Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The preliminary races are over, now it’s time for the main event. Four of the best in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will face off Sunday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a winner take all race. To the victor goes the championship, while it’s better luck next year for the other three. This year, it’s a Joe Gibbs Racing vs Stewart-Haas Racing showdown, with three JGR drivers – Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex, Jr. – taking on the loneRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Joe Gibbs Racing comes into this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship battle with a 3-to-1 shot at taking home the title and if Saturday’s final practice is any indication, the championship will have to go through them. In a makeshift practice session that took the place of qualifying after rain washed almost everything out on Friday, Kyle Busch led the way at 31.959 seconds, 168.966 mph, with teammates Martin Truex, Jr. and Denny Hamlin in tow. The fourth of theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The career paths of Joe Gibbs and Tony Stewart will forever be intertwined as the two were instrumental in making each other a success in the NASCAR Cup Series. While they have gone the separate ways, with both running world-class teams in NASCAR’s upper echelon, the two remain close, even as Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex, Jr. from Joe Gibbs Racing and Kevin Harvick from Stewart-Haas Racing get ready to duke it out for the championship on Sunday afternoon. WhenRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MIAMI Beach, Fla. – There’s no politicking this week at Stewart-Haas Racing. At the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level, the organization’s sole focus will be on winning another championship at NASCAR’s highest level, and that means putting the necessary resources behind Kevin Harvick. The first driver to win under the current elimination format, which debuted in 2014, Harvick is the only Stewart-Haas entry in the Championship 4 this year. He’s the only driver carrying the Ford banner. In contrast, Joe Gibbs Racing facesRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Out, demon! Denny Hamlin’s exorcism is complete. At ISM Raceway, the site of one of his biggest disappointments, Hamlin barged back into the Championship 4 with a dominating victory in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500. Hamlin joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, Sunday’s runner-up, in the Nov. 17 race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The three JGR drivers will battle Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing for the trophy. After losing controlRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – In a Saturday qualifying session that provided validation that the cream rises to the top, Kyle Busch earned his first pole position of the season, as seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers claimed the top seven positions on the grid. Navigating one-mile ISM Raceway in a blistering 25.693 seconds 140.116 mph, Busch edged Joey Logano (139.752 mph) by .067 seconds for Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the race that willRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor It’s a showdown in the Arizona desert this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls into ISM Raceway in Phoenix for the Bluegreen Vacations 500. Just two spots are still up for grabs in the Championship 4, with six drivers still in the hunt. Martin Truex, Jr. and Kevin Harvick have already locked up their place in the season finale at Homestead, with Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott still looking to race their way in.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Denny Hamlin came into Texas Motor Speedway with a double-digit point cushion over the cut-off line in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but things didn’t exactly go according to plan on Sunday and he’ll have his work cut out for him going forward. As the top driver not yet locked into the championship race at Homestead, Hamlin started the day 24 points ahead of fifth-place with a third-place qualifying effort. Despite starting at the front of the field, thingsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – The three youngest drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson – have all won races during the postseason, but for any of them to be able to take the next step and be real threats for the championship, they will have to win next weekend at Phoenix. Entering Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, all three would have liked to of taken a step forward, but for all three,Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. – For Kevin Harvick, Texas is the new Phoenix. Overcoming a pit road penalty for a tire placed in his pit box too early, Harvick took control of the AAA Texas 500 as the sun set on Texas Motor Speedway and won his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the 1.5-mile track in Cowtown. Locked into the Championship 4 race two weeks hence at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick can now breathe easy heading into the final Round ofRead More