Race Weekend Central

2015 NASCAR Rewind: Casey Mears

2014 Dover I Cup Casey Mears Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)­

How hard is it to succeed in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series? Ask single-car Germain Racing. A two-time Camping World Truck Series championship organization, they entered the Sprint Cup fray in 2009 on a part-time basis with veteran Max Papis behind the wheel. In 2010, they attempted the whole schedule with Papis, making a driver switch …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Matt Kenseth

Kenseth, Matt 2015 Bank Of America 500 Charlotte

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

This 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season was quite memorable for Matt Kenseth. The veteran driver, in his third year with Joe Gibbs Racing, made the Chase once again and had five wins on the season. Those are the kind of things that every driver wants to achieve. But the legacy for Kenseth’s 2015 season won’t …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Brad Keselowski

2015 Fontana Cup Brad Keselowski Trophy Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

2015 looked like it could be the year that Brad Keselowski won Roger Penske their second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title together, especially in the midst of a summer stretch that included 10 straight top 10s. But at the end, it looked like Tom trying to chase Jerry: coming so close to winning, but unable to …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Sam Hornish Jr.

2015 Darlington Cup Sam Hornish Jr Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

In sports like baseball and hockey, it isn’t uncommon for a player to move between the major and minor leagues during his career. In NASCAR, not so much. Once a driver has made it to the major league Sprint Cup Series, history dictates he’ll stay there until he can’t find a ride. When that time …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Kasey Kahne

2015 Watkins Glen Cup Kasey Kahne Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Kasey Kahne looked to the 2015 season as a reboot. With his longtime crew chief Kenny Francis replaced by Keith Rodden, the change was meant to invigorate a career that had become middling. With a finishes of 12th and 15th in 2013 and 2014, respectively, Kahne seemed to be a driver in his mid-30s who …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Denny Hamlin

Hamlin, Denny 2015 Bank Of America 500 Charlotte

Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch

All told, it wasn’t too shabby a year for Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota finished up the 2015 season in ninth place, the eighth time in 10 full seasons at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series level that the career Joe Gibbs Racing driver has cracked the top 10 in the …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Kevin Harvick

2015 Homestead Cup Kevin Harvick Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

For Kevin Harvick, 2015 will forever be remembered as the year of near-misses, both good, and bad. By all accounts, it is entirely arguable that Harvick was the best driver over the course of the 36-race 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Harvick collected three wins, 23 top fives, and 28 top 10s in 2015, numbers …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Austin Dillon

Dillon, Austin 2015 Race For The Cure 300 Charlotte

(Photo: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

The second season in Sprint Cup for a driver is often a crossroads season. Many drivers find another gear and get going. For example, Jeff Gordon won his first two races in his second year and claimed his first top-10 finish in points (to be fair, had he not wrecked in three of the last …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Carl Edwards

Edwards, Carl 2015 Bank Of America 500 Charlotte

Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch

Adversity struck Carl Edwards during the latter stages of his time with Roush Fenway Racing, the team that gave him his big break. However, in the NASCAR realm, tough decisions need to be made, especially when an organization is struggling. Joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015, expectations were high as Edwards joined former teammate Matt Kenseth into …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2015 Talladega I Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Woohoo Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started the 2015 season with a third-place finish in the Daytona 500. It was hardly surprising since the speedway is his second best track, historically, based on average finish. Interestingly that run would be the worst of Earnhardt’s four restrictor-plate races for the season. Earnhardt started the year with two third-place finishes …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Kurt Busch

2015 Richmond Ii Cup Kurt Busch Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­­

For a brief moment at the beginning of 2015, it appeared that the Chase for the Sprint Cup would not include the Busch family name among its ranks. Leading up to the Daytona 500, Kurt Busch, embroiled in controversy and legal woes over allegations of domestic violence by ex-wife Patricia Driscoll, was suspended by NASCAR …

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