2017 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)

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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.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule

Manufacturer Team No. Race driver Crew chief Model
BMW Germain Racing 13 Casey Mears Bootie Barker M3
Chevrolet Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group 03 Jeff Green (32) Pat Tryson 15
Frank Stoddard2
Eddie Pardue 19
SS
Boris Said (7)
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 01 Jeffrey Earnhardt Dan Stillman Camaro
1 Martin Truex Jr. Matt McCall
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Eury Jr.
15 Alex Bowman Bruce Cook
81 Matt Kenseth Kevin Hamlin
Hendrick Motorsports 5 Kasey Kahne Keith Rodden 27
Darian Grubb 9
Camaro
24 Chase Elliott Alan Gustafson 35
Kenny Francis 1
25 Brad Keselowski Greg Ives 35
Travis Mack 1
48 Jimmie Johnson Chad Knaus
84 Landon Cassill Lance McGrew
HScott Motorsports 09 Justin Allgaier Jay Guy SS
52 Michael Annett Jimmy Elledge
JTG Daugherty Racing 47 A. J. Allmendinger Randall Burnett 8
Ernie Cope 10
Tristan Smith 18
SS
59 Chris Buescher Trent Owens
Leavine Family Racing 95 Michael McDowell Todd Parrott 31
Jon Leonard 5
SS
Earnhardt-Childress Racing (Start Your Engines!) 3 Austin Dillon Slugger Labbe 10
Sammy Johns 1
Justin Alexander 25
Camaro
30 Ryan Newman Matt Borland
31 Paul Menard Luke Lambert
33 Ty Dillon Gil Martin
Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 40 Bryan Clauson Jeff Vandermoss Challenger
41 Brennan Poole Mike Shiplett
42 Kyle Larson Chris Heroy
Petty Enterprises 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Drew Blickensderfer
43 Aric Almirola 29 Kevin Manion
Regan Smith 2
Darrell Wallace Jr. 4
Billy Johnson 1
44 Chad McCumbee Mark Tudor
45 Adam Petty Billy Wilburn
46 Austin Petty Chris Hussey
Ford Brett Favre Racing 16 Parker Kligerman Chad Johnston 33
Tony Lunders 3
Mustang
61 Jeb Burton Tim Steele
90 Johanna Robbins Darrell Bryant
Front Row Motorsports 34 Greg Biffle Donnie Wingo 17
Seth Barbour 19
Fusion
38 David Ragan Derrick Finley
Go Fas Racing 32 Matt DiBenedetto Gene Nead Fusion
Orr Motorsports 37 Regan Smith John Page Fusion
Robert Yates Racing 28 Jamie McMurray Todd Parrott Fusion
88 Ryan Reed (R) Scott McDougall
96 Jason Leffler Larry Carter
Roush Fenway Racing 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Matt Puccia Roush Mustang
17 Trevor Bayne Brian Pattie
Stewart-Haas Racing 00 Brian Vickers Tony Gibson 35
Johnny Klausmeier 1
Mustang
4 Kevin Harvick Rodney Childers 35
Daniel Knost 1
10 Danica Patrick Billy Scott
14 Tony Stewart Greg Zipadelli
Team Penske 2 Blaise Alexander Paul Wolfe 32
Brian Wilson 4
Mustang
22 Joey Logano Todd Gordon 33
Miles Stanley 3
Wood Brothers Racing 21 Ryan Blaney Jeremy Bullins Shelby GT500
Toyota BK Racing 23 Joey Gase 4 Patrick Donahue 14
Randy Cox 22
Camry
Gray Gaulding (R) 14
Ryan Sieg 1
Alon Day 1
Corey LaJoie (R) 16
Furniture Row Racing 77 Erik Jones (R) Chris Gayle 34
James Small 2
78 Kurt Busch Cole Pearn
Joe Gibbs Racing 11 Denny Hamlin Mike Wheeler 34
Chris Gabehart 2
18 Kyle Busch Adam Stevens 32
Ben Beshore 3
Jacob Canter 1
19 Daniel Suárez Dave Rogers 5
Scott Graves 31
20 Elliott Sadler Jason Ratcliff
Michael Waltrip Racing 51 Clint Bowyer Dax Gerringer
55 Brett Moffitt Chad Walter
Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) 35
Ford 1
TriStar Motorsports 72 Cole Whitt Frank Kerr Camaro

Mustang

Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) 28
Toyota 8
Premium Motorsports 98 Reed Sorenson 23 Mark Hillman 24
Tommy Baldwin Jr. 12
SS

Camry

Joey Gase 2
Ross Chastain 2
Kevin O'Connell 1
D. J. Kennington 2
Gray Gaulding (R) 1
Gary Klutt 1
Derrike Cope 2
Mark Thompson 1

