2019 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series was the 71st season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 48th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Road America, with the Texaco 250, then at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash and its qualifier, the Gatorade Duel qualifying races and the 61st running of the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on December 11, 2019. Jeffrey Earnhardt of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. entered as the defending series champion. Adam Petty of Petty Enterprises clinched his third championship at the penultimate race of the season. Justin Haley and Matt DiBenedetto obtained their first career victories, whereas Ty Majeski won Rookie of the Year honors.
The 2019 season was the first season in which Ford fields the Lincoln Continental, replacing the Fusion. It also saw the return of Pontiac, which fields the newly-relaunched Grand Prix and Firebird. This was also the final season for Darrell Waltrip covering races in the booth as during the season he announced that the June 22 McDonald's 400 would be his last race as a broadcaster. This was the final season for three-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as drivers David Ragan and Paul Menard, both retiring after more than 10 years of Cup racing. This was also scheduled to be the final season for 2003 champion Matt Kenseth. However, after Kyle Larson had been fired from Chip Ganassi Racing for his use of a racial slur during an iRacing event, it was announced on April 27, 2020 that Kenseth would replace him in the #14 Pontiac for the rest of the season.
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW | Germain Racing | 13 | Casey Mears | Matt Borland | M3 |
| Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 01 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Tony Eury Sr. | Camaro ZL1 |
| 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 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Alan Gustafson | Camaro ZL1 | |
| 24 | William Byron | Chad Knaus | |||
| 25 | Brad Keselowski | Greg Ives | |||
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Kevin Meendering | |||
| 84 | Landon Cassill | Lance McGrew | |||
| JTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | Tristan Smith | Malibu | |
| 59 | Chris Buescher | Trent Owens | |||
| Premium Motorsports | 49 | Justin Marks | Peter Sospenzo 23 Pat Tryson 13 |
2017 SS | |
| Garrett Smithley 1 | |||||
| TBA 20 | |||||
| Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Austin Dillon | Justin Alexander | Camaro | |
| 30 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Luke Lambert | |||
| 33 | Ty Dillon | Gil Martin | |||
| Spire Motorsports | 87 | Quin Houff (R) | Scott Eggleston 24 Peter Sospenzo 12 |
2018 Malibu | |
| Reed Sorenson 1 | |||||
| D. J. Kennington 1 | |||||
| Justin Haley 2 | |||||
| TBA 12 | |||||
| Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 40 | Bryan Clauson 50 | Jeff Vandermoss | Challenger |
| Jamie McMurray 1 | |||||
| 41 | Brennan Poole | Mike Shiplett | |||
| 42 | Ross Chastain | Chad Johnston | |||
| Petty Enterprises | 7 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Kevin Manion | ||
| 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Derek Stamets | |||
| 44 | Chad McCumbee | Mark Tudor | |||
| 45 | Adam Petty | Billy Wilburn | |||
| 46 | Austin Petty | Mike Ford | |||
| Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Scott Graves | Roush Mustang |
| 17 | Ryan Newman | Brian Pattie | |||
| Team Penske | 2 | Blaise Alexander | Paul Wolfe | Mustang | |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Jeremy Bullins | |||
| 22 | Joey Logano | Todd Gordon | |||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Paul Menard | Greg Erwin | Shelby GT500 | |
| Honda | Favre-Orr Racing | 16 | Parker Kligerman | Joey Knuckles | Civic |
| 37 | Regan Smith | Joe Lax | |||
| 61 | Jeb Burton | Tim Steele | |||
| 90 | Johanna Robbins | Darrell Bryant | |||
| Labonte Motorsports | 09 | Justin Allgaier | Jay Guy | Accord | |
| 52 | Michael Annett | Steve Addington | |||
| 53 | Dakoda Armstrong | Jimmy Elledge | |||
| Lincoln | Front Row Motorsports | 34 | Michael McDowell | Drew Blickensderfer | Continental |
