Quaker State 400 Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Last Saturday night at Daytona, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. found himself as Public Enemy No. 1 among some in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage area after being involved in a series of crashes throughout the duration of the race. A week later, Stenhouse and his run-ins on the 2.5-mile superspeedway were still front and center in the mind of Kyle Busch, who was involved in one of the multi-car crashes that Stenhouse helped trigger. Busch expected a call from Stenhouse, who owned up to hisRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer SPARTA, Ky. – In an uncharacteristic fashion, Hendrick Motorsports has been struggling in 2018. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman, who makes his 100th career Cup start this weekend, has often been the best of the Hendrick contingent in recent weeks. Bowman enters the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway set to make his 29th start with Greg Ives as his crew chief. In that time, Bowman has earned one top-five, 10 top-10s, and two pole positions, including this year’s Daytona 500. After alternatingRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer  SPARTA, Ky. – By virtue of his win at Daytona International Speedway, Erik Jones is now locked into the 2018 Playoffs. However, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver will still have to contend with “the big three”: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and defending champion Martin Truex, Jr., all of whom have dominated the season so far. Jones and his No. 20 Freightliner Toyota Camry team have only earned 39 Stage Points this season. He is 16thamong drivers that have earned Stage Points, with hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a trip down to Daytona Beach, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is just past the halfway mark of the 2018 season as they head up to Kentucky Speedway for race No. 19 on the schedule, under the lights on Saturday night for the running of the Quaker State 400. Kentucky first joined the Cup Series schedule in 2011 and has played host ever since, with just four different drivers claiming victory in the seven races held at the track so far. The track wasRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer After earning back-to-back Top-10s in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the first time, Jesse Little will now make his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway. Little will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Premium Motorsports in the Quaker State 400. Premium Motorsports earned its’ best finish of the season, 11th, last weekend with Jeffrey Earnhardt behind the wheel. Little’s one-race deal will also be the 200thstart for the fifth-year Cup team. “I’m very humbled by this opportunityRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Kyle Larson left Kentucky Speedway last Saturday night with a runner-up finish and the points lead in hand, but on Wednesday afternoon, a penalty from NASCAR wiped all of that away as his team was hammered for a Level 1 violation found in post-race inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center. Larson failed to make a qualifying run for last weekend’s race, causing him to have to start the race from the back of the pack, but he was able to rebound all the way upRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPARTA, Ky. – After all was said and done, the dominant car won the race – but not without extreme complications. With just over a lap to go in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. held a lead of more than 15 seconds over second-place Kyle Larson, with only eight cars remaining on the lead lap. But before Truex could take the white flag signaling the final lap, the engine in Kurt Busch’s Ford expired, dumping oil on the 1.5-mileRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Saturday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway, Brad Keselowski was considered by many as one of the favorites given his three wins at the track in the past six years, but after an early exit, Keselowski did not hold back on his thoughts about everything that had transpired, giving everyone some valid points to ponder for the future of the sport. Starting the day in 10th place, Keselowski struggled in the first stage, failing to finish in the top-10, but things would get evenRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Still without a win halfway through the 2017 season, Matt Kenseth now has other things to worry about as the second half of the year plays out, like where he might be driving next season and beyond. During a Friday morning media session at Kentucky Speedway, Kenseth was asked about his plans for 2018 as his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing expires at season’s end and the 2003 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion was quick to mention that he didn’t think that he’d beRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a trip down to Daytona Beach, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series hits the halfway mark of the 2017 season as they head up to Kentucky Speedway for race No. 18 on the schedule, under the lights on Saturday night for the running of the Quaker State 400. Kentucky first joined the Cup Series schedule in 2011 and has played host ever since, with three different drivers claiming victory in the five races held at the track so far. The track was known asRead More