Race Weekend Central

Up To Speed: 2015 Winners Who Are Still Looking for First Win of 2016

2016 Fontana Cup Matt Kenseth Car Brett Moist Nkp

(Photo: Brett Moist / NKP)

With this now the third year of the elimination Chase-style format, it’s easy to forget how early we still are in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Four winners in five races (Jimmie Johnson has managed to notch two victories) means that there are four drivers who are all but locked into the Chase once …

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Up To Speed: Tempers Flare and Insults Fly Following Action-Packed Auto Club 400

2016 Phoenix I Cup Joey Logano Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

I’ve said before that it’s rare that fans and competitors alike agree on anything, let alone nearly unanimous on the quality of a product. However, this is becoming more the case week in and week out. With few exceptions, the drivers are happy with the new package, the fans enjoy the racing it produces, and …

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Up to Speed: Rookies Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney Impress at Phoenix

Rookies aren’t supposed to be competing for top fives and wins with the veterans, right? At most, they should barely be running near the top 10. Eh, try again. This year’s class of “super rookies” have already begun to make their mark in NASCAR’s premier division. A mere four races into the season, two young …

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Up To Speed: Team Penske Back On Top After Rough Start To Season

2016 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Nscs Brad Keselowski Checkered Flag Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Just a few short weeks ago, when people were making predictions on who would make the Chase, win the championship and win the most races, it wasn’t uncommon to see the Team Penske duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano on top of most of those columns. After all, Logano won six races last season and …

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Up To Speed: Despite Long Green-Flag Runs, Lower Downforce Still Largely Positive

Though only the second race of the season, Atlanta Motor Speedway was thought to be the initial race where we would see what the new (or at least new for 2016) low-downforce package would mean for the racing this season. After rave reviews from competitors and fans alike at Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway with …

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Up To Speed: Denny Hamlin Credits Teammates for Daytona 500 Win

“It was a total team effort.” Generally, when the winning driver makes such a statement in Victory Lane, they are referring to their own team. It’s their crew chief, pit crew, over-the-wall members who made the difference in getting them over the hump. Yes, there is gratitude expressed to the organization as a whole, but really …

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Up To Speed: Following Sprint Unlimited Win, Denny Hamlin More Confident Than Ever Heading Into Daytona 500

It is often said that restrictor plate races aren’t so much about driver ability as much as they are an engineers’ race. The team with the fastest car has the most likely chance of winning, so long as the driver holds the wheel straight and doesn’t lose the draft. Easier said than done, but that’s …

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Up To Speed: Kyle Busch Just as Surprised as the Rest of Us

2015 Homestead Cup Kyle Busch Woohoo Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

For all four drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship race, each brought a unique story. Martin Truex Jr. was trying to win the race as a single-car team; Kevin Harvick was going for his second straight title; Jeff Gordon had hopes of finishing off his driving career with a fifth championship. Kyle Busch, the fourth driver, …

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Up to Speed: Mixed Emotions Following Rain-Shortened Phoenix Semi-Final

Nascar Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500

(Photo by Matt Sullivan/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Weather can certainly have its way in influencing motorsports and this was true at Phoenix International Raceway. That’s right, even a racetrack in the middle of the desert is not safe from the woes brought on by a steady downpour. Following a nearly seven-hour delay for rain, the penultimate race of the season finally went green under …

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Up To Speed: Jimmie Johnson Snookers Brad Keselowski

2015 Richmond Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Car Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

By all accounts, Brad Keselowski should have won the race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. After starting on the pole, Keselowski dominated the race, leading 312 of 334 laps. Most of those remaining laps were during cycles of green-flag pit stops or short periods where other drivers – like Kevin Harvick – were briefly …

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Up To Speed: Matt Kenseth Took It Too Far… And He Didn’t Have To

Nascar Sprint Cup Series Bank Of America 500

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Depending on the circumstances in Homestead in a few weeks, Martinsville could turn out to be the most meaningful, impactful race of the season. Not only did Jeff Gordon advance to the championship race in his final season (after he hadn’t won a race all year), but championship favorite Joey Logano may very well miss …

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Up To Speed: Make No Mistake, There Were 2 “Attempts” at a GWC in Talladega

2015 Talladega Superspeedway Nscs Joey Logano Checkered Flag Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

    con·sist·en·cy kənˈsistənsē/noun conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness. “the grading system is to be streamlined to ensure greater consistency” synonyms:          uniformity, constancy, regularity, evenness, steadiness, stability, equilibrium I chose the word consistency because it feels like the world of NASCAR is …

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