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Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

  • Modified standout Seuss places solid 28th in Cup debut

    Modified standout Seuss places solid 28th in Cup debut

    NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified standout and New Hampshire native Andy Seuss made his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at his home track of New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, finishing 10 laps down in 28th after starting 35th, driving the No. 51 Jacob Companies Ford for Rick Ware Racing.

    Seuss posted a respectable performance, giving the RWR organization their best finish in four Loudon starts.

    “It was absolutely incredible,” Seuss said. “I didn’t want to get ahead of myself going into it, but we met all our goals. I kept the car in one piece and finished ahead of the team’s average finish. The (Rick Ware Racing) team hadn’t finished a race here before, so that was cool.”

    Despite being 10 miles-per-hour slower than the leaders, Seuss made sure to stay out of the way of the leaders, keeping his car in one piece and making sure to take care of the equipment of the car.

    Seuss made it clear that he wanted to share this moment with his family and friends, thanking everyone involved and making sure to enjoy it, noting that drivers don’t have too many days to do so after their Cup debut. But at the same time, Seuss hopes that his performance Sunday was enough to get the attention of other prospective teams even though he doesn’t know if he’ll get any future opportunities in the Cup garage.

    “I’m treating this as my debut and my retirement because you never know if there’s another one,” he said. “A long time ago, somebody said that out of all the people in the world, only 40 get to do this on the weekend. It’s pretty cool to be one of those 40.”

    Seuss also noted the experience as a learning curve, saying that he thought he was twice the driver for a Cup car at the end of the race than he was at the beginning of the race. He believes that played a role in his final result.

    Seuss’s RWR teammate Austin Theriault also made his Cup debut Sunday, where the Maine native finished 35th when his day ended early.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch started second in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 and finished eighth, despite a brush with the wall in the final stage.

    “I’ve had lots of experience with walls,” Busch said. “So have people who tried to interview me when I was a young punk.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished ninth at New Hampshire and leads the Monster Energy Cup points standings by three over Kyle Busch.

    “I was just happy to get through the race without suffering from heat exhaustion,” Logano said. “Who’s not at risk of suffering from ‘heat’ exhaustion? NASCAR fans, that’s who. There is not ‘heat,’ also known as ‘rivalries,’ between drivers. And don’t tell me Clint Bowyer vs. Ryan Newman is a feud. It’s not. Newman has a notoriously hard head, and he was wearing a helmet, so he still doesn’t believe that Bowyer actually punched him.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished sixth in the Foxwoods Resorts Casino 301.

    “It was the hottest race ever in New Hampshire,” Truex said. “And it sucked. Some of the younger drivers said it was ‘hot AF.’ I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I’m fairly sure it’s the exact opposite of ‘Cold AC.’”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick held off Denny Hamlin on the final turn to win at New Hampshire, his second consecutive win at the ‘Magic Mile’ and first victory since Texas in November.

    “Finally!” Harvick said. “I’ve got a win. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me. This freedom must feel like what mini-Kevin Harvick feels like when he strips down to his boxers and a T-shirt.”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin wrecked in Friday practice and almost took the victory at New Hampshire in a backup car, finishing second to Kevin Harvick.

    “Wrecks in practice are a sure-fire way to ruin a weekend,” Hamlin said. “Just ask my crew.

    “But what about that weather? It was hot. It hovered around 100 degrees, and inside the car, it was even worse. I think Fed Ex should take advantage of this in a promotional sense and offer a new delivery package called the hot box’ for discreet deliveries.”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 18th at New Hampshire.

    “The Kevin Harvick-Denny Hamlin duel at the end had a lot in common with me and my brother Kyle’s battle at Kentucky,” Busch said. “The biggest similarity is that in both cases, the drivers involved really do not like each other.”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started on the pole and finished 10th.

    “It’s good that Stewart-Haas Racing finally has a win,” Keselowski said. “With one word, Kevin Harvick silenced his critics and gave a shout out to one of his sponsors. He said, ‘Bu-schhhhhhhhhhhhhh.’”

    8. Chase Elliott: Elliott suffered from mechanical issues and finished 29th at New Hampshire.

    “It was a tough day for Hendrick Motorsports,” Elliot said. “We didn’t even have a car finish in the top 10. Plus we went through way too many cars. But I trust this organization’s resiliency. So, trust me when I say we’ll be ‘back up‘ next week.”

