Cup

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As the summer continues to crawl toward an end, the annual Bristol Night Race looms large as an August staple, as drivers throughout the garage area have the race on their bucket list to win. For one driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., he will be strapping into the cockpit on a full-time basis one final time this weekend, driving double duty in both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the Bristol high banks. With that in mind, let’s takeRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week NASCAR Editor David Morgan will break down the top storylines from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. This week, we break down the Pure Michigan 400 from Michigan International Speedway. The Two-Mile King There’s something about two-mile tracks that just fits Kyle Larson’s driving style. Since breaking though for his first Cup Series win at Michigan last August, Larson is undefeated on two-mile tracks, winning at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season, followed up by a sweep of both Michigan racesRead More

By Matt Crossman, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Sitting in his racecar during a red flag delay near the end of the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Kyle Larson pondered the possible routes to an overtime victory. He was in fourth-place and would restart for the final two-lap shootout behind leader Martin Truex Jr. Larson hadn’t had a fast racecar all day at Michigan International Speedway, but he thought with a gutsy move on the restart, he could steal a win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup SeriesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Pit strategy helped Chris Buescher score a top-10 finish in the Pure Michigan 400. Buescher was off-sequence throughout most of the race before finally finishing in sixth. After staying out and catching a caution with 13 laps to go, Buescher found himself one of eight yet to pit. With just 14 drivers on the lead lap, crew chief Trent Owens’s strategy worked out. Buescher’s No. 37 Bush’s Grillin’ Beans Chevrolet SS was primed for a to-10 run. The late-race pit strategy for the JTG-Daugherty RacingRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway was a bright day for just Erik Jones while the rest of the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series struggled. All four of the ROTY contenders have experience at the 2-mile oval. Erik Jones was the best rookie, finishing third in the No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota Camry after running inside the top-five all day long. Jones battled for both the lead and the race win.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 2017 season hasn’t gone quite to plan for Trevor Bayne and his No. 6 team. While his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has visited victory lane twice and will be one of the 16 drivers competing for the championship in the playoffs, Bayne had managed only two top-10 finishes prior to Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. Despite the struggles his team has faced this season, Bayne came into the Pure Michigan 400 ready to turn things around and when the checkered flagRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Michigan twice a year, the battle between the three manufacturers in the series takes on a new life with two of the three being based down the road in Detroit. After Brad Keselowski, a Ford driver, won the pole for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 on Friday evening to give Ford the top three drivers in qualifying, comments were made indicating that he thought Toyota, which has been the dominant manufacturer in recent weeks, was sandbagging atRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Matt DiBenedetto and his Go Fas Racing crew chief Gene Nead will not have to worry about their 2018 plans as they will return to their Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team. DiBenedetto, Nead, and Go Fas Racing team owner Archie St. Hilaire made the announcement at Michigan International Speedway. DiBenedetto is the first driver to compete for an entire season for Go Fas. He also earned the team their first two top-10 finishes. Both of those came in some of NASCAR’s crown jewel races,Read More

By NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Brad Keselowski will start on the pole for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN), after taking the top spot from fellow Ford driver Ryan Blaney, who had posted the fastest times to that point, but bobbled twice in his run in the final qualifying round on Friday at Michigan International Speedway. Keselowski grew up in Rochester Hills, Mich., a Detroit suburb 99 miles from Michigan International Speedway. He is a big fan of Detroit and University of Michigan sportsRead More