NASCAR Cup Series

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Quick Lane team will close out the 2018 season in the Ford 400 at one of Menard’s favorite tracks, Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Tony Gibson, acting crew chief for MENCS championship contender Kevin Harvick, participated in a NASCAR teleconference Wednesday morning to discuss the upcoming Ford Championship weekend from the perspective of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford team.

Todd Gordon, crew chief for MENCS championship contender Todd Gordon, participated in a NASCAR teleconference Wednesday morning to discuss the upcoming Ford Championship weekend from the perspective of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford team.

Richard Childress Racing's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history at Homestead-Miami Speedway ... Homestead-Miami Speedway is one of the few race tracks where team owner Richard Childress has yet to earn a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. Richard Childress Racing entries have finished second on four occasions: 2003 (Kevin Harvick), 2008 (Harvick), 2009 (Jeff Burton) and 2014 (Ryan Newman). In 60 starts, RCR has earned nine top-five and 24 top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile, progressively-banked oval with drivers Dave Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Green, Harvick, Newman, Paul Menard and Mike Skinner. Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway are the other tracks on the current Cup Series schedule where RCR is still on the hunt for hardware.

Jimmie Johnson on his final race with Lowe's and No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus: "Man, I want to win this year. I want to win with Lowe’s on the car and I want to win with (No. 48 team crew chief) Chad (Knaus). So, that’s our top priority. Seeing that (rookie) paint scheme is going to trigger emotions from myself and I’m sure our fans. So many good years with that paint scheme and victories and such. I think this weekend’s definitely going to be an emotional one.”

Three high-profile Ford vehicles – Edge ST, F-150 and Bullitt Mustang – will be pacing the field in different events during Ford Championship Weekend as NASCAR crowns champions in its three highest profile series.

Stenhouse has six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) with an average starting position of 16.3 and average finishing position of 25.0.

SMITH BY THE NUMBERS: Regan Smith has six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Homestead-Miami and has an average start of 21.2 and an average finish of 27.3. He’s completed 1,584 of 1,603 (98.8 percent) career laps. Smith’s best starting position is tenth (2010) and his best finish was 13th (2011) at the South Florida track.

The following is a Question and Answer with Furniture Row Racing owner Barney Visser, whose team will defend its 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship with driver Martin Truex Jr. Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It will also be the final race for the Denver, Colo.-based Furniture Row Racing. The team announced on Sept. 4, 2018 that it will cease operations at the end of the season due to lack of necessary funding to field a competitive team.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season ends with Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 in which Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick will by trying to deliver the first drivers’ title for the manufacturer since Kurt Busch won it all in 2004.