Charlotte Motor Speedway Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Get ready for a road-course Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on a layout unlike any other. That, at least, was the way reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. put it. When he tested on the Charlotte road course in October, Truex described the road course/oval track hybrid as “all kinds of craziness going on.” That was before the track made tweaks to the 2.28-mile course that should make it faster and more intense, lopping as much as 20-seconds offRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Now that the 2017 NASCAR season is complete and the year is drawing to a close, we’ll take this opportunity to take a look back at the year that was. Today, we’ll tackle Part One of the 10 most memorable moments of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Calls it a Career After 18 seasons behind the wheel in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. hung up his helmet at the end of the 2017 season, retiring fromRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s been well known that Tony Stewart has enjoyed his retirement from driving in the Cup Series this year as he’s been able to go and do the things he never had time to do while he was a full-time driver, but in Wednesday’s press conference announcing Aric Almirola would take over the No. 10 car at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018, Stewart let it slip that his driving days in NASCAR might not be over yet. Almirola was asked about running in the Xfinity SeriesRead More

Listen to “Drafting The Circuits October 19, 2017” on Spreaker. Frank Santoroski and the Drafting the Circuits panel – Joey Barnes, Gray Warren, Richard Youden, Christopher DeHarde and Seth Eggert – report on the carnage at Talladega, previews the F1 USGP in Austin, and has a healthy discussion about driver development, race series schedules, and the latest Indycar driver news. Credits: Host – Frank Santoroski DTC Panel – Joey Barnes, Seth Eggert, Christopher DeHarde, Gray Warren, & Richard Youden Producers – Anthony Arnold & Keith Hayes Special thanks to Whoobazoo for hosting the DTC Podcast. SocialRead More

Frank Santoroski and the Drafting the Circuits panel — Joey Barnes, Gray Warren & Richard Youden — breaks down Charlotte, previews Talladega, and has an in-depth debate regarding the pluses and minuses of the F1 safety car. Credits: Host – Frank Santoroski DTC Panel – Joey Barnes, Gray Warren, & Richard Youden Producers – Anthony Arnold & Keith Hayes Special thanks to Whoobazoo for hosting the DTC Podcast. Social Media: Follow DTC on Facebook Follow DTC on Twitter Follow Whoobazoo on Twitter Note: Also heard on iHeartRadio and iTunes.Read 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

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After two finishes outside the top-15 to finish out the first round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Kevin Harvick turned things around as the second round started at Charlotte by winning two stages, leading the most laps, and finishing third in Sunday’s Bank of America 500. Harvick kicked the weekend off with a strong qualifying effort to start the race in third place and he was able to find the lead for the first time just 52 laps in. He would thenRead More