Race Weekend Central

5 Points to Ponder: Time to Play in the Dirt

Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney lead the NASCAR Cup Series action at Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

1. Time to Play in the Dirt I cannot wait for this weekend. Cannot. Wait. I’m endlessly fascinated to see what will happen in both races on the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt. Fair to say I’ve not anticipated regular season races quite like these two for some time — a decade or more at least. …

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5 Points to Ponder: Cream Rises, Ford Flounders?

2021 Phoenix I Cup Martin Truex Jr Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

ONE: Truex Restores Natural Cup Series Order Just as we were about to hit the point of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season where Bill Murray’s “Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!” line from Ghostbusters would have applied because none of the races were being won by the drivers you’d expect, Martin Truex Jr. …

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5 Points to Ponder: NASCAR Chemistry Matters, Stewart-Haas Racing Slump Deepens & More

Kevin Harvick and Cole Custer race at Daytona International Speedway February 2021 Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

ONE: Stewart-Haas Racing Slump Gets Deeper Kevin Harvick sat on the pole for Sunday’s (March 7) Pennzoil 400 driving his No. 4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. It was a great position to assert himself up front at a Las Vegas Motor Speedway track he led 92 laps at last March. Instead? Harvick never led a …

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5 Points to Ponder: Myatt Snider’s NASCAR Moment

Myatt Snider celebrates winning at Homestead Miami Speedway February 2021 (Credit: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

ONE: It Gets Late Early Out Here The great Hall of Fame Yankee catcher and 13-time World Series Champion Yogi Berra once quipped “it gets late early out here,” and it’s a Yogi-ism (as his many impromptu lines were known) that fits well with the current playoff picture. It would be fair to say there …

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5 Points to Ponder: Double Your Pleasure at Daytona

Ty Gibbs at Gateway Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

ONE: Daytona Road Course Needs to Stay Among the many, many questions that can likely never be answered to the satisfaction of NASCAR fans everywhere is how many road course races on the Cup Series schedule is the right number. The general consensus, as much as there is one, is that the two that were …

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5 Points to Ponder: Lady Luck Deals NASCAR Bad Hand in 2021 Debut

Austin Cindric crashes on the final lap of the 2021 Daytona 500.

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

ONE: Lady Luck Big Player in Disjointed Daytona 500 There were a lot of Valentine’s Day dinners ruined Sunday night (Feb. 14) by the Daytona 500 turned 24 Hours of Daytona Lite. A six-hour rain delay felt entirely preventable, the fourth time in the last 10 NASCAR season openers there’s been a rain delay. At what point …

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Frontstretch 5: Reasons Why the New Speedweeks Schedule is a Good Thing

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photogra)

NASCAR has had to undergo several major schedule changes ever since the COVID-19 pandemic stormed onto the scene in early 2020. Certain tracks lost their dates and had to be replaced with others, and doubleheaders were held during select weekends to make up for lost races. Then came more changes with the release of the …

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Five Points: A Year of Change. After a Year of Change.

Chase Elliott holds 2020 Bill France trophy Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

A Year Of Change. After a Year of Change. There’s a lot to look forward to this season. Putting the Daytona 500 to one side for a moment, we’ve got the Bristol Dirt race, a trip to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, a jaunt around Road America, a new oval in Nashville Superspeedway, …

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5 Points to Ponder: A Champions Edition

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

A Worthy Champion Huge congratulations to Chase Elliott on his first Cup championship, matching a feat his father Bill achieved all the way back in 1988. Chase’s dominant, nerveless, winning performances at both Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway these past two weeks, all with the incessant pressure of the playoff format, showed he is a …

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5 Points to Ponder: Chase Elliott Comes of Age

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

ONE: Chase Elliott Comes Of Age So much happened at Martinsville Speedway Sunday (Nov. 1) it’s easy to forget just how important Chase Elliott‘s win was for his NASCAR Cup Series career. For the first time in five years, Elliott came into the Round of 8 finale needing to cash in on a must-win situation …

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5 Points to Ponder: Kyle Busch Finally Takes a Bow in 2020

2020 Talladega Ii Cup Kyle Busch Nkp

(photo: nkp)

1. It Took A While, But Kyle Busch Kept His Winning Streak Intact It was strangely fitting that in a race that forced drivers, teams and fans to wait more than three days from the time it was red flagged for weather until its checkered counterpart was shown, Kyle Busch found a way to cross …

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5 Points to Ponder: Opportunity Knocks

2020 Kansas Ii Nxs Chase Briscoe Checkered Flag Nkp

Broadcaster Bowyer There was a moment this weekend at Kansas Speedway that typifies the spirit of NASCAR fans in one simple image. It was a picture Clint Bowyer tweeted post-race. I think this perfectly sums up my run in @NASCAR and @kansasspeedway in particular. My fans ALWAYS have more fun than the others. Huge thank …

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