    9. Ryan Blaney: Blaney posted his sixth top five of the year with a fourth at New Hampshire.

    “Some guy named Andy Suess made his Cup debut in the No. 51 car for Rick Ware Racing,” Larson said. “And no, he does not drive for ‘The Cat In The Hat’ Jack Roush.”

    10. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished 11th at New Hampshire and is ninth in the points standings.

    “What a drive by Kevin Harvick,” Almirola said. “He faced a huge amount of pressure from Denny Hamlin, yet Harvick remained calm and held him off. Considering the weather, Kevin picked the perfect day to have ‘ice water in his veins.’”

  • Kevin Harvick wins at New Hampshire

    Kevin Harvick wins at New Hampshire

    With a 22 race winless streak, Kevin Harvick was not going to be denied a second lobster at New Hampshire.

    Harvick had to hold off Denny Hamlin to win his first race of the season, and the first win for his team, Stewart-Haas Racing.

    “(Hamlin) got to me, he tried to move me out of the way down there, and I knew that was coming as close as he was,” Harvick told NBCSN at the start/finish line. “So I just stood on the brakes and I’m like half throttle down the back straightaway. I’m like, ‘You’re not getting under me again.’ And he drove to the outside of me and I just waited till he got near me and I just put a wheel on him.”

    Hamlin finished second after leading 113 laps, all of them in the final stage. He took the lead after his teammate, Kyle Busch, had trouble and cut a tire and slammed into the wall in Turn 1. He went on to finish ninth but for Hamlin, it was more dejection that anything.

    “I kind of shoved (Harvick) up a little higher and tried to get him out of the groove,” Hamlin told NBCSN after the race. “I wanted to just tap him there, but I didn’t want to completely screw him. I at least wanted to give him a fair shot there. Down the backstretch, I kind of let off, and I’m like, all right, well, I’ll just pass him on the outside and kind of do this thing the right way, and once I had that big run, he just turned right. But I would do the same thing. It was a fun race, and congratulations to him and his team. They made a great call there at the end.”

    Erik Jones finished third, followed by Ryan Blaney and Matt Dibenedetto rounding out the top five.

    Kyle Busch dominated the first stage and half of the second stage and finished ninth.

    We had a good car all day,” Busch said after the race. “Just got into it on a restart I guess with Larson and that got us damage and that got us behind the eight ball. We would have been on strategy with where (Denny Hamlin) was the whole rest of the day, but we had to fix damage.”

    Jimmie Johnson was having a decent run when his power steering began having issues and the seven-time champ had to come in and fell multiple laps down and out of contention.

    Well, it was certainly a letdown, to say the least,” Johnson said after the race on NBCSN. “We had some issue with the power steering and the water pump pulleys. I thought it might have been from some contact on a restart. I got in the back of the car in front of me. They told me that wasn’t the case. So, I assume some debris got in the pulley system and took out my power steering and the water pump as well. So, it’s just unlucky on that front. Certainly, the wrong time of the year to have some bad luck. It looked like the guys I’m worried about in the points didn’t have the best day either, so maybe I got a pass on this one. I’m just disappointed, to say the least.”

    The Cup Series heads to Pocono for the second race of the season at the Tricky Triangle where Kyle Busch will try and sweep the series in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.


  • Weekend Schedule for New Hampshire

    Weekend Schedule for New Hampshire

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. The Truck Series is taking the week off with its next race scheduled for July 27 at Pocono.

    Christopher Bell is the defending Xfinity race winner while Kevin Harvick will be back to defend his Cup Series victory. Denny Hamlin has the series-best driver rating of 102.7. He also has three Cup Series wins at the 1.058-mile oval speedway but he is not alone. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman each have three victories at New Hampshire.

    Please see the complete schedule below.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 19

    12:05 p.m.–12:55 p.m.: Cup Series first practice – NBCSN

    1:05–1:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series first practice – NBCSN

    3:35 p.m.– 4:25 p.m. – Xfinity Series final practice – NBCSN

    4:35 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying (single vehicle/two laps/all positions) – NBCSN/PRN

    Saturday, July 20

    10:05 a.m.–10:55 a.m. – Cup Series second practice – CNBC

    11:15 a.m. – Xfinity qualifying (single vehicle/two laps all positions) – NBCSN

    12:35 p.m.–1:25 p.m.: Cup Series final practice – NBCSN

    4 p.m. – Roxor 200 Xfinity Series race (Stages 45/90/200 laps = 211.6 miles) -NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, July 21

    3 p.m. – Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Cup Series race (Stages 75/150/301 laps = 318.46 miles) – NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Denny Hamlin rebounds to finish fifth at Kentucky after penalty

    Denny Hamlin rebounds to finish fifth at Kentucky after penalty

    Coming into Kentucky Speedway, Denny Hamlin had finishes of 15th at Chicago and 26th at Daytona. After being involved in a big wreck last weekend at Daytona, Hamlin and his No. 11 crew were hoping to rebound at the 1.5-mile track.

