Cup

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Entering the 2017 season, not many would have guessed that Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. would win a race with Roush-Fenway Racing still in rebuilding mode, but the Mississippi native showed off his restrictor plate prowess by taking his No. 17 car to victory lane not once, but twice at Talladega and Daytona for his first two career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins. When the Playoffs started, many had Stenhouse as one of the first four out, but once again he proved the naysayers wrong byRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Joey Logano’s season may not have gone quite to plan with his No. 22 team missing the playoffs, but heading into Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega, Logano will look to play spoiler at the 2.66-mile track. “I’m wired one way,” said Logano.  “I’ve got one gear and it’s wide-open.  That’s all I’ve got, so, for me, it keeps it pretty simple.  When I come to the superspeedways it’s go to the front and stay in the front, race hard, and I think that shows inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s full-time career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series continues to wind down, this weekend, he heads to Talladega Superspeedway – the track he has been the most productive at – for the final time. With Sunday’s Alabama 500 being his last ride around the 2.66 mile facility, this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater” takes a look back at his triumphant Talladega moments over the years. 2001 EA Sports 500 – October 21, 2001 After winning at Daytona earlier in the yearRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Talladega may not be the Round of 12 elimination race any longer, but the mammoth 2.66 mile superspeedway is still a huge wild card and will go a long way toward determining which drivers will be in position to move on to the next round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that led to unknown driver Richard Brickhouse scoringRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer All season long, tracks have been paying tribute to Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will be retiring from full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of the 2017 season. At Talladega Superspeedway, where the Earnhardt name is synonymous with success, an unexpected tribute will be on track. On Monday, Brad Keselowski announced via his blog (found here) that he would pay tribute to his friend, and former boss, with a special paint scheme. Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion will mimic theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer How can a former champion in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs fly under the radar? Brad Keselowski found that it was not difficult after ending the day mired in 15th. Keselowski was never a factor in the Bank of America 500. He finished just inside the top-15 after funning there throughout the entire day. Keselowski may have avoided trouble in his No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion throughout the entirety of the event, but he was one of the slowest of theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Each week NASCAR Editor David Morgan will break down who’s hot and who’s not after the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend. Today, we break down the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. WINNERS Martin Truex, Jr. – The wins just keep on coming for Truex and Furniture Row Racing. 2017 has been a career year for the No. 78 team and Truex added another victory to the win column on Sunday at Charlotte. Truex may not have had the best qualifyingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Don’t count Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as a fan of the traction compound that was used during Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte. The compound, which has been used with mixed results at Speedway Motorsports, Inc. tracks this season, was laid down in the second and third grooves at Charlotte, but things didn’t quite gel between the cars on track and the ability for the compound to increase grip. Trouble with the PJ1 compound started on Friday in practice when a handful of drivers, includingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – The only thing typical about Martin Truex Jr.’s performance at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the win. The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team screwed up in qualifying on Friday—a rare occurrence in a remarkable season for the series leader. Truex failed to score points in the first stage of Sunday’s Bank of America 500, the first race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff’s Round of 12. That marked the first time since Daytona in July that Truex had finished outsideRead More