Cup Category

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Kyle Busch came up short in defending his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, finishing sixth in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Busch finished third in the championship standings, five points behind race-winner and seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and two points behind second-place Joey Logano. “It’s very challenging,” Busch said of how tough it is to repeat as champion. “The biggest thing is you just don’t know where anybody is until the end. I mean, (Jimmie)Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Brian Scott saved one of his best performances for last. The rookie that recently declared retirement once the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season ends, put in a 15th place finish in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday night. The 28-year-old Idaho native started 22nd and bounced in and out of the top 10, and even top 20, for much of the night. However, a series of late restarts affirmed the No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports driver just his thirdRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Homestead, Fla. – Call him Seven-Time. Jimmie Johnson joined NASCAR’s most exclusive club on Sunday, winning the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, putting the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on par with icons Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. “You’re a good man, you’re a great champion, and now you’re a seven-time champion,” crew chief Chad Knaus radioed to Johnson, who grabbed the lead from Kyle Larson through Turns 1 and 2Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Showing speed throughout the day, Carl Edwards looked to be primed to capture his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday, but it was not to be for Edwards and the No. 19 team after a crash on a restart with 10 laps to go brought their championship hopes to a screeching halt. Falling short of the championship in 2008 and 2011, Edwards was one of the fastest cars throughout the race weekend and had the confidence to try and redeem himself in theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Roger Penske is on the cusp of history in the 50th anniversary of his organization and three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves is ready to witness it firsthand. The longtime Verizon IndyCar Series veteran was part of a 1-2-3 Team Penske sweep this season, with Simon Pagenaud claiming the title. With a long offseason playing out during NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, the 41-year-old Brazilian has been able to keep up with the progress of fellow Penske driver Joey Logano, who isRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Chevrolet is the only manufacturer Kevin Harvick has ever known in NASCAR, but once the checkered flag waves on the 2016 season this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so does the long marriage between the two. With the exception of the 1999 Camping World Truck Series season when he drove for Ford, Harvick, the 2007 Daytona 500 champion, has been exclusive to the bowtie brand for his entire career and has enjoyed numerous wins and championships across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series. However, with Stewart-HaasRead More

*Editor’s Note: The Motorsports Tribune NASCAR staff got together for a round table discussion about the upcoming Ford EcoBoost 400 (Sprint Cup Series Championship Race) in Homestead. They weigh in on three questions about the penultimate race. QUESTION 1: Which non-Chase competitor could steal the show Sunday at Homestead? JOEY BARNES, (Editor-in-Chief): Chase Elliott. He has been fast all weekend and it would be a fitting end to see him finally take that next step in the final race of his Sprint Cup Series career. TOBY CHRISTIE, (NASCAR Editor): HeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Competition between NASCAR manufacturers isn’t confined to the race track. In a press conference featuring executives from Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, Ed Laukes of Toyota couldn’t pass up an opportunity to needle Chevy’s Jim Campbell. “Let me apologize for those 16 Monday mornings,” Laukes quipped, referring to Toyota’s 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories this season. “Let me apologize for last night,” retorted Campbell, referring to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship Chevrolet driver Johnny Sauter won on Friday. AllRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor It all comes down to this. After 35 race weekends, the 2016 NASCAR Sprint 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 true ovalsRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson’s rueful rhetorical question told the story of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “What’s a championship race without a little drama?” Johnson asked after earning the 14th starting position during a session fraught with difficulty for the No. 48 team. Kevin Harvick, who was eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last Sunday at Phoenix, won the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship 4 race (on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET), touring the 1.5-mile trackRead More