NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor With the growing chorus against the idea of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series getting louder and louder, NASCAR made the announcement on Wednesday that Cup Series drivers will have their participation in the lower series limited in 2017 and beyond. Sprint Cup Series drivers who have been in NASCAR’s premier series for more than five years full-time will only be able to compete in a maximum of 10 races in the Xfinity SeriesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase drivers were split heading into Talladega Superspeedway after wild weeks at Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Some needed to run up front and had no other choice but to win, while others just had to protect their position. One such driver that simply needed to protect his Chase position heading into the Hellmann’s 500 was Kyle Busch. Busch entered the Kansas race weekend fifth in the Chase standings, 17-points ahead the Chase cutoff for the Round of Eight.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor On the outside looking in heading into Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega, Austin Dillon needed strong runs or a win to be able to advance onto the next round of the Chase, but when the checkered flag flew, he found himself still in the bottom four and eliminated from championship contention. Dillon started the day tied with eventual winner Joey Logano in the points, with Logano having the tiebreaker as a result of a higher finish in the three races of the Round of 12,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie class, all eyes were on Chase Elliott to see if he would be able to advance onto the next round of the Chase, but when the checkered flag flew, it was another rookie that took home top billing from Talladega. So, which rookie was it that finished the best at NASCAR’s biggest track? That would be Brian Scott and his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports team. Entering the day, Scott’s previous best finish was a 12th place resultRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Just 13 points to the good entering Sunday’s Round of 12 cutoff race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Martin Truex Jr. gave himself as much of a cushion as possible, winning the pole for the Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway during Saturday’s knockout qualifying session. Seventh in the Chase standings, and 13 points ahead of Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, Truex covered the 2.66-mile distance in 49.508 seconds (193.423 mph) to claim the Coors Light Pole Award forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – In a sense, Chase Elliott comes to Talladega Superspeedway with the greatest amount of freedom, simply because he has the largest challenge to overcome and the narrowest path to do so. After unfortunate results at Charlotte and Kansas, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader is 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, 25 points behind Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, who are tied for eighth. After the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN),Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor In the late 1980’s, Bill Elliott and his Harry Melling owned Ford Thunderbird was a dominant force at the restrictor place tracks, with his brother Ernie Elliott serving as engine builder and supplying a powertrain that was unmatched throughout the NASCAR Winston Cup Series garage. Elliott had won the season opening Daytona 500 in 1985 and tacked on additional wins at Atlanta and Darlington in the weeks that followed, but when the series rolled into Talladega in May, Elliott and his team would leave everyoneRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor With the NASCAR Xfinity Series taking a couple of weeks off before getting back in action at Texas in November, Roush-Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed will be taking the opportunity to test the waters in the Sprint Cup Series this weekend as he will be making his debut in NASCAR’s premier series by attempting to make the field for Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Reed will bring the No. 99 car back to the Sprint Cup Series for the first time since Carl EdwardsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor The Round of 12 all comes down to this. After races at Charlotte and Kansas to set the stage for Sunday’s elimination race, the 10 drivers not locked into the next round will battle the massive 2.66 mile superspeedway for the right to be able to advance to the Round of Eight when the checkered flag falls on Sunday. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that ledRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Several NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase drivers were in need of a good run at Kansas Speedway in the wake of the chaos at Charlotte Motor Speedway. One such driver that needed to make up some ground in the Hollywood Casino 400 was Joey Logano. Logano entered the Kansas race weekend 11th in the Chase standings, six points behind the Chase cutoff for the Round of Eight. In practice, Logano looked like his weekend would be lackluster. He was 12th in the first practice, 18thRead More