Monster Energy Cup Category

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Under two weeks before the 2017 Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR announced that the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race would have four stages instead of the typical three seen all season long. At the end of each stage, the stage winner receives one Playoff Point and the Top 10 earns additional Championship points. One driver that is happy with the extra stage is Wood Brothers Racing driver Ryan Blaney. Blaney is coming off his second top five of the season, fourth at Kansas,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Memorial Day weekend in the motorsports world means one thing, racing’s greatest day beginning with F1 at Monaco, the Indianapolis 500, and ending with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”, we’ll take a step back a decade to look at a win by a member of a family known more for their open wheel exploits than those in stock cars. Of course, we’re talking about Casey Mears’ upset win in the 2007 Coca-Cola 600. Mears hadRead More

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 24, 2017) – NASCAR announced today the inductees who will comprise the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018. The five-person group – the ninth since the inception of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010 – consists of Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates. In addition, NASCAR announced that Jim France earned the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met today in a closed session at the Charlotte Convention Center toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Memorial Day weekend for many is a time to reflect on the sacrifices given by the servicemen and women in our nation’s military and to celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer. But for race fans, the weekend means more than just that. Memorial Day weekend means that the greatest weekend in all of motorsports is upon us, with three different styles of racing taking place in three locations all in one day. This Sunday begins with Formula 1 at Monaco, followed by the Indianapolis 500,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As a part of Charlotte race weeks, the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting committee will gather on Wednesday, May 24 to induct five new names into the shrine of the sport’s legends. This year’s class will be the ninth in the history of the Hall of Fame and all 20 of the nominees have one reason or another that they should be inducted. With 20 nominees, the voting panel has a tough task to condense this year’s class down to five, so like the votingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In an effort to drive new life into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule, NASCAR announced a huge realignment to the 2018 schedule on Tuesday, with several key races undergoing changes for next year’s campaign. The new changes to the 2018 schedule start right off the bat with the Daytona 500 moving back to President’s Day weekend, with the race running on February 18, 2018. Jump ahead to April and Richmond’s spring date, which had been run on Sunday afternoon over the last fewRead More

By: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Busch took control of Saturday night’s Monster Energy All-Star Race on the final restart with 10 laps left and motored away to a 1.274-second victory—his first in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the inside of Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford—the race leader on old tires—as the field roared toward Turn 1 on the final restart. Through the first two corners, he cleared bothRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series prepared for the Monster Energy All-Star Race, many looked to see what kind of racing the ‘option’ tires could produce. One driver interested in the softer compound was seven-time Champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson placed his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS seventh on the practice charts with several ahead of him setting blistering fast times on the ‘option’ tires. In qualifying, he ended up fourth after mistakes cost him and his Hendrick Motorsports team the chanceRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – As the Monster Energy All-Star Race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway moved into view, another new race format, and an alternative ‘option’ tire left many questioning what would unfold. One driver that seemed poised to be up front all night long was Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver Kyle Larson. In the only practice of the weekend, Larson was fastest on both prime and option tires. Larson was also perfect in the unique-style of qualifying for All-Star race that included greenRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – The Monster Energy Open presented several with the opportunity of transferring into the NASCAR Monster Energy All-Star Race. A stage win in any of the three stages will transfer a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver into the main event. In the final stage, only green flag laps count. Also, winning the fan vote while also having a car in ‘raceable’ condition will transfer a fourth driver into the All-Star Race. Clint Bowyer started from the pole in his No. 14 HaasRead More