Race Weekend Central

Beside the Rising Tide: Ch-Ch-Changes in NASCAR

2016 Phoenix I Cup Kyle Busch Pit Stop Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Speedweeks 2018 is upon us. A lot of NASCAR fans, even once ardent supporters, tend to take the offseason well, off, to celebrate the holidays and watch the NFL playoffs. (Look at that! Only one year in and I’m no longer typing “Chase” except for referring to the driver of the No. 9 car.) Daytona …

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Beside the Rising Tide: Post-Super Bowl NASCAR Tidbits

Nascar Xfinity Series Lilly Diabetes 250 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, In Usa Saturday 22 July 2017 William Byron, Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro Wins World Copyright: Rusty Jarrett Nkp

(Photo: Rusty Jarrett/NKP)

A Rose by Any Other Name Sometimes, it seems NASCAR is just setting themselves up to be ridiculed on purpose. They’ll announce something that leaves even their mouthpiece Kool-Aid junkies in the press muttering, “you’ve got to be ******* me.” Thus, with no little fanfare NASCAR announced the end of “encumbered” finishes and wins. What …

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Beside the Rising Tide: All the Young Dudes

2016 Kentucky Cup Chase Elliott Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

The season hasn’t even gotten started yet and already, Kyle Busch is feeling aggrieved and voicing his displeasure (doesn’t he know doing so is the sole province of the media?) As usual, the NASCAR Media Tour itself was largely lost in an avalanche of words and predictions concerning the upcoming Super Bowl. Living here in the …

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Beside The Rising Tide: Is It Still Over? Are We Still Through?

2017 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Stp 500 Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va Usa Sunday 2 April 2017 Matt Kenseth, Tide Toyota Camry World Copyright: John K Harrelson/nkp

(Photo: John K Harrelson/NKP)

If you live in the northeast, you know the sound, especially if you live beneath a tin roof like I do in my humble abode. At first, it just sounds like rain drops, but there’s a peculiar metallic ting sound that can only mean one thing… ice pellets. A close look out the window reveals …

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Beside the Rising Tide: And In The End….

2017 Phoenix Ii Cup Matt Kenseth Trophy Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The circle of life continues. The weekend of the 2017 Daytona 500 was bitterly cold and windy in these parts. As NASCAR ran the penultimate races of this season, cold weather returned to the area with a vengeance, triggering a nasty cold / flu epidemic even in our remote little hamlet on the hill. Optimists …

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Beside The Rising Tide: Two Day Only!

2017 Kansas Ii Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John K. Harrelson/NKP)

And then, there were two. A few rambling thoughts as NASCAR heads off for Phoenix…. 33% Off This Weekend Only! After trial runs at Pocono, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Martinsville, NASCAR plans to schedule more two-day race weekends starting next season. They prefer that we all refer to those shortened race weekends as “enhanced” but …

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Beside the Rising Tide: Keep it Simple, Stupid

Jeff Gordon, one of just two drivers to capture the sport's Winston Million. (Photo: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The other night, I attended an informal dinner party with some close friends. They all know what I do for a living and yet they let me in anyway as long as I show up showered, shaved, and wearing shoes. Almost inevitably, the topic of NASCAR racing came up. (No, I didn’t broach the subject. …

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Beside the Rising Tide: The Wayback Machine

2016 Martinsville I Cup Overhead View Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Nestled away in Southern Virginia, the tiny town of Martinsville is home to about 13,000 souls, though that number swells considerably two weekends a year. The town is just over 100 miles away from Mooresville, N.C. where most of the NASCAR Cup teams are now headquartered. Since 1949, the nation’s best stock car racers have …

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Beside the Rising Tide: Temporary Unreal Permanent Insanity

2017 Talladega Ii Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Chase Elliott Lead To Green John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John K. Harrelson/NKP)

Sunday’s version of NASCAR insanity could drive anyone to drink. But, as it turns out, alcohol is the best way to shed light on one of stock car racing’s largest, lingering problems. Pennsylvania residents and visitors to the Keystone State are forced to pay an 18% tax on liquor by the bottle because of a …

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Beside the Rising Tide: A Hurricane Before I Go Insane

2016 Charlotte All Star Cup Jimmie Johnson Pack Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Pour me something tall and strong, Make it a hurricane before I go insane, There’s only six races left to go, but I don’t care. Rain at a race track. It’s one of the biggest annoyances for race fans and one of the few that can’t be blamed on NASCAR management. The late Ben Blake …

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Beside The Rising Tide: ‘I Git A Round’

Kyle Busch Dover Garage

(Photo: Dustin Albino)

It’s been a tense three weeks as the first round of NASCAR’s First But Still the Best Ever Playoffs kicked off igniting a nationwide frenzy unlike anything since the Pet Rock. Tempers flared at water coolers around the country as employees loudly defended their picks to advance to the Round of 12 or belittled their …

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Beside the Rising Tide: Kind of a Drag

Photo By Marc Gewertz/nhra

(Photo: Marc Gewertz/NHRA)

Back in an era when lift kits and bull bars consumed a great deal of any mental exertion I managed daily, our tribal wisdom told me that when you find yourself continuously stuck in a rut, raise your rig up higher and get bigger tires. Nowadays, it’s not as easy to escape the comfortable little …

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