2017 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)

The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series was the 69th season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 46th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, the Gatorade Duel qualifying races and the 59th running of the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Carl Edwards entered the season as the defending champion, but he was unable to defend his title due to retiring before the 2017 season started. Kurt Busch of Furniture Row Racing won the championship, his first in the series. Toyota won the Manufacturers' Championship for the second year in a row.

The 2017 season was the final season of several full time Cup Series drivers; Danica Patrick announced that 2017 would be the end of her career in motorsports, which included a seven year stint in NASCAR. During the off-season, it was announced that Patrick would compete in the 2018 Daytona 500 and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 in a pair of final races dubbed the "Danica Double" to finish off her career.

It also marked the last season for 19-time race winner Greg Biffle, road-course ringer Boris Said and two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip. It was also the last season Chevrolet fielded the Chevrolet SS, replacing it with the Malibu starting in 2018. BMW also entered NASCAR, supporting Germain Racing with the M3.

Technical changes

 * Teams must start a race using the same tires that were used during qualifying.
 * Based on usage research by NASCAR and several tire manufacturers (these being Goodyear, Hoosier, Michelin, Firestone, and General Tire), tire allocations have changed for some races. Teams will have one fewer set of tires for Daytona (500), Phoenix, Fontana, Martinsville (Spring), Bristol, Kansas, Kentucky, and Chicagoland. Homestead will have two fewer sets allocated, down from twelve. Talladega, Sonoma, Daytona (400), New Hampshire, Watkins Glen, and Darlington will have an additional tire set allocated.
 * In response to increasing speeds at Daytona and Talladega, a side-effect of what is known as the "Second Aero War", restrictor plate sizes were reduced from 57/64 of an inch to 7/8 of an inch.

Safety
Several vehicle safety changes are mandatory on all races, including revised steering column mounting, and garage-only fuel couplers. Anti-intrusion plating, escape hatches and toeboard foam are also required on all restrictor plate races, but are optional on all other races.

NASCAR partnered with American Medical Response to form a traveling medical team for the series, officially known as the NASCAR Rescue Squad. Additionally, NASCAR has expanded the concussion protocol which will see drivers involved in accidents undergo additional concussion testing before being allowed to return to the race track.

Manufacturers
After failing to meet expectations, Toyota pulled factory support for the Avalon. The only full-time team running the model, BK Racing, switched to the Camry.

Schedule
The final calendar – comprising 39 races, as well as exhibition races, which are the Busch Clash, Gatorade Duel qualifying duel races for the Daytona 500 and the All-Star Race – was released on May 5, 2016.