Race Weekend Central

The Underdog House: What Turn Four?

2019 Las Vegas I Nxs Joey Gase Nkp

Top of The Class Chris Buescher was once again the number one dog in Sunday’s (June 2) Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. The No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevy crossed the stripe in the 14th position. For the first time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, Buescher has finished in the top 15 …

Read more

The Underdog House: Going the Distance

2019 Charlotte Cup Chris Buescher Car Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

Top of The Class Chris Buescher was once again the top dog in Sunday night’s (May 26) Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevy wound up with a sixth-place finish, the best for driver and team since a fifth last July at Daytona. More than just the top-10 run …

Read more

Friday Faceoff: Team Bowyer or Team Newman?

2019 Atlanta Cup Ryan Newman Nkp

(Photo:Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Much has been made of the situation involving Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer following the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ All-Star Race. Who was in the right? Mark Kristl: Both drivers were at fault. Ryan Newman was at fault for hitting Clint Bowyer‘s car after the race. Clint Bowyer was at fault for losing control, hitting …

Read more

Brennan Poole Earns Runner Up Finish at Charlotte

Nascar Gander Outdoors Truck Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Brennan Poole turned more than a few heads on Friday night (May 17) in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, nearly pulling off a win for his underdog operation, On Point Motorsports. Poole flashed across the stripe in second place at the checkered flag, his best-career finish in just his 10th …

Read more

The Underdog House: High Plains Winner

2019 Atlanta Cup Chris Buescher Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Top of The Class Chris Buescher was on a level by himself in terms of underdogs during Saturday night’s (May 11) Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway. The No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevy was as competitive as it’s been all year and more importantly, Buescher ended up with a finish that matched his strong …

Read more

Friday Faceoff: Is Dover Still a Monster, or Has Miles Gone Mild?

2019 Dover Cup Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Dover International Speedway is known as the Monster Mile, but races there of late have been relatively tame. What do you attribute that to, and is the nickname still appropriate? Mike Neff: If you look at the drivers getting out of the cars after 400 laps at Dover, it absolutely deserves its nickname. Racing there has …

Read more

The Underdog House: Dover Downer

2019 Dover Cup Zach Catanzareti Matt Dibenedetto

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Top of The Class Rain kept the cars in the garage all day on Sunday, and Dover proved to be rather monstrous to our underdog contingent on Monday. In fact, the 20th-place finish notched by Matt DiBenedetto and Leavine Family Racing is the lowest “best in class” result of 2019 thus far. Part of that …

Read more

The Underdog House: The Other Draft Day

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Top of The Class Ryan Preece might be one of the few drivers who would be happy with a few more races at Daytona and Talladega. He seems to have taken to the multi lane, high speed chess game quite well. Preece scored a third-place finish in the Geico 500 on Sunday (April 28), his …

Read more

Friday Faceoff: Is Pack Racing a Better Show Than Tandem Drafting?

2018 Joey Logano Talladega Cup

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Ford has won every race at Talladega Superspeedway since fall 2015. Why do you think that is, and who is most likely to end their streak? Mark Kristl: I lack the engineering background, so my answer is this: Ford teams work extremely well together. They bring fast cars to the track, they draft together in practice, …

Read more

The Underdog House: Half Mile Concrete Jungle

2019 Phoenix I Cup Matt Dibenedetto Nkp

(Photo: NKP)

Top of The Class Matt DiBenedetto and Leavine Family Racing have been quite the surprise thus far in 2019. In fact, this group had the kind of weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway that will have us revoking their underdog eligibility if it were to become a regular occurrence. Many fans were first introduced to DiBenedetto …

Read more

The Underdog House: Shootout At The Underdog Corral

2019 Daytona I Cup Michael Mcdowell Nkp

Top of The Class Michael McDowell was easily the fastest dog in the west this week. His No. 34 Front Row Racing Ford was quick from the get go and backed it up on race day, starting and finishing in 15th. McDowell was once known primarily for the violent head-on collision and subsequent barrel roll …

Read more

The Underdog House: Dogs with Chili, Slaw & a Top 20 Finish

Martinsville Cup 2019 Mike Neff Ty Dillon

Top of The Class Ty Dillon is back at the head of the underdog table this week. The number 13 turned out to be plenty lucky for Dillon, as his No. 13 Chevrolet finished in the 13th position in Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday (March 24). For the Germain Racing driver, the …

Read more