Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – In Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, blown tires became public enemy No. 1 for two drivers that were among the favorites, Martin Truex, Jr. and Kyle Larson. When it comes to 1.5-mile tracks, Truex, Jr. had been one of the most consistent over the past year and a half, not finishing outside the top-10 since the 2016 season finale. Unfortunately for Truex and Furniture Row Racing, that streak would come to an end at Texas as heRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, it’s clear that Stewart-Haas Racing is the team to beat, just as they have been on 1.5 mile tracks all season long. With wins in three of the last four 1.5-mile tracks, dating back to last November at Texas, and a perfect record on these types of tracks thus far in 2018, Kevin Harvick leads the way for the team. Stewart-Haas as a whole has been extremely fast from the start of the weekendRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor While the Blue Oval Brigade ruled on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing made their presence known in the second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session of the weekend on Saturday morning. The JGR duo of Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin would come out on top during the frigid 55-minute practice, as Suarez turned in the fastest speed of the weekend at 27.136 seconds, 198.998 mph. Hendrick Motorsports also turned some heads in practice as William Byron and Jimmie JohnsonRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s been a banner day for Kurt Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing at Texas Motor Speedway. Earlier on Friday afternoon, the Las Vegas native put down the fastest lap in practice, followed by two of his SHR teammates, and qualifying for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 was more of the same as Busch was at the top of the board at the end of the first round of qualifying, with two of his teammates in tow once more. While there were two other rounds scheduled, MotherRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For Clint Bowyer, his win two weeks ago at Martinsville has been just what the doctor ordered for him and his No. 14 team at Stewart-Haas Racing. Entering this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, it’s clear that he and the organization as a whole are still riding the wave of momentum that comes with winning in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and breaking a 199-race winless streak in the process. “Man, everybody knows everything that comes with a win,” said Bowyer. “We haveRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It was another case of déjà vu at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon as Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford continued to show off their speed in the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice of the weekend. Three of the four Stewart-Haas cars, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Clint Bowyer led the way for the Blue Oval brigade, with Busch’s fast time of 27.523 seconds, 196.200 mph topping the board. “(Turns) three and four are an incredible sensation,” Kurt Busch said of the Texas reconfigurationRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Through the first decade of racing at Texas Motor Speedway, there had not been a repeat winner, with 12 different drivers taking home the patented six-shooters and cowboy hat from victory lane, but when the Cup Series rolled into the Lone Star State in April 2007, that was all about to change. Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton would lead the field to green, with Gordon dominating the first 153 laps of the race, leading 146 of them. On lap 154, a new contender emerged inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a much needed weekend off to recharge the batteries, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back to business as they head to the Lone Star State and Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. First joining the circuit in 1997, the 1.5-mile Texas track has provided some great racing over the years as the surface wore down as each season passed. For the second time the season, drivers will get a crack at the track that was repavedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor We may only be six weeks into the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, but it’s never too early to start looking ahead to what is in store for next season. With that in mind, the sanctioning body released the 2019 Cup Series schedule on Tuesday, allowing fans and participants of all sorts ample time to get their planning done for the year. The 2019 schedule looks virtually identical to this year’s schedule, with the season kicking off with the Daytona 500 on FebruaryRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Knoxville, Tennessee native and Xfinity Series regular Chad Finchum announced at a promotional event on Wednesday that he’ll be making his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway April 15 for Carl Long’s MBM Motorsports. It’ll mark MBM’s first Cup start since the 60th Daytona 500 when 66-year-old Mark Thompson finished 22nd. Finchum said he’s blessed that Long has confidence in him despite running 12 Xfinity Series races in a span of two years. “I’ve been blessed with opportunities to run NASCARRead More