Race Weekend Central

Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2017 Daytona 500

Kurt Busch Daytona Cup Team Victory Celebration 2017 Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Who’s in the headline – Kurt Busch guided a badly damaged race car to the finish line first, ending an 0-for-15 drought in the sport’s Great American Race. He was the third of three leaders in the final three laps, taking control when others around him ran out of gas. In a Daytona 500 that was …

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Daytona 500: Final Thoughts Heading In

2017 Daytona Cup zach catanzareti dale earnhardt jr.

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

The Cup Series technically has kicked off the 2017 season already thanks to the awarding of points in the Duels on Thursday evening. The biggest race of the season looms on the horizon at 2:00 Eastern Sunday and there are a handful of things weighing on everyone’s mind. Cars have raced in anger twice already, …

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Tech Talk: Crew Chief Tony Gibson Breaks Down New NASCAR Rules and Transitioning to Ford

Tony Gibson Martinsville Cup 2016 Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Mike Neff: Tech Talk is back for another season on Fronstretch.com. This week’s edition was recorded before the Duels Thursday night. Unfortunately Tony Gibson’s car didn’t have much of an opportunity to show what it had on Sunday during the Clash. He felt like the car was strong and was going to have something at …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2017 Can-Am Duels at Daytona

Denny Hamlin Checkered Flag Daytona Cup 2017 Mike Neff

Who’s in the headline – With all but two positions filled for the Daytona 500, the Can-Am Duels are more about who races their way in rather than who wins. Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin won the Duels, but the story was Corey LaJoie and DJ Kennington racing their way into the Great American Race. …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2017 Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona

Joey Logano Clash Victory Lane

(Photo: Lesley Ann Miller/NKP)

Who’s in the headline – The 2017 season took an extra day to kick off thanks to rain on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, but The Clash did not disappoint. Joey Logano has proven to be a strong plate racer since joining Team Penske, and it showed again on Sunday. Avoiding the spinning cars …

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2016 NASCAR Rewind: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

2016 Pocono I CUP Ricky Stenhouse Jr Nigel Kinrade NKP

(Photo: NIgel Kinrade/NKP)

The future looked bright for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. a few years ago. After all, he won back-to-back NASCAR XFINITY titles in 2011 and 2012 and followed that with a Cup Series rookie of the year title in 2013. Unfortunately for Stenhouse the next two years were sideways rather than improvements over that freshman campaign. That …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Sudden Shift Hands Johnson Record-Tying Title

jimmie johnson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Who’s in the headline – The elite level of NASCAR has increased by 50%. There are many gauges to judge the greats but championships are a huge differentiator. Jimmie Johnson took advantage of circumstances that fell his way, led the final three laps, and notched his seventh career title. Johnson shares the headline with Tony …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Joey Logano Steals Victory From the Jaws of Defeat at Phoenix

2016 NASCAR Phoenix

(Photo: Matthew Thacker / NKP)

Who’s in the headline – In the final elimination race of the season, Joey Logano looked like he was about to slip out of contention for a transfer position. Fortunately for him, a caution flag flew, which bunched the field up and afforded him a final shot to reclaim a spot in the final four. …

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Tech Talk: Chris Heroy Talks Side Skirts, Hard Tires and Sand Blasting at Phoenix

2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Las Vegas

4-6 March 2016, Las Vegas, Nevada USA Brian Scott and Chris Heroy © 2016, Nigel Kinrade NKP

The Cup season is down to the penultimate round in the desert at Phoenix International Raceway. Chris Heroy and his No. 44 team just found out that their driver, Brian Scott, is retiring after the season so they are preparing for his final two races. The mile track in Phoenix will challenge drivers with bright sun, …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Carl Edwards Saves Best for Last to Win at Texas

2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Texas

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who’s in the headline – While Carl Edwards will garner most of the headlines for the weekend, it was Mother Nature who took most of the attention. The race was delayed by five-and-a-half hours due to track drying efforts that seemed to make progress at a snail’s pace. Once the race began, the sun had …

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Tech Talk: Brake Temperature & Bump Stop Shims with Tony Gibson

tony-gibson-cup-martinsville-2016-mike-neff

Photo Credit : Mike Neff

The No. 41 team driven by Kurt Busch put itself behind the eight ball at Martinsville Speedway thanks to a poor showing by its standards. The entire Stewart-Haas Racing organization struggled all weekend, and it didn’t get any better during the race. As a result, crew chief Tony Gibson and his team are going to …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Jimmie Johnson Sets the Table for a Run at Title Seven with Victory at Martinsville

jimmie-johnson-sunlight-burnout-martinsville-cup-2016-mike-neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Who’s in the headline – Jimmie Johnson had eight wins at Martinsville Speedway entering this weekend’s activities. While that is an impressive number, he had gone six races without a win and had not finished better than ninth in the last four. The race wasn’t a dominating effort by the No. 48 team, but they …

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