Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch Podcast: Brandon Brown on Xfinity Field Depth, Best Start to His Career

2021 Charlotte NXS Brandon Brown NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Fresh off another top five, Brandon Brown joins Davey Segal this week to discuss why the 2021 season has been the best to date for Brandonbilt Motorsports, including why the Xfinity Series field’s depth makes good runs more rewarding. He also explains the challenges of obtaining a big sponsor as a smaller team, what the …

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Landon Cassill Happy to Help JD Motorsports, But Still Has Eyes on NASCAR Cup

2021 Xfinity Martinsville Landon Cassill (Credit: NKP)

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

Landon Cassill closed out the 2019 season with a 15th-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the best finish for Shepherd Racing Ventures since 2009. But in the time following that, Cassill lost his NASCAR Cup Series ride with StarCom Racing during the offseason and didn’t have an NXS gig after …

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Zach’s Turn: Does NASCAR Need to Address Minimum-Speed Issues?

NASCAR Cody Ware Ryan Preece 2021 Coca-Cola 600

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The discrepancy between NASCAR’s fastest and its slowest appeared to be on full display during Sunday’s (May 30) Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. As leaders like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott stormed around the 1.5-mile racetrack, lapped cars like David Starr and Josh Bilicki seemed to be on screen getting passed — or used …

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F1 Midweek: The Pursuit of the Mercedes Killer

Verstappen Bahrain

Verstappen out front in Bahrain (credit: FIA images)

With Max Verstappen becoming the first non-Mercedes driver to lead the championship standings since Sebastian Vettel in 2019, Formula 1 fans have been foaming at the mouth to see what team will eventually end the Mercedes dominance of the Hybrid era. F1 has always been a sport of domination, with only two different teams and …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Over & Underachievers in All 3 National Series

Chris Buescher looks on at Circuit of the Americas NASCAR Cup 2021 NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who has overachieved and who has underachieved across all three NASCAR national series so far this season? – Rebecca F., Tulsa, Okla. I’ll take this series by series, as there are a lot of drivers/teams to cover with this question. Starting with the Camping World Truck Series, I’ll give a nod to Niece Motorsports’ Carson …

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Frontstretch 5: West Coast Tracks That Need to Make a Comeback

Joey Logano waits by his NASCRA racecar at Michigan International Speedway, August 2009.

(Photo:Nigel Kinrade, USA Autostock)

With NASCAR’s return to Sonoma, NASCAR looks to swing back to more west coast races after Sonoma was dropped from the 2020 schedule. Last year, there were only four race tracks (Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway) where the Cup Series raced that were west of the Mississippi …

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NASCAR Stat Sheet: Hendrick Motorsports’ Record 269 Wins

Hendrick Motorsports first win at Martinsville With Geoff Bodine. Photo ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images

(Photo: ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

Kyle Larson’s second win of the 2021 season at Charlotte Motor Speedway marked the 269th NASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports. The organization surpassed Petty Enterprises, which held the record for most Cup wins since 1960, with its sixth win of the year (Larson and Alex Bowman – 2; William Byron and Chase Elliott …

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Beside the Rising Tide: Something Old, Something New

NASCAR race cars under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

There still may be some debate (somewhat more muted than in days past) whether the Indy 500 or the Daytona 500 is a bigger deal, but there’s no debating that Memorial Day weekend brings us the greatest weekend of auto racing here in the Americas. The day kicks off in Indianapolis with the traditional Indy …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2021 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

2021 Cup Charlotte Kyle Larson Woo-hoo celebration after Coca-Cola 600 (Credit: NKP)

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

What happened? Kyle Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday (May 30) after a downright dominant performance where he led a career-high 327 laps.  Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, William Byron and Alex Bowman rounded out the top-five finishers. Soaking in the crown jewel W. ?@KyleLarsonRacin | #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/QFjnnEplxX — NASCAR (@NASCAR) …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2021 Coca-Cola 600

2021 Cup Charlotte Pack Racing - Erik Jones, No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet (Credit: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who… should you be talking about after the Coca-Cola 600? Kyle Larson cruised to his second win of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday (May 30) with a whopping 10-second lead on second place. With Larson’s victory, Hendrick Motorsports passed Richard Petty Motorsports to set a NASCAR record with 269 wins as an organization. …

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The Underdog House: Daniel Suarez Bounces Back From Coca-Cola 600 Adversity

Daniel Suarez races around the track at Homestead-Miami Speedway (March 2021) (Photo: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Top Dog: Daniel Suarez Before we jump into the house and talk about Suarez, I would like to thank all of our veterans and those currently serving in the U.S. military. To the families of those who have sacrificed their lives for our country, we owe a large debt of gratitude to your loved ones …

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