the pole position for Sunday’s Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 (on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET) by .250 seconds over Kevin Harvick (186.332 mph). The Coors Light Pole Award was Busch’s second at the Brickyard his fourth of the season (allRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 2017 calendar has reached mid-July and with it comes one of the marquee events on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the Brickyard 400 at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This year’s Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 marks just seven races remaining in the regular season, making Indianapolis a crucial stop in determining who will be in the playoffs and who will be on the outside looking in. First joining the circuit in 1994, the track has provided some classic moments andRead More