Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With his future in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series up in the air for next season and still looking for his first win of the 2017 season, Matt Kenseth and his No. 20 team found themselves in a prime position to check that box off the list in Sunday’s Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire, but a late race gamble on tires didn’t quite go his way and he would have to settle for a fourth-place finish instead. Kenseth would start the day in thirdRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the second week in a row, Kyle Larson had to start from the back of the pack, but just like last weekend at Kentucky, Larson drove right up through the field, bringing home a second-place finish on Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire. “It’s a little frustrating what we have had to go through the last couple of weeks, but it’s pretty awesome to be able to run as fast as we have and finish second the last two weeks from dead last,” said Larson.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For the second week in a row, Kyle Larson will start last in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Despite having the fastest time in qualifying for the Overton’s 301, Larson’s No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS failed post-qualifying technical inspection due to an illegal rear deck fin. As a result, NASCAR officials disallowed his 28.568 second lap at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The penalty hands the pole position to Martin Truex, Jr., who coincidentally gained the points lead after Larson’s second place finish atRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for the running of the Overton’s 301, but before we look forward to Sunday’s race, we’ll take a step back in the past to the 1996 Jiffy Lube 300, a race that marked Ernie Irvan’s emotional return to victory lane. After the loss of Davey Allison in 1993, Robert Yates Racing tapped Irvan to take over the No. 28 Ford, with the team scoring five wins between the end of 1993Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Kyle Larson left Kentucky Speedway last Saturday night with a runner-up finish and the points lead in hand, but on Wednesday afternoon, a penalty from NASCAR wiped all of that away as his team was hammered for a Level 1 violation found in post-race inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center. Larson failed to make a qualifying run for last weekend’s race, causing him to have to start the race from the back of the pack, but he was able to rebound all the way upRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a night race on the repaved Kentucky Speedway last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads to New England this weekend for Sunday’s running of the Overton’s 301. First joining the Cup Series circuit in 1993, the 1.058 mile oval that has progressively banked turns from two to seven degrees is one of the more difficult tracks on the schedule as the flat nature of the track makes track position key with passing at a premium. With that in mind,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After eight weeks of recovery time, Aric Almirola will be returning to the cockpit of the No. 43 Ford this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Almirola was injured at Kansas Speedway in early May, suffering an acute compression fracture to his T5 Vertebra in his back after a vicious multi-car crash with Joey Logano and Danica Patrick. Entering Turn 1 on lap 200, Logano appeared to have something break on the right-front of his car, which turned his Ford to the left, making contactRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In news that had been expected since Matt Kenseth announced he would not be returning to Joe Gibbs Racing last week, the organization announced on Tuesday that Erik Jones would be returning in 2018 to take over the No. 20 Toyota that Kenseth currently drives. “Matt (Kenseth) has been a tremendous asset to our organization over the past five seasons both on and off the track,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He’s been a great teammate and a great ambassador for ourRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPARTA, Ky. – After all was said and done, the dominant car won the race – but not without extreme complications. With just over a lap to go in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. held a lead of more than 15 seconds over second-place Kyle Larson, with only eight cars remaining on the lead lap. But before Truex could take the white flag signaling the final lap, the engine in Kurt Busch’s Ford expired, dumping oil on the 1.5-mileRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Saturday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway, Brad Keselowski was considered by many as one of the favorites given his three wins at the track in the past six years, but after an early exit, Keselowski did not hold back on his thoughts about everything that had transpired, giving everyone some valid points to ponder for the future of the sport. Starting the day in 10th place, Keselowski struggled in the first stage, failing to finish in the top-10, but things would get evenRead More