clint bowyer Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The first driver confirmed eliminated from competing for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship was Clint Bowyer after crashing out in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, finishing 35th. Entering Turn 4, Bowyer was running in seventh before the left-rear of his No. 14 ITsavvy Ford Fusion went down, resulting in him going up the track and slamming the wall. The impact destroyed the back end of his car, but worse of all, any shot of a championship opportunity. “I guess we cutRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Round of Eight all comes down to this. After last week’s race at Texas, the stage is set for the final race of the round in Phoenix to determine which drivers will move onto Homestead and which drivers will see their championship hopes vanish in the Arizona desert. Three of the four spots in the championship race are still up for grabs after the penalty news that came out on Wednesday. Of the drivers still eligible, only Joey Logano is safe, having locked up hisRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Clint Bowyer faces a must-win scenario after enduring a miserable 26th-place finish in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 39-year-old Kansas native was optimistic heading into Sunday’s race after qualifying second – a personal best at the 1.5-mile oval. A dream of advancing from the Round of 8 and into the Championship 4 quickly turned into a nightmare. Pole sitter Ryan Blaney took off as the green flag waved, with the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 FordRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – Ryan Blaney may have exited the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the desire to win has left the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Running the fastest lap of the day in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway, Blaney sped around the 1.5-mile track in 26.932 seconds (200.505 mph) to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN andRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a barnburner of a finish at Martinsville last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Lone Star State and Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500 and the second race of the playoff semi-finals. First joining the circuit in 1997, the 1.5-mile Texas track has provided some great racing over the years as the original track surface wore down over the years. Prior to the 2017 season, Texas went through a reconfiguration, dropping the banking in Turns 1Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Hoping to reverse the outcome of this year’s spring race at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Busch took the first step on Saturday afternoon, winning the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Busch navigated the .526-mile short track in 19.673 seconds (96.254 seconds) in the final round of knockoutRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a trip out to America’s Heartland, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back east this weekend and straight to the final short track race of the season, with Sunday’s running of the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic half-mile, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine over 500 grueling laps. Sunday’s race will mark the start of the three-race playoff semi-finals that will trim the eight-driver playoff fieldRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Elimination Sunday is upon us again. Last weekend’s visit to the the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway saw an ass kicking by Stewart-Haas Racing and other Playoff drivers foiled by fuel mileage. With the 2.66-mile Alabama behemoth in the rear-view mirror, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads west to America’s Heartland to take on the fast 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Hollywood Casino 400 – the final race of the Round of 12. First joining the circuit as a relatively tame 1.5-mileRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – “It’s a good day to be in a Ford,” Clint Bowyer said with a laugh after Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega. “We finally got all four cars to the cream of the crop. Oh my gosh, was it awesome.  To be able to work together like that, we could hold on.  They get runs on you and everything else, but as long as you stayed your ground, stayed in line, we’d prevail.” A good day indeed, as Stewart-Haas Racing Fords finished first andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Aric Almirola has been tantalizingly close to winning this season, only to come up empty. On Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, he finally got to light the victory cigar. When the No. 41 Ford of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch lost fuel pressure on the final lap of the 1000Bulbs.com 500, Almirola was there to collect his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory since 2014 and clinch a spot in the Round of 8 in the series Playoffs. Almirola’s second careerRead More