2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Start Your Engines!)

Category:Start Your Engines!
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series (also known as the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for sponsorship reasons) was the 71st season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 48th modern-era Cup series season.
The 2019 season was the fifth of the current 10-year television contract with Fox Sports and NBC Sports and the fourth of a five-year race sanctioning agreement with all tracks. It was the first season in which Ford fielded the Mustang GT, replacing the Fusion, and that Dodge fielded the Challenger, fielding it alongside the Charger. This was the final season of title sponsor Monster Energy, as NASCAR rejected the energy drink company's extension offer in favor of a new tiered sponsorship model. This was also the final season for Darrell Waltrip covering races in the booth as during the season he announced that the May 18 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race would be his last race as a broadcaster.
The 2019 season was the last full-time season for drivers David Ragan and Paul Menard, who each retired after twelve years of racing full-time in the Cup Series.
== Drivers and teams ==
=== Complete schedule ===
Manufacturer	Team 	No.	Race driver 	Crew chief 	Model
Chevrolet 	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	98 	Shane Hmiel 	 	2019 Chevelle SS
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing 	1 	Martin Truex Jr. 	Kevin Manion 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing 	3 	Austin Dillon 	Slugger Labbe 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing 	8 	Dale Earnhardt Jr. 	Tony Eury Jr. 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing 	30 	Jeffrey Earnhardt 	Luke Lambert 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing 	31 	Ty Dillon 	 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing 	48 	Jimmie Johnson 	Chad Knaus 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	5 	William Byron 	Cliff Daniels 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	25 	Ricky Hendrick 	Alan Gustafson 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	35 	Landon Cassill 	 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	50 	Brad Keselowski 	Greg Ives 	2019 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Medallion Racing 	09 	Sam Hornish Jr. 	 	2019 Camaro SS
Chevrolet 	PPI Motorsports 	32 	Boston Reid 	 	2019 Chevelle SS
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	Jamie McMurray 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	Garrett Smithley 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	Reed Sorenson 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	Quin Houff 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	D.J. Kennington 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	Justin Haley 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	Blake Jones 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet 	Spire Motorsports 	79 	Timmy Hill 	Scott Eggleston
Peter Sospenzo
Tommy Baldwin Jr.	2018 Camaro ZL1
Dodge 	AK Racing 	7 	James Kulwicki 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Andretti Autosport 	68 	Kasey Kahne 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Bill Davis Racing 	9 	Chase Elliott 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Bill Davis Racing 	23 	Jason Leffler 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Bill Davis Racing 	24 	Scott Wimmer 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	40 	Kurt Busch 	Matt McCall 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	41 	Bryan Clauson 	 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	42 	Kyle Larson 	Chad Johnston 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Evernham Motorsports 	19 	Casey Elliott 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Evernham Motorsports 	91 	Casey Atwood 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Leavine Family Racing 	95 	Matt DiBenedetto 	Mike Wheeler 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Kelman Racing 	86 	Ryan Kelman 	Scott Searle 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Labonte Motorsports 	46 	Michael Annett 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Labonte Motorsports 	51 	Justin Allgaier 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	McDuffie Racing 	170	Crissy Hillsworth 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	82 	Dakoda Armstrong 	 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	83 	Brendan Gaughan 	 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Pacific Coast Racing 	60 	Katie Johnson (R) 	Jed Luke 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Pacific Coast Racing 	69 	Kelly Walker (R) 	Barry Baker 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Pacific Coast Racing 	80 	Andy Johnson (R) 	Charlie Davis 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Pacific Coast Racing 	85 	Suki Honda (R) 	Scott Smith 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	42 	Aric Almirola 	 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	43 	John Andretti 	 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	44 	Chad McCumbee 	 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	45 	Adam Petty 	 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Team Penske 	2 	Blaise Alexander 	Paul Wolfe 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Team Penske 	12 	Ryan Blaney 	Jeremy Bullins 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Team Penske 	22 	Joey Logano 	Todd Gordon 	2019 Charger SRT
