Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The number of crew chiefs suspended from this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway has now grown to three as Drew Blickensderfer, crew chief for Aric Almirola, was penalized for post-race inspection issues after last Sunday’s race at Talladega. After Almirola finished fourth in the GEICO 500, NASCAR announced that the No. 43 team had failed the post-race rear wheel steer on the Laser Inspection Station, which is the same issue that Brad Keselowski’s team encountered after their top-five finish atRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a lengthy appeals process finally concluded on Tuesday, Team Penske lost their final appeal of their penalties on Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 team from Phoenix, meaning that Keselowski will be without crew chief Paul Wolfe this weekend at Kansas. As a refresher, Keselowski finished fifth at Phoenix back in March, but did not pass weights and measures, failing the post-race rear wheel steer on the Laser Inspection Station. Keselowski’s finish was encumbered and crew chief Paul Wolfe was fined $65,000 and suspended from threeRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer In 2016, Matt DiBenedetto just missed earning a spot in the NASCAR All-Star race after running a social media campaign that even included changing his name on the car to ‘DiBurrito.’ This year, DiBenedetto will once again have a social media presence as he will represent Reddit on the Go Fas Racing No. 32 Ford Fusion. DiBenedetto has been an active Reddit user, participating in ‘Ask Me Anything’ question and answer sessions, and recently explained the fun he has had on Reddit. “I’ve really gotten toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor A front-row start at Talladega should have led to one of the best finishes of the season or even a win for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has won at the storied track six times in his career, right? Well, not so fast. Starting the day on the outside of the front row alongside eventual winner Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Earnhardt was never able to power his way into the lead as he battled handling issues with his No. 88 Chevrolet throughout the day, noting on hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor “Talladega: World’s Fastest Junkyard,” quipped FOX Sports announcer Mike Joy after an 18-car crash broke out on the backstretch of the 2.66-mile superspeedway with 19 laps to go in Sunday’s GEICO 500. Couldn’t have summed it up any better. After a relatively quiet race by Talladega standards through the first 170 laps, the inevitable “Big One” was coming and when it came, it certainly was big. Coming off Turn 2, AJ Allmendinger, who was running third, made contact with the second-place driver, Chase Elliott, turningRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After scoring his third NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Talladega on Saturday afternoon, Aric Almirola parlayed the momentum from the day before into Sunday’s GEICO 500 as Almirola tied his best finish of the season with a fourth-place run, matching his finish from the season opening Daytona 500. “I thought I was right where I wanted to be,” said Almirola.  “My car was really good through the middle of the pack and I didn’t want to get shuffled to the bottom.  I was adamant aboutRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Anytime the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visits the restrictor plate tracks of Talladega and Daytona, Jamie McMurray is always a threat and in Sunday’s GEICO 500, McMurray was once again a threat, but came up just short with a runner-up finish. Even though he didn’t get the win, McMurray’s second place run at Talladega marks his best finish of the season. Starting the day in 23rd, McMurray had his work cut out for him when the green flag flew, but as he has alwaysRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season marked a return to Front Row Motorsports for David Ragan, who last drove for the organization in the 2015 Daytona 500. Entering the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Ragan had yet to finish better than 19th this season. In the abbreviated first practice, Ragan and his No. 38 Camping World/Good Sam team elected to make single car runs. He placed his No. 38 Ford Fusion 30th on the speed charts of the 31 teams that took time.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was an adventure for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five ROTY contenders, two drivers, Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding, have no previous experience at Talladega. Gaulding has no previous experience at any restrictor plate track. Ty Dillon placed his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS 28th on the starting grid. A caution midway through Stage 2 allowed Dillon to take an alternate strategy. he moved up toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega, two fan favorites will make up the front row, with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. scoring his first pole since Atlanta in September 2013 by beating out Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who will join him on the front row. Stenhouse and Earnhardt set the fastest times in the first round of qualifying and when the final round began, Earnhardt went out and backed up his first round time to scores of cheers from the Talladega faithful. As the last car on track,Read More