Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer “When Homestead comes around if I am not in, he will know it,” said a disgruntled Aric Almirola who laid down the law towards Joey Logano. For the second race in a row, Logano is the center of criticism from a Round of 8 competitor after Almirola voiced his displeasure of how hard he raced him in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth. Struggling matching race winner’s and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick’s dominant pace, Almirola was in excellent position withRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NASCAR’s headlines all week has been on the dramatic finish from last Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville, involving Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr., where Logano’s bump on Truex in Turn 3 to get the win, angering him as another bid of a short track victory vanished in front of him. During Friday’s press conference at Texas Motor Speedway however, Truex did reflect on his hasty post-race comments on Logano through texting, but his eyes have already shifted from anger to game mode as hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a barnburner of a finish at Martinsville last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Lone Star State and Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500 and the second race of the playoff semi-finals. First joining the circuit in 1997, the 1.5-mile Texas track has provided some great racing over the years as the original track surface wore down over the years. Prior to the 2017 season, Texas went through a reconfiguration, dropping the banking in Turns 1Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the first eight years of its existence, Texas Motor Speedway had just one race weekend a year, but starting in 2005, the track was granted a second date in the playoffs and the racing at the 1.5-mile track certainly didn’t disappoint the first time out. Heading into the race, Tony Stewart led the points standings by 43 points over Jimmie Johnson, with Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Ryan Newman rounding out the top-five championship contenders. Newman may have won the pole, but he had toRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Despite being a member of the ‘Big Three,’ Kevin Harvick flew under the Radar after struggling to run inside the top-10 at Martinsville Speedway. The First Data 500 was an uncharacteristic struggle for the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Harvick finished 10th after hovering just inside the top-15 in his No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Fusion. The struggles for Harvick were evident as he was forced to take the free pass at the end of the second stage. Changing track conditions and lack of trackRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor “He may have won the battle, but he ain’t winning the damn war,” Martin Truex, Jr. said after the conclusion of Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville. Minutes earlier, Truex, who had driven from the back of the pack to the lead on the last lap, found himself at the receiving end of Joey Logano’s bumper in Turn 3, dropping him from a chance at a win and a berth in the Championship 4 at Homestead to a third-place finish. While Logano was celebrating his winRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer In the midst of an instant classic battle between Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr., Denny Hamlin snookered his way to finish second in Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. After taking out fan favorite Chase Elliott out of the race lead last year, Hamlin was introduced in front of his home state fans with loud jeers. 500 laps later, the jeers lessened after Logano’s bump on Truex that could’ve been disastrous for their championship aspirations. As both were sliding, Hamlin charged his way byRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Joey Logano provided his own interpretation of the Golden Rule in Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, as in “Do unto others as others didn’t do to you.” With a guaranteed spot in the Championship 4 Round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at stake, Logano moved the Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. out of the way in Turns 3 and 4 of the final lap to win for the first time at the .526-mile short track and claim hisRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer As sparks flew up ahead, Kyle Busch crossed the line fourth at Martinsville Speedway. The exciting and wild finish to the First Data 500 capped off a strong day for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver. Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry was in the thick of the fight for the win in the waning laps. He battled Martin Truex, Jr., Brad Keselowski, and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin as the four drivers chased eventual winner Joey Logano. While TruexRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Though Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports may be losing Lowe’s as a sponsor at season’s end, the organization announced Sunday at Martinsville that they have found a new sponsor to take over starting in 2019 Lowe’s announced their departure from the sport back in March, forcing HMS to find a new sponsor for the No. 48 car for the first time since 2002. After seven months of looking, Ally Financial came to the forefront and they will sponsor the team full-time for the next two seasons.Read More