    Hamlin finished fourth in Stage 1 but received a penalty for an uncontrolled tire in Stage 2 leaving him with a 22nd place finish in the second stage. He worked hard all night, even leading for five laps before Hamlin had to make his final pit stop of the night. The late race caution gave the No. 11 team another shot at the win. Unfortunately, Hamlin would have to wait until New Hampshire for a shot at the win, as he wound up fifth at Kentucky.

    Still, Hamlin was somewhat satisfied with his top five finish.

    “We definitely had a fast car, a car that was fast enough to run up there with those guys,” Hamlin said in his interview with PRN. “Obviously, being back in the pack there with 80 to go was detrimental to try and win the race. We had to make the call with no tires there, we didn’t gain any track position, and we had worse tires than anyone around us. Still was able to get up to fifth, so pretty happy with that effort.”

    “We have fast cars every week, as long as we have a clean race, we have chances to win and we just can’t have the penalties or the wrecks we have. You know, it’s just a combination of things and we’re really close.”

    The fifth-place finish was Hamlin’s eighth top-five of the year. He is looking forward to New Hampshire this coming weekend, where he won in 2017.

  • Clint Bowyer satisfied with top 10 finish

    Clint Bowyer satisfied with top 10 finish

    It has been a frustrating season for Clint Bowyer and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team. His best finish this season was second at Texas in March. Since then, Bowyer has had up and down results.

    It seems as though when Bowyer would finish in the top five or top 10 in one race, he would wind up the 20s or 30s in the next race. He’s finished seventh at Bristol, third at Richmond, 29th at Talladega, ninth at Dover and fifth Kansas, while finishing 24th at Charlotte, fifth again at Pocono, 35th at Michigan, 11th at Sonoma, 37th at Chicago and 34th at Daytona prior to Kentucky.

    After the stretch of bad luck, Bowyer and his team were hoping to leave Kentucky Speedway with a decent finish, at least a top-10, and if the opportunity presented itself, a win. He came close to doing just that.

    On Friday afternoon, he qualified in the seventh position giving him good track position at a track where you need it if you want to have a shot at the win.

    As the race started, Bowyer had a decent car throughout the night. He ran as low as 34th, obviously after green flag pit stops. He finished 18th in Stage 1 but earned a fifth-place finish in Stage 2.

    When Stage 3 began, Bowyer was out front leading the race with former teammate Kurt Busch. He led from Lap 164 to Lap 201 for 38 laps. It would be the only time Bowyer was out front, as he would settle for a sixth-place finish.

    At the end of it all, Bowyer was pleased with the effort and the speed of his No. 14 team.

    “It was really crazy,” Bowyer told PRN in his post-race interview. “You look at that and think, could’ve, would’ve, should’ve with a fifth place run right there. However, with the month of June we had, where you go for it in that situation and get wrecked out, we can’t afford any of those. We gave up a position there. Again, you’re frustrated with that, but a good momentum boost for our team, a positive night for us.”

    “Made some good calls on the box, Mike (Bugarewicz, Crew Chief) gave us some good track position. Our cars are really fast out front. Our Stewart-Haas cars have shown great speed, we have to work on race trim in traffic, things like that. We have some good tracks coming up for us, have a little positive mojo back for a change. Hell, I’ll take it.”

    It was Bowyer’s ninth top-10 finish of the season and he currently sits 14th in the playoff standings. He will need more consistent finishes like those and possibly a win if he wants to compete for a championship later this season.

  • Erik Jones places third at Kentucky

    Erik Jones places third at Kentucky

    Erik Jones and his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Craftsman Tools Toyota came home in the third position at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night after a late race restart.

    During the race, Jones was battling and dealing with track position trying to get his team up front for a shot at the win. At one point, Jones pitted after Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer in an attempt to come out in front of them once the stops cycled through. However, Jones would still be stuck in the back as race leader and teammate Kyle Busch would stay in the lead after the last round of pit stops.

    The Michigan native caught a break with six laps to go when a caution came out for a spin in Turn 1, which set up a NASCAR overtime giving the field two additional laps.

