Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer It was 25 years ago when NASCAR saw a changing of the guard, and today will be no different. ‘The King,’ Richard Petty ran his final race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Hooters 500, and a young Jeff Gordon made his debut. After an epic battle for the Championship, Bill Elliott won the race and Alan Kulwicki became one of the last owner-drivers to win the then-Winston Cup Series Championship. This is something that I am calling “The ’92 Effect.” Like the 1992 season,Read 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 Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Editor’s note: This is the first 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. It’s hard to believe, but Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway marks Brad Keselowski’s first foray into the Championship Four. With that in mind, this is also Keselowski’s best chance at earning his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. His championship rivals this year: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch,Read 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 Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than it is to be good. For Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, he found out just how lucky he can be as his rivals faltered. Now, Keselowski will advance into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Keselowski bounced from being inside the Championship Four to being outside throughout the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway. His No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion never competed for the victory, but stayed the course as other Playoff drivers experiencedRead 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