NASCAR Cup Series

After a lackluster start to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway finally delivered a serviceable race. Unfortunately, any chance it had of being a great race was ruined by inconsistent NASCAR officiating.

With the Alabama 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway just days away, Governor Kay Ivey (R), has declared this Sunday, Oct. 15th as ‘Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day’ in the state of Alabama.

For many race fans, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is synonymous with racing and NASCAR, and on Oct. 22, Kansas Speedway will hand out a commemorative lapel pin to the first 19,000 fans through the gates to recognize Earnhardt Jr.’s accomplishments. The number represents the 19 years that Earnhardt Jr. has raced in the NASCAR Cup Series.

With Chamber of Commerce weather in the forecast, all eyes are on Talladega Superspeedway as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) visit the unpredictable 2.66-mile venue this weekend NASCAR Playoff double header. Under expected sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80s, the storylines are aplenty, led by six-time TSS winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final start in Sunday’s Alabama 500 event at the track he calls a “second home.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Texas Motor Speedway will forever be synonymous as the NASCAR superstar captured milestone victories in two national series at the world-renowned motorsports facility.

In what Truex called a flawless team effort, the Furniture Row Racing driver rebounded from early handling issues, charged to the front and came through with a couple of nail-biting late-race restarts in his No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota to score the Bank of America 500 victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. scored his sixth victory of the season in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Truex led the field twice for a total of 91 laps (of 337) en route to the victory.

After a late race pit-road speeding penalty, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. capitalized on the final restart gaining five positions in the final two laps to earn a 13th-place finish in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"We came to Charlotte Motor Speedway with high expectations after winning the May race and the team did a great job preparing a competitive Dow Chevrolet. We came with a slightly different setup than May and I told the guys that this setup seemed even more competitive than the car I had in the spring. We were running solid in the top-10 throughout the race. We were on track for a great finish but we ended up making an unscheduled pit stop under green with less than 15 laps to go for a vibration. Still, we were able to get back on the lead lap and finish 16th. I'm proud of everyone for their hard work."

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team took a car that wasn’t handling very well early on in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and tuned it to the point that it finished eighth. The team now heads to Talladega Superspeedway just five points back of a spot among the top eight that will advance to the third round of the Monster Energy Cup playoffs.