The 2019 Monster Energy 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 Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Gander RV Duel qualifying races and the 61st running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Brickyard 400 in September. The playoffs ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 17, 2019. Joey Logano of Team Penske entered as the defending series champion.
The 2019 season was the fifth of a 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. 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 June 23 Toyota/Save Mart 350 would be his last race as a broadcaster.
Following the 2019 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing clinched his second consecutive Regular Season Championship.
Busch then went on to win the championship after winning the season finale at Homestead. It was his second and final championship win before his sudden death on May 21, 2026, due to illness and the first he won after competing in all 36 races during the season, after his injury in 2015 sidelined him for the first 11 races of that season. Busch had won four of the first 14 races of the season, before enduring a 21-race winless streak. His early-season success did give him plenty of playoff points and carried him through the Round of 8 at the expense of 2018 champion Logano on points.
The other members of the Championship 4 all qualified through wins in the semifinal phase. Those were Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, who finished in that order among the title contenders at Homestead. Truex and Harvick had finished second and third also in the 2018 title race. Reigning champion Logano ended up fifth in the overall standings. Hamlin, while missing out on the title, was the Daytona 500 winner. Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota had three of the four title contenders and won 19 of the 36 races. Alex Bowman and Justin Haley obtained their first career victories, whereas Daniel Hemric won Rookie of the Year honors. Seven-time Series Champion Jimmie Johnson would miss the Playoffs for the first time since its inception in 2004 after fifteen consecutive appearances.
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. It was also inadvertently the last season to feature Chicagoland Speedway until 2026. After having its event cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the track was dropped from the schedule for 2021.
Teams and drivers Chartered teams Manufacturer Team Race driver Crew chief Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing 1 Kurt Busch Matt McCall 42 Kyle Larson Chad Johnston Germain Racing 13 Ty Dillon Matt Borland Justin Alexander Hendrick Motorsports 9 Chase Elliott Alan Gustafson 24 William Byron Chad Knaus 48 Jimmie Johnson Kevin Meendering Cliff Daniels 88 Alex Bowman Greg Ives JTG Daugherty Racing 37 Chris Buescher Trent Owens 47 Ryan Preece (R) Tristan Smith Eddie Pardue Premium Motorsports 15 Ross Chastain Peter Sospenzo Pat Tryson Garrett Smithley Quin Houff Joe Nemechek Richard Childress Racing 3 Austin Dillon Danny Stockman Jr. 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Luke Lambert Justin Alexander Richard Petty Motorsports 43 Bubba Wallace Derek StametsSpire Motorsports Jamie McMurray Scott Eggleston Peter Sospenzo Tommy Baldwin Jr. Garrett Smithley Reed Sorenson Quin Houff D. J. Kennington Justin Haley Blake Jones Timmy Hill StarCom Racing 00 Landon Cassill Wayne Carroll Jr. Joe Williams Jr. FordFront Row Motorsports 34 Michael McDowell Drew Blickensderfer 36 Matt Tifft (R) Mike Kelley Seth Barbour Matt Crafton John Hunter Nemechek 38 David Ragan Seth Barbour Mike Kelley Go Fas Racing 32 Corey LaJoie Randy Cox Roush Fenway Racing 6 Ryan Newman Scott Graves 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Brian PattieStewart–Haas Racing 4 Kevin Harvick Rodney Childers 10 Aric Almirola Johnny Klausmeier 14 Clint Bowyer Mike Bugarewicz 41 Daniel Suárez Billy Scott Team Penske 2 Brad Keselowski Paul Wolfe 12 Ryan Blaney Jeremy Bullins 22 Joey Logano Todd Gordon Wood Brothers Racing 21 Paul Menard Greg Erwin Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 11 Denny Hamlin Chris Gabehart 18 Kyle Busch Adam Stevens 19 Martin Truex Jr. Cole Pearn 20 Erik Jones Chris Gayle Leavine Family Racing 95 Matt DiBenedetto Mike Wheeler Chevrolet Ford Petty Ware Racing 51B. J. McLeod George Church Mike Hillman Sr. Lee Leslie Jason Houghtaling Cody Ware At the Charlotte Roval (Race 29), Cody Ware was scheduled to drive the No. 51, but after he was replaced mid-race in the Xfinity Series race there the previous day due to heat exhaustion, he was replaced in the Cup Series race by J. J. Yeley because he still wasn't feeling well on the day of the Cup Series race. Gray Gaulding Jeb Burton Bayley Currey Kyle Weatherman J. J. Yeley Andy Seuss Austin Theriault Josh Bilicki Garrett Smithley Chevrolet Ford Rick Ware Racing 52 Cody Ware Mike Hillman Sr. George Church Lee Leslie Jason Houghtaling Jeff Spraker B. J. McLeod Bayley Currey Jeb Burton Stanton Barrett J. J. Yeley Josh Bilicki (R) Austin Theriault Kyle Weatherman Garrett Smithley Spencer Boyd
Limited schedule Manufacturer Team Race driver Crew chief Round(s) Chevrolet Beard Motorsports 62 Brendan Gaughan Darren Shaw Germain Racing 27 Casey Mears Pat Tryson Premium Motorsports Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Jr. Peter Sospenzo Ross Chastain Quin Houff Joe Nemechek Ryan Sieg Richard Childress Racing 31 Tyler Reddick Justin Alexander Tommy Baldwin Racing 71 Ryan Truex Tommy Baldwin Jr. ToyotaGaunt Brothers Racing 96 Parker Kligerman Mark Hillman Drew Herring MBM Motorsports 46 Joey Gase Mark Labretone 66 Brian Keselowski George Church Ryan Bell Timmy Hill XCI Racing 81 Jeffrey Earnhardt Jacob Canter Chevrolet Ford Rick Ware Racing 53 B. J. McLeod Lee Leslie Jason Houghtaling Mike Hillman Sr. Josh Bilicki Joey Gase Spencer Boyd J. J. Yeley Chevrolet Ford 54 Jeff Spraker Mike Hillman Sr. Jason Houghtaling Garrett Smithley
