Race Weekend Central

4 Burning Questions: Charters & More Charters

Daniel Suarez Nashville Cup 2021 NASCAR race NKP (Tootsies sponsor)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

What is the future of NASCAR doubleheaders? The ratings that were pulled from this past weekend’s doubleheader event at Pocono Raceway were not great. With the networks spending eight figures to broadcast each NASCAR Cup Series race, a 0.9 is not a good result whatsoever. They were on at the dead time of Saturday afternoon, …

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4 Burning Questions: Welcome to the Sam Mayer Era

2019 Dover Nkpse Sam Mayer Championship Trophy Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Can anybody stop Sam Mayer? This weekend, Sam Mayer turns 18 and will spend his second day as an adult making his first start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The son of former part-time IndyCar Series driver Scott Mayer, Mayer has found success in everything he has strapped into. In 2018, after a successful preteen …

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4 Burning Questions: Should NASCAR Take Cues From SRX?

2021 SRX Stafford Trophy L-R Greg Biffle, Doug Coby, and Tony Stewart (Credit: Tom Morris Racing Photography)

Photo: Tom Morris Racing Photography

How was the first week of SRX? The first week of the Superstar Racing Experience was a critical success, despite some hiccups. One thing I really liked about the broadcast of the event is that they never seemed full of themselves. While FOX Sports spent the weekend patting itself on the back for its NASCAR …

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4 Burning Questions: Definitely An Xperience

Tony Stewart Return Press Conference Atlanta Motor Speedway 2014 Chris Owens

(Credit: Chris Owens)

Where will Kurt Busch end up? This week, Kurt Busch confirmed to Sirius XM that he has been contact by both 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing Team for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022. 23XI was known about, but Trackhouse being mentioned is very interesting. Team owner Justin Marks said later that day that he …

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4 Burning Questions: Is Kurt Busch Going to 23XI?

Kurt Busch looks on at 2021 Cup Circuit of the Americas. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Is Kurt Busch coming to 23XI Racing? Last weekend, The Athletic reported that 23XI Racing will be expanding in 2022 and that Kurt Busch is believed to be the main candidate for the organization’s second car, with Bubba Wallace staying put in the No. 23 Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series. While I trust The …

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4 Burning Questions: 1,100 Miles & 600 Laps

Chase Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson sit on pit road wall. Photo NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

How will NASCAR handle the Eddie D’Hondt situation? On May 27, news broke that Eddie D’Hondt, longtime spotter for Hendrick Motorsports, had been arrested two weeks ago on misdemeanor charges of assaulting a woman and battery against an unborn child. The incident in question happened on Labor Day 2020. The first affidavit was filed in …

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4 Burning Questions: Finally, the Rock Has Come Back?

2012 Nascar Camping World Truck Series Rockingham

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Are two dead racetracks returning to NASCAR? This week, it was revealed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper that a portion of the American Relief Plan allocated to the state, $30 million in total, would be awarded to three racetracks located in the state: Rockingham Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and, surprisingly, North Wilkesboro Speedway. There …

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4 Burning Questions: Should NASCAR Limit Cup Organizations to 2 Teams?

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch talk before 2021 Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Should NASCAR further limit an organization’s car count? Last year, I wrote a column about what my vision for NASCAR would be in 10 years’ time. One of what I feel were one of the more interesting things I wrote about at the time was the idea of NASCAR going to more of a rigid …

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4 Burning Questions: Will the SRX Format Be Successful?

2022 NASCAR Cup Next-Gen-Ford-Mustang-Driver-Side

(Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

Will the SRX Format be successful? Superstar Racing Experience released its race and points format on Thursday, and the results are a bit questionable. Timed races seem like not a great idea, judging by how they were received in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series a few years ago. At the same time, SRX also …

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4 Burning Questions: The Vaccine Column

#16: A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Ellsworth Advisors and #11: Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro LeafFilter Gutter Protection at Homestead-Miami Speedway, March 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

What is the COVID situation currently? It has now been two weeks since the COVID-19 vaccines were made available to all adults in the United States, and it’s clear that the key to getting this virus under control is getting as many people as possible vaccinated. This is certainly not a political issue. Regardless of …

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4 Burning Questions: Is Chase Elliott Underperforming as Champion?

Chase Elliott at Martinsville

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

What is a Pearson Grade? A couple of years ago, I created a metric using loop data called a Pearson Grade. Every driver has a Pearson Grade, and it is determined after a race. Simply put, it is the difference between a driver’s average running position, or ARP, and a driver’s average finishing position, or …

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4 Burning Questions: Reviewing SRX’s Broadcast Team

James Hinchcliffe at 2019 Texas IndyCar race Photo: IndyCar Meda

(Photo: IndyCar Media)

How will SRX’s broadcast crew work out? This week, CBS Sports announced its on-air talent for their broadcasts of Superstar Racing Experience this summer. The six-race season, held over six consecutive Saturday nights, will be anchored by Allen Bestwick as the play-by-play announcer and Lindsey Czarniak as the host of the program. Brad Daugherty has …

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