A new aero and engine package, single-car qualifying and the end of Monster Energy's title sponsorship shaped a year that Kyle Busch closed out at Homestead.
The 2019 season, the 71st of top-level stock car racing in America, ended with Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing winning his second championship at Homestead. A new aero and engine package cut power on larger tracks, and single-car qualifying returned.
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series was the 71st top-level stock car season held in America and the 48th of the modern era. A new aero and engine package changed how the cars raced, qualifying returned to single-car runs, and Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing won his second championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Who won the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship?
Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing won the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship, his second Cup title, by winning the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead. He had already clinched the Regular Season Championship at Darlington after winning four of the first 14 races, although he then went 21 races without a win.
Busch's early-season form carried him through the Round of 8 and gave him enough playoff points to advance. Hamlin, Harvick and Truex were the other finalists, each having won a race in the semifinal rounds.
Truex finished second in the finale, Harvick third and Hamlin fourth. Defending champion Joey Logano finished fifth in the overall standings, and Jimmie Johnson missed the playoffs for the first time since the format began in 2004, ending a run of fifteen consecutive appearances.
A new package and a return to single-car qualifying turned 2019 into a season of tight racing and tighter rules.
What was the 2019 aero and engine package?
The 2019 package reduced engine power on larger tracks, added a taller spoiler and wider radiator pan, and removed the traditional restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega, with the Daytona 500 as the one exception. The aim was to tighten racing and keep the cars closer together on track.
On tracks longer than one mile (1.6 km), a tapered spacer lowered output from 750 to 550 bhp (560 to 410 kW). The spoiler grew to 200 mm (8 inches) tall and 1,500 mm (61 inches) wide, the radiator pan measured 940 mm (37 inches) at the front and 790 mm (31 inches) at the rear, and the splitter overhang grew by 51 mm (2 inches).
The change marked the first time since 1987 that Daytona or Talladega had raced without traditional restrictor plates, apart from the Daytona 500. NASCAR also banned the driver-adjustable trackbar and reduced organisational tests from four to three, with Goodyear's tests cut from four teams to three.
How did qualifying change in 2019?
Single-car qualifying returned at all oval tracks from May 1, 2019, after a period of multi-car sessions proved hard to control. On ovals of 1.25 miles (2.01 km) or more, each car got one timed lap, while shorter ovals allowed two attempts and used the faster time.
The qualifying order was drawn in part from the previous race. The top 20 starters drew positions 21 to 40, while the remaining cars took positions 1 to 20. The next car was sent once the car ahead took the white flag, which aimed to finish the session in about 40 minutes. A car that did not complete its lap would have its time erased and start by owner points.
Fox added a live augmented reality ghost car to qualifying coverage, reflecting the leader, and television breaks were built into the session. Multi-car qualifying remained in use at road course events.
What was the new post-race inspection rule?
A new post-race inspection rule introduced in 2019 meant that a winning car could be disqualified if it broke the rulebook. The first and second place cars, plus at least one car chosen at random, were inspected after each race, and a failing car lost its stage and playoff points.
Erik Jones was the first driver disqualified under the rule, at the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond on September 21, 2019. Inspectors found a rear wheel problem on his fourth-place car, and he was scored 38th with one point. The penalty had a serious effect on his playoff standing.
Which teams and drivers changed in 2019?
The 2019 season brought new faces to several teams, with Martin Truex Jr. joining Joe Gibbs Racing, Ryan Newman moving to Roush Fenway Racing, and Daniel Suarez arriving at Stewart-Haas Racing. Kurt Busch joined Chip Ganassi Racing on a one-year contract, and he won at Kentucky for his first victory of the season with the team.
Daniel Hemric took Richard Childress Racing's No. 8 and won Rookie of the Year. Alex Bowman and Justin Haley both recorded their first career wins, and Haley's came at the rain-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400 in only his third Cup start.
Some drivers left the series. David Ragan and Paul Menard retired after twelve full-time seasons, and Kasey Kahne retired after 2018. Matt Tifft suffered a seizure in October and missed the rest of the year, with John Hunter Nemechek taking over the No. 36 for the final races.
Which races defined the 2019 season?
