Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind. – From the start of Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ryan Newman’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff chances were in jeopardy. He entered the final Monster Energy Series regular-season race tied with Daniel Suarez for the final berth in the postseason, and qualifying didn’t go as well as Newman had hoped. He was 22nd fastest in time trials, giving up two spots to Suarez at the outset. But with astute pit calls by crew chief Scott GravesRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind. – It was a dominating victory for Kevin Harvick and a statement of superiority for his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads toward its 10-race Playoff. It was an ignominious end to Jimmie Johnson’s unique and unprecedented streak of qualifying for every Cup Series postseason. And it was heartbreak for Daniel Suarez, as he chased Ryan Newman over the final nine laps of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with theRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Over the years, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been the site of several hard crashes and in Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at The Brickyard, Brad Keselowski and Erik Jones became the latest to feel the wrath of the demanding 2.5-mile layout. As Stage 1 was coming to a close, drivers throughout the field were jockeying for position when Jones attempted to pass Keselowski into Turn 2, but the two drivers didn’t have enough margin between them, causing Jones to drift up the track into KeselowskiRead More
By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Kyle Busch walked around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage Friday afternoon feeling equal parts ambitious and already highly accomplished. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver locked in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship last Sunday at Darlington Raceway – his second regular season title in as many years. And the clinch comes a full week before the series’ regular season finale, Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (2 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio and SiriusXMRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor Erik Jones has called the No. 20 team at Joe Gibbs Racing home for the past two seasons and heading into the 2020 season, he will continue to occupy that seat as the team announced a contract extension for the 23-year old on Friday. “I’m so happy to finally have my plans for 2020 confirmed and to talk about it,” Jones said in a team release. “I’m excited to be staying with Joe Gibbs Racing and the 20 team and to continue the success thatRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season comes down to this. One final race to set the field for the Playoffs. By the end of Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at The Brickyard, the 16 drivers competing for the championship will be locked in and ready to battle it out over the final 10 weeks of the season. First joining the circuit in 1994, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has provided some classic moments and some that the powers that be would rather forget. The track’sRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor After the first three years of the Brickyard 400 had produced winners like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, and Dale Jarrett, the fourth year of NASCAR at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was sure to provide another headlining driver ending the day in Victory Lane, right? Not quite. Ricky Rudd, a driver/owner piloting his own equipment, pulled a fast one on the competition and held off all comers down the stretch to take home the trophy. For most of the day, drivers like Gordon and Jarrett controlled theRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – As the clock ticked toward 2 a.m. on Monday, in a race delayed by  rain for nearly four hours, Erik Jones claimed the most important victory of his career in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. With his contract status at Joe Gibbs Racing a source of speculation throughout much of the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Jones made an emphatic statement, holding off teammate Kyle Busch and charging Kyle Larson after taking the lead from Larson onRead More
By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – In his sophomore season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series—and his first with veteran crew chief Chad Knaus—William Byron continues to make history. On Saturday at Darlington Raceway, Byron covered the 1.366-mile distance at the egg-shaped track in 28.510 seconds (172.487 mph), winning the pole position for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Not only did Byron claim his first Busch Pole Award at Darlington and his fourth of the season, butRead More
By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a weekend off to recharge the batteries before making the final 12 race push to finish off the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for this weekend’s running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Darlington Raceway has been a staple of the Cup Series since opening in 1950 for its annual Labor Day weekend event with the Southern 500 being held on that date until a controversial decision was made to moveRead More