Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Richmond, Take II

2018 Las Vegas I CUP Aric Almirola John K Harrelson NKP

(Photo: John K. Harrelson / NKP)

Kyle Busch captured his 50th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win by taking the checkered flag on the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night. It was the seventh win of 2018 for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. He was followed by the Ford of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in second and …

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Up to Speed: Aric Almirola Exceeding Playoff Expectations

Aric Almirola 2018 MENCS Cup Series, Sonoma

(Photo: Danny Peters)

Two races into the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Aric Almirola’s performance is the biggest positive surprise.  After getting through a chaotic race in Las Vegas unscathed, Almirola earned a fifth-place finish Saturday night at Richmond Raceway.  That finish, coupled with a sixth-place run last week, has lifted Almirola to sixth 0n the …

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The 10: NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings After Las Vegas II

#2: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Autotrader celebrates his win Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The last time the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, a championship contender arose in the form of Kevin Harvick. And when the series came back around to Vegas last weekend, another driver was feeling lucky, topping our NASCAR power rankings in the process. Brad Keselowski had zero …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Brad Keselowski Sets Benchmarks with 3rd Straight Win & Penske 500th

#2: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Autotrader celebrates his win Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who’s in the headline Momentum is a beautiful thing when you’re running for a championship, and Brad Keselowski is riding a huge wave of it after winning his third consecutive race and locking himself into the second round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Keselowski won the second stage and the race in a …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2018 South Point 400

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Should high temps change start times? (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Brad Keselowski won his third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win in as many weeks after holding off his Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney late to take the 2018 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was his 27th career MENCS victory and …

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Up to Speed: Pressure to Win on Denny Hamlin

2018 cup pocono zach catanzareti denny hamlin

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Denny Hamlin has rarely suffered from a lack of wins in his NASCAR career.  Since 2006, his rookie year in the Cup Series, he has never had a winless season.  Some of those years certainly were not big-win seasons, but Hamlin always found a way to get to Victory Lane at least once. Even in …

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Alex Bowman Sees Promising Las Vegas Run End With Late-Race Incident

#88: Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Axalta Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Alex Bowman entered the NASCAR Playoffs as a darkhorse, largely viewed as unable to compete for race wins and the championship. But after his performance at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the South Point 400, Bowman may be closer to finding Victory Lane than expected. However, Sunday’s (Sept. 16) great run went sour due to …

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NASCAR 101: Who’s Most Likely to Progress Out of the Cup Playoffs’ First Round?

2018 cup new hampshire zach catanzareti kyle busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

This year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, which begin this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marks the fifth time in which the series has employed an elimination-based format to help decide its champion at the end of the season. Starting in 2014, the series cooked up different rounds throughout the playoffs that eliminated …

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5 Points To Ponder: In The 2018 NASCAR Playoffs

2018 cup pocono zach catanzareti kyle busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

ONE: Should We Fast-Track The Big Three Straight To Homestead? Never in the five-year history of NASCAR’s 16-driver playoff format have we seen three wheelmen so far ahead of the pack. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. start the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff as overwhelming favorites. They won 17 of …

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Did You Notice?: NASCAR’s Newest 4-Alarm Fire, Furniture Row

STP 500

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Did You Notice? … The sport’s reigning NASCAR championship team won’t even exist in 2019? Tuesday’s announcement (Sept. 4) Furniture Row Racing will shut down this November should send chills down the spine of every racing owner. A sport that for years dealt with mounting financial wounds through indifference or simply covering them up suddenly had …

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4 Burning Questions: Will NASCAR Return to the Fairgrounds or Rockingham?

2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rockingham

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Will NASCAR return to the Fairgrounds Speedway or Rockingham Speedway? Two former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series tracks were in the news this week. Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville has long been one of the premier short tracks in the country, and from 1958 to 1984 hosted Cup races. Last year, in an open bid for …

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The 10: Best Paint Schemes of the Darlington Throwback Era

Darlington Field - 2017

(Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

This week, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series enjoyed its final off weekend of the season. We combed through the throwbacks that have been run since the beginning of the Darlington throwback era and found our 10 favorite throwbacks that have been run. Jeff Gordon/Dale Earnhardt Jr. –  “Gray Ghost” – 2016 The Buddy Baker “Gray …

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