2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the 69th season of professional in the United States, the 46th modern-era Cup series season, and the 17th NASCAR Cup season of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 59th running of the Daytona 500. The season will end with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmie Johnson enters as the defending champion, having won his record-tying seventh Cup championship that he shares with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

This is the third season of the current 10-year television contract with Fox Sports and NBC Sports and the second of a five-year race sanctioning agreement with all tracks.

Monster Energy is the entitlement sponsor for the series in 2017 after Sprint Corporation decided not to remain as the sponsor. Sprint had been the title sponsor since 2004 when their partner Nextel replaced Winston after the 2003 season, but Sprint became the official sponsor for the 2008 season after buying out Nextel in late 2005. Monster Energy is the third title sponsor for NASCAR's top series since it first established such a sponsorship in 1971.

The 2017 season will introduce major changes to the format of races and the points system in all three of NASCAR's national series, announced during a press conference on January 23, 2017. All races will be divided into three stages, comprising a quarter distance for the first two segments, with the third stage being half distance, thereby in case of inclement weather, curfew, or darkness, the third segment may be cancelled and the race be complete after two segments. A competition caution will be held at the end of each stage, during which drivers may optionally take a pit stop before the restart for the next stage. The top 10 drivers at the end of the first and second stages will receive championship points, awarded on a descending scale from 10 to 1. The overall winner of each race following the final stage will receive 40 points, and the remaining drivers will be awarded points on a descending scale from 35 for a 2nd-place finish, to 2 for 35th, and 1 for 36th through 40th. The winner of each stage will also receive a "playoff point", and the overall winner will receive five.

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