Race Weekend Central

The Underdog House: Small NASCAR Teams Finding Relief – Sort of – Approaching Daytona 500

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fl Usa Sunday 11 February 2018 Matt Dibenedetto, Go Fas Racing, The Hurricane Heist Ford Fusion World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Think Small While most of the sport’s television time goes directly toward big teams with great speed and large personalities — and rightfully so, to an extent — Sunday’s 60th running of the Daytona 500 will have a heavy populous of tiny organizations. Many of these small NASCAR teams, despite being huge underdogs can actually …

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Alex Bowman Tops Both Rounds to Win Daytona 500 Pole

2018 Daytona Cup Alex Bowman John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John K. Harrelson/NKP)

Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman showed the field on Sunday (Feb. 11) that he had the best car in town by himself.  Bowman won the pole for next Sunday’s Daytona 500 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with a lap of 46.002 seconds (195.644 mph). He was also fastest overall in round No. 1 with …

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Frontstretch Podcast: A Fresh Season to Come

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series 2018 Nascar Media Tour Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, Nc Usa Tuesday 23 January 2018 Kurt Busch World Copyright: Matthew T. Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

In the first episode of the Frontstretch Podcast in 2018, we discuss all the changes — or lack of which — for the 2018 NASCAR season with Dustin Albino, Zach Catanzareti and Davey Segal. In the last two months and change, the sport has been on the sidelines as the drivers, teams and media “enjoy” …

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David Ragan, Front Row Witnessing Positives & Negatives of Sponsorship Search

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Aaa 400 Drive For Autism Dover International Speedway, Dover, De Usa Friday 2 June 2017 Landon Cassill, Front Row Motorsports, Love's Travel Stops Ford Fusion And David Ragan, Front Row Motorsports, Overton's Ford Fusion World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

David Ragan is back with Front Row Motorsports for 2018, starting what will be his second season with the Ford organization in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Picking up a few returning sponsors like 1000 bulbs and Shriner’s Children’s Hospital for his No. 38 ride, the Georgian is in fairly solid shape for the …

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Love’s Travel Stops, K-LOVE to Sponsor Michael McDowell in 2018

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series 2018 Nascar Media Tour Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, Nc Usa Tuesday 23 January 2018 Michael Mcdowell World Copyright: Matthew T. Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

Veteran Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell will pilot the No. 34 Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports in 2018, and recently, the sponsorship picture for the team has gotten clearer. Longtime FRM partner Love’s Travel Stops will sponsor 18 races, including the Daytona 500, both events at Texas Motor Speedway, the Bristol …

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David Ragan, Michael McDowell Fill Front Row Motorsports 2018 Driver Lineup

2017 Texas I Cup David Ragan Car John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John K. Harrelson/NKP)

David Ragan will be returning for his fifth season at Front Row Motorsports in 2018, while Michael McDowell will replace Landon Cassill as the team’s second driver. McDowell, 32, joins FRM after spending the last four seasons with Leavine Family Racing, finishing a career-high 26th in the championship standings in 2017. In 2013, McDowell finished …

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2017 NASCAR Cup Team Review: Front Row Motorsports

2017 Kansas I Cup Landon Cassill Car Barry Cantrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell NKP)

For Front Row Motorsports, 2017 was a year of change.  Landon Cassill shifted from the No. 38 to the No. 34 to replace Chris Buescher, who moved to JTG-Daugherty Racing, while David Ragan returned to the team after a few years away to drive the No. 38. Overall, the team was a little weaker in …

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The Underdog House: Small NASCAR Teams Still Fighting Hard

2017 Kansas I Cup Aric Almirola Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Think Small With just one race to go in 2017, it’s been a mixed bag of a season for the sport’s smaller teams.  Furniture Row Racing has set the gold standard for them. It’s taken a one-car, outsider organization to the top echelon of NASCAR’s elite teams within five years. That’s a model others can …

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The Underdog House: Small NASCAR Teams Thrive At Short Tracks

2017 Nascar Monster Energy Cup Series, New Hampshire

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/ NKP)

Cup Series racing at Martinsville is about survival and persistence. The on-track action always ruffles some feathers, best evidenced by the late-race incident between alpha dogs Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott. What was happening between Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney served as the consolation sideshow. PETERS: What Happens Now For Hamlin & Elliott? But at Underdog …

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The Underdog House: Where was the Outrage… For Corey Lajoie?

2017 Kansas Ii Cup Corey Lajoie Barry Cantrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)

Think Small Checking out social media on Monday, there were a lot of posts expressing outrage at Matt Kenseth being parked Sunday at Kansas for having too many crewmen working on his car after damage put him on the five-minute clock.  Kenseth’s disqualification took him out of the playoffs in what may be his last …

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The Underdog House: Surviving NASCAR Talladega… Sort Of

2017 Talladega Ii Cup Michael Mcdowell Brad Keselowski Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

Think Small One thing that struck me when I first started in NASCAR was that if you spent enough time looking, you could see fans at a race who supported every driver in the field.  T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers were among the ways they proclaimed their loyalty. Fast forward a couple of decades, and …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR Hot-Starts: Alabama 500

Kevin Harvick Charlotte Cup Fall 2017 Yvonne Leonard

(Photo: Yvonne Leonard)

DraftKings’ daily fantasy NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the Alabama 500. This is the second event in round two of the Monster Energy Series playoffs. The green flag flies Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. Position differential will be the most sought after statistic on DraftKings this weekend. The scheduled …

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