Sprint Cup Series Tag

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor To say the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season had a plethora of storylines would be a complete understatement. The past year was jam packed full of disappointment, excitement and utter unpredictability. Here are five of the top moments from the season: 5. Dale Jr.’s concussion Dale Earnhardt Jr. is always a big story, whether he is winning races and contending for championships or as was the case this year suffering injuries. Earnhardt had a hard accident at Michigan which jarred his head. He racedRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor LAS VEGAS — For a person belonging to one of the most powerful families in sports, it would have been easy to accept the status quo and turn a blind eye to those in need. However, Betty Jane France just couldn’t sit by and watch people suffer. France spent her entire life trying to make the world a better place for children. That dedication to making the world, and the sport of auto racing, a better place to be led to France being posthumously named the 2016Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — “I’ve never seen anybody better, that’s for sure.” Those were the words of Jeff Gordon after a stirring finish in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Jimmie Johnson led only the final three laps to secure his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, which ties him in the record books with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Gordon, who has competed with Johnson since the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet SS was a rookie in 2002, also went head-to-head with Earnhardt for years.Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Earlier this week, news came out that Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing had purchased a team charter from Tommy Baldwin Racing for the 2017 season and beyond. Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the good news just kept rolling in for the race team. For most of the Ford EcoBoost 400, the team had two drivers inside the top-20. Ty Dillon led the way with a car that was hanging inside the top-15, while Michael McDowell looked to have about an 18th-place car. TheRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson is looking to make history by capturing a seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That championship bid took a hit just before the start of the Ford EcoBoost 400. Johnson’s car was sent back to the technical inspection area after NASCAR did not like something that they saw on the A-post of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS. After making changes to the car, NASCAR allowed the No. 48 team to take the car back toRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — NASCAR’s CEO, Brian France took the stage Sunday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway to address the state of the sport. Over the near 18 minute conference, France appeared miffed and disheveled at times when pressed by the media, but in the end he let his stance be known on a variety of topics, and there were several highlights. Things began rolling with the question of how the search for a new entitlement sponsor for the NASCAR Cup Series is going, Sprint is ofRead More

*Editor’s Note: The Motorsports Tribune NASCAR staff got together for a round table discussion about the upcoming Ford EcoBoost 400 (Sprint Cup Series Championship Race) in Homestead. They weigh in on three questions about the penultimate race. QUESTION 1: Which non-Chase competitor could steal the show Sunday at Homestead? JOEY BARNES, (Editor-in-Chief): Chase Elliott. He has been fast all weekend and it would be a fitting end to see him finally take that next step in the final race of his Sprint Cup Series career. TOBY CHRISTIE, (NASCAR Editor): HeRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — An entire season’s work rests on one 400-mile race for the four drivers and teams left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR’s new Chase format — unveiled in 2014 — essentially makes the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway a dog-eat-dog winner-take-all race for the championship. Talk about pressure. For Jimmie Johnson, there is added pressure. If the California-native can rise above his competition in Sunday’s race, he will be tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with most Sprint Cup SeriesRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Carl Edwards, one of four drivers left in the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup, is still seeking his first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. After Saturday’s two practice sessions for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400, it really looks like Edwards could be in a great position to finally add a huge piece of hardware to his mantle. Edwards, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, was third-fastest in the first practice session of the day, and he followed that up by recording the second-fastest lapRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — If you told Martin Truex Jr. before the year started that he would rack up four wins and lead over 1,800 laps over the course of the 2016 season, I’m sure he would have taken that in a heart beat. Truex has racked up those exact numbers, which equal career-bests, yet he is still left bummed out. The Mayetta, New Jersey native has reason to be dejected as he looked to be the favorite for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, that is until a blown motorRead More