Race Weekend Central

Friday Faceoff: Can Kyle Busch Surpass Richard Petty’s Streak?

Kyle Busch stands before 2021 spring Cup Kansas race NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

With his win at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Busch has won a NASCAR Cup Series race in 17 consecutive years. Will he surpass the mark of 18 set by Richard Petty? Luken Glover: Absolutely. I see Kyle Busch winning at least one race for at least the next few years and easily passing Petty’s record. Now …

Read more

NASCAR’s Next-Gen Cars To Be Raced in iRacing Pro Invitational Darlington Event

iRacing at Talladega

(Photo: NASCAR Media)

Last time, it was youth over experience that headlined the iRacing Pro Invitational Series entry list. This time around, it will be experience meeting the future. Race fans will see the NASCAR Next-Gen race cars take to the virtual track for the first time on May 5, as iRacing has added them into their service. …

Read more

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Running Richmond Xfinity Race

Dale Earnhardt Jr Homestead 2020

(Photo: NASCAR Media via Getty Images)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to keep his annual one-off Xfinity Series start streak alive in 2021. JR Motorsports announced May 4 that the two-time Xfinity champion and team co-owner will compete once again in a one-off event at Richmond Raceway on Sept. 11 later this season. Unilever will sponsor the effort. The paint scheme …

Read more

Keelan Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Among Talladega iRacing Pro Invitational Entries

Virtual Talladega 2020 Iracing Invitational Jeff Gordon Fence Chris Graythen Getty Images

(Photo: Chris Graythen | Getty Images)

When you think of a second-generation NASCAR driver, you probably don’t think of the name “Harvick”. That will change Wednesday, April 21. The entry list for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Talladega Superspeedway was revealed Tuesday evening (April 20) and featured several guest invites in addition to the chartered entries. Among …

Read more

Did You Notice?: Are NASCAR Charters Going to Be Available for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2022?

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fl Usa Sunday 18 February 2018 Dale Earnhardt Jr On The Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro Pit Box World Copyright: Barry Cantrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)

Did You Notice? … Dale Earnhardt Jr. casually mentioned he and sister Kelley have had conversations about moving JR Motorsports to the NASCAR Cup Series? Earnhardt spoke after Josh Berry’s NASCAR Xfinity Series win Sunday (April 11) and said it would be “irresponsible” not to consider a climb up the ladder with the introduction of the …

Read more

Dropping the Hammer: Josh Berry’s Big Chance Pays Off

Josh Berry wins at Martinsville

(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images via NASCAR media)

The NASCAR Xfinity Series should introduce a new slogan: “The Xfinity Series: Where 30 is the new 20.” After Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway, this slogan would apply almost exclusively to one driver: Josh Berry. The newest driver to claim a win in NASCAR’s second-tier national series wasn’t a baby-faced twentysomething who’d have trouble getting …

Read more

Holding a Pretty Wheel: Can NASCAR’s Return to Dirt Resurrect a Ghost From Its Past?

Virtual NASCAR cars race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2020. Photo: NASCAR Media

(Photo: NASCAR Media)

NASCAR is a sport where ghosts abound. It’s more difficult with every passing year to find a racetrack that’s not, in some way, haunted by the past. Races won and lost, drivers come and gone, the past is everywhere, all the time. You can feel it on the wind in Martinsville, Darlington, Charlotte, Daytona: whispers …

Read more

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Participating in Bristol Dirt iRacing Event

Dale Earnhardt Jr. smiling

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will participate in the upcoming eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track, JR Motorsports announced March 18. Earnhardt will drive a No. 88 Degree Chevrolet. The virtual Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track event will take place on March 24 as the inaugural live race weekend …

Read more

Beside the Rising Tide: The Raw Emotions of Dale Earnhardt’s Death 20 Years Later

Dale Earnhardt Sr. Tribute 2011

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Time flies. Tempus fugit. So my well-intended, if not nearly constantly intoxicated freshman Latin teacher taught me back when I attended a prep-school on Philadelphia’s well-heeled Main Line. Well, time didn’t seem to fly when you’re sitting slack-jawed with glazed over eyes wondering what sort of vengeful God was punishing you for your sins by …

Read more

Xfinity Breakdown: Austin Cindric Kicks Off Championship Defense With Daytona Win

Pack racing at Daytona

#54: Ty Dillon, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra Bass Pro Shops #02: Brett Moffitt, Our Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Fr8Auctions #22: Austin Cindric, Team Penske, Ford Mustang Verizon 5G

For the first two stages of Saturday’s (Feb. 13) Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300 at Daytona International Speedway, the NASCAR Xfinity Series field played nice with one another. But in stage three, all hell broke loose, with the race’s complexion changing multiple times. By the end of the race, it was reigning NASCAR Xfinity …

Read more

Reel Racing: The Best (& Worst) Movie Paint Schemes of the 2010s, Pt. 2

2014 Sonoma Cup Tomy Drissi Car Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

As mentioned in yesterday’s part one of this ranking, the 2010s featured more than 50 movie-themed NASCAR paint schemes representing 37 films released during the decade, as well as a number of Days of Thunder-themed throwbacks. The films ranged from blockbusters like Justice League, Captain America: Civil War and The Dark Knight Rises to racing- or car-themed films like …

Read more

Reel Racing: The Best (& Worst) Movie Paint Schemes of the 2010s, Pt. 1

Martinsville Cup 2019 Mike Neff Aric Almirola

In June, I undertook a project to dig up every single movie-themed paint scheme that ever ran across NASCAR’s three touring series and, eventually, rank them. The weeks-long search yielded that exactly 100 films have been represented on stock cars throughout the years, ranging from The Wizard of Oz to Shazam. Unfortunately, 2020 became the …

Read more