NASCAR Cup PR

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Sonoma Raceway, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 30.0 and an average finish of 25.0.  He’s completed 439 of 440 (99.8 percent) career laps at the Sonoma, California road course.  The series will return to the original 12-turn course for the first time since 1997 with no current MENCS driver having driven this configuration.

Stenhouse Jr. has six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Sonoma Raceway with an average starting position of 28.0 and average finishing position of 26.7.

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race in Sonoma will mark the end of an era in the sport, with legendary driver/announcer Darrell Waltrip hanging up his microphone after 19 years in the TV booth. In honor of Waltrip’s last call, Roush Fenway Racing and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will pay homage to the former driver and Hall of Famer with a special chrome numbered paint scheme on the No. 17 Ford Mustang.

Newman will make his 18th start at Sonoma Raceway this weekend, which is tied for second among all active Cup drivers (Jimmie Johnson & Kurt Busch – 19th). In 17 events at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course, Newman has an average finishing position of 13.2.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series resumes action this weekend for its annual trip to Sonoma and the first road course test of the season. Ford comes into the race off a victory at Michigan International Speedway by Joey Logano, which was the Blue Oval’s fifth triumph of the season. While the Cup drivers are turning right and left in northern California, the Gander Outdoor Truck Series will be competing at Gateway Motorsports Park.

Sonoma Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be returning to the road course of Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 23. With 12 turns and 160 feet of a total elevation change on the track, Sonoma will be the first test of the #FedEx team’s road racing program this season. Hamlin seeks his first career victory at Sonoma and a boost in the Cup Series standings.

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Nibco Mustang came away with a 13th-place finish in Monday’s rain-delayed FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

"Tough day for our No. 34 Melling Performance Ford Mustang. We had a Top-20 car all day long, but had a loose right front wheel late in the race and had to pit under green, which put us down a lap to where we were not able to make it back up. It was really special to have Melling Performance on our car this weekend for my 300th Cup start and I look forward to hopefully having them back on board with us in the near future."

Brad Keselowski rallied from a lap down to score a sixth-place finish in the FireKeepers Casino 400 Monday evening at Michigan International Speedway. Keselowski used his eighth top-10 finish of the season to climb up to third-place in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, 73 behind leader Joey Logano.

After battling handling issues most of the day, Ryan Newman restarted 14th for the final green-white-checkered finish and drove his way to an eighth-place finish in his Coca-Cola Ford Mustang at Michigan International Speedway.