Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

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 Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – From the back to the front, Kyle Busch came within laps of challenging Erik Jones for victory in the Bojangles Southern 500. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was chasing his teammate down in the closing laps. Busch made quick work of Kyle Larson as he closed in on Jones. The No. 18 Snickers Throwback Toyota Camry moved closer and closer to the No. 20 as the laps clicked off. With three laps to go, it looked as if the race would comeRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – Strong runs for Matt DiBenedetto continued at Darlington Raceway as he earned back-to-back top-10 finishes for the first time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. The No. 95 IMSA GTO Throwback Toyota Camry battled Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, and Paul Menard in the closing laps of the Bojangles Southern 500. DiBenedetto fought Bowyer hard until he fell behind in lapped traffic. He lost another spot to Busch in the closing laps. However, DiBenedetto held off Menard all the way toRead 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 Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – With two marquee wins, Denny Hamlin’s legacy has been firmly cemented in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. With two wins in the Daytona 500 and the Bojangles Southern 500, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has equaled a select few, Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Cale Yarborough in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Hamlin has the opportunity this weekend to inch closer to Gordon’s three Daytona 500 and six Southern 500-win mark. Last year, he finished thirdRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – In recent days, Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman has embraced Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway. Bowman, whose No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro SS will honor Hendrick alum Tim Richmond, recreated a famous photo of his favorite driver. With Richmond’s car in the background and a hat in place of the late driver’s helmet, Bowman wore a retro Axalta shirt and fact mustache to emulate the 13-time winner. Bowman joked that portraying Richmond has broken him out of his shell. “I begged forRead 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

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When looking back at all the memorable moments Darlington Raceway has produced, all of them aren’t confined to just the Southern 500. Back when the track held two events each year, the spring race produced just as many memorable moments of its own. The CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 in April 1979 was one of those events. Richard Petty, driving his famous No. 43 STP car, and Darrell Waltrip, who then drove the No. 88 Gatorade machine for DiGard Racing, staged a battle for the agesRead More