Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: NASCAR Playoff Overload On NBC At Phoenix

2018 Phoenix Cup Kevin Harvick Car Nigel Kinrade Photography

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The revamped ISM Raceway brought a number of new elements to the package.  For one, there is a Modern Margarita stand just outside of Victory Lane.  Also, the place was so full of locked gates that the Camping World Truck Series Championship 4 drivers couldn’t get to the Media Center for their press conference Friday …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: NBCSN Forced to Deal With Lack of NASCAR Texas Action

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX USA Friday 3 November 2017 Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion World Copyright: John K Harrelson NKP

(Photo: John K Harrelson/NKP)

Since Texas Motor Speedway was repaved prior to last year, races there have been rather tepid.  Sunday’s (Nov. 4) AAA Texas 500 was the third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race out of four to have exactly 16 lead changes.  That total’s already low but a lot of those 16 changes also came by way …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: A Look Bump Coverage and Kurt Busch in the Booth

Johnny Sauter - 2018 Texas Roadhouse 200 Race

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

Martinsville is an interesting place.  By anyone’s standards, it is not the kind of place that would normally host a major event.  It’s a small independent city of less than 15,000 people (as of the last census) that is off the beaten path.  The track itself is technically inside of a neighborhood with people living …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Kansas NASCAR Weekend Produced Tough Challenges for NBC Sports

2017 Kansas II CUP Joey Logano Kurt Busch racing John K Harrelson NKP

Going into Sunday’s (Oct. 21) Hollywood Casino 400, it was a little difficult to figure out what we were going to see.  The first two races of the weekend at Kansas Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval produced a number of crashes for various reasons.  ARCA cars tend to be a bit squirrelly at intermediate tracks; Friday night’s …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: NBC Makes the Best of Talladega Stinker

AJ Allmendinger - 1000Bulbs.com 500 Practice

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

Talladega Superspeedway is usually a toss-up, where craziness is the norm and staidness need not apply.  At least on Sunday, that was not the case. Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 had the second-lowest number of lead changes in any Cup race ever run on the 2.66-mile tri-oval (15).  Why?  Because Stewart-Haas Racing apparently found a way to …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Dover NBCSN NASCAR Coverage Brings Playoff Focus, Lack of Variety

#9: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports; #11: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography) #9: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro NAPA Auto Parts

Dover is an interesting race track to look at.  It’s a video game come to life… apparently, one I’m not particularly good at.  I only say that because the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte puts the next track on the calendar in their qualifying challenge computers that you can press your luck on.  Last …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Jeff Burton Thrives On Chaos in NASCAR on NBC Booth

2018 cup charlotte roval zach catanzareti ryan blaney

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

While covering the first ever Charlotte ROVAL event, I moved from behind the couch to beside the camera. During the weekend, I got a great opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at NBC Sports’ NASCAR telecasts.  Rather than come up with a massive tome that will drive the Frontstretch editing staff up the wall, the plan …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: What Did Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Return to Racing Do For NBCSN?

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400

(Photo: Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Richmond Raceway is quite different these days as compared to 15 years ago.  The cars don’t seem quite as fast as they once did there and passing is more difficult.  Races tend to have long green-flag runs.  But, that doesn’t mean you can’t have good racing. Federated Auto Parts 400 Saturday night brought the Monster …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Las Vegas Brings NASCAR Heat, Wrecks and Tough Work For NBCSN

#2: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Autotrader celebrates his win Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The playoffs are now underway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.  Admittedly, these ten races are my least favorite time of the year, TV-wise.  Most of the good things that have been tried during the season are typically dispatched in favor of a complete focus on the playoffs.  I believe this intense focus hurts …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Indianapolis Brings the Perfect Storm of Bad Weather

2018-Chicago-CUP-pack-racing-NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Last weekend was nothing short of a perfect storm for race fans. Three days of rain in Indianapolis meant that no one managed to turn a lap on the 2.5-mile oval until Monday morning.  That, plus DVR issues (can’t just take the day off to watch the races) meant that viewing the races for this …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Darlington Brings Booth Switching & The Ross Chastain Party

NASCAR Xfinity Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Throwback weekend is always an interesting time.  Old-school paint schemes reigned supreme at Darlington.  Old-school driver shirts were out in force.  In my friend Brien’s case, he has the fire suit that Ernie Irvan wore in the 1990 Daytona 500 and wore that to a meet-and-greet with Irvan.  I’m pretty sure he didn’t sit in …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: NASCAR Road Course Broadcasts Show Shenanigans, Limitations

#7: Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro BRANDT Professional Agriculture NASCAR Xfinity Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series took their third and final weekend off for 2018.  For those race fans in the need for a racing fix, both the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series hit the twisties for some action.  The results were interesting. Johnsonville 180 Saturday afternoon brought the XFINITY Series to …

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