Monster Energy Cup Category

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer  CONCORD, N.C. – In qualifying for the NASCAR Monster Energy All-Star Race, several teams stood above the rest. In All-Star race qualifying, it is the average of three laps including a green flag pit stop that determines the starting lineup. Kevin Harvick was fastest in Round 1 with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch second. Kyle Busch was third, Jimmie Johnson fourth, and Kyle Larson fifth fastest in Round 1. They were the five to transfer to Round 2 of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup SeriesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – With only 16 drivers qualified for the Monster Energy All-Star Race, 24 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will attempt to either race their way in by winning one of the three stages in the Monster Energy Open or by winning the Fan Vote. All teams participating the Monster Energy Open were given one set of the softer ‘option’ tires to practice with should they transfer into the All-Star race. The drivers that are currently leading the Fan Vote (in alphabetical order)Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – The events that occurred on the 200th lap of the 2017 Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway are ones that Aric Almirola and his family would like to forget. Ahead of Almirola, Joey Logano and Danica Patrick had wrecked violently in turns one and two. Unfortunately for Almirola, he had already committed to running the high line in the corner. He ran into some fluid and slid out of control into Logano’s car at over 160mph. The impact was so violent itRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – In final practice for the Monster Energy All-Star race, Kyle Larson topped the speed charts with a blistering fast lap of 28.630 seconds. Larson’s No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS laid down a speed of 189.274 mph on the softer ‘option’ tires. Kevin Harvick was second fastest, just 0.027 seconds off Larson’s time. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex, Jr. rounded out the top five in practice. Last year’s winner of the All-Star race, Joey Logano, was the slowest of the 16Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – For NASCAR’s Monster Energy All-Star race, 16 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers are locked in. With only four more spots available for 24 drivers, transferring to the main event means much more. Three drivers will transfer via stage wins in the Monster Energy Open while one will be voted in by the fans. One driver hoping to become an All-Star is Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ty Dillon. This will be Dillon’s first All-Star race weekend. To date, he hasRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – The 2016 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was one for the record books. Martin Truex Jr. decimated the field as he led 392 laps, 588 miles after starting from the pole. With only four cautions, only three other competitors had the opportunity to take the lead. Jimmie Johnson led five laps, Paul Menard two laps, and Joey Logano one lap. Truex’s performance in the No. 78 Bass Pro Shops /Tracker Boats / USO Toyota Camry shattered records set in 1967 byRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The All-Star Race, originally called “The Winston” when it began in 1985, was ran on Saturday afternoon in its inception, but when Charlotte Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler decided to put lights up at the track in 1992 and move the race to the nighttime, business really picked up from there. With the installation of the $1.7 million, 1.2 billion candlepower lighting system, ingeniously devised by Iowa lighting company Musco Lighting, Charlotte became the largest track to have lights installed, behind the short tracks ofRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s that time of year again. The weekend before Memorial Day marks the beginning of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series traditional two-week stop at NASCAR’s home base of Charlotte, North Carolina and the 1.5-mile quad oval that is Charlotte Motor Speedway. First up on the two week stopover in the Queen City is the Monster Energy All-Star Race, a non-points event that has served up more than its fair share of exciting moments in its 33 year history. What is now the All-Star RaceRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Through the first 11 weeks of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the trend has been for each race to feature three stages, with the first two stages making up about half of the race and then the final stage to the finish. But things will be a bit different when the series rolls into Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 as NASCAR announced on Monday that the longest race of the season will now feature four stages instead of the normal three. Instead ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Martin Truex Jr. finally ended his Kansas hex. Truex streaked away on the final restart with two laps left in Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 to win his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Truex led a race-high 104 of 267 laps to win for the ninth time in his career and for the second time this season. Three times in the past, Truex had led the most laps in a Kansas race—without winning. But onRead More