Ricky Stenhouse Jr Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – It’s safe to say Chase Elliott has a knack for restrictor plate qualifying as the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet laid down a blistering lap of 194.095 mph to score his fourth career pole in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, all of which have come at either Daytona or Talladega. “I didn’t know it was that fast,” said Elliott. “Our Hooters Chevy has been nice all weekend.  We made a couple of changes actually at the end of that lastRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – Through the first 17 races of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, there have only been six drivers to visit victory lane, leaving 10 playoff spots up for grabs heading into the home stretch of the regular season. Enter Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, which presents an opportunity for a new winner on the season to punch their ticket to the postseason. Restrictor plate racing plus an overabundance of drivers hungry for a win means the 160-lapRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Following last Sunday’s instant classic in the Windy City, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to where it all began, Daytona International Speedway, for this weekend’s 59th running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the third restrictor plate race of the season. From 1959 until 1987, the 160 lap, 400 mile shootout at the World Center of Racing, then called the Firecracker 400, was held on July 4th, even if the holiday fell in the middle of the week. Beginning in 1988, the raceRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer  CONCORD, N.C. – One week after a miserable return to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Matt Kenseth wins the Busch Pole Award for the Monster Energy All-Star Race. In addition to Kenseth winning the pole, his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. qualified second for the exhibition event. The last time Roush Fenway Racing swept the front row in any qualifying format was at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2013. Kenseth’s Roush Fenway Racing team used a unique pit strategy in the wide openRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The weekend before Memorial Day marks the beginning of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series traditional two-week stop at NASCAR’s home base of Charlotte, North Carolina and the 1.5-mile quad oval that is Charlotte Motor Speedway. First up on the two-week stopover in the Queen City is the Monster Energy All-Star Race, a non-points event that has served up more than its fair share of exciting moments in its 34-year history. What is now the All-Star Race began as “The Winston” in 1985 and wasRead More

By: NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – In a sport where differences are often measured in thousandths, Kyle Larson was in firm control of Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying session at Dover International Speedway-after an adjustment between the first and second rounds at least. Larson charged around the high-banked one-mile concrete track in 22.770 seconds (158.103 mph) to earn the pole position for Sunday’s AAA 400. Saving his fastest lap for the third and final round, Larson was the only driver to top 158 mph during theRead More

By: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joey Logano led a Ford feast on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, beating Kurt Busch to the checkered flag by .127 seconds to win the GEICO 500, the 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Logano led the final 42-of-188 laps, a race-high 70 overall, and controlled the action after a 14-car wreck on Lap 166 thinned the field. Logano led the field to the green flag for the final restart on Lap 172 and stayed out front the restRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – Over the past year, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has been a force to be reckoned with on the restrictor plate tracks, with his two wins from last season coming at the races that employ the horsepower sapping device. A year after breaking through for his first career win at Talladega, Stenhouse had the win in Sunday’s GEICO 500 in his grasp, but ran out of time to make it happen, bringing home a top-five finish instead. “It was a lot of fun outRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – Stewart-Haas Racing has served notice that they will be contenders when it comes to Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega after teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch laid down the fastest times in qualifying to secure the front row. Harvick was fastest in the first round and backed it up in the final round with a lap of 49.247 seconds, 194.448 mph to put his Ford at the top of the board. The fast laps weren’t without issue though as Harvick had startedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – It may not be his hometown of Olive Branch, Mississippi, but Talladega Superspeedway sure feels like home for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. The Roush-Fenway Racing driver returns to the 2.66-mile superspeedway this weekend with an eye on another trip to victory lane after breaking through for his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win in this race one year ago. Not only was it his first Cup Series win, it also came at the track closest to his hometown in north Mississippi,Read More