| 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Mike Kelley | |||
| 38 | David Ragan | Seth Barbour | |||
| Go Fas Racing | 32 | Alex Labbe (R) | Randy Cox | ||
| Yates Racing | 28 | Ty Majeski (R) | Todd Parrott | ||
| 88 | Ryan Reed | Kevin Manion | |||
| 96 | Jason Leffler | Larry Carter | |||
| Pontiac | Leavine Family Racing | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Mike Wheeler | Firebird |
| StarCom Racing | 05 | Corey LaJoie | Wayne Carroll 1
Joe Williams Jr. 35 |
Grand Prix | |
| Stewart-Haas Racing | 00 | Brian Vickers | Billy Scott | Grand Prix | |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Rodney Childers 34 Tony Gibson 2 | |||
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Johnny Klausmeier | |||
| 14 | Kyle Larson | Mike Bugarewicz | |||
| Toyota | Furniture Row Racing | 78 | Kurt Busch | Cole Pearn | Camry |
| Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chris Gabehart | ||
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Adam Stevens | |||
| 19 | Daniel Suárez | Dave Rogers | |||
| 20 | Erik Jones | Chris Gayle | |||
| Michael Waltrip Racing | 51 | Clint Bowyer | Dax Gerringer | ||
| 55 | Brett Moffitt | Chad Walter | |||
| Chevrolet 7
Ford 9 |
Rick Ware Racing | 56 | B. J. McLeod 2 | George Church 6 Mike Hillman Jr. 10 |
2018 Camaro
2017 Fusion |
| Cody Ware 9 | |||||
| Gray Gaulding 1 | |||||
| Jeb Burton 1 | |||||
| Bayley Currey 1 | |||||
| Kyle Weatherman 1 | |||||
| J. J. Yeley 1 | |||||
| TBA 20 | |||||
| Chevrolet 10
Ford 6 |
57 | Cody Ware 2 | Mike Hillman Jr. 6 George Church 10 | ||
| B. J. McLeod 4 | |||||
| Bayley Currey 7 | |||||
| Jeb Burton 1 | |||||
| Stanton Barrett 1 | |||||
| J. J. Yeley 1 | |||||
| Josh Bilicki 1 | |||||
| TBA 20 |
Limited schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Round(s) | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Beard Motorsports | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Darren Shaw | 4 | Camaro |
| Premium Motorsports | 31 | Reed Sorenson | Tommy Baldwin Jr, | 8 | 2017 SS | |
| Richard Childress Racing | 03 | Tyler Reddick | Justin Alexander | 2 | Camaro | |
| Rick Ware Racing | 58 | B.J. McLeod | Lee Leslie | 2 | Malibu | |
| J. J. Yeley | TBA | |||||
| Kyle Weatherman | TBA | |||||
| Bayley Currey | TBA | |||||
| Cody Ware | TBA | |||||
| TBA | 6-7 | |||||
| Tommy Baldwin Racing | 71 | Ryan Truex | Tommy Baldwin Jr. | 1 | Camaro | |
| Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 04 | Bryan Clauson | Jeff Vandermoss | 1 | Challenger |
| Ford | Rick Ware Racing | 60 | J. J. Yeley | Jeff Spraker | 1 | 2017 Fusion |
| Honda | Labonte Motorsports | 54 | Bobby Labonte | Gary DeHart | 5 | Accord |
| Oldsmobile | Oldsmobile Racing Development | 101 | Sheldon Creed | Michael McSwain | 4 | Cutlass |
| Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 96 | D.J. Kennington | Mark Hillman | 13 | 2016 Avalon |
| Joe Gibbs Racing | 02 | Christopher Bell | Jason Ratciff | 5 | Camry | |
| MBM Motorsports | 46 | Joey Gase | Mark Labretone | 1 | 2017 Camry | |
| 66 | Brian Keselowski | 6 | ||||
| Timmy Hill | 3 |
Local Leasing entries
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race Driver | Crew Chief | Round(s) | Model and year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth | 144 | Kyle Petty | Daytona 500 | 1970 Superbird |
Changes
Rule changes
- In response to the sudden uptick in Local Leasing and part-time entries, NASCAR will expand the field to 60 cars on superspeedways, 51 cars on intermediate tracks, and 48 cars on road courses, while short tracks and dirt tracks will still have a 46-car field.
- This season will see the return of the Winston Million, renamed the Monster Million, due to its Monster Energy sponsorship. 2019 will also see the return of the No Bull 5, renamed the CompuServe 5, and for a $500,000 bonus.
- On January 4, 2019, NASCAR announced a new post-race inspection rule in all three series, where race-winning teams found to be in violation of the rule book will automatically be disqualified. Following a race, the first-place and second-place team, along with at least one randomly selected car, will undergo post-race inspection. The car that fails the inspection will receive last-place points.
