Kevin Harvick and Team Fighting to Again Contend for a Title

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…

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The Numbers Indicate That Talladega Could Upset the Playoff Balance

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…

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Joey Logano needs to pick up performance in order to defend title

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…

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Has Clint Bowyer done enough to remain with Stewart-Haas Racing?

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…

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Will 2019 be Chase Elliott’s Championship Year?

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…

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Kyle Larson Set for Game 7 Moment in Kansas

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…

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David Ragan taking a positive attitude to Talladega

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…

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Martin Truex, Jr. trying to “block out all the noise” in search of second title

Under normal circumstances the defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion would be in the spotlight at the beginning of the NASCAR Playoffs, and that certainly is true of 2017 title winner Martin Truex, Jr. However, these are far from normal circumstances for the Furniture Row Racing team as their title defense begins this weekend in the South Point Casino and Hotel 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As has been well documented, Furniture Row team owner Barney Visser recently announced that the No. 78 operation would be shut down at the end of the 2018 season due to…

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Kasey Kahne plans to race more on dirt following NASCAR retirement

Kasey Kahne announced earlier this week that the 2018 campaign would be his final season as a full-time driver on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The Enumclaw, Washington native who has taken 18 checkered flags at NASCAR’s highest level cited a desire to spend more time with his family and to seek other business opportunities as reasons for his departure. After leaving industry powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2017 season, Kahne has spent this year piloting Leavine Family Racing Chevrolets with limited success. One top-5 finish in the July event at Daytona International Speedway along with…

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Do Ford teams have reason to worry about the switch to Mustang?

This past week the performance arm of the Ford Motor Company unveiled the Mustang that will be used in competition by its teams on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019. The announcement, made at Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, was well timed with the series heading to the heart of American auto industry for the Consumer Energy 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Former MENCS champion and current co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing(a Ford team) Tony Stewart drove the new Mustang onto the stage where it was greeted by a host of Ford drivers, owners and other dignitaries. Needless…

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