Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – On the Longest Day at Talladega—in a war of attrition that required three red flags and left 14 cars running at the finish—Brad Keselowski powered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford past the No. 31 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman on the final lap to win Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Two laps after the final restart on Lap 186 of 188, Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano ganged up on Newman, who held the runner-up position after Keselowski shot past him. TrevorRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It wasn’t the finish many in Junior Nation wished for at the start of the day, but after one of the wildest Talladega races in recent memory, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finishes out his career at the track in one piece, bringing home a seventh-place finish. Though it wasn’t a storybook finish that he would have liked to deliver for himself and his passionate fan base, Earnhardt was still appreciative that he was at least relevant for the win in his last start at Talladega. “ThisRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Surviving a race of attrition just to crash coming to the checkered flag may be dramatic, but it does not win you the race. Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola did just that, finishing fifth. The Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was anything but calm for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competitor. With just a handful of undamaged cars and several competitive repaired cars, Almirola was in the thick of the battle for the lead in the No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion. Even inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In a car that looked more like it had just completed 500 miles at Martinsville than a race at Talladega, Joey Logano nearly pulled off the three-peat in the fall race at the track, but in the end had to settle for a fourth-place finish when the checkered flag flew. “Brad and I worked well together and we were able to help him win the race today, which was good,” said Logano. “I wish we could have won the race.  I had a good enoughRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With Furniture Row Racing announcing that they would only be fielding one team in 2018, the big question was what would happen to the sponsorship from 5-Hour Energy currently on the team’s No. 77 entry. That question was answered on Sunday morning when the team announced that 5-Hour, as well as Bass Pro Shops and Auto Owner’s Insurance would be the primary sponsors for Martin Truex, Jr. and the No. 78 team for 36 of the 38 races next year. Bass Pro and 5-Hour willRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In his final start at Talladega Superspeedway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will start exactly where he intends on finishing Sunday’s race – in first. Talladega has served as Earnhardt’s most successful track, with six wins, but in all of the accolades he has gotten over the years at Talladega, he had never won a pole on the 2.66-mile track, but that all changed on Friday afternoon. With wild applause from the fans in the stands, Earnhardt was the fastest in the first round of qualifying andRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor There are few tracks where Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is more revered than at Talladega Superspeedway. As his final season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series nears its finale next month, he visits Talladega one final time this weekend for the Alabama 500, where he will look to add a seventh win to his already impressive resume at the track. The 2017 season hasn’t gone as well as the No. 88 team would have liked with just one top-five finish and five top-10 finishes allRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Talladega, Chase Elliott has found himself among the most consistent drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, with the 21-year old driver for Hendrick Motorsports sitting fourth in points and on the cusp of winning his first Cup Series race. Throughout the season, Elliott has been among the fastest of his teammates, despite not yet finding his way to victory lane. Finishing as a runner-up four times this season and three times in the last four races, there is no doubtRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Entering the 2017 season, not many would have guessed that Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. would win a race with Roush-Fenway Racing still in rebuilding mode, but the Mississippi native showed off his restrictor plate prowess by taking his No. 17 car to victory lane not once, but twice at Talladega and Daytona for his first two career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins. When the Playoffs started, many had Stenhouse as one of the first four out, but once again he proved the naysayers wrong byRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Joey Logano’s season may not have gone quite to plan with his No. 22 team missing the playoffs, but heading into Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega, Logano will look to play spoiler at the 2.66-mile track. “I’m wired one way,” said Logano.  “I’ve got one gear and it’s wide-open.  That’s all I’ve got, so, for me, it keeps it pretty simple.  When I come to the superspeedways it’s go to the front and stay in the front, race hard, and I think that shows inRead More