Race Weekend Central

Happiness Is: Challenges

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Kyle Busch doing that winning at Charlotte thing (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

For being the best day in racing, this past Sunday seemed to be a little bit of a letdown.  Monaco. Indy. The 600. These are supposed to be marquee events that not only captivate the indifferent, but ones that are supposed to celebrations of each sport and yet for all their heft the results seemed …

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Happiness Is: Packages, Miles & A Finale

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL USA Sunday 11 February 2018 Danica Patrick, Premium Motorsports, GoDaddy Chevrolet Camaro World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade NKP

Bon Voyage, Danica (Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The announcement for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, class of 2019, seemed to come out of nowhere.  That doesn’t mean that it probably hadn’t been on the docket for months, but rather that it does bring a kind of funny realization.  It’s the kind of feeling that comes as no real surprise yet at the …

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Happiness Is: Connections & Technology

mirrors

Ferrari's mirrors turned out to be a little too un-mirror-like (credit: Getty Images)

It’s that time of year again when NASCAR stays near its home and plays in the backyard.  It’s a metaphorical backyard cookout, complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, probably someone who whines, and the unsatisfactory feeling that once it ends that you don’t feel either full or at peace with yourself.  The food tasted …

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Happiness Is: Quiet, Pastels & Forgotten Names

#22: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil and #21: Paul Menard, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford Fusion Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Joey Logano leading a quiet race (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Spencer Gallagher won the first race of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career this past Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.  The ebullient driver, raw and giddiness exuded palpapatle joy during his post-race interview.   The reaction from other drivers and those calling the broadcast, which should be noted were other drivers, also seemed to embrace the win, …

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F1 Slipstream Saturday: Whither Lewis Hamilton? The Azerbaijan GP

lewis hamilton_australia_2018

Lewis Hamilton (Credit: Getty Images)

The Formula 1 season is beginning to roll along as the series makes its way to the streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.  This race is the fourth of the season, which means it stands as a certain marker for performance. That is to say that teams should have shaken down their 2018 …

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Happiness Is: The Pits, Baku & Plans

2018 kevin harvick pit stop pit crew Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Life in the pits (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

This week’s column is going to start with a bit of questioning regarding the management dealing with races.  Chronological order comes across as a good way to start. That means touching upon the peculiar start time for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond on Saturday night. Who exactly is the brain-child that …

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Happiness Is: Caring, Shoey & 45

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

So there’s been some little bits of news this weekend in NASCAR-land but nothing that would count as earth-shaking.  The news that Ford will be switching to the Mustang in the Cup series for the 2019 season tops the list, however. While this announcement may have been spoiled earlier in the year it still doesn’t …

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F1 Slipstream Saturday: The Chinese GP and Changing of the Guard

Sebastian-Vettel-China-GP-Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel (credit: Getty Images)

This weekend, Formula 1 will be racing at Shanghai International Circuit, which is also a way of stating that the third race of the season is the Chinese Grand Prix.  One of the focal points of the race last year was Max Verstappen’s drive from the 16th starting spot to third. That story did take …

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Happiness Is: Tires, Appearances & Gasly

2018 Cup Texas Martin Truex Jr Wrecked Beth Lunkenheimer

Martin Truex Jr has owned 1.5 mile tracks - but not this past Sunday at Texas (Photo: Beth Lunkenheimer)

Sure, there are topics that could be addressed to start off this column but whatever, let’s just get to the happy. Here goes.   Happiness Is Tires. The race this past weekend seemed somewhat peculiar for the tire issues that surrounded the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.  It may have been the chilly temps …

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Happiness Is: Manners, McLaren & Bowyer

Clint Bowyer Martinsville Cup Mike Neff 2018

(Photo: Mike Neff)

This past weekend brought an unusual circumstance to NASCAR as it played chicken with the weather forecast and seemingly lost.  While the 2-Headed Monster column may address how the governing body should handle dealing with the weather, this column will point out a golden opportunity that was missed. When the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series …

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F1 Slipstream Saturday: The Australian Grand Prix Preview; Hamilton Leads the Field

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The 2018 Toro Rosso on track at the Australian Grand Prix (credit: Getty Images)

The Formula 1 season is finally upon us, the last of the major motorsports series to kick things into gear.  The sport again begins with the Australian Grand Prix, held on a temporary circuit in Albert Park in Melbourne.  As this is the opening event, it brings with it a decent amount of intrigue that …

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