Cup

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — NASCAR’s CEO, Brian France took the stage Sunday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway to address the state of the sport. Over the near 18 minute conference, France appeared miffed and disheveled at times when pressed by the media, but in the end he let his stance be known on a variety of topics, and there were several highlights. Things began rolling with the question of how the search for a new entitlement sponsor for the NASCAR Cup Series is going, Sprint is ofRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Chevrolet is the only manufacturer Kevin Harvick has ever known in NASCAR, but once the checkered flag waves on the 2016 season this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so does the long marriage between the two. With the exception of the 1999 Camping World Truck Series season when he drove for Ford, Harvick, the 2007 Daytona 500 champion, has been exclusive to the bowtie brand for his entire career and has enjoyed numerous wins and championships across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series. However, with Stewart-HaasRead More

*Editor’s Note: The Motorsports Tribune NASCAR staff got together for a round table discussion about the upcoming Ford EcoBoost 400 (Sprint Cup Series Championship Race) in Homestead. They weigh in on three questions about the penultimate race. QUESTION 1: Which non-Chase competitor could steal the show Sunday at Homestead? JOEY BARNES, (Editor-in-Chief): Chase Elliott. He has been fast all weekend and it would be a fitting end to see him finally take that next step in the final race of his Sprint Cup Series career. TOBY CHRISTIE, (NASCAR Editor): HeRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — An entire season’s work rests on one 400-mile race for the four drivers and teams left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR’s new Chase format — unveiled in 2014 — essentially makes the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway a dog-eat-dog winner-take-all race for the championship. Talk about pressure. For Jimmie Johnson, there is added pressure. If the California-native can rise above his competition in Sunday’s race, he will be tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with most Sprint Cup SeriesRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Competition between NASCAR manufacturers isn’t confined to the race track. In a press conference featuring executives from Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, Ed Laukes of Toyota couldn’t pass up an opportunity to needle Chevy’s Jim Campbell. “Let me apologize for those 16 Monday mornings,” Laukes quipped, referring to Toyota’s 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories this season. “Let me apologize for last night,” retorted Campbell, referring to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship Chevrolet driver Johnny Sauter won on Friday. AllRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Carl Edwards, one of four drivers left in the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup, is still seeking his first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. After Saturday’s two practice sessions for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400, it really looks like Edwards could be in a great position to finally add a huge piece of hardware to his mantle. Edwards, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, was third-fastest in the first practice session of the day, and he followed that up by recording the second-fastest lapRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor It all comes down to this. After 35 race weekends, the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season comes down to one final race to determine the champion. Four drivers head into Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Ford Ecoboost 400 with an equal shot at the championship, while the other 36 drivers in the field are simply looking for a win to cap off the season. Since its reconfiguration in 2003, Homestead has provided some great racing on its progressive banking on one of the true ovalsRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — If you told Martin Truex Jr. before the year started that he would rack up four wins and lead over 1,800 laps over the course of the 2016 season, I’m sure he would have taken that in a heart beat. Truex has racked up those exact numbers, which equal career-bests, yet he is still left bummed out. The Mayetta, New Jersey native has reason to be dejected as he looked to be the favorite for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, that is until a blown motorRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson’s rueful rhetorical question told the story of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “What’s a championship race without a little drama?” Johnson asked after earning the 14th starting position during a session fraught with difficulty for the No. 48 team. Kevin Harvick, who was eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last Sunday at Phoenix, won the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship 4 race (on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET), touring the 1.5-mile trackRead More