By Jared Turner Thought all that could go wrong had gone wrong for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2017, his final season of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition? If so, well, you thought wrong. Making his last start at Darlington, a track where he’s never gone to Victory Lane, Earnhardt Jr. sputtered to a 22nd-place finish. To make matters worse, NASCAR discovered after the race that two lug nuts on his No. 88 Chevrolet were loose, which means a likely $20,000 fine and one-race suspension for crew chief Greg Ives. “[NASCAR] pulled me over because I’ve got some loose lug nuts on…

By Jared Turner It took Denny Hamlin 19 races to score his first win of 2017. Now, with his victory at Darlington, Hamlin has two wins in his past seven starts. Not a bad way to build momentum ahead of the playoffs, which commence in two weekends at Chicagoland Speedway. Not that Hamlin is any stranger to carrying momentum into the post-season, having finished the 2016 regular season with a victory at Richmond — where the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns this weekend. “This year is really no different,” Hamlin said. “I mean, we've been at this point before where we've…

By Ben White A variety of car numbers have become established winners since NASCAR’s first-ever Strictly Stock race was held on June 19, 1949 at the 3/4-mile Charlotte Speedway once located just off Wilkerson Boulevard. The No. 34 was the first to win in NASCAR’s premier series. That day, Jim Roper wheeled a solid black 1949 Lincoln he drove 2,000 miles all the way from Halstead, Kansas. The second-place finisher was declared the winner when Glenn Dunaway’s 1947 Ford was deemed illegal for using leaf springs. Ironically, the No. 34 has only won four times in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition.…

By Ben White Eric Penza, interior specialist for Front Row Motorsports and driver David Ragan, remembers the 2005 Nextel All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2005 as his first NASCAR race when he was 11 years old. His mother’s friend was married to an attorney associated with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Through that friendship, Penza was given the opportunity to enjoy the race from an incredible perspective on pit road. “I got to hang out with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and sit on his pit box,” Penza said. “My family wasn’t in racing, and I didn’t grow up in the sport so that’s…

By Keith Waltz The 16-driver field for the NASCAR playoffs will be set following the 26th race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond International Raceway. The playoffs are comprised of the season’s final 10 races and feature an elimination-style format that will see four drivers battle for the title in a winner-take-all showdown during the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway. Here’s how drivers qualify for the playoffs: n The top 15 drivers with the most wins over the first 26 races will earn a spot in the playoffs – provided they have finished in the top 30 in…