Category: Cup

In the fall of 2006 I was serving as the cross country coach at Seymour High School when the sports editor for the local newspaper in Sevier County, Tennessee came to do a pre-season story on the team. During our conversation the reporter remarked that he did not know for sure when the story would run being that he was very overworked as the only sports journalist in a county with four high schools, each with multiple sports teams, trying to fill his section of The Mountain Press.  I thought about that conversation for a couple of days then decided…

Continue reading

The class set to compete for 2020 Rookie of the Year honors on the NASCAR Cup Series is one of the most talented groups of first year drivers the sport has seen in a while. And what’s more, the four young stars seeking that title will be supported by some of the sport’s top organizations. Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and John Hunter Nemechek have indicted their intentions of collecting the trophy previously earned by the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. While there have been talented classes to seek…

Continue reading

Three of the drivers that make up the Championship 4 going into the season finale and title deciding Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway have something in common. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex, Jr. all drive for Joe Gibbs Racing and it doesn’t take much of a math wizard to deduce that the organization owned by the legendary football coach has a 75% chance of claiming the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series trophy. As a result of there being three of the four drivers still standing with a shot at earning one of auto racing’s most prestigious crowns…

Continue reading

Kevin Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing team are on somewhat unfamiliar ground as the AAA Texas 500 approaches this weekend. After having qualified as one of the four drivers to compete for a title in four of the past five season, the No. 4 crew is currently outside the NASCAR Playoffs cutoff with Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway and next week’s event at ISM Raceway in Phoenix remaining before the four racers who will contest the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship are decided. With Martin Truex, Jr. already locked into the Championship 4 by virtue of his win…

Continue reading

Virtually every driver who is still involved in the NASCAR Playoffs has at some point mentioned their concern about this weekend’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at the Talladega Super Speedway. This track, like no other within the playoff mix, holds the ability to completely shake up the standings during this ‘Round of 12’ segment of the championship deciding run toward the final race of the 2019 season in November. Simply having the best car, an outstanding pit crew, a well thought out strategy, or even a great driver may not be enough on this track to assure a win or even a…

Continue reading

Joey Logano came into the 2019 version of the NASCAR Playoffs as the defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. And after the first round of three races within the championship series of events he remains alive in hopes of capturing a second consecutive title. However, a look at the recent finishes compiled by the No. 22 Team Penske Ford might offer a bit of troubling evidence that the hope of claiming the top prize at the end of the day at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in November could be in jeopardy. Over the last ten races Logano has managed only…

Continue reading

After reading the headline of this piece you may have thought this would be about Clint Bowyer’s fourth place run on Sunday in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on the road course portion of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. And indeed, the 40-year-old driver did turn in a solid effort that lifted him from below the NASCAR Playoffs cut-line coming into the race to a position that would allow him to advance on to the ‘Round of 12’ moving forward. However, life on the modern-day Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is only partially considered successful based on a driver’s on-track…

Continue reading

An old adage in racing declares that “The first one is the hardest one to get”. If that is indeed true Chase Elliott managed to break that wall down and then some in 2018. As a matter of fact, the Hendrick Motorsports pilot amassed a total of three victories during a season that ended with him in the sixth spot of the overall Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Further, the 23-year-old driver has shown that he can piece together the type of consistency that will always make him a championship threat as he has made his way into the…

Continue reading

When NASCAR’s Brian France announced the change in the way his sanctioning body would determine a champion going into the 2014 season, he talked about his desire for the sport to create “Game 7 Moments” that would provide long lasting memories for fans and competitors alike. One competitor on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is facing just such a moment this weekend in the Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway. Following a disappointing race last Sunday at the Talladega Super Speedway in which he was involved in an incident and then his team incurred a 10-point penalty, Chip…

Continue reading

When the green flag waves to start the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Super Speedway on Sunday afternoon it is very likely that Front Row Motorsports driver David Ragan will be among those in contention to end the day with a good finish. The Unadilla, Georgia native has proven himself to be very proficient on the massive eastern Alabama facility along with its sister track in Daytona Beach, Florida. Those two tracks, because of their size and configurations, require teams to fit the engines of their racing machines with power-robbing restrictor plates. The 32-year-old racer…

Continue reading