Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: Kansas Edition

2016 Talladega I Cup Brad Keselowski Burnout Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

There was plenty of rolling and tumbling in the Sprint Cup race at Talladega Sunday. That’s been a big topic of debate in these couple of days after the race. It’s something NASCAR is trying to prevent, but when you get cars going at nearly 200 mph only inches away from each other, no matter …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Brad Keselowski Drops Malachi Crunch on the Talladega Demo Derby for Second Win of the Season

2016 Talladega I Cup Brad Keselowski Champagne John Harrleson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrleson / NKP)

Who’s in the headline – Brad Keselowski won his first Cup race at Talladega in 2009. While he isn’t mentioned in the same breaths with Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt or Tony Stewart when plate racing prowess is discussed, the bottom line is he won his fourth plate race at Talladega on Sunday. Even though the …

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NASCAR Brings Perfect Talladega Storm Without A Drop of Rain

2016 Talladega I Cup Multicar Crash John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

Dark clouds covered the Talladega Superspeedway on a hot, humid Sunday, casting an ominous haze over the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field. Moisture threatened to cover the field throughout the day, but the only particles to fly across the 2.66-mile oval were the myriad of debris sent flying from the many crashed cars. As it turned out, …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in NASCAR: Texas Edition

2016 Martinsville I Cup Fans Pack Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

NASCAR took a reprieve from the cookie cutter tracks and gave us the paperclip at Martinsville. And well, when it comes to racing, I’ll go for paperclips over cookie cutters anytime. And after this weekend, I’m sure Kyle Busch will too. HOT Kyle Busch had as good of a weekend as a race car driver …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Strong 2016 NASCAR Cup Debut On FS1

Welcome back, race fans.  This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series were back in action at Martinsville Speedway.  Meanwhile, the Verizon IndyCar Series made their return to Phoenix International Raceway in front of a modest crowd (read: Better than an XFINITY race). STP 500 Sunday brought the Sprint Cup Series back …

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Four Burning Questions: Who Will Benefit Most from Easter Break?

2016 Fontana Cup Kyle Busch Chase Elliott Racing Brett Moist Nkp

(Photo: Brett Moist NKP)

Do the Penalties Fit the Crime for Danica Patrick and Kyle Busch? Despite another thriller of a race to start the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, the week has been littered with penalty talk following Sunday’s Auto Club 400. The weekend of events sparked numerous heat-of-the-moment tangents from Kyle Busch’s in-car radio rant, stating …

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Danica Patrick Penalized for Walking Up Track During Race

NASCAR has placed Stewart-Haas Racing driver Danica Patrick on probation and fined her $20,000 for walking onto the apron of the track during last Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway. On lap 120, Patrick was running in 19th when Kasey Kahne came down to side draft her but got closer than expected …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Developing Rivalries Creates Positive Vibes for NASCAR

It has been way too long since NASCAR had a rivalry. You cannot consider Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano’s month-long battle a rivalry. The same can be said about Kenseth and Logano’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, having a duel at Texas Motor Speedway in 2014. NASCAR’s lack of rivalries has a lot to do with camaraderie within …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Dissecting A NASCAR FOX Fontana… Hyperbole?

2016 Fontana Cup Carl Edwards Pack Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Welcome back, everyone.  We had some great action last weekend in Fontana.  It wasn’t that long ago that Auto Club Speedway put on the most boring races in all of NASCAR.  That is just a memory now (thankfully).  Despite that, the way that races are covered can affect how a race is perceived. Auto Club …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in NASCAR: Martinsville Edition

2016 Fontana Cup Jimmie Johnson Superman Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade /NKP)

There’s that old Jim Croce song, covered by many several times over the years, where it talks about not tugging on superman’s cape and where you don’t mess around with Jim. A late restart at California Sunday afternoon allowed for both of those things to happen, in a sense. It pulled the cape of the …

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Danica Patrick Facing Possible Penalty for Walking on Hot Track

Following a hard hit entering Turn 1 at Auto Club Speedway, Danica Patrick is in line for a possible penalty from NASCAR. Patrick made contact with Kasey Kahne with 80 laps remaining in the Auto Club 400 on Sunday afternoon, slamming the outside wall on the frontstretch. The impact was hard enough to send her No. …

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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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