    Jones was right there behind his teammate Kyle Busch and even make a dive bomb move to try and race with Kurt Busch to take the lead. But, the Busch Brothers would go around Jones and battle it out for the win. When the race leaders were leaning on each other and bending fenders, Jones was in the hot seat in case the two would wreck each other.

    Unfortunately, Jones watched the thrilling finish right in front of him and had to settle for a third-place finish.

    “Just track position, qualified where we didn’t want to and had to work back from that,” Jones said to PRN in his post-race interview. “But you know, right from the start, the Craftsman Camry was pretty good. I felt comfortable in practice and how we were in race trim. Just had to work back from it, took us in the whole second stage to get up there. We finally were in position and got some good restarts, good pit stops, which helped us get up there on the last restart. You can’t ask for much more, you want to be there and have a shot, and we did that but didn’t have quite enough car or circumstances. A great day overall.”

    With the third place finish, it would be Jones fifth top five of the season and his first since Pocono in June. He is currently 16th, occupying the last spot in the playoff standings.

  • Larson rounds out top-five finish for Chip Ganassi Racing

    Larson rounds out top-five finish for Chip Ganassi Racing

    Kyle Larson and his No. 42 team were hoping to break through for a win at Kentucky Speedway after finishing second at Chicago two weeks ago and a disappointing 20th last week at Daytona.

    Larson, however, qualified in the 19th position, not the qualifying spot he wanted or needed as it would take a lot of work to get to the front. In the first stage, he worked himself up to the 13th position which demonstrated how important track position is at Kentucky. In fact, Larson flew under the radar most of the night as he did not have the best car. His mid-race running position was ninth but he improved in Stage 2, finishing sixth.

    Larson had a shot at the win with a late race restart with two laps to go. He was right behind his teammate Kurt Busch and gave him a shove. Busch went to the outside while Larson was stuck in traffic. In the end, the No. 42 driver had to watch his teammate Kurt Busch battle for the win while he ended his night with a fourth-place finish.

    “I actually felt like we had a really good car, I just did such a bad job on those restarts and my balance was really loose,” Larson explained to PRN about his race. “I couldn’t gain anything and my track position wasn’t great the whole race, and then the very bottom of this frontstretch was rough as heck. I think I damaged my nose a little bit.”

    “But it was cool to push Kurt (Busch, teammate) there past the leaders. You know, a good day for Chip Ganassi Racing, happy about that!”

    Larson earned his third top-five finish of the year and he currently sits 13th in the playoff points standings.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kentucky

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kentucky

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second at Kentucky to older brother Kurt after a dramatic and spirited two-lap battle for the win.

    “What a finish!” Busch said. “I think all the fans were on their feet, which is surprising because in most cases when you mention the Busch brothers, the words ‘can’t stand’ are used.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano led with two laps remaining but was shuffled back on the final restart and finished seventh.

    “If not for that final caution,” Logano said, “I would have won easily. So thanks Bubba Wallace for ruining my night. It may be the first time the No. 43 STP car has actually impacted a race since Richard Petty retired.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 19th in the Quaker State 400, his night hindered by a late pit road speeding penalty.

    “Sure I’m disappointed,” Truex said, “but I got to witness one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR history. As duels go, I don’t think Kurt and Kyle Busch can top this unless they used real guns. If Kurt lost, he would finally be right about one thing–he knew an assassin.”

    4. Kurt Busch: Busch made a move from third on the final restart at Kentucky, and held off younger brother Kyle to win his first race of the season.

    “I don’t feel bad for my brother,” Kurt Busch said. “He’s already got four wins this year; he can spare a loss to his brother. I hope it humbles him to see me in Victory Lane. As they say, ‘Little brother is watching.’”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 20th at Kentucky, one lap down.

    “I’m disappointed,” Keselowski said, “but I was thrilled to see such an exciting race. The race had nearly everything, although it lacked a driver taking another driver’s hat off and tossing it to the ground. I hope Clint Bowyer’s paying attention because if you’re going to do something to another driver, you should remember to take their hat off first.”

    6. Chase Elliott: Elliott suffered an early flat tire and fell a lap down, but worked his way back through the field to salvage a 15th-place finish.

    “One week ago,” Elliott said, “the No. 77 car won at Daytona with Justin Haley behind the wheel. At Kentucky, some person named ‘Quin Houff’ drove the 77 and finished 34th, eight laps down. What’s my point? The closest Quin Houff will ever get to being Justin Haley is only by listening to Metallica’s ‘Ride The Lightning’ album.”

