Monster Energy Cup Category

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer With one of the best rookie classes in recent memory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series occurring during the 2016 season, each week we’ll take a look at the five rookies battling for Rookie of the Year and track their progress throughout the season. In this week’s edition of the “Rookie Report,” the focus is on Phoenix International Raceway and Sunday’s Good Sam 500, a 312 lap battle around the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert that showcased another great run for the rookies. WhileRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor On a bright, sunny day at Phoenix International Raceway, brake heat altered the day for several drivers and teams. Two drivers — Ryan Newman and Paul Menard — who are looking at returning to the playoffs after making the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2015, took big hits to their 2016 post-season hopes Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Both drivers, who are teammates at Richard Childress Racing, slammed into the outside wall hard in separate accidents in the Good Sam 500. Newman, who entered the day 17th inRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Deep down you can feel a shift of power occurring among the manufacturers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ranks. Chevrolet has long had it’s foot on the throat of the competition, but weeks ago, one of the manufacturer’s strongest teams, Stewart-Haas Racing, announced that they are jumping ship after the 2016 season. But what kind of an impact will Stewart-Haas have on Ford’s attempt at catching Chevrolet as the Series’ top car brand? Ryan Blaney, who drives a Ford for the iconic Wood Brothers RacingRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz – Coming off a sixth place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and momentum in his corner, Ryan Blaney isn’t looking like a rookie, but rather a driver on the rise, a driver on the cusp of breaking through for his first win in the Sprint Cup Series. With the Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway set to get underway Sunday, it’s important to know how this season began. The 2016 season began with refreshing news that Wood Brothers Racing, one of NASCAR’sRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz – Jimmie Johnson met with the media early this morning to clarify the accident he had in qualifying, which forced the team to go to a backup car for Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The accident happened in Turn 2 during the final round of knockout qualifying. In an interview yesterday, Johnson could not confirm what happened, only saying “I don’t know for sure.” Johnson, 40, would later confirm through Twitter that the steering wheel came off. This morning the six-timeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz –  Qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday afternoon turned into one of the more odd sessions of the early season, and it became all the more interesting after Jimmie Johnson wrecked in Turn 2 during the final round. The six-time Sprint Cup Series champion put down a lap that ended fifth best on the timesheets, but following the hard crash Johnson will have to start the Good Sam 500 in a backup car at the rear of the field. Johnson, 40, spoke aboutRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Running the fastest lap of the day when it counted most, Kyle Busch paced a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top three starting spots for Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET). Busch covered the one-mile distance in 26.014 seconds (138.387 mph) in Friday’s final round of knockout qualifying, a session interrupted by Jimmie Johnson’s hard wreck against the Turn 2 wall. The Coors Light Pole Award was Busch’s first of the season (after an inspectionRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer With one win under his belt in 2016 already, Jimmie Johnson heads into Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix looking to break his winless streak at the desert mile since the track underwent a reconfiguration during the 2011 season. Johnson tops the board statistically among active drivers when looking at career wide numbers, but the six-time series champion has been absent from victory lane in Phoenix over the past six years. Overall, Johnson has four wins (2007, 2008 sweep, and 2009), as well as 15Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz. – With a race weekend at Phoenix International Raceway on the horizon, Kevin Harvick met with the media Friday morning ahead of this Sunday’s Good Sam 300. Harvick, 40, won last year’s event at Phoenix International Raceway. In fact, the California native has won four of the last five, dominating the 1-mile oval since the repave a few seasons ago. Harvick is in the midst of his third season with Stewart-Haas Racing, but recently the team announced that it is moving away from ChevroletRead More

SHOW #401 – Guests: Cole Pearn (78 Crew Chief)/Greg Ives (88 Crew Chief) – We break down the Las Vegas weekend, Hendrick plane news, Goodyear Tire Test, Payton Manning is NASCAR news somehow, plus we preview Phoenix and do a video version for the first time, check us out on YouTube, keyword finallapradio. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie. ( Roughly 48:00 mins) DOWNLOAD HERE SEE KERRY AND TOBY IN STUDIO RECORDING THIS EPISODE [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_oF5oRNA8Q] CREDITS: Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Toby Christie Executive Producer: Kerry Murphey Music: RussellRead More