You would think that winning a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship would result in stability and security. Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn should feel both confident in their accomplishments and hopeful in their futures. The championship team owner should feel both pride in his organization’s success and assurance in its financial …
There were high hopes for Darrell Wallace Jr., heading into the 2018 season. Following a 2017 substitute role filling in for an injured Aric Almirola that saw consistently improved finishes, and the No. 43 getting up front again at Daytona in July, many were poised for a break out year. Things got off to a …
Ryan Newman’s 2018 season was nothing special. And nothing special, in the end, simply wasn’t good enough to keep him at Richard Childress Racing for 2019 and bey0nd. In his fifth year behind the wheel of the No. 31 Chevrolet, Newman did not visit Victory Lane in 2018 and also missed the playoffs. While that …
In his sixth full season at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level, Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. regressed a touch. That came after a career year in 2017 which included his first two victories at the top echelon in a stretch of just eight midseason races. His maiden win came at Talladega Superspeedway …
For young NASCAR racers, one label you desperately want to avoid is the “Sophomore Slump.” A decline in performance after a decent rookie year is never good for a youngster, especially today. Any slip-up can spell curtains to a career. 2018 seemed to be every bit of that for Daniel Suárez on the surface. He …
For David Ragan, 2018 was defined by overachievement. In his fifth season driving for Front Row Motorsports, the mantra for Ragan’s year was all about making more with only limited resources. With FRM on a limited budget, the expectations were the same as 2017: just be consistent and bring the car home in one piece. …
Jamie McMurray seemed to hit a sweet spot in his career as the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season approached. For years, he was known as the good, not great Cup driver who would always fall just short of a playoff appearance. But an 11-year postseason drought had been cleaned up under the sport’s current …
Paul Menard was a quiet guy in 2018. For the new season, there was one story seen across multiple teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Veteran drivers in new rides. Specifically, underperforming veterans joining competitive teams, arguably of a higher caliber than their previous respectful homes. Though Aric Almirola would be considered the …
It’s perhaps poetic that Joey Logano won his first Cup title in 2018, as his Ford 400 win came on the same Sunday that Matt Kenseth’s career came to a close. After all, had it not been for a run-in with Kenseth at Martinsville in the fall of 2015, Logano may well have had a …
In 2018, Michael McDowell made the move to Front Row Motorsports in the No. 34 car. The move was met with its own criticism and optimism as McDowell replaced fan favorite Landon Cassill, but McDowell himself was met with a similar situation at his former home of Leavine Family Racing as he was replaced by Kasey Kahne. …
2018 will go down as the year that got away for Brad Keselowski. He had the speed to win his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship — evidenced by his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano winning the title — but was plagued by bad luck when it mattered the most. Still, it was a …
Kyle Larson‘s 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season had its share of new happenings off the track and near-misses on it. The theme of his year could be summed up as “inconsistency.” Target left Chip Ganassi Racing following the 2017 season, so for the inaugural campaign, the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was decked …
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