Cup

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Throughout the season-opening race weekend at Daytona, the winners of the earlier stages have failed to finish their respective events. It happened to Johnny Sauter in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and it happened to Elliott Sadler in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and in Sunday’s Daytona 500, it happened yet again. Kyle Busch, who was still seeking his first Daytona 500 win, was able to drive his No. 18 Toyota to the front of the field at lap 42, taking overRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer A new entitlement sponsor for the Cup Series, competition enhancements and the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the track are just a few of the major story lines heading into the Daytona 500. Motorsports Tribune spoke with Chicagoland Speedway President Scott Paddock to discuss his thoughts heading into Sunday’s Great American Race. New Entitlement Sponsor In January, Monster Energy became just the third company to serve as the entitlement sponsor in NASCAR premier series history, replacing Sprint. “I think it’s exciting for the industryRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Joey Logano and Team Penske have been a formidable force since they teamed up in 2013 and after announcing a contract extension for the driver of the No. 22 Ford on Friday morning, the two will continue their journey together through at least the 2022 season. Though Logano’s current contract does not expire until after next season, the organization wanted to strike while the iron is hot to lock down Logano and long-time sponsor Shell for the forseeable future. “I’ve known my entire life IRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After a year to forget in 2016, Clint Bowyer couldn’t stop smiling after the end of second race of the Can-Am Duels at Daytona. The 37-year-old Kansas native took the wheel of the No. 14 Ford in his first race with Stewart-Haas Racing and drove to a runner-up finish, his best result since finishing third at Sonoma Raceway in 2015. “Damn, this is fun again,” said Bowyer. “Man, what a rocket ship. Hats off to all these guys that put all this hard work into theseRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For much of the second Can-Am Duel at Daytona, it looked like it would be Dale Earnhardt, Jr following the lead of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott to score the win after qualifying on the front row for the Daytona 500, but Denny Hamlin had other plans as he was able to execute a late race pass to take the lead and the win. “It was great. Great car. Got a great push there for Austin (Dillon). We worked really well together that entireRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Chase Elliott kicked off Speedweeks last Sunday by scoring his second consecutive Daytona 500 pole and the sophomore Hendrick Motorsports driver continued his hot streak on Thursday night by winning the first of the two Can-Am Duel races. “We had such a fast NAPA Chevy tonight. I didn’t think anyone was going to help us there at the first part of the race and I had a couple of good pushes to get us out front. Eddie did a great job on top of theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Heading into the 59th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday, it’s time again for another edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater,” in which we’ll take a look back at a race from Daytona’s past. This week’s edition features one of the greatest upsets ever in the “Great American Race” – the 1990 Daytona 500, which saw underdog Derrike Cope pull off the win after a dominant day from Dale Earnhardt went awry with half a lap to go. Earnhardt claimed a front row starting spotRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor There were times last year during his recovery from a concussion sustained after a crash in Michigan, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt 90-percent sure that he would never race again. The long road back into the driver’s seat was paved literally with sweat and tears, but Earnhardt dug deep. In his doctor’s estimation, Earnhardt would be able to race again. That was the proverbial carrot dangling in front of the 14-time Most Popular Driver. “I’m not an expert.  My doctor is,” Earnhardt said Wednesday. “So whenRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The last time that 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch was behind the wheel of a Ford in a points race was at Texas Motor Speedway in 2005. He finished 10th in the No. 97 Crown Royal Ford Taurus that day. During his time with Ford, Busch earned 14 of his 28 career victories. He also had 43 top fives and 79 Top 10s while competing for the ‘Blue Oval.’ After his departure from what was then Roush Racing, Busch has competedRead More