NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

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Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin Win Action-Filled Can-Am Duel Qualifying Races

Daytona 500 pole winner Chase Elliott put an exclamation on his qualifying effort with a victory in Thursday night’s first Can-Am Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Elliott passed second-place starter Brad Keselowski for the lead on lap 37 and held it the rest of the way—through a wreck that altered the positions of the two Open Team drivers trying to race their way into the field for the 59th running of the Great American Race.

In the second Duel, defending Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin got a huge push from Austin Dillon and passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the next-to-last lap to win the race by 0.214 seconds over Clint Bowyer, who was competing for the first time in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Continue reading

Kevin Harvick: New Race Formats will Impact Strategy

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images

If there’s a consensus among NASCAR drivers, it’s that dividing races into stages, with points available at the end of each stage, will further tax the cunning of their crew chiefs. Continue reading

Would a Championship also be a Retirement Party for Earnhardt?

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, speaks with the media during the Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Why would the legion of fans in Earnhardt Nation have mixed feelings about Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning a long-awaited Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship this season?

Because Earnhardt said on Wednesday during Daytona 500 media day that he’s likely to retire from racing if he wins the title this year, especially after all the rehabilitation work he’s done to overcome the effects of a concussion that caused him to miss the last 18 races of the 2016 season. Continue reading