Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When it comes to restrictor plate racing, the smaller teams in the NASCAR garage always circle these races as opportunities to capitalize. On Saturday night at Daytona, Matt DiBenedetto and Go Fas Racing placed themselves square in the middle of the action, bringing home a seventh-place finish by the time the checkered flag flew. “The Fords always run really good at the speedways, so that’s why we always seem to find ourselves up front at the end,” said DiBenedetto. “Fords and Roush-YatesRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer After surviving a race that saw five cars undamaged, Ty Dillon earned his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Top-10 finish. Dillon’s car was not among the undamaged at the end of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. In two separate overtime attempts, Dillon’s No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 avoided trouble. On the first overtime attempt, he pitted coming to the green, fuel pressure issues plaguing his race. That kept him out of the final wreck of the night andRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Several drivers expected an aggressive race at Daytona on Saturday night and while they were right in their assumptions, none of them could have seen what was coming through the first 66 laps of the Coke Zero Sugar 400. In three different cautions, a total of 36 cars were involved in some capacity or another, with the majority of them seeing their night cut short following the series of multi-car crashes. Paul Menard was the first to go for a wild rideRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – It’s safe to say Chase Elliott has a knack for restrictor plate qualifying as the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet laid down a blistering lap of 194.095 mph to score his fourth career pole in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, all of which have come at either Daytona or Talladega. “I didn’t know it was that fast,” said Elliott. “Our Hooters Chevy has been nice all weekend.  We made a couple of changes actually at the end of that lastRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – Through the first 17 races of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, there have only been six drivers to visit victory lane, leaving 10 playoff spots up for grabs heading into the home stretch of the regular season. Enter Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, which presents an opportunity for a new winner on the season to punch their ticket to the postseason. Restrictor plate racing plus an overabundance of drivers hungry for a win means the 160-lapRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Following last Sunday’s instant classic in the Windy City, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to where it all began, Daytona International Speedway, for this weekend’s 59th running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the third restrictor plate race of the season. From 1959 until 1987, the 160 lap, 400 mile shootout at the World Center of Racing, then called the Firecracker 400, was held on July 4th, even if the holiday fell in the middle of the week. Beginning in 1988, the raceRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With an aggressive on-track persona, Jimmy Spencer was given the nickname of “Mr. Excitement” early in his racing career, but it wasn’t until the 1994 Pepsi 400 at Daytona that he really lived up to it. Entering the Independence Day classic, four drivers had been the class of the field all season long, with Ernie Irvan leading the way ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Mark Martin, but by the time the checkered flag flew, it was Spencer who stole the show. Earnhardt and LoyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 scheduled to be driven by Ray Black, Jr., will be among the 41 entrants in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. However, it’s Black’s pit crew who are the subject matter as NASCAR announced Tuesday that tire changers Brehanna Daniels and Breanna O’Leary will go over the wall in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the first time, serving Black’s car. Daniels, a former Norfolk State University women’s basketballRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer  After a successful run in the season-opening Daytona 500, D.J. Kennington and sponsors Lordco Auto Parts and Castrol (Canada), will return to the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 Toyota Camry. The team finished 24thin the ‘Great American Race’ at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year. So far in 2018, GBR has competed in seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events. Five with Kennington, including the duo’s best finish, 20that Talladega Superspeedway, and two with Parker Kligerman. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will mark the organization’sRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer JOLIET, Ill.— Erik Jones recorded his second-best finish of the 2018 season, bringing home a sixth-place result in Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. It was the second straight top-10 result for the 22-year-old driver after finishing seventh at Sonoma Raceway last weekend. With Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. combining to win 13 of the first 17 races of the season, many positions in the Playoffs will go to drivers that haven’t visited victory lane this season. After Chicagoland, only nine racesRead More