Kurt Busch Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Following last Sunday’s battle in the Windy City, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to where it all began, Daytona International Speedway, for this weekend’s 60th running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the third superspeedway race of the season. From 1959 until 1987, the 160 lap, 400 mile shootout at the World Center of Racing, then called the Firecracker 400, was held on July 4th, even if the holiday fell in the middle of the week. Beginning inRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service JOLIET, Ill. – Austin Dillon earned his third Busch Pole Award of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season Saturday evening at Chicagoland Speedway, his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet posting a speed of 176.263 mph around the 1.5-mile track. Kevin Harvick will start second, his fifth front row start of the season in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, Dillon’s RCR teammate Daniel Hemric was third fastest, seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was fourth and KurtRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The countdown to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is on, with just 10 races remaining in the regular season to set the field of contenders that will fight for the championship later this fall. Kicking off the summer stretch will be Chicagoland Speedway and Sunday’s running of the Camping World 400, which returns to its mid-summer roots for the second year in a row after several years as the Playoff opener. The track, which joined the circuit in 2001, only hosts the CupRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After getting to enjoy a much needed week off, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back in business with a little road course racing. This week, the series makes the trek out to California wine country to take on Sonoma Raceway, a 12-turn technical road course situated about 30 miles north of San Francisco. This week’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 consists of 90 laps, which calculates out to 226.8 miles, or 365 kilometers. Over the years, the course at Sonoma Raceway has gone through aRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent A late-race caution and early contact with the wall hindered Kurt Busch’s chances in the FireKeeper’s Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion drafted with Martin Truex Jr. as the duo attempted to catch Joey Logano. With five laps to go in the scheduled distance, the two drivers had caught Logano. Just as they prepared to make a run, the caution waved for a spin by Erik Jones. On the restart, Logano easily cleared Truex. Busch’s No. 1Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Given the statistics, you might think Joey Logano ran away with Monday’s rain-delayed Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Yes, Logano led 163 of 203 laps at the two-mile track in the Irish Hills. He had the fastest car in qualifying on Saturday and the fastest car in the 15th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event of the season. But after a late caution for Erik Jones’ spin into the infield grass below Turn 2, Logano needed overtime to seal the win. He neededRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Eastern Pennsylvania comes calling this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leaves the comfort of home in Charlotte for Pocono Raceway and Sunday’s running of the Pocono 400. With only three turns, instead of the four turns at all other ovals on the circuit, Pocono is definitely one of the most unique tracks on the schedule. The three turns all have differing banking with Turn 1 and its 14-degree banking modeled after the now-defunct Trenton Speedway, Turn 2 and its nine-degree banking modeledRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The weekend before Memorial Day marks the beginning of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series traditional two-week stop at NASCAR’s home base of Charlotte, North Carolina and the 1.5-mile quad oval that is Charlotte Motor Speedway. First up on the two-week stopover in the Queen City is the Monster Energy All-Star Race, a non-points event that has served up more than its fair share of exciting moments in its 34-year history. What is now the All-Star Race began as “The Winston” in 1985 and wasRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – At the end of a thrilling victory in Saturday night’s Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway, race winner Brad Keselowski’s first thoughts sped to the truck owner who helped further his career. “I just want to dedicate this win to Mike Mittler,” Keselowski said of the man for whom he drove for two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races in 2006. “You know, he helped a lot of guys in their career, and I was one of them. He passedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Since 2014, Kansas Speedway’s spring race has found a foothold in the schedule occupying the Mother’s Day Weekend slot and once again this year, will play host to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday night with the running of the Digital Ally 400. First joining the circuit as a relatively tame 1.5 mile track with 15 degree banking in the turns, Kansas underwent a massive reconfiguration in 2012 that transformed it into a much more treacherous track with variable banking ranging from 17Read More