Limited schedule

Manufacturer Team No. Race driver Crew chief Round(s) Model
Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) Beard Motorsports 75 Brendan Gaughan Darren Shaw 4 SS
Rick Ware Racing 58 Timmy Hill Carlos Contreras 1
Joe Lax 8
Jeff Spraker 1
Tony Furr 15
Jonas Bell 5
10 Camaro
Cody Ware 5
Josh Bilicki 2
B. J. McLeod 8
Ray Black Jr. 3
Kyle Weatherman 2
Tommy Baldwin Racing 7 Elliott Sadler Kenneth Davis 3 Camaro
J. J. Yeley 4
Premium Motorsports Justin Marks 1
Hermie Sadler 1
Joey Gase 2
StarCom Racing 05 Derrike Cope Tony Furr 2 2013 SS
Toyota BK Racing 83 Corey LaJoie (R) Doug Richert 22
Ryan Dubois 3
Randy Cox 8
Doug George 1
16 Canry
Ryan Sieg 4
Stephen Leicht 1
Brett Moffitt 7
Gray Gaulding (R) 4
Joey Gase 1
Gaunt Brothers Racing 96 D. J. Kennington Keith Hinkein 1
Mike Ford 1
2
Michael Waltrip Racing 56 Michael Waltrip Steve Addington 1
Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) 12
Toyota 1
MBM Motorsports 66 Carl Long George Church 3 2016 SS

2015 Avalon

Timmy Hill 7
David Starr 3
Chevrolet (Start Your Engines!) 10
Toyota 17
Premium Motorsports 49 Reed Sorenson Wayne Carroll 19
Pat Tryson 8
6 Camaro

2016 Camry

Derrike Cope 11
Tommy Regan 1
Gray Gaulding (R) 8
D. J. Kennington 1

Local Leasing entries

Manufacturer Team No. Race Driver Crew Chief Round(s) Model and year

Changes

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.

No Race Title Track Date Time TV
Busch Clash Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida February 19 11:35 a.m. CBS
Gatorade Duels February 23 7:00 p.m. CBS
1 Daytona 500 February 26 2:30 p.m. CBS
2 Subway 400 Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina March 5 2:30 p.m. Fox
3 Kobalt 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada March 12 3:30 p.m. Fox
4 Camping World 500 Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin March 19 3:30 p.m. Fox
5 Auto Club 400 Riverside Speedway, Moreno Valley, California March 26 3:30 p.m. Fox
6 STP 500 Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia April 2 2:00 p.m. FS1
7 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas April 9 1:30 p.m. Fox
8 Jacob's Grand Prix Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown, Kent, England April 16 2:00 p.m. FS1
9 Welcome to the Wayne 400 Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania April 24 1:00 p.m. Fox

Nickelodeon

10 Old Spice 400 Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Illinois April 30 2:00 p.m. Fox
11 GEICO 500 Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama May 7 2:00 p.m. Fox
12 Go Bowling 400 Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas May 13 7:30 p.m. FS1
NASCAR Open Metrolina Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina May 20 6:00 p.m. FS1
NASCAR All-Star Race May 20 8:00 p.m. FS1
13 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina May 28 6:00 p.m. Fox
14 McDonald's 400 Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero, Illinois June 4 1:00 p.m. FS1
15 Tales of the Turtles 400 Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois June 11 3:00 p.m. FS1
16 Howard Johnson's 400 Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado June 18 3:00 p.m. FS1
17 U.S. Cellular 400 Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa June 25 3:00 p.m. FS1
18 Coke Zero 400 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida July 1 7:30 p.m. MGM
19 Quaker State 400 Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky July 8 7:30 p.m. MGM
20 Overton's 301 New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire July 16 3:00 p.m. MGM
21 Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana July 23 2:30 p.m. NBC
22 Overton's 400 Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania July 30 3:00 p.m. TBS
23 I Love New York 355 at The Glen Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York August 6 3:00 p.m. TBS
24 Pure Michigan 400 Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan August 13 3:00 p.m. TBS
25 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee August 19 7:30 p.m. NBC
26 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina September 3 6:00 p.m. MGM
27 Federated Auto Parts 400 Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia September 9 7:30 p.m. MGM
28 TNN 420 Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville, Tennessee September 17 3:00 p.m. TNN
29 Tyson Holly Farms 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina September 24 2:00 p.m. MGM
30 Apache Warrior 400 Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware October 1 2:00 p.m. MGM
31 Auto Club 400 Auto Club Speedway, Auto Club, California October 8 2:00 p.m. NBC
32 Bank of America Roval 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina (Roval) October 15 1:00 p.m. NBC
33 Alabama 500 Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama October 22 2:00 p.m. NBC
34 Keystone Light 400 Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin October 29 3:00 p.m. MGM
35 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California November 5 3:00 p.m. TBS
36 Ford EcoBoost 400 Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida November 12 2:00 p.m. TBS
37 Can-Am 500 Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona November 19 2:30 p.m. NBC
38 Sega 350 Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan November 26 2:30 p.m. TBS
39 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia December 3 3:00 p.m. MGM

Season summary

Race reports

Results and standings


Race results

No. Race Pole position Most laps led Winning driver Model
Busch Clash Tony Stewart Ford Mustang
Gatorade Duel #1
Gatorade Duel #2
1 Daytona 500 Adam Petty Dodge Challenger
2 Subway 400 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet Camaro
3 Kobalt 400
4 Camping World 500
5 Auto Club 400
6 STP 500
7 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
8 Jacob's Grand Prix
9 Welcome to the Wayne 400 Kurt Busch Toyota Camry
10 Old Spice 400 Chase Elliott
11
12