Cup Category

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Winning two out of three plates should make Stenhouse a favorite heading into next weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. However, Stenhouse is not counting on winning and is focusing on points. Taking the finishes of those in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at the first Charlotte, Kansas, and Talladega races, Stenhouse would move on to the Round of Eight on points alone. However, stats alone still do not guarantee that Stenhouse and his No. 17 SunnyD Ford Fusion team anRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Trouble came quick in the first practice for the Bank of America 500. Just minutes into the first practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. contacted the turn four wall. Earnhardt slid up the track in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS. As he did, his right-side tires slide into the PJ1 compound. The tires grabbed and pulled him straight towards the wall. The contact was severe enough that he will be forced to a back-up car. Earnhardt was not exactlyRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Confidence is key as the Playoffs continue. One driver that is confident that his team is competitive enough to win the championship is Kyle Larson. Larson sits third in the Playoff Standings after reseeding for the Round of 12. Larson has had a career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS so far in 2017. Chip Ganassi Racing has been running up front much more consistent this year. In the Round of 16, Larson had anRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. – What is in a number? For one driver, namely Chase Elliott, a return to a familiar car and number could mean success. Recently, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Elliott would shift from the No. 24 to the newly rebranded No. 9 starting with the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The No. 9 is synonymous with the Elliott name. Chase’s Hall of Fame father, Bill Elliott, earned 38 of his 44 career victories in the No. 9 car. Bill Elliott also wonRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For the first time in the teams’ history, Hendrick Motorsports unveiled the primary colors for all four of the organization’s drivers on the same night. Previously, Hendrick has waited until after the season finale to start unveiling paint schemes for the next season. Helping unveil the cars were drivers Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, and William Byron. Also in attendance were Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick. Hendrick was asked about whether it was superstition thatRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is often overshadowed by the Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race, but there have been a few occasions when the second race date at the track provides a memorable finish. The 1972 National 500 was one of those races. David Pearson would put his Wood Brothers Mercury on the pole, with Buddy Baker joining him on the front row. In what would be the final race that the Wood Brothers entered two cars, A.J. Foyt qualified third, followedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the first round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs complete after last weekend’s race at Dover, NASCAR’s premier division heads home to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend to kick off the Round of 12 with Sunday’s running of the Bank of America 500. As the first race in the Round of 12, Charlotte will play a big role in setting up how the remainder of the round will play out at Talladega and Kansas in the next two weeks. The 1.5-mile quad-ovalRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer How can a driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs fly under the radar in an elimination race? Jamie McMurray found out at Dover International Speedway by avoiding trouble and cruising to a top-10 finish. McMurray had a quiet weekend at the ‘Monster Mile’ as focus was on those below the cutoff line to advance from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. He finished ninth after having to climb up through the field the entire race. McMurray avoided trouble inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Each week NASCAR Editor David Morgan will break down who’s hot and who’s not after the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend. Today, we break down the Apache Warrior 400 at Dover International Speedway. WINNERS Kyle Busch – Since breaking through for his first win of the season at Pocono in late July, Kyle Busch has been on fire, winning four of the last nine races, including two in a row between last week at New Hampshire and Sunday at Dover. Though Sunday’s winRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – Call him the Grinch. Halloween may be the next holiday on the calendar, but Kyle Busch stole Christmas morning from Chase Elliott late on Sunday afternoon at Dover International Speedway. Running Elliott down from more than four seconds back in the last 40 laps of the Apache Warrior 400 at the Monster Mile, Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota around the outside of Elliott’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and cleared him off Turn 4 as the carsRead More