Cup

By Reid Spencer. NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – In a race fraught with tension, and with a pack of drivers with desperate agendas chasing him to the finish line, Kyle Busch held off Erik Jones to complete a sweep of all-three NASCAR touring series with Saturday night’s keystone victory in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. In winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series main event at the .533-mile concrete track, Busch capped a long weekend that saw him win Wednesday’s NASCAR Camping WorldRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Since winning the Daytona 500, the 2017 season has been a rollercoaster of a ride for Kurt Busch and his No. 41 team, with the team getting on streaks of top-10 finishes, but following those up with streaks of sub-par finishes. Saturday night at Bristol, it was a rollercoaster of a ride all over again for Busch. Starting the day in 25th, Busch, who won his first career Cup Series race on the Bristol high banks, struggled with handling issues in the early going, butRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As the regular season continues to wind down, the playoff picture is still very volatile, with three drivers currently in on points, while others on the outside looking in try to win a race and lock themselves in. Heading into Bristol, Matt Kenseth was one of the drivers inside the top-16 as a result of his points position, but the 2003 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion would face his biggest battle in his quest to make the playoffs. The driver that would be hisRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a tale of two races for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All five of the ROTY contenders have experience at ‘The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.’ Erik Jones was the best rookie for the second week in a row, finishing second in the No. 77 5-hour Energy Extra Strength Toyota Camry after running inside the top-five all night long. Jones led a race-high 260-lapsRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer A flat tire, contact with the wall, and lap traffic could not keep Trevor Bayne from reaching a career milestone with a top-10 finish. For the first time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, he earned top-10 finishes in back-to-back races. Bayne bounced up and down through the field in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Bayne finished in seventh after an eventful second-half of the Bristol-night race. He had a hard-fought battle with Jimmie Johnson as he moved up through theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Week in and week out, Erik Jones has impressed throughout his rookie season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and on Friday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jones took another step forward by scoring his first career pole. With the clock winding down, Jones’ lap of 14.981 seconds, 128.062 mph, propelled him to the top of the board and into position to clinch the pole. Though a few other drivers took a shot at Jones’ fast lap, they weren’t quite quick enough to bestRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After bouncing around from team to team over the last few years, Chris Buescher’s future looks much more stable after announcing that he has signed a multi-year contract to stay behind the wheel of the No. 37 Chevrolet with JTG Daugherty Racing for the foreseeable future. Buescher first came on the scene in the ARCA Series back in 2009 and he was able to win the championship in that series in 2012 before getting picked up by Roush-Fenway Racing to drive in the NASCAR XfinityRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a top-five run in the first practice session of the day, Ryan Blaney backed up the speed he had shown earlier on Friday by posting the fastest speed in the final practice session for Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Blaney topped the board with a time of 14.926 seconds, 128.554 mph and was followed by fellow young gun Kyle Larson, who timed in with a lap just .057 seconds slower. In four starts at Bristol, Blaney hasRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In preparation for tomorrow night’s running of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers took to the track for their first of two practice sessions on Friday morning, with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch leading the way. It has been an eventful week for Hamlin thus far as he welcomed his second daughter into the world Tuesday before heading to Bristol for the race weekend, where he was victorious inRead More