NASCAR Cup Series

Liberty National Life Insurance Company has entered into a partnership with Richard Childress Racing and the No. 31 team for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Liberty National will be featured as a primary sponsor for select races with Ryan Newman and the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro, and will be an associate sponsor for the entire season.

Kansas Speedway was the key to Round 3 advancement for Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team. Texas Speedway holds much the same gravitas for the Wood Brothers’ ambition to race for the NASCAR championship at Homestead in three weeks.

Hendrick Motorsports has named veteran crew chief Darian Grubb to lead the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team of driver William Byron, who will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2018 and compete for rookie of the year honors.

In 23 starts at Texas, Hamlin has collected two wins and five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. During the Series’ last Playoffs visit to the 1.5 oval, Hamlin finished ninth in the rain-shortened event. Hamlin is one-top five finish away from tying his career-best 15 top-five finishes in a single season (2009).

Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are currently holding down third and fourth-place, respectively, in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings while Ryan Blaney is in sixth-place, only six points behind the final transfer spot. 

With three races left in the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, Erik Jones will make his third-career Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. Jones made his first Cup Series start at the Fort Worth, Texas track in 2015 where he started the race from the sixth position and with a strong run, finished 12th.

“Texas is one of my favorite tracks. In the spring there were a lot of unknowns due to the repave, but we ended up having a solid race and feel confident coming into this weekend. With three races left in the season, we are focused on finishing the season strong and carrying that momentum into the off-season.”

Trevor Bayne makes his 15th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. In 14 previous starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Bayne has recorded a best finish of 13th in the spring 2017 event.

Martinsville, where eight boys were trying to lock themselves into the final field of four contenders for the championship in Homestead. At the same time, 31 boys and a girl were doing their utmost to spoil the party for someone by winning the thing themselves.

1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished second at Martinsville as Kyle Busch took the win. "We didn't win," Truex said, "but it was a good points day for us. And points get me very excited. You know what I get when I see my points pile up? A huge bonus."