The 2019 season started with Denny Hamlin's Daytona 500 victory and included a run of wins by Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski. The late-season battle for the Championship 4 came down to the final two races at Phoenix and Homestead.
Kyle Busch won at Phoenix, Fontana, Bristol and Pocono, and he went on to the Homestead title. Those early wins gave him a large cushion of playoff points. Truex won at Richmond, Dover, Charlotte, Sonoma, Martinsville and Las Vegas, among others. Hamlin's wins at Texas, Daytona, Bristol and Kansas kept him in the title picture.
The Talladega finish of the 1000Bulbs.com 500 will be remembered for its tight margin. The race had been delayed by rain and restarted on a Monday before the finish. Ryan Blaney beat Ryan Newman by .007 seconds, the sixth closest finish in NASCAR history, and that result locked him into the Round of 8, a finish that ranks among the closest the sport has seen.
How did the playoffs reshape the Championship 4?
The playoffs were decided race by race, and the final four took shape over the last several rounds of the season. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch made it through to Homestead, and Hamlin's win at Phoenix was the sixth of his season.
The eliminations came quickly. At the Brickyard 400 Jimmie Johnson's season ended with a wreck, and Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman took the final two playoff places. At the Roval, Chase Elliott won from the back after a difficult day, while Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola and Erik Jones were eliminated.
Truex swept both Richmond races that season and then won at Martinsville for his seventh win, which secured his place in the Championship 4. Harvick won at Texas for his fourth win of the year, and Kyle Busch took the last place over Joey Logano on points after Hamlin's win at Phoenix.
How did the spring races set the 2019 pattern?
The early season belonged to Kyle Busch. He won at Phoenix for his first win of the year and then took a weekend sweep, and he followed that with a second straight win at Fontana, matching Richard Petty's record of 200 races across all three national series.
Brad Keselowski's wins at Atlanta and Martinsville showed that Team Penske could still win on the short tracks. He led most of the race at Martinsville and beat Chase Elliott to his second win of the season, one of the most dominant performances of the spring.
Denny Hamlin won the race at Texas, the Daytona 500 in February and a race at Pocono later in the year. Each win kept him in the title picture, and his Daytona 500 victory marked his second win in the race in four years.
What did the finale at Homestead look like?
Martin Truex Jr. won the first stage at Homestead, while Kyle Busch took the second. Truex lost a lap after a pit-stop mix-up that put a tyre on the wrong side of his car, and Hamlin also fell a lap behind after overheating caused by too much tape on the grille.
Busch held off Truex at the end to win his fifth race of the season, and that result secured his second Cup championship. It was a finish that rewarded a driver who had won early, lost form in the middle of the season and then peaked when it counted.
Race winners at a glance
| Race | Track | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Daytona 500 | Daytona International Speedway | Denny Hamlin |
| Atlanta | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Brad Keselowski |
| Phoenix | Phoenix Raceway | Kyle Busch |
| Fontana | Auto Club Speedway | Kyle Busch |
| Talladega | Talladega Superspeedway | Chase Elliott |
| Pocono | Pocono Raceway | Kyle Busch |
| Coca-Cola 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Martin Truex Jr. |
| Watkins Glen | Watkins Glen International | Chase Elliott |
| Darlington | Darlington Raceway | Erik Jones |
| Brickyard 400 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Kevin Harvick |
| Homestead | Homestead-Miami Speedway | Kyle Busch |
What did the Coca-Cola 600 and the short tracks show?
William Byron started the Coca-Cola 600 from pole, becoming the youngest driver to win the pole for the race. The event paused for a moment of remembrance after the second stage, a gesture tied to Memorial Day weekend that broke the rhythm of a long race.
Martin Truex Jr. won the race, his third victory of the year and his second in the Coca-Cola 600. He held off Joey Logano on the restart, after Denny Hamlin spun and hit the wall in the closing stage of the race.
Truex's Richmond win on the Toyota Owners 400 was his first career victory on a short track, and his Sonoma win gave him his fourth victory of the season and his third at that track. Those results marked him as one of the most consistent winners of the year.
Chase Elliott's win at the GEICO 500 in Talladega was an important milestone for Chevrolet, which had not won a race earlier in the season. It was the manufacturer's first victory of the year, and the GEICO 500 at Talladega provided it.
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