NASCAR Cup Series

Spire Motorsports has reached an agreement with Go-Parts to sponsor the team’s No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway where D.J. Kennington will handle the driving assignment.

John Rich, one half of the superstar country music duo Big & Rich, will sing the national anthem prior to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 5, part of the Monster Mile’s 50th Anniversary celebration, track officials announced today.

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Martinsville, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 31.8 and an average finish of 33.0 and he’s completed 3,497 of 4,005 (87.3 percent) career laps at the half-mile Virginia track.

Richard Childress Racing at Martinsville Speedway … In 169 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has earned four pole awards and posted seven victories with drivers Dale Earnhardt (five times), Ricky Rudd (1983) and Kevin Harvick (2011). RCR Chevrolet teams have earned 30 top-five and 63 top-10 finishes at Martinsville dating back to the team's first start there on April 10, 1972. Richard Childress, a former driver in NASCAR's top division, contributed four of those top-10 finishes from 1976-1978.

Stenhouse has 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Martinsville with an average starting position of 22.8.

Newman will make his 35th start at Martinsville this weekend. In 34 prior starts, Newman has eight top-five and 16 top-10 finishes with one win and an average finish of 14.7.

“Martinsville is where I made my Cup Series debut, so it's always been a special place for me. Because it's such a tight, flat track, it's so important to try and have a clean race. The track can really take a toll on the car, especially with all the bumping and banging that we've seen in the past.”

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Gander Outdoor Truck Series will be in action this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Clint Bowyer is the defending champion of Sunday’s STP 500 after snapping a 190-race winless streak. Here’s a look at Ford’s record in both series at the half-mile facility.

AmericanMuscle’s (AM) Justin Dugan visited Performance Assembly Solutions in Livonia, Michigan to see exactly how Ford Performance hand-assembles their Coyote V8 and Ford GT V6 engines. To start, Justin spends some time with Ford Performance Engine Engineer Ron Ewert to examine their Aluminator SCCrate Engines as well as the 5.2L Voodoo engine found in the Mustang FP350S turnkey racecar.

Fontana Recap: Denny Hamlin overcame multiple challenges to earn a seventh-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Sunday, leading laps and scoring stage points in the 400-mile race. Denny started the 200-lap event sixth, and took the lead twice within the first 12 laps. He also led for multiple laps late in the first stage. The later stages of the race dealt the #11 team a couple of setbacks, including a caution flag that flew right after the team pitted under green, putting Denny a lap down, and a speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the pack for a Stage 3 restart. Each time, the team battled back, with a fast FedEx Express Toyota propelling the team back into the top 10. Sunday’s performance allowed Denny to maintain his fourth-place position in the championship standings after five races.