Federated Auto Parts 400 Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent The Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway saw the first disqualification in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since the policy was instated prior to the season. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones earned the dubious honor after he finished fourth, part of an initial sweep by JGR of the top-four positions. The No. 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry is now credited with a 38th-place finish. Jones also loses his stage finishes, ninth and fourth. Post-race, Jones’ No. 20, along with the other Playoff Grid carsRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent The underdog story of Ryan Newman continued as the Roush Fenway Racing driver recorded his best run of the season at Richmond Raceway. In the final stage of the Federated Auto Parts 400, Newman’s No. 6 Ford Performance / Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang battled with Martin Truex, Jr, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver showed his muscle battling with the two dominant organizations of 2019. Newman briefly challenged Truex for second before slipping backward. As theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. –Martin Truex Jr. overcame late adversity and continued to assert his mastery over the first round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Rallying from a spin off the bumper of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Ford, and passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch for the lead with 25 laps left, Truex led an 1-2-3 finish for JGR in Saturday night’s Federated Auto parts 400 at Richmond Raceway. In fact, the Gibbs cars were 1-2-3-4 at the finish, but a disqualification dueRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – In a battle of late qualifiers at Richmond Raceway, Brad Keselowski knocked Kevin Harvick off the provisional pole for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 to claim the top starting spot for the second race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 36th of 38 drivers to make a qualifying run, Keselowski covered the .75-mile distance in 21.229 seconds (127.185 mph) to beat Harvick (126.559 mph) by .105 seconds. TheRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Second-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron shared the news this week that his longtime sponsor and current learning institution, Liberty University, will back him for at least another two years in NASCAR’s premier series. And it seemed fitting, as Byron has been a stellar student in his first version of stock car racing’s ultimate final exam – the Playoffs. The 21-year old NASCAR star/college student arrived at Richmond (Va.) Raceway for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor From the bright lights of Las Vegas to Saturday night short track racing under the lights in Richmond. Race No. 2 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is here as the championship contenders get set to take on the 62nd annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway Often described as the perfectly designed racetrack by drivers, the 0.75-mile track lends itself to not only short track characteristics of beating and banging, but also the characteristics of a larger track with the side-by-sideRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There was certainly no shortage of drama – both on and off the track – in the opening race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs last weekend and that high energy will undoubtedly carry over to the second race of the 10-race Playoff this Saturday night in the Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway. Martin Truex Jr. won his fifth race of the 2019 season (series-most) lastRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent The highlight of the day for Ryan Newman was a pit strategy call as he flew under the radar at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The South Point 400 was nearly identical to the Spring race at Las Vegas. With just two natural cautions, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid drivers had little chance move up the running order. Newman’s No. 6 Oscar Meyer Bacon Ford Mustang did so with some pit strategy. At the end of the second stage, Newman’s Scott Graves-led RoushRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Although Jimmie Johnson ran inside the top-10 for much of the Federated Auto Parts 400, the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion still flew under the radar at Richmond Raceway. While the “Big Three” and Brad Keselowski dominated the race, Johnson quietly finished the race in eighth place. After a poor qualifying effort left him starting 21st, Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 didn’t break into the top-10 until the second stage. A broken trackbar adjuster and a pit road speeding penaltyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Chase Elliott was outside the Round of 12 cutoff line heading into Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway, and he’ll leave the 0.75-mile oval just 10 points to the good after finishing fourth and leading 34 of 400 laps. Elliott was on the outside looking in after an day-shortened 36th place finish due to a two-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sept. 16. It put him in a vulnerable position of playing catch up, trailing 12th place Alex Bowman by nine points andRead More