Race Weekend Central

Xfinity Series Breakdown: 2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky

Nascar Xfinity Series Visitmyrtlebeach.com 300

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

After a long, strange weekend at Kentucky Speedway full of rain, wrecks and hurt feelings, Ryan Blaney was able to pull through for his second Xfinity Series victory of 2015 and fourth career win. In a race that saw a record-tying number of cautions and several late-race restarts, it was the final restart that allowed …

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Eyes on Xfinity: Is This Championship All But Wrapped Up?

Nascar Xfinity Series Road America Ð Day 2

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

With the Chase now well under way in the Sprint Cup Series, it’s easy to lose track of the excitement and potential looming large in the other series. The Xfinity Series in particular has plenty of championship-capable drivers who are able to win races – even in events chock full of Cup Series regulars – …

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Up To Speed: Is This Joe Gibbs Racing’s Championship To Lose?

2015 Richmond Ii Cup Matt Kenseth Burnout Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­­

The Chase field is set and the race for championship is on. Not a lot of real surprises in the Chase and not very much drama in the final regular season race of 2015. I guess they can’t all be barnburners. However, it’s time we begin making our picks for the Chase grid, narrowing down …

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Xfinity Series Breakdown: 2015 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond

Nascar Xfinity Series Virginia529 College Savings 250

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Sprint Cup Series regulars had won the last 20-plus races in the Xfinity Series at Richmond International Raceway… until Friday night that is. Chase Elliott, the defending NXS champion, broke a 39-race winless streak and pulled away for the victory in the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 following a quick stop from his pit crew …

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Friday Faceoff: Can NASCAR Sustain Southern 500 Success?

Kurt Busch goes for a spin during the 2015 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

The Bojangles’ Southern 500 was by most counts a success with the new aero package and tires matched to it; ratings were the best for a Labor Day weekend show since 2007. Can NASCAR sustain the success of the Southern 500 and in general, and what could be done differently? Summer Bedgood, Senior Editor: I …

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Will Jimmie Johnson Return to Form?

2015 Darlington Cup Jimmie Johnson Car Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

I think I have said this every year and will probably continue to say this ever year thereafter, but I am always amazed at how fast the season goes. The Daytona 500 simultaneously feels like years ago and days ago. I remember the race clearly and recall already thinking about the Chase and how different …

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Up To Speed: Low-Downforce Package Adds Another Layer to “Throwback” Darlington Weekend

Joey Logano And Landon Cassill Darlington Cup Retro 2015 Mike Neff 111

(Photo: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

For all that was said about the throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway, the nostalgia did little to change the fact that The Lady in Black is still Too Tough to Tame. Oh yes, I did just work both nicknames into one sentence, and that’s because on a night filled with nostalgia, the track earned every …

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Up To Speed: A Plea to NASCAR After the Off Weekend

2015 Road America Nxs Pack Racing Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Coming off the final off weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, we had the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series to whet our racing appetite (at least in the stock car world). Because of the off week, almost no Cup drivers appeared in either event, giving the series regulars and developmental drivers a …

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Xfinity Series Breakdown: 2015 Road America 180

Nascar Xfinity Series Road America 180 Fired Up By Johnsonville

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

A gutsy call by crew chief Danny Stockman on fuel gave Paul Menard the opportunity he needed to drive to Victory Lane at Road America, his home track. The victory was his third Xfinity Series victory and first win on a road course. Menard was the only Cup Series/non-NXS regular in the field as the …

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Up To Speed: Drivers Dodge Questions About Michigan Aero Package

2015 Michigan Ii Cup Ryan Newman Landon Cassill Racing Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Change has been rather commonplace in NASCAR over the past year or so, but it’s hard to imagine a time when changes were occurring on a week-to-week basis like they are now. Kentucky, Indianapolis and now Michigan have had new aero packages in an effort to improve the on-track product. The low-downforce package at Kentucky Speedway …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: When Will the Jimmie Johnson Show Begin?

2015 Pocono Cup Jimmie Johnson Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

There are certain things in life that are foregone conclusions. Death. Taxes. Jimmie Johnson. Wait, what? It wouldn’t be going out on much of a limb to say that Johnson will likely be contending for the championship this year, even if recent weeks haven’t had the No. 48 car at the top of the leaderboard. After …

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Up To Speed: Gibbs Enjoys Success From An Unlikely Source

2015 Pocono Ii Cup Matt Kenseth Woohoo Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

It’s good to be Joe Gibbs. As a team owner in the Sprint Cup Series, Gibbs has won five of the last six races (including the last four consecutively) and eight races total in 2015 amongst his four driver in the 21 events that have been run so far this season. That’s the most wins …

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