Schedule
The 2019 schedule was released on April 3, 2018. Sonoma Raceway will return to the original 2.52 mile course configuration for the first time since 1997, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway will switch to its infield road course in lieu of its oval, citing better racing. The race times were announced on December 11, 2018. The only changes were the Martinsville, Indianapolis and North Wilkesboro races being moved to prime time that day compared to last year.
| No | Race Title | Track | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texaco 250 | Road America, Lake Elkhart, Wisconsin | January 27 | 1:30 p.m. | Fox |
| Busch Clash Qualifier | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida | February 9 | 12:00 p.m. | CBS Sports Network | |
| Busch Clash | February 10 | 3:00 p.m. | CBS | ||
| Gatorade Duel | February 14 | 7:00 p.m. | CBS | ||
| 2 | Daytona 500 | February 17 | 2:30 p.m. | CBS | |
| 3 | Subway 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina | February 23 | 3:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 4 | Hickory 276 | Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, North Carolina | February 24 | 1:30 p.m. | FS1 |
| 5 | Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada | March 3 | 3:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 6 | Sherwin-Williams 300 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio | March 7 | 1:35 p.m. | Fox |
| 7 | Eldora Dirt Derby | Eldora Speedway, New Weston, Ohio | March 10 | 3:00 p.m. | Fox |
| 8 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside Speedway, Moreno Valley, California | March 17 | 3:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 9 | Corona 350 | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico | March 24 | 2:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 10 | Jacob's Grand Prix | Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown, Kent, England | March 31 | 1:15 p.m.
1:30 p.m. |
Fox |
| 11 | O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas | April 7 | 2:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 12 | GEICO 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama | April 13 | 6:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 13 | Pinky Malinky 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania | April 20 | 5:30 p.m. | FS1
Nickelodeon |
| 14 | STP 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia | April 28 | 2:00 p.m. | Fox |
| 15 | Gander RV 400 | Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware | May 6 | 1:45 p.m. | FS1 |
| 16 | Digital Ally 400 | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas | May 11 | 8:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| NASCAR Open | Oxford Speedway, Oxford, Maine | May 18 | 6:00 p.m. | FS1 | |
| NASCAR All-Star Race | May 18 | 8:00 p.m. | FS1 | ||
| 17 | Myers Brothers 250 | Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina | May 22 | 5:00 p.m. | Fox |
| 18 | World 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | May 26 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox |
| 19 | FireKeepers Casino 400 | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan | June 2 | 2:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 20 | Old Spice 400 | World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Madison, Illinois | June 10 | 4:30 p.m. | Fox |
| 21 | McDonald's 400 | Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero, Illinois | June 22 | 1:00 p.m. | FS1 |
| 22 | SpongeBob SquarePants 400 presented by Camping World | Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois | June 23 | 6:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 23 | U.S. Cellular 400 | Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa | June 27 | 3:15 p.m. | NBC |
| 24 | BlackBerry 300 | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | June 30 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 25 | McCormick 350 | Delaware Speedway, Delaware, Ontario, Canada | July 1 | 3:00 p.m. | NBC |
| Daytona Late Model Classic | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida | July 5 | 1:00 p.m. | TBS | |
| 26 | Firecracker 400 | July 7 | 7:00 p.m. | MGM | |
| 27 | Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart | Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky | July 13 | 7:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 28 | Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire | July 21 | 4:15 p.m. | TBS |
| 29 | Gander Outdoors 400 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania | July 28 | 2:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 30 | Go Bowling at The Glen | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York | August 4 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 31 | Howard Johnson's 400 | Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado | August 11 | 2:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 32 | Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | August 17 | 6:30 p.m. | MGM |
| Circuit City Summer Shootout | Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, Washington | August 21 | 1:00 p.m. | TBS | |
| 33 | Dollar Tree 400 | South Boston Speedway, South Boston, Virginia | August 24 | 3:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 34 | Greenville 200 | Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Easley, South Carolina | August 31 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 35 | Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | September 1 | 7:00 p.m. | MGM |
| 36 | Hoosier Lottery 400 | Lucas Oil Raceway, Brownsburg, Indiana | September 7 | 2:00 p.m. | MGM |
| 37 | Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana, (Roval) | September 8 | 5:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 38 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | September 15 | 7:00 p.m. | MGM |
| 39 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia | September 21 | 7:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 40 | Bank of America Roval 500 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina, (Roval) | September 29 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 41 | TNN 420 | Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville, Tennessee | October 6 | 2:30 p.m. | TNN |
| 42 | Nürburgring Grand Prix | Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany | October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | TBS |
| 44 | Metrolina 250 | Metrolina Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina | October 16 | 1:00 p.m. | TBS |
| 45 | Talladega 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama | October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 46 | TicketGuardian 500 | ISM Raceway, Avondale, Arizona | October 27 | 2:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 47 | Keystone Light 400 | Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin | November 3 | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 48 | Auto Club 400 | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California | November 10 | 2:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 49 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California | November 17 | 3:00 p.m. | TBS |
| 50 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Miami, Florida | November 24 | 2:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 51 | Sega 350 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan | December 1 | 2:30 p.m. | MGM |
| 52 | Myrtle Beach 200 | Myrtle Beach Speedway, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | December 8 | 1:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 53 | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia | December 11 | 3:30 p.m. | MGM |
| NASCAR Thunder Christmas Special 100 | Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, Pays de la Loire, France | December 15 | 1:00 p.m. | TBS |
Crown Jewel races in bold
Changes
The 2019 schedule for the NASCAR Cup Series will undergo a series of significant changes.
