Race Weekend Central

Graham Rahal: ‘Consistency Has Definitely Been Our Thing’ in 2021 IndyCar Season

Graham Rahal

Graham Rahal on track at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Photo Credit: Chris Owens/Courtesy of IndyCar.)

For Graham Rahal, the 2021 IndyCar season was another quietly impressive campaign. The No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda driver finished seventh in the championship standings and secured top-10 finishes in 11 of the 16 races, including a podium at Texas. 2021 marks the seventh consecutive year that Rahal has been within the top 10 …

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Up to Speed: Kyle Busch Beyond 600 Starts

2021 Charlotte Cup Kyle Busch NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Suffice it to say Kyle Busch’s playoffs got off to a rough start.  A crash at Darlington Raceway erased his cushion over the first round cutline.  Busch responded with a top 10 the following week at Richmond Raceway, but a late speeding penalty cost the No. 18 team a shot at victory. The Round of …

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Up to Speed: The Hendrick Motorsports Playoff Battle Begins Early

Hendrick Motorsports battles for position at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Earlier in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports looked like the team to beat as all four of its drivers had won a race by Memorial Day.  Kyle Larson was particularly impressive, winning three races in a row plus the non-points All-Star race.  But William Byron, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott all had their …

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Fire on Fridays: Who Would Jimmie Johnson Drive For in a NASCAR Return?

Jimmie Johnson at Detroit 2021 IndyCar

(Photo: Chris Owens/INDYCAR Media)

For the second straight year, NASCAR and INDYCAR will team up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and share the weekend, as the two American motorsport titans will both race the Indy road course. This weekend will also be the first time Jimmie Johnson will share the same garage as his former NASCAR Cup Series competitors since …

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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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