Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Just this week, 25-year-old Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney took to social media to acknowledge and chide some media prognosticators, who may not have penciled him to still be Playoff-eligible and a win away from his Championship 4 debut. But he is. And more than that Blaney is liking the good vibes of his No. 12 Team Penske Ford’s Playoff showing. Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is a venue whereRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The penultimate round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs rolls on to Texas Motor Speedway after a drama-filled race at Martinsville a week ago. On Sunday, the stock car racing elite will take on the 1.5-mile track with a pair of six-shooters, a cowboy hat and a berth in the Championship 4 on the line should any of the remaining playoff drivers find themselves in victory lane when the checkered flag falls on the AAA Texas 500. First joining the circuit in 1997,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer After two seasons, Chevrolet will stick with the Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series, but it’ll no longer be the ZL1. Instead, the manufacturer announced Thursday they’ll be running the Camaro ZL1 1LE next season. Known to be the fastest and most track-capable production ever built for the Camaro, it’s set to debut during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway next February. Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports, said they’ve taken lessons from their production counterpart and applied it into their NASCAR vehicle. “TheRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Matt Tifft has faced medical issues at various points in his career and after another episode on Saturday morning at Martinsville that sent him to the hospital and sidelined him from Sunday’s race, the 23-year old Front Row Motorsports driver learned early this week that he will have to miss out on the remainder of the 2019 season. Tifft, who missed a number of races in 2016 while receiving treatment from a non-malignant brain tumor, took to social media on Tuesday morning after the newsRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kyle Larson may be sitting seventh in points and 24 markers behind the cutoff line, but a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway was solid enough to leave happy. In a race that was completely dominated by Martin Truex, Jr., who led a modern era high 464 of 500 laps, Larson was one of only two drivers (Denny Hamlin) who led laps. This was all thanks to his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing squad keeping him out of pit road in theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Martinsville Speedway was certainly a track Chase Elliott would like to steer clear after a disastrous First Data 500 weekend, capping off with a 36th place finish during Sunday’s race. After a blown engine which saw Elliott’s No. 9 Mountain Dew Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 engulfed into flames Saturday morning, he had to give up his starting slot because he went to the backup car. Elliott would qualify second but before the green flag dropped in Virginia, he had to work his way from the rear ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor While all eyes were on the Playoff drivers on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron was trying his best to crash the party and score his first career win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. At the same track that his team, Hendrick Motorsports, has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the 21-year-old phenom, with veteran crew chief Chad Knaus at the helm, started the day in 11th and once he cracked the top-10, he would stay there for theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano have had their fair share of run-ins both on-track and off over the years and Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, the tension between the two flared back up. Both drivers had a decent day going with the two running in the top-10 as the laps were winding down in the first race of the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Then as they were running side-by-side with about 50 laps to go, Hamlin ran wide offRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It took a post-race fracas on pit road to distract from the dominance of Martin Truex Jr., who led a career-best 464 laps in winning Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway and punched his ticket for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race. The 2017 Cup Series champion took the lead from pole winner Denny Hamlin off pit road on Lap 30 under the first of 11 cautions and held it the rest of the way, save for aRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Front Row Motorsports driver Matt Tifft will be replaced by two-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion Matt Crafton for Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Tifft, who pilots the No. 36 Ford Mustang, was transported to a local hospital Saturday morning due to a medical condition at the track. FRM issued a short statement regarding Tifft’s medical update: “This morning, Matt Tifft was transported to a local hospital in Martinsville, Virginia for further evaluation and tests after suffering a medical condition at the track.Read More