Race Weekend Central

Up to Speed: Kevin Harvick Still Searching for 2020 Form

Kevin Harvick stands next to car at 2021 Daytona 500 Cup race Photo NKP

#4: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Busch Light #TheCrew

Sunday’s (March 14) NASCAR Cup Series race was a fairly typical event at Phoenix Raceway.  Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Instacart 500 was how little the FOX broadcast team called Kevin Harvick’s name.  It wasn’t long ago that Harvick completely dominated the desert mile.  Prior to Sunday, Harvick compiled nine wins, 18 top …

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Up to Speed: A New Attitude of NASCAR Equality at Hendrick Motorsports

2019 Talladega Mencs William Byron Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Just four races into the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports has already won twice.  Last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, William Byron drove off to a convincing win, the second of his Cup Series career.  This past Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it was Kyle Larson’s turn to capture the checkered flag.  Larson, …

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Up to Speed: Evening Races Perfect Fit for Homestead-Miami Speedway

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

During the first few weeks of the 2021 NASCAR season, start times of races have become a point of debate.  This weekend’s slate of races at Homestead-Miami Speedway featured the same later-than-usual green flag times as the first two races weekends.  Saturday’s Xfinity Series race took the green flag around 4:45 p.m. local time.  The …

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Up to Speed: The Pressure to Win in NASCAR 2021 is Already On

Nascar Cup Series

#21: Matt DiBenedetto, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford Mustang Motorcraft/Quick Lane

Raise your hand if you thought that, two races into the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, the two race winners would be Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell.  If you made that prediction a few weeks ago, a fellow race fan might have assumed that you’d spent too much time around the gasoline fumes on pit …

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Up to Speed: Can Denny Hamlin Finally Win a Championship in 2021?

Denny Hamlin car on track (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Denny Hamlin set out to do something nobody else has done before: win three consecutive Daytona 500s. Despite leading six times for a race-high 98 laps, the three-peat was denied with a fifth-place finish. But the story of Hamlin’s 2021 season goes far beyond the Great American Race. He will get to experience the highs …

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Up to Speed: Will Clint Bowyer Stay Candid in the Broadcast Booth?

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Lost in the conclusion of the 2020 NASCAR season was the rather abrupt departure of Clint Bowyer from the driver’s seat.  Bowyer, who was wrapping up his 15th full-time season as a Cup Series racer, faced an uncertain future with Stewart-Haas Racing.  Despite some speculation that SHR’s driver lineup would not change for 2021, Bowyer …

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2021 NASCAR Preseason Power Rankings No. 12: Aric Almirola

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

In three seasons at Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, Aric Almirola has proven his ability to be a contender for the playoffs.  He has also shown an affinity for strong runs, including wins, at restrictor plate tracks. Almirola’s performances have earned him the loyalty of primary sponsor Smithfield.  But the 2021 season could …

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2021 NASCAR Preseason Power Rankings No. 28: Daniel Suarez

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Daniel Suarez is getting a fresh start – again.  For the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Suarez will compete with Trackhouse Racing Team, a brand-new operation created by former driver Justin Marks.  Having secured a charter and established a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse will race full time in 2021 with Suarez as …

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2020 NASCAR Team Reviews: Roush Fenway Racing

2020 Review Roush

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Heading into 2020, Roush Fenway Racing had reason to be optimistic in the NASCAR Cup Series.  The previous year, veteran Ryan Newman put an RFR Ford in the playoffs for only the second time in the last five seasons.  That was Newman’s first season with Roush, and it left fans wondering if Newman and the …

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Up to Speed: The Future Is Bright For Hendrick Motorsports

Nascar Cup Series Season Finale 500

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

It wasn’t long ago that Hendrick Motorsports had one of the oldest driver lineups in NASCAR.  Five years ago, at the time of Jeff Gordon’s final race in his famed No. 24 car, the organization’s youngest driver was Kasey Kahne at 35 years old.  With Gordon’s career wrapping up amid a bourgeoning youth movement in …

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Up to Speed: 2020 Is Another Black Mark Against The NASCAR Playoffs

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

As usual, Martinsville Speedway provided no shortage of entertainment.  Sunday’s race, the penultimate event of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, offered up plenty of close quarters short track racing.  It also featured a tighter battle among the playoff drivers than most fans would have foreseen, given the points among the drivers.  But the biggest …

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Up to Speed: How Will 23XI Racing Perform in 2021?

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

As NASCAR’s 2021 Cup Series lineup slowly comes into focus, the new team owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin is beginning to take shape. Several weeks ago, Jordan and Hamlin announced their organization would debut next season with driver Bubba Wallace. We also learned last week that the team, as previously speculated, will be …

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