Notes
Changes Teams On August 5, 2018, Leavine Family Racing announced that their technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing would end after the 2018 season. On October 9, 2018, LFR announced they would enter a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019. On August 23, 2018, Front Row Motorsports purchased majority of the assets of the bankrupt BK Racing for US$2.08 million. With this purchase, FRM would field a third team in the 2019 season. The third team was formally announced on November 27, 2018, as the No. 36 Ford driven by Matt Tifft. On September 3, 2018, Obaika Racing announced that they would run a few races in the Cup series in 2018, before moving to full-time in 2019. On February 8, 2019, Obaika Racing withdrew from the 2019 Daytona 500 qualifying due to various circumstances. On September 4, 2018, Furniture Row Racing announced that they would close their doors following the 2018 season. On November 16, 2018, Timmy Hill announced that MBM Motorsports would attempt to enter two teams at the 2019 Daytona 500, with Hill driving the No. 66 Toyota. On November 26, 2018, Tommy Baldwin Racing announced their rebirth, and that they would run the Daytona 500 and select other races. On November 27, 2018, Rick Ware Racing hinted they would field a second team in 2019. The existing No. 51 team is using a charter leased from Richard Petty Motorsports and is officially registered as "Petty Ware Racing". On December 21, 2018, the team confirmed that they purchased a charter from Front Row Motorsports for their No. 52 team. In addition, the team purchased a fleet of Ford stock cars from FRM and Chevrolet stock cars from Leavine Family Racing, which switched to Toyota. On December 4, 2018, it was announced that sponsorship agency Spire Sports + Entertainment purchased the charter previously owned by Furniture Row Racing. The new team, Spire Motorsports, would field the No. 77 Chevrolet in the 2019 season. A driver, crew chief, technical alliance, or sponsor were not announced at that time. During Richard Childress Racing's 50th anniversary press conference on December 14, 2018, it was announced that the No. 31 would change to the No. 8 for 2019, the same car Daniel Hemric made his first two Cup starts in during the 2018 season. In addition, RCR announced that the charter they were leasing to StarCom Racing has been sold to the team. With StarCom Racing buying the 36th and final charter from Richard Childress Racing, TriStar Motorsports is left without a full-time charter for 2019. On December 17, 2018, StarCom Racing announced that they have moved to a new facility based in Salisbury, North Carolina, and upgraded their engine deal with ECR Engines. On February 5, 2019, Germain Racing announced that they would field a second team at the 2019 Daytona 500. The No. 27 Chevrolet was built and staffed in collaboration with Premium Motorsports owner Jay Robinson. On February 14, 2019, Xtreme Concepts Inc. announced that it has formed XCI Racing and would field the No. 81 Toyota at both Talladega races. The team has a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. On May 23, 2019, Rick Ware Racing announced they would field a third team at the Coca-Cola 600 in the form of the No. 53 Chevrolet driven by B. J. McLeod. On June 13, 2019, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company announced the end of their four-year sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports' No. 88 team driven by Alex Bowman after the 2019 season. On August 9, 2019, Rick Ware Racing announced they would field a fourth team at the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race in the form of the No. 54 Chevrolet driven by J. J. Yeley.
Drivers On August 16, 2018, it was announced that Kasey Kahne would be retiring from full-time racing following the 2018 season. On September 4, 2018, it was announced that the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team would fold, leaving Martin Truex Jr. a free agent for 2019. On November 7, 2018, it was announced that Truex would join Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019 to replace Daniel Suárez in the No. 19 team. On September 7, 2018, it was announced that Matt DiBenedetto would not return to Go Fas Racing in 2019. On September 10, 2018, it was announced that Jamie McMurray would not return to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019. CGR had offered McMurray a contract to drive at the 2019 Daytona 500 before moving to a leadership position with the team. On December 12, 2018, Fox Sports announced that McMurray has joined its Fox NASCAR broadcast team as an analyst for NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Race Hub starting in 2019. On September 12, 2018, it was announced that Trevor Bayne would not return to Roush Fenway Racing in 2019. On October 7, 2018, Matt Kenseth, who shared the No. 6 Ford with Bayne, announced he has no plans to race after the 2018 season. On September 15, 2018, it was announced that Ryan Newman would not return to Richard Childress Racing in 2019. Later on September 21, 2018, it was confirmed that Newman would move to Roush Fenway Racing in the No. 6 full-time, replacing Bayne and Kenseth. On September 25, 2018, it was announced that A. J. Allmendinger will not return to JTG Daugherty Racing in 2019. Three days later, it was announced that Ryan Preece will take over the No. 47 car and compete for 2019 Rookie of the Year honors. Meanwhile, Allmendinger would join the NBC Sports booth as an analyst for IMSA events and would also contribute to NASCAR America.