Race Weekend Central

Graham Rahal: ‘Consistency Has Definitely Been Our Thing’ in 2021 IndyCar Season

Graham Rahal

Graham Rahal on track at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Photo Credit: Chris Owens/Courtesy of IndyCar.)

For Graham Rahal, the 2021 IndyCar season was another quietly impressive campaign. The No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda driver finished seventh in the championship standings and secured top-10 finishes in 11 of the 16 races, including a podium at Texas. 2021 marks the seventh consecutive year that Rahal has been within the top 10 …

Read more

Dropping the Hammer: The Next (Best?) Hope For Daniel Hemric

Daniel Hemric

#18: Daniel Hemric, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra Poppy Bank

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Daniel Hemric will drive for a new race team next season. Last week brought the news that for the third consecutive season, the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year will pick up stakes and migrate to another NASCAR Xfinity Series team. After stints with JR Motorsports …

Read more

F1 Midweek: Losing & Learning, McLaren & Lando Norris

Lando Norris, Mclaren Mcl35m Front On

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M out front at Sochi (credit: McLaren Media)

This past Sunday (Sept. 26) at the Russian Grand Prix, Lando Norris gave away what would have been his first Formula 1 win. His mistake came when he thought he could manage his slick tires to the end of the race on an increasingly wet track. While it might be easy to chalk up his …

Read more

Did You Notice?: Winless NASCAR Drivers Seeking Talladega Breakthrough

David Ragan celebrates his victory at Talladega Superspeedway with Front Row Motorsports in 2013. (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Autostock)

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Autostock

Did You Notice? … Talladega Superspeedway has always been labeled the best track for winless NASCAR drivers to pull an upset? The 2.66-mile oval has a history of pulling off one-hit wonders, from Richard Brickhouse winning his first and only NASCAR Cup Series race there in 1969 to Ron Bouchard pulling off this three-wide thriller in …

Read more

NASCAR Mailbox: Josh Berry Putting NASCAR Owners on Notice

Josh Berry celebrates after winning the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday night (Sept. 25). (Photo: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Will what Josh Berry is doing sway owners to hiring more “racers” instead of pay drivers? – Daphne B., Nashville, Tenn. I think I speak for everyone when I say: for goodness’ sake, I hope so. We’ve known Josh Berry is a great racecar driver for a while. His late model results, including a national …

Read more

Zach’s Turn: William Byron Faces Déjà Vu as Playoffs Bring More Trouble

William Byron

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

William Byron had to dig deep at Bristol Motor Speedway to pull himself above the playoff cut line and advance to the Round of 12. But another round has brought another points hole for Byron to crawl out of after a night of missteps that led him to an 18th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor …

Read more

Couch Potato Tuesday: Round of 12 Brings Heavy Playoff Focus to Las Vegas

NASCAR racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, September 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Las Vegas Motor Speedway began the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, and things got a little more serious since it is likely to be the least looney race of the round. Even with fewer intermediate tracks in the playoffs now, it’s still critical to put up a decent finish here since …

Read more

5 Points to Ponder: Las Vegas a Quiet Start to Round of 12

2021 Cup Las Vegas Denny Hamlin Trophy (Credit: NKP)

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

1. Las Vegas lackluster in the wake of Bristol’s chaos In fairness, we can’t expect the level of intensity we saw last week at Bristol every single race. But it was striking at just how calm the NASCAR Cup Series’ South Point 400 on Sunday (Sept. 26) night was, with just one caution for incident — and one …

Read more

NASCAR Stat Sheet: Hamlin Goes All in for Vegas Win

Denny Hamlin leads a pack of NASCAR race cars in the 2021 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, September 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Joe Gibbs Racing driver clinches spot in Round of Eight With 30 races in the books, the championship is in sight and we have a good idea who will probably be fighting for it at Phoenix. But it takes so much going right and not just piling up stats. Kyle Larson essentially rolled snake eyes …

Read more

The Big 6: Questions Answered After NASCAR Playoffs in Las Vegas

2021 Cup Las Vegas Denny Hamlin, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Wins NASCAR Playoffs race (Credit: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

Photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images via NASCAR Media

Who … should you be talking about after the NASCAR Playoffs Race in Las Vegas? Denny Hamlin once again showed Sunday night (Sept. 26) why he was a championship contender one year ago. For only the second time this season, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver earned a NASCAR Cup Series win. It was a fairly …

Read more

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Las Vegas NASCAR Playoff Race

2021 Cup Las Vegas Pack Racing Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford (Credit: NKP)

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

What happened? Denny Hamlin won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas on Sunday night (Sept. 26) after leading a race-high 137 laps, including the final 39. Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five finishers. "Vegas Baby!" ? Take a look at @dennyhamlin's final lap to win at …

Read more