Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: Michigan Brings Debris Issues to the Forefront

2016 Nscs Kyle Larson Chase Elliott Restart Michigan Photo Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/ NKP)

Welcome back, race fans.  This past race weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and XFINITY Series were in action at Michigan International Speedway.  Fans saw what amounted to two completely different races.  One had an exciting finish and was quite competitive.  The other was one of the least competitive races at Michigan in a number …

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The Underdog House: NASCAR’s Vicious Cycle

2017 Dover I Cup Aj Allmendinger Pack Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Think Small It’s hard for small teams to get noticed.  This is something that’s been discussed over and over  and continues to create a vicious cycle for these teams: Lack of money leads to lack of performance, and lack of performance makes sponsors shy away, leading to a lack of money…you see the problem here? …

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The Big 6: Questions After The 2017 FireKeepers Casino 400

Shr Michigan

(Photo: Matthew Thacker/NKP)

Who … gets the shoutout of the race? Kyle Larson is a master at restarts. It’s something that Jeff Gordon always pondered during the late stages of his career, but one of NASCAR’s next potential superstars has restarts down to a science. The  No. 42 car did its best job to depict the likes of …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: NASCAR’s Tame Pocono 400 Turns Into Terrific Finish

2017 Pocono Cup Zach Catanzareti Ryan Blaney

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Who’s in the headline – For the third time this season, we have a first-time winner in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It’s Ryan Blaney, who drove to the lead after a late-race restart with fresher tires than a dominant Kyle Busch. He then held off Kevin Harvick in a thrilling finish after Harvick closed in while Busch and …

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Misses Shift At Pocono, Out Early

2017 Pocono Cup Zach Catanzareti Dale Earnhardt Jr.

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

What appeared to be a promising race for Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned sour in a hurry. Earnhardt missed a shift, going from third to second gear instead of fourth and cooked his No. 88 Chevrolet Sunday at Pocono Raceway. The mistake was his second of the weekend; a bad shift Friday led to an engine change and forced Earnhardt …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR Hot-Starts: Axalta 400

2017 Kansas I Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Helmet Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell Labounty/NKP)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon for the Axalta 400. The DraftKings strategy for intermediate tracks is all about finding dominators for your roster. A dominator is a driver who will run up front, lead laps, and generate fast laps for extra bonuses. Alternatively, for the middle to back …

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Kyle Busch Wins Second Straight MENCS Pole Award

2017 Pocono Cup Zach Catanzareti Kyle Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

For the second consecutive week, car No. 18 will lead the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag on Sunday afternoon. Kyle Busch took over Pocono Raceway, clocking in a time of 50.237 seconds, giving the Joe Gibbs Racing driver his 21st career pole in NASCAR’s premier division. Busch outran reigning Pocono …

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Chris Buescher Trying to Make Noise, Like Other Young Guns

2017 Fontana Cup Chris Buescher Vertical Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

As the next generation of young, talented drivers have cycled into the sport, others have been replaced. In recent years, there has been a crop of young phenomenons that have taken the Cup Series by storm. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney to name a few. But one name that is often …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR Forecast Powered by DraftKings: Axalta 400 Preview

2017 Martinsville Cup Zach Catanzareti Brad Keselowski

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

DraftKings daily fantasy NASCAR turns toward the Tricky Triangle in northeast Pennsylvania this weekend. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400 Presented by Axalta this Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Cars hit the track on Friday at 11 a.m. for first practice; Coors Light Pole Qualifying follows at …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Jimmie Johnson Pulls Another Rabbit Out of His Hat With Dover Victory

2017 Dover I Cup Jimmie Johnson Team Selfie Trophy Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton / NKP)

Who’s in the headline – There are horses for courses and some courses for horses. When it comes to Dover International Speedway and Jimmie Johnson, they are the perfect match. Johnson swept both Dover races in his rookie season, and after winning the race on Sunday, he now has 11 career wins at the track. …

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The Big 6: Questions After the 2017 AAA 400

2017 Dover I Cup Joey Logano Pack Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Who… gets the shoutout of the race? There were just too many laps on the scoring pylon for Ty Dillon. Grabbing and maintaining the race lead from Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Larson in the final quarter of Sunday’s AAA 400 from Dover International Speedway, the single-car Germain Racing team was in the conversation for a race …

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Did You Notice?: How Quickly Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 Winners Forgotten

2016 Xfinity Homestead Miami Speedway Austin Dillon Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Did You Notice? … By Wednesday, no one seems to care who triumphed on the greatest weekend in racing? That the biggest story from both the Indianapolis 500 and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Coca-Cola 600 had nothing to do with who won? It’s not just that both races suffered through ratings declines (both were down 13 percent). Other sideshow-like …

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