NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Two conclusions were inescapable after Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s news conference on Sunday at Darlington Raceway. First, the decision not to clear Earnhardt medically for the remainder of the 2016 season was both prudent and necessary; and second, Earnhardt is committed to racing again at NASCAR’s highest levels with the support of medical professionals who believe he will be able to do so. “I definitely don’t belong in a race car today by any stretch of the imagination,” Earnhardt said in theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service The odds against Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 producing another first-time winner are relatively heavy. When all track activity was washed out on Friday, the starting field for the race was set according to owner points, and the top 10 starters in the field, from pole sitter Kevin Harvick through 10th-place Matt Kenseth, all have at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory this season. Why is that significant? Because in the last 14 races at Darlington, 10 of the winners have come from theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After missing six races while recovering from a concussion, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will miss the remainder of the 2016 season as he continues his recovery. On Friday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Earnhardt had not been medically cleared to race for the final 12 races of the year. “I wish I could return to the No. 88 team this season. To say I’m disappointed doesn’t begin to describe how I feel, but I know this is the right thing for my long-term health and career. I’mRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor With Darlington next up on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, it’s time again for another edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”. Our “Lady in Black” edition will recap the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington that many will recall as the photo finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch. Darlington has always been known for its rough and tumble style of racing, with the drivers battling not only each other, but the treacherous track as well. When the series headed to Darlington in MarchRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After a weekend in Michigan, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for this weekend’s running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Darlington Raceway has been a staple of the Cup Series since opening in 1950 for its annual Labor Day weekend event with the Southern 500 being held on that date until a controversial decision was made to move the race away from Labor Day weekend in 2003. After 12 years away from its LaborRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Several weeks ago, NASCAR history was made when Truck Series rookie William Byron, Xfinity Series rookie Erik Jones, and Sprint Cup Series rookie Chris Buescher swept the weekend in their respective series. It was the first time that rookie drivers had ever swept a three-race weekend in NASCAR National Series history. This weekend, three more drivers added their names to the record books for the first time. Brett Moffitt scored his first career victory in the Camping World Truck Series at Michigan International Speedway (MIS),Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer With Dale Earnhardt Jr. still sidelined from competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series due to a concussion, and Jeff Gordon having prior commitments, Alex Bowman was once again called upon to pilot the No. 88 Axalta/University of Michigan Chervolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports. When Bowman rolled off of the truck for practice, he got his first taste on the lower downforce rules package that was used earlier this season at the first race at Michigan International Speedway of the year and Kentucky. Bowman was 14thRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into Michigan, the impetus for all three manufacturers to run well is accelerated as two of the three, Ford and Chevrolet, are located down the road in Detroit, while Japanese based Toyota always looks to steal the show from the hometown favorites. On Friday, the manufacturer wars heated up ahead of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 as all three manufacturers were well represented in the top-three of the lineup for the race. Though Toyota gained the upper hand inRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After dealing with rain and the Bristol night race being postponed to Sunday afternoon last weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads north to Michigan to race on one of the biggest and fastest tracks on the circuit, Michigan International Speedway and Sunday’s running of the Pure Michigan 400, which marks three races remaining in the regular season. With this race taking place near the home of two of the three manufacturers (Chevrolet and Ford), teams put extra emphasis on winning this race for braggingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor We all know Dale Jarrett as a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1999 Winston Cup Champion, but his road to glory began way back in 1991 when he scored his first Winston Cup win in a photo finish with Davey Allison at Michigan. As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan this weekend, this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater” will look back at that race, the 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400. Heading into Michigan, Jarrett had run six seasons in the Cup Series,Read More