Race results
| No | Race Title | Pole position | Most laps led | Race winner | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texaco 250 | ||||
| Busch Clash | |||||
| Gatorade Duel #1 | |||||
| Gatorade Duel #2 | |||||
| 2 | Daytona 500 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota Camry | ||
| 3 | Subway 400 | Clint Bowyer | |||
| 4 | Hickory 276 | Blaise Alexander | |||
| 5 | Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube | ||||
| 6 | Sherwin-Williams 300 | ||||
| 7 | Eldora Dirt Derby | Kyle Larson | |||
| 8 | Budweiser 400 | ||||
| 9 | Corona 350 | ||||
| 10 | Jacob's Grand Prix | Kurt Busch | |||
| 11 | O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | ||||
| 12 | GEICO 500 | ||||
| 13 | Pinky Malinky 400 | Chase Elliott | |||
| 14 | STP 500 | ||||
| 15 | Gander RV 400 | ||||
| 16 | Digital Ally 400 | ||||
| NASCAR Open | |||||
| NASCAR All-Star Race | |||||
| 17 | Myers Brothers 250 | Chase Elliott | |||
| 18 | World 600 | Adam Petty | |||
| 19 | FireKeepers Casino 400 | ||||
| 20 | Old Spice 400 | Matt Kenseth | |||
| 21 | McDonald's 400 | ||||
| 22 | SpongeBob SquarePants 400 presented by Camping World | Kyle Busch | |||
| 23 | U.S. Cellular 400 | ||||
| 24 | BlackBerry 300 | ||||
| 25 | McCormick 350 | ||||
| Daytona Late Model Classic | |||||
| 26 | Firecracker 400 | Justin Haley | |||
| 27 | Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart | ||||
| 28 | Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 | ||||
| 29 | Gander Outdoors 400 | ||||
| 30 | Go Bowling at The Glen | ||||
| 31 | Howard Johnson's 400 | ||||
| 32 | Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race | ||||
| Circuit City Summer Shootout | Hailie Deegan | ||||
| 33 | Dollar Tree 400 | ||||
| 34 | Greenville 200 | ||||
| 35 | Southern 500 | Landon Cassill | |||
| 36 | Hoosier Lottery 400 | ||||
| 37 | Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard | Johanna Robbins | |||
| 38 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | Kyle Larson | |||
| 39 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | ||||
| 40 | Bank of America Roval 500 | ||||
| 41 | TNN 420 | Adam Petty | |||
| 42 | Nürburgring Grand Prix | ||||
| 44 | Metrolina 250 | Blaise Alexander | |||
| 45 | Talladega 500 | ||||
| 46 | TicketGuardian 500 | ||||
| 47 | Keystone Light 400 | ||||
| 48 | Auto Club 400 | ||||
| 49 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | ||||
| 50 | Ford EcoBoost 400 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | |||
| 51 | Sega 350 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | |||
| 52 | Myrtle Beach 200 | Adam Petty | |||
| 53 | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | ||||
| NASCAR Thunder Christmas Special 100 |
Crown Jewel races in bold