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick came home 22nd in the Quaker State 400. 

    “The No. 4 Ford sported the Hunt Brothers Pizza paint scheme,” Harvick said. “But my car just wasn’t up to par. If my car’s performance was pizza, it would be the kind of pizza served in convenience stores.” 

    8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin stormed back from an uncontrolled tire penalty to post a fifth at Kentucky, as Joe Gibbs Racing placed three cars in the top five.

    “Erik Jones could have easily won that race,” Hamlin said. “He had a front-row seat for the Kurt Busch-Kyle Busch battle. If they wreck, Erik wins. So, no one wanted to see the Busch’s wreck more than Erik. But let me be clear: everyone wanted to see them wreck; just none more than Erik.”

    9. Alex Bowman: Alex Bowman finished 17th at Kentucky and is ninth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 192 out of first.

    “My Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron had a good shot at the win,” Bowman said, “but he jumped a restart and had to serve a stop-and-go penalty. Apparently, he got duped by Clint Bowyer. But really, does Bowyer actually know when or when not to ‘punch it?’”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished fourth in the Quaker State 400.

    “Chris Buescher’s JTG Daugherty Chevrolet was sponsored by Planters Peanuts,” Larson said. “So you may have seen their mascot, Mr. Peanut, at Kentucky Speedway in the pits. That’s unusual because, at most NASCAR races, those without pants are usually in the infield.”

  • Busch’s win indicative of Chevrolet resurgence in the Cup Series

    Busch’s win indicative of Chevrolet resurgence in the Cup Series

    By winning in Kentucky on Saturday night, Kurt Busch and his Ganassi Racing team solidified the speculation that the Chevy teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series have returned to competitive form.

    This, after a disastrous 2018 for the manufacturer that only saw two drivers win four races (Austin Dillon – 1, Chase Elliott – 3) and a long dry spell in 2019 broken up by Elliott’s win at Talladega before winning three straight (Alex Bowman – Chicagoland, Justin Haley – Daytona, Busch – Kentucky).

    Elliott’s win seemingly opened a stretch where it appeared that Chevrolets were finally on the verge of turning things around. At Talladega, six of the top-10 drivers were Chevrolet drivers, including runner-up Bowman and rookies Ryan Preece and Daniel Hemric, both of whom finished in the top-five. Bowman would score two more runner-up finishes in the next two races before scoring a seventh at Charlotte. He scored another top-10 at Michigan before scoring his big win at Chicagoland.

    Elliott has also had several stout runs since winning at Talladega, following it up with four straight top-fives. He’s since run into some issues, but the finishes aren’t indicative of his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team’s performance. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron is having a strong sophomore season, scoring three poles and six top-10s in 2019, including a runner-up finish at Daytona last weekend.

    Speaking of Daytona, five of the top-10 finishers were Chevrolet drivers including race winner Haley. As a matter of fact, the top-four finishers were Chevrolets (Haley, Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Ty Dillon). Although rain played a factor in calling the race, Chevrolets did seem to have the field in hand, leading 60 of the 127 laps run, including 46 by Austin Dillon.

    Although he sits 13th in points, Kurt Busch’s teammate Kyle Larson has also rattled off some strong runs, including a win in the non-points All-Star race at Charlotte. He’s scored a pole (Sonoma), three top-fives, and seven top-10s, but four DNFs have kept the No. 42 Ganassi Racing team from truly scoring the results the team deserves. Meanwhile, the No. 1 team has been a consistent force on a weekly basis, scoring four more top-fives and 10 more top-10s to go along with his Kentucky win.

    All of this is in contrast to some of the teams that were dominant one year ago, notably Stewart-Haas Racing. SHR Fords won 12 races in 2018, but are winless so far in 2019. Compared to the win total of teams like Hendrick, who was winless at this point a year ago, ditto Ganassi, and it’s safe to say the Chevrolet camp has caught up and are now actually competing with the Fords and the Toyotas.

    Granted, there are hurdles to cover, such as the 10 wins from Joe Gibbs Racing and the five wins from Team Penske. But Chevrolet has started a trend in 2019, and if it keeps up the momentum it has been building during the spring/summer stretch, names like Larson, Elliott, and Byron could find Victory Lane before season’s end. There may even be a glimpse of a certain seven-time Cup champion parking it in the Winner’s Circle. Time will tell for sure heading into Loudon next weekend.