Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent MOORESVILLE, N.C. – The North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame inducted two more legends of the sport into its Hall of Fame in downtown Mooresville, Jerry Cook and Tony Stewart. A part of the NCARHoF honor for Cook and Stewart will have individual sidewalk markers on Main Street in ‘Race City USA’s downtown, an imprint deserving of men who’s mark on the sport is still felt today. The event, emceed by NCARHoF Board Chair, and recent Team Penske Hall of Fame inductee, Don MillerRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A reunion will come into fruition for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series as Roush Fenway Racing announced Wednesday the sudden signing of Chris Buescher piloting the No. 17 Ford Mustang, replacing Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. after eight seasons. Buescher drove for RFR in all of his 74 Xfinity Series starts, including two full-seasons from 2014-15 where he scored three wins and brought the team’s final series title in 2015. Since moving to Cup in 2016, the Prosper, Texas native raced for Front Row Motorsports and JTG DaughertyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer After over a month of speculation, Leavine Family Racing finally confirmed Tuesday that NASCAR Xfinity Series star Christopher Bell will move up to the the sport’s premiere series in 2020. The Norman, Oklahoma native will replace Matt DiBenedetto in the No. 95 Toyota Camry and he’ll have familiar names joining him. Calling the shots will be his Xfinity Series crew chief Jason Ratcliff as Mike Wheeler will become the team’s Competition Director. Bell’s long-time partner of Rheem, who will also move up with the versatile driverRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The scenario for Sunday’s much-anticipated Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course provides exactly the intensity NASCAR fans want, but for the Playoff drivers competing to advance to the Round of 12 – the recently added road course also presents high anxiety. Coming into Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) the four Playoff drivers currently ranked outside the top 12 in the driverRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent The highlight of the day for Chase Elliott was a third-place qualifying effort as he flew under the radar at Richmond Raceway. Much like Las Vegas one week ago, the Federated Auto Parts 400 was nearly identical to the Spring race at Richmond. With just three natural cautions, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid drivers had little chance move up the running order. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 started with track position, but ultimately couldn’t keep it. At the end ofRead More

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