Race Weekend Central

Dropping the Hammer: COVID Again Looms Over NASCAR

Kyle Larson at Watkins Glen

Kyle Larson signs autographs for fans at Watkins Glen (Davey Segal)

Things were going so well. The world was returning to a vaguely defined “normal.” After not attending a NASCAR race as a member of the press in 18 months, after getting vaccinated as soon as it was available to my age demographic, I got to cover the June race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. No masks. …

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2021 IndyCar Summer Break Update: The Improvers

Conor Daly and Max Chilton at Carb Day in 2021

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)

Sometimes preseason predictions can be a bit off for the NTT IndyCar Series, and in 2021 that was certainly the case with a couple of our Improvers. For example, an excerpt from the preseason preview about Alex Palou: “Expect Palou to get a couple of podiums in 2021 if the 2020 season was just a …

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Did You Notice?: Communication Between NASCAR Drivers, Executives at Crossroads

2021 Pocono I Cup Bubba Wallace Steve Phelps laugh James Gilbert Getty

(Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

Did You Notice? … NASCAR drama between drivers and executives has been building at a breakneck pace? It all started with last week’s Atlanta Motor Speedway repave announcement from Speedway Motorsports, Inc. President Marcus Smith. After 24 years under the current configuration, the track will be getting a facelift with both fresh asphalt and an altered …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2021 Quaker State 400 at Atlanta

Kurt Busch celebrates in victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway after the Quaker State 400. (Photo: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

What happened? Kurt Busch won the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday (July 11) after holding off his little brother during an intense final run to the checkered flag. Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five finishers. "HELL YEAH WE BEAT KYLE" — @KurtBusch pic.twitter.com/apaHrHgfO6 …

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A Statistical Deep Dive into Jimmie Johnson’s Race at Road America

Jimmie Johnson practicing at Road America

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)

Road America’s 14 turns across its 4.014 mile layout provides NTT IndyCar Series drivers with a flowing, fast circuit upon which to drive. For a rookie, Road America can be a daunting task, and for Jimmie Johnson, the Wisconsin circuit was just that. Sunday’s (June 20th) REV Group Grand Prix was 55 laps of racing …

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Why Pride Month Matters to Alex Bowman’s Sponsor, Ally Financial

Alex Bowman at Nashville

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

When Alex Bowman‘s No. 48 Chevrolet took to Sonoma Raceway on June 6, it did so with a special decal, one that sponsor Ally Financial shared on Twitter. With a rainbow-colored “a” above the phrase “better together,” the emblem commemorated Pride Month. Frontstretch asked Andrea Brimmer, Ally’s chief marketing and public relations officer, Saturday (June …

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Entry List: Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen

2019 Watkins Glen IWSC Timo Bernhard Car Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

This weekend will see the full compliment of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s five classes race for six hours at Watkins Glen International.  As of this writing, 40 teams are entered for the race, but that may change. In the DPi class, seven teams are entered.  In addition to the six full-time entries, Action Express …

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A Statistical Deep Dive into Jimmie Johnson’s Detroit Doubleheader

Jimmie Johnson practices on the streets of Detroit

(Photo by Matt Fraver/INDYCAR)

After having the greater part of the month of May off, Jimmie Johnson was back behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda for his second taste of street racing in the NTT IndyCar Series at Belle Isle in Detroit. This was shaping up to be Johnson’s most challenging weekend. One 75-minute …

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Deepdive: Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR Xfinity Career Was Better Than You Think

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When you think of Jimmie Johnson‘s success, you would remember his impressive NASCAR Cup Series stats with seven championships, 83 wins and finishing in the top 10 over half of his starts. Yet, his Xfinity Series stats may be underwhelming. The reason why Johnson is viewed as a terrible Xfinity racer is mainly the lens …

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Up to Speed: Will a Teammate Battle Decide the 2021 NASCAR Championship?

NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Teammates in NASCAR often have to walk a fine line.  Drivers who compete for the same multi-car organization usually show a certain level of on-track courtesy to each other.  However, racing in NASCAR does not have the same level of comprehensive cooperation among teammates that you sometimes see in other motorsports.  Racers are expected, and …

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NASCAR and #BlackLivesMatter, 1 Year Later: Part 1

Bubba Wallace at Atlanta Motor Speedway supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement. (Photo: Getty Images)

Bubba Wallace before the June 7, 2020 NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

“I still contend that our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay.” — Martin Luther King Jr., 1968 During June 2020, nothing happened and everything happened all at once. On June 1 the U.S. death toll in the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed the lives of 345,000 Americans by the end …

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A Statistical Deep Dive Into Jimmie Johnson’s GMR Grand Prix

Jimmie Johnson at the GMR Grand Prix

(Photo by Walter Kuhn/INDYCAR)

In Jimmie Johnson’s first NTT IndyCar Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Johnson showed some decent improvement but is still learning about racing an open-wheel car. The seven-time NASCAR champion’s fastest lap of the race was a 1 minute, 12.5976 second lap. Yes, this was last of all drivers, yes he was …

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