Kyle Busch Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the first six races of the season complete and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series reaching their first weekend break, we’ll take this opportunity to evaluate the season to this point and the storylines that have come to the forefront over the first month and a half. Stewart-Haas Racing Has Come to Play in 2018 If there’s one thing we’ve learned above all else this season, it’s that Stewart-Haas Racing is not messing around when it comes to their performance in the Cup Series.Read More

By NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Clint Bowyer was so excited he started his celebratory burnout at the entrance to Turn 3 at Martinsville Speedway, flirting perilously with the outside wall. Bowyer had ample reason to start the party early, before he got to the frontstretch for a traditional smoke show. With his victory in Monday’s snow-delayed STP 500, he had just ended a winless streak in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series that had reached 190 races, dating to the fall race at Charlotte in 2012. The victory didRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ryan Blaney came up short of capturing his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in Monday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, finishing a season-high third place after a stage two victory and led 145 of 500 laps. The No. 12 Menards/Libman Ford Fusion started fifth and would stay inside the top-five for much of the afternoon. Blaney wouldn’t take the lead for the first time until Lap 137, when he gained two spots on pit road and took the lead from stage oneRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After completing a trip out to the West Coast, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back east this weekend and straight to the first short track race of the season, with Sunday’s running of the STP 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. The track has basically one groove, meaning the only way to pass will be the moveRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FONTANA, Calif. – Martin Truex Jr. drove three things on Sunday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway. First, he drove the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota to a dominating victory in the Auto Club 400, the fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Second, he drove a time machine, turning back the clock to 2017 when his mastery of stage racing propelled him to his first series championship. Truex’s effort in Sunday’s race was every bit as overwhelming as his most convincingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kyle Larson has put a stranglehold on his competitors at the two-mile circuits, winning the last four races, but his bid for a fifth victory (Larson’s second at Fontana) came to an end in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway after finishing second behind race winner Martin Truex, Jr. Despite being his best finish of the season and only his second top-five, Larson failed to put his No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet on top of the leaderboard. “We had a lot of weirdRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the second week in a row, Martin Truex, Jr. will lead the field to green after powering his way to the pole during Friday’s qualifying session for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. With a lap of 38.592 seconds, 186.567 mph, Truex was the only driver in the final round of qualifying to put up a faster lap than the round before, paving his way toward his 17th career pole and his first at the two-mile California track. “It’s definitely pretty cool,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolling into Southern California this weekend for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, the time has come again to dive into the past at the two-mile oval in this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”. This week, with Kevin Harvick on a hot streak, winning the last three races in a row, we look back at the 2011 running of the Auto Club 400 and the fantastic finish between two California natives, Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Several Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams were issued penalties by NASCAR Wednesday, notably impacting Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team. Elliott’s team received an L1-level penalty for a rear suspension violation following Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway, where he finished a season-high third. The team was found to have violated Section 20.14.2, which deals with rear suspension and trailing arm angles/pinion angle shims. Elliott’s car didn’t meet the requirements as the Rule Book states it must be in completeRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After stops in Las Vegas and Phoenix, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wraps up their venture to the West Coast this weekend as they roll into Southern California to do battle on the two-mile Auto Club Speedway in Sunday’s Auto Club 400. Built on the site of an old steel mill featured in the movie “Terminator”, the two mile oval has been a part of the NASCAR schedule since opening in 1997. The track has gone through ownership changes throughout its history, as wellRead More