Ford EcoBoost 400 Tag

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The talk of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season was all around the ‘Big Three’ of Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. Rightfully so, given that the trio went to victory lane in 20 (Busch – 8, Harvick – 8 and Truex – 4) of the 35 races heading into Sunday’s championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. On paper, the deck was stacked against the Middletown, Connecticut native. Logano was the only driver of the Championship 4 without aRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – If there was a sentimental favorite to win the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship, Martin Truex, Jr. and Furniture Row Racing were that favorite. With the impending closure of the team at the end of the season, it would have been a storybook finish to see Truex, crew chief Cole Pearn, owner Barney Visser and the entire organization raise the trophy for the second year in a row before riding off into the sunset and into the annals of NASCAR history.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – After 17 seasons together, Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the closing of a chapter in Jimmie Johnson’s career as it marked the final race that he and crew chief Chad Knaus would be paired up and the final time that Lowe’s would serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 48 Chevrolet. To commemorate the end of an era, Johnson’s car was decked out in the same Lowe’s paint scheme he sported back during his rookie season, his uniform matched the one heRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer HOMESTEAD, Fla. –With eight victories heading into Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Busch was having a career year, tying a personal-best mark with victories and setting career-highs in top-fives (21) and top-10s (27). However, Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota lacked rear grip throughout the race and struggled on pit road. It was an atypical performance from one of the strongest teams of the season when it counted the most. “We just didn’t have the rear grip thatRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer With so much emphasis on the Championship 4, three drivers may have strapped into their cars for the last time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The three of subject were AJ Allmendinger, Matt Kenseth, and Jamie McMurray, whose careers are up in the air after completing their last races in their current rides in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. Their results might’ve been what defined each of their seasons, with McMurray in 18th and Allmendinger in 19th, while sixth-place KensethRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Sixteen drivers entered the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a shot at the championship, but now we are down to the best of the best. Press conferences with some good-natured ribbing have been held, the drivers have had the opportunity to dial their cars in throughout practice and qualifying over the last few days and now all that’s left is to race it out and see how things shake out by the time the checkered flag falls. Before Kyle Busch, KevinRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – “Just didn’t have enough,” Daniel Hemric said after climbing out of his car at the end of the night Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, falling short of the championship for the second year in a row with Richard Childress Racing. Though he had yet to win a race in any of the national NASCAR series he has competed in, Hemric was one of the favorites coming into the night as a result of his season wide performance. Despite all that, something was missing inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Continuing the speed shown earlier in the day, Joey Logano was the fastest once again in final practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway, jumping to the top of the board early on and staying there for the duration of the session. Logano clocked in at 31.450 seconds, 171.701 mph, with fellow championship contender Martin Truex Jr. following close on his heels with the second fastest time in practice. “I think we were pretty good,” Logano said. “I amRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A day after struggling to find speed in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session of the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joey Logano topped the board in the first of two Saturday practice sessions. Logano ran 40 laps throughout practice, but it was his first lap on track that was the fastest, posting a time of 31.838 seconds, 169.609 mph. The Team Penske driver was also fastest among 10-lap averages. “How do you not feel confident in that?  You have to,”Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Three of the four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 drivers qualified near the top of the board in Friday’s knockout time trials at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Denny Hamlin, who has his own agenda, stole the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90). Trying to extend his streak of winning at least one race per season to 13 consecutive years, Hamlin streaked around the 1.5-mile track in 31.059 secondsRead More