Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor NASCAR will continue the trend of cost-cutting measures in 2018 as the sanctioning body announced roster limits to the number of pit crew and at-track crew members for each team on a given race weekend. Rosters will be broken down into three categories: Organizational, road crew, and pit crew. The organizational category is comprised of the competition director, technical director, team manager, IT specialists, etc. Starting next year, only three to four people in this category will be allowed at the track. For Monster EnergyRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer A grueling 36-race season saw Kyle Busch record five victories and lead 2,023 laps but fall less than one second short of earning the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. Despite his best efforts over the 34-lap green-flag run to the checkered flag, Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Carmel Toyota crossed the line .681 seconds behind fellow Championship 4 competitor and Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. in Sunday’s Ford Eco-Boost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch led four times for 43 laps and appeared to have theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The road has been long and full of trials and tribulations, but Martin Truex, Jr. and his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team are Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champions. Leading the way in almost every statistical category throughout the 2017 season, Truex came into the season finale at Homestead as the championship favorite, but it would take the same drive and determination that they have always shown to carry them to the title. Truex himself noted that they did not have the fastest carRead More

Editor’s note: This is the third of a four-part series focusing on why each of the Championship Four will end Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in hand. By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer With five victories, 13 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes, eight poles and almost 2,000 laps led in 2017, most wouldn’t describe Kyle Busch’s season as “trying.” But that’s exactly how the 32-year-old driver described it when asked for one word to represent the season during Championship 4 media availability inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Editor’s note: This is the second of a four-part series focusing on why each of the Championship Four will end Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in hand. Martin Truex, Jr. enters Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the championship favorite, but there’s more to it than just his on track accolades this season. Heading into the final race of the season, Truex is enjoying the best year of his career, with seven wins (half of hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Ahead of this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway that will see one of four drivers walk away with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy, we’ll take a step back to 2004 and the first year of the Chase format, along with the drama that played out in the season finale to deliver Kurt Busch with his first Cup championship. With Sprint/Nextel taking over the series title sponsorship from Winston at the end of the 2003 season, a new championship format was introduced, calledRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It all comes down to this. After 35 race weekends, the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season comes down to one final race to determine the champion. Four drivers head into Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Ford Ecoboost 400 with an equal shot at the championship, while the other 36 drivers in the field are simply looking for a win to cap off the season. Since its reconfiguration in 2003, Homestead has provided some great racing on its progressive banking on one of the trueRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Each week, NASCAR Editor David Morgan will break down who’s hot and who’s not after the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend. Today, we break down the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway WINNERS Matt Kenseth – The old man has still got it. In what may have been his final race at Phoenix, Kenseth took it to the youngsters, showing them he has still got plenty in the tank when it comes to driving a race car. After announcing last week that he wouldn’tRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – The middle-aged man without a ride for 2018 drove a dagger through the heart of the youngster expected to shine in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for years to come. With nine laps left in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway, 45-year-old Matt Kenseth passed 21-year-old Chase Elliott for the lead and pulled away to win for the first time since the July 2016 New Hampshire race, breaking a 51-event winless string. Kenseth’s victory, the 39th of his career, deprived ElliottRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Runner-up finishes have been the storyline of Chase Elliott’s sophomore season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, with the 21-year old Georgia native coming close to victory time and time again. On Sunday at Phoenix, Elliott would fall just short of both the win and being able to advance to the championship race on a must-win day for him and his No. 24 team. “We were so close to having another shot next week,” said Elliott. “But man, I can’t say enough for ourRead More