Dodge 	Team Penske 	39 	Paul Menard 	 	2019 Charger SRT
Ford 	Go Fas Racing 	65 	Corey LaJoie 	Randy Cox 	2019 Mustang
Ford 	Roush Fenway Racing 	6 	Ryan Newman 	Scott Graves 	2019 Mustang
Ford 	Roush Fenway Racing 	16 	Greg Biffle 	 	2019 Mustang
Ford 	Roush Fenway Racing 	66 	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Brian Pattie 	2019 Mustang
Ford 	Wood Brothers Racing 	21 	Trevor Bayne 	Greg Erwin 	2019 Mustang
Ford 	Yates Racing 	28 	Davey Allison Jr. 	 	2019 Mustang
Ford 	Yates Racing 	88 	Alex Bowman 	 	2019 Mustang
Ford 	Yates Racing 	96 	Ryan Reed 	 	2019 Mustang
Honda 	Brett Favre Racing 	15 	Parker Kligerman 	 	2019 Accord
Honda 	Brett Favre Racing 	90 	Johanna Robins 	 	2019 Accord
Honda 	Germain Racing 	13 	Ty Dillon 	Matt Borland
Justin Alexander	2019 Accord
Honda 	Michael Waltrip Racing 	17 	Macy Waltrip (R) 	 	2019 Accord
Honda 	Michael Waltrip Racing 	55 	Brian Vickers 	 	2019 Accord
Lincoln 	Front Row Motorsports 	34 	Michael McDowell 	Drew Blickensderfer	2019 Continental
Lincoln 	Front Row Motorsports 	36 	Matt Tifft (R) 	 	2019 Continental
Lincoln 	Front Row Motorsports 	36 	Matt Crafton 	 	2019 Continental
Lincoln 	Front Row Motorsports 	36 	Hunter Nemechek 	 	2019 Continental
Lincoln 	Front Row Motorsports 	38 	David Ragan 	 	2019 Continental
Nissan 	JTG Daugherty Racing 	47 	Ryan Preece (R) 	Tristan Smith
Eddie Pardue	2019 GT-R
Nissan 	JTG Daugherty Racing 	137	Chris Buescher 	Trent Owens 	2019 GT-R
Nissan 	Premium Motorsports 	105	Ross Chastain 	Peter Sospenzo
Pat Tryson	2019 Maxima
Nissan 	Premium Motorsports 	105	Garrett Smithley 	Peter Sospenzo
Pat Tryson	2019 Maxima
Nissan 	Premium Motorsports 	105	Quin Houff 	Peter Sospenzo
Pat Tryson	2019 Maxima
Nissan 	Premium Motorsports 	105	Joe Nemechek 	Peter Sospenzo
Pat Tryson	2019 Maxima
Pontiac 	Kennedy Racing 	03 	Melvin Kennedy 	Mark Cutter 	2019 Trans Am
Pontiac 	Kennedy Racing 	04 	Louise Kennedy 	 	2019 Trans Am
Pontiac 	Labonte Motorsports 	46 	Michael Annett 	 	2019 Firebird
Pontiac 	Labonte Motorsports 	51 	Justin Allgaier 	 	2019 Firebird
Pontiac 	StarCom Racing 	05 	??? 	Wayne Carroll Jr.
Joe Williams Jr.	2019 Trans Am
Pontiac 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	00 	Ryan Truex 	Billy Scott 	2019 Firebird
Pontiac 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	4 	Kevin Harvick 	Rodney Childers 	2019 Firebird
Pontiac 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	10 	Danica Patrick 	Johnny Klausmeier 	2019 Firebird
Pontiac 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	14 	Tony Stewart 	Greg Zipadelli 	2019 Firebird
Toyota 	Furniture Row Racing 	77 	Christopher Bell 	 	2019 Camry
Toyota 	Furniture Row Racing 	78 	Daniel Suárez 	Cole Pearn 	2019 Camry
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	11 	Denny Hamlin 	Chris Gabehart 	2019 Camry
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	18 	Kyle Busch 	Adam Stevens 	2019 Camry
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	20 	Erik Jones 	Chris Gayle 	2019 Camry
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	54 	Carl Edwards 	 	2019 Camry
Toyota 	Orr Motorsports 	37 	Regan Smith 	 	2019 Camry
=== Limited schedule ===
Manufacturer	Team 	No.	Race driver 	Crew chief 	Model
Chevrolet 	Rick Ware Racing 	27 	J.J. Yeley 	 	2019 Camaro SS
Dodge 	MBM Motorsports 	66 	Joey Gase 	Brian Keselowski
George Church
Ryan Bell	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	MBM Motorsports 	66 	Timmy Hill 	Brian Keselowski
George Church
Ryan Bell	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Pacific Coast Racing 	02 	Tim Johnson 	Lyle White 	2019 Challenger
Dodge 	Pacific Coast Racing 	70 	Ace Johnson 	 	2019 Challenger
Pontiac 	XCI Motorsports 	81 	Drew Dollar 	Jacob Canter	2019 Trans Am
Toyota 	Gaunt Brothers Racing	196	Drew Herring	Mark Hillman	2019 Camry
== Schedule ==
No.	Race title 	Track 	Date 	TV
1 	Honda/Save Mart 350 	Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma 	January 27 	FS1
 	Advanced Auto Parts Duel 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 10 	CBS
 	Gander RV Duel 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 14 	CBS
2 	Daytona 500 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 17 	CBS
3 	Subway Fresh Fit 400 	Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham 	February 24 	Fox
4 	Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube 	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas 	March 3 	Fox
5 	TranSouth Financial 400 	Darlington Raceway, Darlington 	March 10 	Fox
6 	San Jose 500 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy 	March 17 	Fox
7 	STP 500 	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway 	March 24 	FS1
8 	O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 	Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth 	March 31 	Fox
9 	Food City 500 	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol 	April 7 	FS1
10 	Pontiac Excitement 400 	Richmond Raceway, Richmond 	April 13 	Fox
11 	Diet Coke 500 	Coca-Cola Superspeedway, Denver 	April 21 	Fox
