Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor From the bright lights of Las Vegas to Saturday night short track racing under the lights in Richmond. Race No. 2 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is here as the championship contenders get set to take on the 62nd annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway Often described as the perfectly designed racetrack by drivers, the 0.75-mile track lends itself to not only short track characteristics of beating and banging, but also the characteristics of a larger track with the side-by-sideRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor September 1991. The second stop of the month saw the NASCAR Winston Cup Series heading to Richmond Raceway for the Miller Genuine Draft 400, the first night race held on Richmond’s  0.75-mile oval. By the time all was said and done, the legend of “Mr. September” would have another chapter written. Harry Gant had won the Southern 500 at Darlington the week prior and came to Richmond looking to make it back to back wins for the first time in his career. Ahead of theRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There was certainly no shortage of drama – both on and off the track – in the opening race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs last weekend and that high energy will undoubtedly carry over to the second race of the 10-race Playoff this Saturday night in the Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway. Martin Truex Jr. won his fifth race of the 2019 season (series-most) lastRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After just one full-time season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Daniel Hemric will have to look for a new home for 2020 and beyond. On Tuesday, Richard Childress Racing announced it would not be picking up the option on Hemric’s contract for next season. “Richard Childress Racing has exercised its option and will release Daniel Hemric as driver of the No. 8 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camaro ZL1 effective at the conclusion of the 2019 NASCAR race season,” the team said inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs get underway each year, the intensity among the drivers chasing after the championship always gets cranked up and Sunday’s kickoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was no exception. By the end of the night, frustration ran rampant through the garage area for the Playoff drivers who didn’t have things go their way in the South Point 400. Chief among them was regular season champion Kyle Busch, who got into the wall early in the race andRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — It had been almost three months since Martin Truex Jr. last raised a trophy and while others may have wondered about his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team’s Playoff potential, this team never wavered in its confidence or pursuit. And sure enough, they were the ones celebrating in Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after Sunday night’s South Point 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opener. “Welcome back,’’ an ecstatic Truex screamed to his team on the radioRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Clint Bowyer won the pole position for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway turning a fast lap of 178.926 mph in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. It is only the third pole position he’s earned in 14 years of full-time Cup Series competition and the first, coincidentally, since this same date – Sept. 14– at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2007 – a race he won. There have been 431 races since hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor 26 races down. 10 to go. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend to kick off the 2019 edition of the Playoffs. 16 drivers enter this final stretch of the season, but only one will emerge as champion. Every race from here on out is crucial on the path toward the title, even Sunday’s South Point 400. A misstep here could put the championship contenders in an early hole or if they find success, propel them on aRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service BUSCH NOT RELYING ON CUSHION LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch looked simultaneously relaxed in his hometown of Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon and ready to get after it. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin with Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and as the regular season champion, Busch starts the 10-race championship push as the top-seed among the 16 Playoff drivers. On-track action begins Friday with opening Cup practice. Busch’s onlyRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Wood Brothers Racing will have a new driver behind the wheel in 2020 as the team announced on Tuesday that Paul Menard will be retiring from full-time driving at the end of the season, with Matt DiBenedetto replacing him in the cockpit of the famed No. 21 Ford. Menard, who has driven for the Wood Brothers for the last two seasons and full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2008, cited wanting to spend more time at home with his family as oneRead More