Race Weekend Central

Denny Hamlin Focused On Bounce-Back 2019 Campaign

Denny Hamlin Daytona500 Mediaday

Denny Hamlin is looking to replicate his 2016 triumph and hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy for his second Daytona 500 victory. (Photo/Davey Segal)

2018 was a year to forget for Denny Hamlin. The Chesterfield, Va., native failed to win a race at NASCAR’s top level for the first time in his full-time career (since 2006). Not winning a race in Joe Gibbs Racing equipment is an enormous disappointment. Hamlin wasn’t shy about his downturn in performance, either. It …

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Matt DiBenedetto’s Career Coming Full Circle in 2019 with Toyota, LFR

Matt Dibenedetto Daytona500 Mediaday

Matt DiBenedetto is back for 2019 where it all started: with Toyota. (Photo/Davey Segal)

Change is inevitable. In NASCAR, change is constant, normal and expected. Matt DiBenedetto has been no stranger to change at the Cup Series level. BK Racing and Go FAS Racing have been the first two stops in a three-year span for the Grass Valley, California native. But 2019 brings on a new challenge and the …

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ‘Could Care Less’ About His Plate Racing Reputation

Ricky Stenhouse Jr Daytona500 Mediaday

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is looking to earn his first career Daytona 500 victory in 2019. (Photo/Davey Segal)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. isn’t here to apologize. The driver of the No. 17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing is here to deliver. Deliver a win in the Great American Race for the first time in his career and the first for RFR since Matt Kenseth in 2012. With his history on restrictor plate tracks, that …

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2018 Top NASCAR Storylines: Martinsville Changed Everything

2018 Martinsville Finish Zach Catanzareti Cup Joey Logano

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Coming into the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs, the talk of the town was about three drivers. “The Big Three” drivers in the sport: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Raise your hand if you had Joey Logano beating them all in the winner-take-all season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to earn his first career Cup …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Ryan Blaney

#12: Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Menards/pennzoil Celebrates His Win Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

2018 was a year of change for Ryan Blaney. But it was also one of improvement and one to celebrate. The 25-year-old High Point, N.C. native made the playoffs, advanced through the Round of 12 and made NASCAR history this season. He did it all with a new team, too, as he jumped from Wood …

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Kevin Harvick Comes Up Short in Homestead: ‘We Just Got Beat Tonight’

Harvick Miami 2018

Kevin Harvick came up short of winning his second career Cup Series championship, finishing third in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018. (Photo/Davey Segal)

2018 will be remembered as the “what if” season for Kevin Harvick. In the end, it was close but no cigar. The Bakersfield, California native finished third in the Ford EcoBoost 400 and third in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship battle. A career-best, eight-win season ended without the big prize. “We had a daytime …

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Frontstretch Podcast: 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship Preview

Joey Logano 2018 Ford Ecoboost 400 Practice

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

In a special edition of the Frontstretch Podcast, Dustin Albino, Tom Bowles, Davey Segal and Phil Allaway are live from Homestead-Miami Speedway breaking down Ford Championship Weekend. Who will win the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship? Before we answer that, the Frontstretch quartet breaks down the XFINITY and Camping World Truck series championship races. They saw …

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Martin Truex Jr. Looking to Send Furniture Row Out On Top

Truex Media Day 2018

Martin Truex Jr. while being interviewed at Championship 4 Media Day at The Miami Beach EDITION on Thursday, November 15, 2018. (Photo/Davey Segal)

Martin Truex Jr. is attempting to hit a walk-off home run. But with Sunday, Nov. 18 being Furniture Row Racing’s last NASCAR event, it’s more like a grand slam. The worst-kept secret in the garage became public this month, as Truex and crew chief Cole Pearn will move to the No. 19 Toyota with Joe …

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Elliott Sadler on Possible Final NASCAR Race: “It feels right, I gave it my all”

Sadler Miami 2018

Elliott Sadler shares a toast in his final Xfinity start as a full-time driver on Saturday, November 17, 2018 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo/Davey Segal)

If Saturday night was Elliott Sadler’s final NASCAR race, he ended his career like he started it. Raising hell with some liquid courage in his hand. Sadler’s 14th-place result was secondary to the bigger story: the possible end to a career of one of the longest-tenured veterans in the series, “one of the good guys,” …

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Cole Custer on Championship Runner-Up: “I feel like we did almost everything right”

Custer Miami 2018

Cole Custer came up one spot short of winning the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship on Saturday, November 17, 2018 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo/Davey Segal)

For 95 laps of Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300, you could’ve said it was 2017 all over again. Cole Custer had the dominant car, leading the field and driving away. The only difference this season is that a championship was on the line. Unfortunately for the Ladera Ranch, California native, he wound up one spot short …

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Elliott Sadler on Retirement: “I Have No Regrets”

2018 Xfinity New Hampshire Zach Catanzareti Elliott Sadler

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

It’s been a hell of a NASCAR ride for Elliott Sadler. For almost three decades, all he’s ever known was racing. But he’s ready for a change, some time away from the week-to-week grind and quality moments with the family. That time will start once the checkered flag flies on the Ford EcoBoost 300 from …

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Kevin Harvick: ‘I Feel Like We Race With a Chip on Our Shoulder Every Week’

Harvick Media Day 2018

Kevin Harvick while being interviewed at Championship 4 Media Day at The Miami Beach EDITION on Thursday, November 15, 2018. (Photo/Davey Segal)

Don’t tell Kevin Harvick he’s the championship favorite. He’ll set you straight. “I feel like we race with a chip on our shoulder every week,” Harvick said heading into Ford Championship Weekend. “For me, there’s always some incentive in proving to people that you can do something that isn’t what they think you should do. …

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