Race Weekend Central

Fire on Fridays: Championship Race the Punchline to NASCAR’s Greatest Joke

NASCAR Cup Series

#9: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro NAPA Auto Parts, celebrates after winning the 2020 Nascar Cup Series Championship

While perhaps not the greatest way to crown a champion, the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are wildly entertaining. That is, until it’s time for the championship race. For nine weeks, we’re blessed with rising tension and drama as the playoff field shrinks from 16 drivers down to four. Every positions matters so dearly. There are …

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From Louisville with Love, Part II: Ben Rhodes Talks Kentucky Speedway Devastation, 2020 Xfinity Attempt & NASCAR Future

Ben Rhodes, Darlington

(Nigel Kinrade Photography)

In Part I of From Louisville with Love, Ben Rhodes spoke with Frontstretch about his 2020 improvements, playoff racing against his ThorSport Racing teammates, his two weeks with championship-winning crew chief Junior Joiner and traveling the NASCAR circuit in 2020 as a Kentucky resident.  In the final portion of this two-part series, Rhodes expresses his …

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Fire on Fridays: Chip Ganassi’s Hendrick Engine Woes Are a Playoff Trend That Breeds Conspiracy Theories

2020 Kansas II Cup Kurt Busch engine failure NKP

The clock may have struck midnight for Kurt Busch, the Cinderella of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The 2004 champion is now 73 points below the Championship 4 cutline after experiencing a blown engine this past weekend at Kansas Speedway. But was it simply just misfortune, or was there more to it than that? …

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From Louisville with Love, Part I: Ben Rhodes Talks Playoffs, 2 Weeks with Junior Joiner & Kentucky Travels

Ben Rhodes, Las Vegas

(Ningel Kinrade Photography)

Ben Rhodes is on pace for a career year in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. With three races left in the season, the fifth-year driver has already tied his career high in top fives and needs only one more top 10 to tie his career high in that category. His average finish is …

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Fire on Fridays: Must-Win Teams That Should Use Road Course Experts to Advance in NASCAR Playoffs

Austin Cindric, Kentucky

(Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and heading into an elimination race below the cutline means a team must pull out all the stops to try to advance. It’s Hail Mary time, and sometimes an unconventional approach, such as using a road-course racing expert rather than your regular driver, might just work. This weekend, the …

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Parker Kligerman Wants to Chase Championship With Henderson Motorsports, Details Relationship With Team & Chris Carrier

Parker Kligerman racing in the UNOH 200, 9/17/2020 (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Three years ago, Parker Kligerman pulled off one of the bigger upsets in Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series history when he won at Talladega Superspeedway. Kligerman winning wasn’t the surprise — he won at Talladega in Trucks for Red Horse Racing back in 2012. Rather it was the truck he won in this time. Henderson …

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Fire on Fridays: Jeremy Mayfield Mends Friendship With Ray Evernham, Is ‘On the List’ of Potential SRX Drivers

2006-Texas-Cup-Jeremy-Mayfield-Ray-Evernham-NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Ever since Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham announced in July that they were starting their own racing series, SRX, a handful of drivers have been campaigning to get in. But perhaps none were more surprising than former NASCAR Cup Series driver Jeremy Mayfield. “To hear them do that, to me, it opened my eyes,” Mayfield …

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Bristol Provides Parker Kligerman With 4th at Team’s Home Track

Parker Kligerman racing in the UNOH 200, 9/17/2020 (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

With all of the focus on the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series playoffs, Parker Kligerman nearly stole the show at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday night (Sept. 17). Kligerman finished fourth in the UNOH 200, coming across the line side-by-side with third-place Tanner Gray. “We were third there with a couple laps to go, …

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Grant Enfinger Has Found ‘Home’ at ThorSport Racing

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Last year, Grant Enfinger was the model of consistency in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, winning the regular season title and posting an average finish of 8.5. However, he failed to win any races and was eliminated from the playoffs when his Ilmor engine failed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This season, Enfinger’s …

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Fire on Fridays: Should NASCAR Allow CBD Sponsorships?

Ken Roczen

(Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)

Spire Motorsports announced on Thursday morning (Sept. 10) that BetterForYourHealth.com would be the primary sponsor for its No. 77 entry driven by Reed Sorenson this weekend at Richmond Raceway. Sounds like some kind of nonprofit that promotes healthy living, right? Well, according to the team’s press release, BetterForYourHealth.com is “an educational platform, supported by Good …

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Collision Keeps Martin Truex Jr. & Chase Elliott Out of Darlington Victory Lane

NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Two of the fastest cars did not win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway due to a late-race collision between Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. Pole sitter Elliott led 114 laps on Sunday night (Sept. 6), including the opening 71. But he eventually gave way to Truex, who quickly established himself as …

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Fire on Fridays: 10 Possible Daytona Upset Winners With the Most to Gain

Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

(Nigel Kinrade Photography)

There has never been more on the line for back half of the NASCAR Cup Series field than there will be this Saturday night, Aug. 29, at Daytona International Speedway. With the regular-season cutoff race taking place on a superspeedway for the first time ever, it gives teams with little-to-no shot at the playoffs an …

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