CHARLOTTE, NC – MAY 20: Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 ARRIS Toyota, Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 Haas Automation Ford, pose with their trophies after qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Kyle Busch took control of Saturday night’s Monster Energy All-Star Race on the final restart with ten laps left and motored away to a 1.274-second victory—his first in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the inside of Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford—the race leader on old tires—as the field roared toward turn one on the final restart. Through the first two corners he cleared both Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, who had restarted second on the outside to gain the race lead in clean air. Continue reading →
There’s no longer a goose egg in the win column next to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s name.
With a last-lap pass in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Stenhouse collected his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in his 158th start and delivered the first win for Roush Fenway Racing since Carl Edwards triumphed at Sonoma in June 2014. Continue reading →
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, stands in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway on April 28, 2017 in Richmond, Virginia. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
A third-place finish at Richmond International Raceway was little consolation for Virginia native Denny Hamlin, who craves victory at his home track but knows his cars aren’t yet fast enough to outrun the best in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Continue reading →
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Fifth Third Ford, stands in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway on April 28, 2017 in Richmond, Virginia. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Just 65 laps into Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scraped the turn three wall while racing hard with Denny Hamlin.
But Stenhouse recovered to finish fourth at the 0.75-mile short track, matching his best result of the season, thanks in large part to a decision to stay out on older tires for the final restart on lap 382.
Of six drivers whose crew chiefs made that call, Stenhouse fared best, holding off Kevin Harvick during an intense ten-lap battle for position.
“Yeah, I made a lot of work for us there, getting in the fence later in that first stage and really we were fighting back all day from there,” Stenhouse said. “Had a really good car on the long run, but we bent the splitter bar down. Was on the splitter for five or six laps, so restarts, I was just trying to keep as best track position as I could, and once we got to lap six or seven, my car kind of came back around to me.
“It was a no brainer there to stay out that last caution. I was glad it came out, because I thought we missed the opportunity the run before to stay out. It worked out perfect. Our Fifth/Third Ford and the guys never gave up, worked hard, and this track is a lot of fun in the sun. It’s hot in the car, hot in the stands, so I appreciate everybody coming out, and it’s nice to have I think four Fords in the top five, so it was cool.”
