Bank of America 500 Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – The intensity ratchets up as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series edges closer to the season finale. One driver who has noticed the intensity is Ryan Blaney, who is in the Playoffs for the first time. Blaney advanced from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12 relatively quietly. His No. 21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford Fusion never competed for a win in the Round of 16, but was easily consistent enough to earn enough pointsRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Winning two out of three plates should make Stenhouse a favorite heading into next weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. However, Stenhouse is not counting on winning and is focusing on points. Taking the finishes of those in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at the first Charlotte, Kansas, and Talladega races, Stenhouse would move on to the Round of Eight on points alone. However, stats alone still do not guarantee that Stenhouse and his No. 17 SunnyD Ford Fusion team anRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Trouble came quick in the first practice for the Bank of America 500. Just minutes into the first practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. contacted the turn four wall. Earnhardt slid up the track in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS. As he did, his right-side tires slide into the PJ1 compound. The tires grabbed and pulled him straight towards the wall. The contact was severe enough that he will be forced to a back-up car. Earnhardt was not exactlyRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Confidence is key as the Playoffs continue. One driver that is confident that his team is competitive enough to win the championship is Kyle Larson. Larson sits third in the Playoff Standings after reseeding for the Round of 12. Larson has had a career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS so far in 2017. Chip Ganassi Racing has been running up front much more consistent this year. In the Round of 16, Larson had anRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the first round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs complete after last weekend’s race at Dover, NASCAR’s premier division heads home to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend to kick off the Round of 12 with Sunday’s running of the Bank of America 500. As the first race in the Round of 12, Charlotte will play a big role in setting up how the remainder of the round will play out at Talladega and Kansas in the next two weeks. The 1.5-mile quad-ovalRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer As the Round of 12 began at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 12 remaining Chasers all entered with an equal amount of points after the points reset. One of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers still in the Chase for the Championship is Kurt Busch. Busch looked like his Bank of America 500 would have promising results after being 10th on the speed charts in the only practice. Qualifying was more disappointing as Busch ended up putting his No. 41 Haas Automation / Monster Energy ChervoletRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – After Sunday’s victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson can proclaim justifiably “The Boys are Back in Town.” But for five other Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, all of whom finished 30th or worse in the rain-delayed Bank of America 500, the race ended in a medley of dire straits. Taking the lead from Matt Kenseth after a restart on Lap 317 of 334, Johnson pulled away to win by 1.474 seconds over the driver of the No. 20Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Kasey Kahne came up just short of playing the role of spoiler in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. The Hendrick Motorsports driver came off of scoring Top 10’s in four of the last five races and looked for the upset over teammate Jimmie Johnson, only to come up two spots short with a third-place finish.   On the initial start of the race, Kahne’s No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS slipped back to 19th after startingRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Jimmie Johnson is moving on to the Round of Eight. Since the Elimination-style format was introduced for the Chase for the Championship in 2014, the 41-year-old Californian had yet to advance all the way through to the Final Four at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In fact, he had yet to advance passed the second round of the Chase – until now. In qualifying, Johnson was able to place his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS 11th on the starting grid and quietly began to move upRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief What a difference a year makes. Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick finished 1-2 in last year’s edition of the Bank of America 500, but this year both drivers saw their day end early on Lap 155 of 334 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 22 Team Penkse Ford of Joey Logano hit the Turn 1 wall on Lap 117 after a tire went down, a problem that plagued him again moments later, but the heavy impact forced him to go to the garage for repairs. “IRead More