Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott clings to one of the last three points positions to be able to make it into the playoffs for a second year in a row, but with three races still to go and the unpredictability of racing on the high banked half-mile, the fact that Elliott has yet to win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race looms large over the 21-year old Hendrick Motorsports driver. As the points sit, Elliott holds a 62Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will mark the final time that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will participate in one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races as a full-time driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Before strapping into the cockpit for both the Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the high banked half-mile, Earnhardt took some time to reflect on Bristol and just what the track has meant to him over the years, from coming toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Thunder Valley this weekend for the annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, a showdown under the lights on the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” that is sure to leave sheet metal twisted and tempers flaring once these drivers get done battling for 500 laps on the high-banked bullring that is called “The Last Great Colosseum.” Racing at Bristol is always intense, but when the lights go down for the night race each August, theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As the summer continues to crawl toward an end, the annual Bristol Night Race looms large as an August staple, as drivers throughout the garage area have the race on their bucket list to win. For one driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., he will be strapping into the cockpit on a full-time basis one final time this weekend, driving double duty in both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the Bristol high banks. With that in mind, let’s takeRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week NASCAR Editor David Morgan will break down the top storylines from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. This week, we break down the Pure Michigan 400 from Michigan International Speedway. The Two-Mile King There’s something about two-mile tracks that just fits Kyle Larson’s driving style. Since breaking though for his first Cup Series win at Michigan last August, Larson is undefeated on two-mile tracks, winning at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season, followed up by a sweep of both Michigan racesRead More

By Matt Crossman, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Sitting in his racecar during a red flag delay near the end of the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Kyle Larson pondered the possible routes to an overtime victory. He was in fourth-place and would restart for the final two-lap shootout behind leader Martin Truex Jr. Larson hadn’t had a fast racecar all day at Michigan International Speedway, but he thought with a gutsy move on the restart, he could steal a win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup SeriesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Pit strategy helped Chris Buescher score a top-10 finish in the Pure Michigan 400. Buescher was off-sequence throughout most of the race before finally finishing in sixth. After staying out and catching a caution with 13 laps to go, Buescher found himself one of eight yet to pit. With just 14 drivers on the lead lap, crew chief Trent Owens’s strategy worked out. Buescher’s No. 37 Bush’s Grillin’ Beans Chevrolet SS was primed for a to-10 run. The late-race pit strategy for the JTG-Daugherty RacingRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway was a bright day for just Erik Jones while the rest of the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series struggled. All four of the ROTY contenders have experience at the 2-mile oval. Erik Jones was the best rookie, finishing third in the No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota Camry after running inside the top-five all day long. Jones battled for both the lead and the race win.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 2017 season hasn’t gone quite to plan for Trevor Bayne and his No. 6 team. While his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has visited victory lane twice and will be one of the 16 drivers competing for the championship in the playoffs, Bayne had managed only two top-10 finishes prior to Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. Despite the struggles his team has faced this season, Bayne came into the Pure Michigan 400 ready to turn things around and when the checkered flagRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Since the dawn of NASCAR, road course specialists, also known as ‘ringers’ have attempted to upset the regulars in NASCAR’s National Series. However, in recent years, the ringers have struggled to finish inside the top-15 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The only exception to this being Max Papis’ 15th-place finish in 2013 at Watkins Glen when he was subbing for the injured Tony Stewart. Some have said that the days of road course ringers are numbered because NASCAR’s drivers have become better roadRead More