12 	GEICO 500 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln 	April 28 	Fox
13 	Gander RV 400 	Dover International Speedway, Dover 	May 6 	FS1
14 	First Union 400 	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro 	May 11 	FS1
 	Monster Energy Open 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	May 18 	FS1
 	Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	May 18 	FS1
15 	Coca-Cola 600 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	May 26 	CBS
16 	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 	The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis 	June 2 	CBS
17 	Motorcraft 400 	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth 	June 9 	CBS
18 	Music City USA 420 	Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville 	June 16 	CBS
19 	Budweiser 400 	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside 	June 23 	CBS
20 	Camping World 400 	Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet 	June 30 	CBS
21 	Coke Zero Sugar 400 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	July 7 	CBS
22 	Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart 	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton 	July 14 	CBS
23 	Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon 	July 21 	CBS
24 	Gander RV 400 	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond 	July 28 	NBCSN
25 	Go Bowling at The Glen 	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen 	August 4 	NBC
26 	Consumer Energy 400 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn 	August 11 	NBCSN
27 	Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race 	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol 	August 17 	NBC
28 	Coors 400 	Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain 	August 25 	NBCSN
29 	Bojangles' Southern 500 	Darlington Raceway, Darlington 	September 1 	NBC
30 	Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway 	September 8 	NBC
31 	Tyson Holly Farms 400 	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro 	September 15 	NBCSN
32 	Federated Auto Parts 400 	Richmond Raceway, Richmond 	September 21 	NBCSN
33 	Bank of America 500 	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord 	September 28 	NBC
34 	Drydene 400 	Dover International Speedway, Dover 	October 6 	NBCSN
35 	1000bulbs.com 500 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln 	October 13-14	NBC
36 	Hollywood Casino 400 	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City 	October 20 	NBC
37 	Iowa Corn 400 	Iowa Speedway, Newton 	October 27 	NBCSN
38 	ACDelco 400 	Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham 	November 3 	NBCSN
39 	Bluegreen Vacations 500 	ISM Raceway, Avondale 	November 10 	NBC
40 	Ford EcoBoost 400 	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead 	November 17 	NBC
41 	Apple TV 500 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy 	November 24 	NBC
42 	Sprite 500 	Coca-Cola Superspeedway, Denver 	December 1 	NBC
43 	Los Angeles Times 500 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario 	December 8 	NBC
== Technical changes ==
Several major changes were made to the ME-17 body in 2019. Several manufacturers made model changes:
* Chevrolet attempted to make up for their dismal 2018 season by introducing two new model options: the Camaro SS, and the Chevelle ZL1 (the Chevelle nameplate having been revived in 2019 due to the increasing popularity of sedans and coupes in a market that was becoming more and more concerned with fuel mileage), while also keeping the Camaro ZL1 as an option; unsurprisingly, the big Chevrolet teams stuck with the Camaro ZL1, and continued to struggle against Dodge, Ford, and Pontiac
* Ford switched from the Fusion to the Mustang, which had been Ford's car in the Xfinity Series since the advent of the Muscle Body in 2011; it had last run in the Cup Series in 1996, having been used by Ford teams on restrictor-plate tracks from 1991 to 1996
* Dodge switched the Charger to the SRT trim, and also introduced the Challenger to the Cup Series; the Challenger had been Dodge's Xfinity Series model since the introduction of the Muscle Body in 2011, and was fully-replaced in the Xfinity Series by the Charger SRT for 2019; many Dodge teams in the Cup Series used noses off the old Xfinity Challengers
* Pontiac abandoned the recently-discontinued G6 for two models: the Trans-Am and the Firebird; general consensus was that both cars were long-overdue to be run in NASCAR; both shared the same underpinnings as the Camaro ZL1, but had the advantage of a flatter nose; because of this, the Pontiacs ran roughshod over their Chevrolet counterparts (as Chevrolet continued to struggle with the Camaro ZL1), but still couldn't quite keep up with Dodge (if only because Dodge had a numerical advantage over the entire field)
* Nissan introduced a second model, the GT-R R-35
With a record-amount of full-time entries, another "Field Filler Depression" occurred, in which there were very few part-time teams in 2019. This was attributed to record-low costs for parts and operations thanks to a reorganization of the Factory Team System, and at all 43 races, all cars were running 2019-model cars. Any teams that did run partial schedules in 2019 did so of their own volition.
== Cars used in 2019 ==
WORK-IN-PROGRESS