Race Weekend Central

Ben Rhodes is a NASCAR Champion and Feelin’ Good

Ben Rhodes at Phoenix Raceway

(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR Media)

“It’s really quiet in here, I just came from a party.”

Thus began the most memorable post-race press conference in recent NASCAR history.

As he entered the deadline room of the Phoenix Raceway media center draped in a decorative towel, self-admitted lightweight Ben Rhodes was four Bud Lights and a “decent” amount of champagne deep into his celebration as the newest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.

Daniel Hemric’s Championship Bid Alive After Run-in With Dead Deer

Daniel Hemric at Phoenix Raceway

(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images for NASCAR Media)

Daniel Hemric got a call from crew chief Dave Rogers around 9 a.m. Friday (Nov. 5) in Phoenix.

“Hey, I’m sure you’ve heard already,” Rogers said.

Hemric, who had been off his phone and “off the radar” during the buildup to the Xfinity Series’ championship race on Saturday (Nov. 6), hadn’t heard anything.

Denny Hamlin: Agent of Chaos

Denny Hamlin at Championship Media Day

(Photo by Sean Gardner/Sean Gardner for NASCAR Media)

PHOENIX — If you’re just now joining the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season in progress, the last time we saw Denny Hamlin he was having a … moment. It came Sunday (Oct. 31) at Martinsville Speedway, where Hamlin secured a spot in this weekend’s Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. He did so after being spun …

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Dropping the Hammer: Kyle Larson’s Big Championship ‘What If?’

Kyle Larson at Kansas Speedway

(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR Media)

It could happen. I know it. You know it. Kyle Larson knows it. Larson has won nine of 35 races this year, five more than his previous best in 2017. He’s led 2,474 laps, the most in a season since Jeff Gordon totaled 2,320 during his 2001 title run. He’s won three races in a …

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Dropping the Hammer: NASCAR Still King on Sunday Despite F1 Gains

NASCAR at Kansas Speedway

(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

“Absolutely unacceptable.” According to Denny Hamlin, that’s how NASCAR president Steve Phelps described the glaringly sparse grandstands at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month. The grandstands, once packed to the rafters in the track’s first decade of existence, now had entire sections (including where I sat during the inaugural race in 1997) blocked off for …

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Martin Truex Jr. Comes Back From Tire Problem to Earn Kansas Top 10

Martin Truex Jr.

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Kansas City, Kansas — Things did not look good for Martin Truex Jr. 60 laps into Sunday’s  (Oct. 24) NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway. Twenty laps before the end of the first stage, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver sat in 33rd, two laps off the pace. Like playoff drivers Brad Keselowski and …

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Xfinity Championship 4 Still Up for Grabs After Kansas

AJ Allmendinger at Kansas

(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images for NASCAR Media)

Kansas City, Kansas – No one is (technically) safe. With two of three races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff’s Round of 8 completed, no driver has secured a spot in the Championship 4. You can thank the “Oprah Car.” That’s what AJ Allmendinger has dubbed Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota team, which won …

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Dropping the Hammer: Ty Dillon on His ‘Wild’ Year, GMS Racing & Athlete Mental Health

Ty Dillon with GMS Racing

(Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

Ty Dillon‘s 2021 NASCAR season has been, using his own words, “wild.” This was encapsulated on Oct. 9 as he prepared for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. “Part of my routine is going on pit road and looking at our pit stall and pit sign,” Dillon told Frontstretch. “It …

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Dropping the Hammer: For History’s Sake, Let Fans Attend NASCAR’s Next Gen Test at Bowman Gray Stadium

Bowman Gray Stadium

(Sara D. Davis/NASCAR)

Maybe it was foreshadowing, or maybe Ben Kennedy was just stating a fact. On Sept. 15, NASCAR’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation, and member of the France family, addressed the media on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. He eventually touched on arguably its biggest development: The Busch Clash will be held on …

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NASCAR Suspends Truck Series Crew Chief Indefinitely For Behavioral Violation

Kris Wright Talladega 2021

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Eddie Troconis, crew chief for Kris Wright’s No. 02 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, has been suspended by NASCAR indefinitely for a behavioral violation. According to the penalty report from NASCAR, Troconis violated sections 12.8.1.c of the rulebook. A violation of that section can be attributed to any of the following: Physical confrontation …

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