Cup Category

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 26 Years in Cup: 3 Career Wins: 0 Biggest Accomplishment: 2013 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion In 2016, Austin Dillon emerged as a driver to watch as a possible championship contender going forward. Driving for his grandfather’s much-maligned race team — Richard Childress Racing — things looked to finally go in the right direction last season. Dillon rackedRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor It was beginning to look like the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season would get off to an inauspicious start, as the first race of the year — The Clash at Daytona — had yet to find an entitlement sponsor with just a month until the race was set to start. However, Advance Auto Parts was announced as the new sponsor for the season-opening exhibition race on Wednesday. According to a track press release, the automotive aftermarket parts provider has also signed on to beRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 23 Years in Cup: 1 Career Wins: 1 Biggest Accomplishment: 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Change in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage is a constant theme. One driver that is experiencing that change is Chris Buescher. 2017 will be the third year of change for the Roush Fenway Racing development driver. In 2015, Buescher ledRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 36 Years in Cup: 13 Career Wins: 17 Biggest Accomplishment: 2006 Season (Six wins and an 8th-place finish in the standings) There’s no doubt that now is the time to perform for Kasey Kahne. The 2017 season will mark Kahne’s sixth with Henrick Motorsports behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet and his thirdRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor After an explosive 2016 campaign, which saw Martin Truex Jr. collect four victories, lead 1,809 laps and cement himself as a formidable championship contender, the Mayetta, New Jersey native is being rewarded with more sponsorship backing. Auto-Owners Insurance, which adorned the hood of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing machine for three races in 2016, will double that commitment for the next two years according to a press release from the race team. “Teaming up with Furniture Row Racing has been an outstanding fit forRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 39 Years in Cup: 15 Career Wins: 17 Biggest Accomplishment: 2008 Daytona 500 Champion 2016 was a surprisingly inconsistent season for one of NASCAR’s most consistent drivers, but the good news for Ryan Newman is that he’ll have a chance to return to form in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with Richard Childress Racing (RCR)Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 35 Years in Cup: 11 Career Wins: One Biggest Accomplishment: First career Cup Series win (Watkins Glen – 2014) For A.J. Allmendinger, 2016 may not have provided a race win or a Chase berth, but the California native was still able to rebound from a down year in 2015 to make some noise in hisRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Earlier this week, Carl Edwards announced that he was stepping away from NASCAR just a little less than two months removed from being one of four drivers with a shot at the championship in Homestead, Florida. In his press conference, Edwards cited happiness with his achievements in his career, wanting to stay healthy, and spending more time with his family as reasons for his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing and a sport that consumes your life for 38 of the 52 weeks out of theRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Another ripple effect of Carl Edwards leaving the sport, is where do his former sponsors go? Obviously Arris will be sticking around to sponsor Daniel Suarez’s Rookie of the Year campaign, but what about the other affiliated sponsors from the No. 19 team? Sports Clips — who had sponsored Edwards for the last couple of years, has announced via their website that they will be moving their primary sponsorship over to Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry for two races, and they will adorn theRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 23 Years in Cup: 1 Career Wins: 0 Biggest Accomplishment: Led 252 laps en route to winning Xfinity Race at Iowa in 2015 Ryan Blaney flashed signs of brilliance throughout his rookie campaign in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but overall his first year was wildly inconsistent. Blaney’s best finish on the season was fourth,Read More