Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A day after struggling to find speed in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session of the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joey Logano topped the board in the first of two Saturday practice sessions. Logano ran 40 laps throughout practice, but it was his first lap on track that was the fastest, posting a time of 31.838 seconds, 169.609 mph. The Team Penske driver was also fastest among 10-lap averages. “How do you not feel confident in that?  You have to,”Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Three of the four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 drivers qualified near the top of the board in Friday’s knockout time trials at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Denny Hamlin, who has his own agenda, stole the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90). Trying to extend his streak of winning at least one race per season to 13 consecutive years, Hamlin streaked around the 1.5-mile track in 31.059 secondsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – When the checkered flag flies on Sunday, the book will finally be closed on Furniture Row Racing as the team will be shuttering its doors over the offseason regardless if they win a second-straight title or not. Ahead of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series cars hitting the track for the first time, team president Joe Garone addressed the team’s closure and how they have been rallying around each other in the final days. “It’s been brutal at the end here. But inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Furniture Row Racing may be closing the doors at season’s end, but their focus is still laser sharp on pulling off the ultimate mic drop moment by claiming their second straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship on their way out. After accumulating enough points to make it through Sunday’s race at ISM Raceway and claim one of the berths into the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend, the dream is still alive and well. “It gives me chills,” said Martin Truex, Jr. “Honestly, I’mRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Holding off Brad Keselowski after a restart with 12 laps left in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway, Kyle Busch claimed his eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and led NASCAR’s Big Three into the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After a wreck on Lap 269 of 312 ended the championship hopes of Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott—both of whom had been in the mix throughout the day—Busch grabbed the lead from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate ErikRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Kurt Busch entered Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway with just three points separating him from a berth in the championship finale, but for the 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, it just wasn’t his day. After finishing the first stage in fifth place, taking the lead on the ensuing restart and holding onto the top spot for the next 52 laps, things went awry for Busch and his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team when Busch was penalized for passing the pace car entering pitRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Joey Logano’s afternoon at ISM Raceway in Phoenix ended early Sunday after his left rear tire went down, spinning out and made contact with the Turn 2 wall, finishing 37th. The self-proclaimed championship favorite after locking himself into the Championship 4 with a win at Martinsville, struggled for pace in stage one after starting from the ninth position, crossing the line in 20th while his Penske teammates finished in the top-five. On Lap 97, Logano’s day took a turn for the worst when his No. 22Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After the checkered flag flies on the end of both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Formula 1 seasons later this month, Jimmie Johnson and Fernando Alonso will get to do something that not many have done before and that is climb behind the wheel of the other’s car to experience life in their world for a day. On November 26 at Bahrain International Circuit, Johnson will get his first stint in a Formula 1 car, taking over Alonso’s McLaren, while the two-time F1 worldRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Resilient Kevin Harvick bounced back at his best track, winning the pole position for Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway and putting behind him a penalty that threatened his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship chances. Harvick, a nine-time Phoenix winner, toured the newly configured one-mile track in 25.386 seconds to run the fastest lap in the three-round knockout qualifying session at 139.340 mph to edge fellow Playoff driver Chase Elliott (139.152 mph) for the top starting spot in Round of 8Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Round of Eight all comes down to this. After last week’s race at Texas, the stage is set for the final race of the round in Phoenix to determine which drivers will move onto Homestead and which drivers will see their championship hopes vanish in the Arizona desert. Three of the four spots in the championship race are still up for grabs after the penalty news that came out on Wednesday. Of the drivers still eligible, only Joey Logano is safe, having locked up hisRead More