Race Weekend Central

5 Points to Ponder: The Rest of the 2021 NASCAR Season

Nascar Cup Series

#5: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro HendrickCars.com

ONE: Which Hendrick Motorsports is for real? Hendrick Motorsports caught fire this summer, its best performance in the NASCAR Cup Series since Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were on the roster in 2014. From Dover International Speedway in May to the first Pocono Raceway event the end of June, HMS won six straight races and …

Read more

Up to Speed: Reviewing NASCAR Playoff Points of the Past

Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. two common NASCAR playoff contenders chat at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo: NKP)

#4: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Mobil 1 , #19: Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Bass Pro Shops Red White Blue

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs may be approaching quickly, but there are still plenty of playoff points up for grabs.  Each of the four remaining regular season races offer seven NASCAR playoff points – five for the race win plus one for each of two stage wins.  Taken together, there are still 28 playoff points …

Read more

Waid’s World: NASCAR Needs the Driver Who Wears the Black Hat 

Waid's World Graphic

Graphic: Jared Haas

A few years ago I interviewed former NASCAR Cup driver Ricky Craven. One of the questions I asked him was what he thought a very important element would be in sharpening fan interest in competition. I thought he might go through a litany of NASCAR rules and policies that should be improved or dropped altogether. …

Read more

Frontstretch 2-Minute Drill: Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire

2019 Loudon Mencs Joey Logano Car Nigel Kinrade Photography

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

A northeast venture to the Granite State concludes the pre-Olympic break portion of the NASCAR Cup Series’ 2021 season. New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosts this afternoon’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 and it is the final NASCAR event prior to the opening ceremonies of the postponed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics getting underway later this week, coverage …

Read more

Friday Faceoff: Should NASCAR Take a Summer Vacation Every Year?

Tyler Reddick stands next to his car at 2021 spring Kansas Cup race NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Should NASCAR continue to schedule back-to-back off-weekends in the late summer even when no Summer Olympics are being held? Trenton Worsham: Not back to back, but it’d be nice for it to have two or three more weeks off scattered out throughout the year as bye weeks. Josh Roller: I like the idea of a late …

Read more

Couch Potato Tuesday: NBC Deals With Track Issues, While Knoxville Brings Kevin Swindell to the Booth

Ryan Blaney leads a pack of cars at Atlanta Motor Speedway, July 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

By today’s standards, last weekend was a rarity. You had a split weekend with the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series teams racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway, while the Camping World Truck Series was at Knoxville Raceway. The Cup race wasn’t all that unusual for Atlanta, just shorter, which I didn’t really welcome. The Truck race …

Read more

Dropping the Hammer: Appreciating the Reliability of Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch at Atlanta

HAMPTON, GEORGIA - JULY 11: <>during the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 11, 2021 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The more NASCAR has changed over the last 20 years, the more Kurt Busch has adapted and found ways to win. A new points format? Busch won the first championship of the playoff era in 2004. A new kind of car? Busch has won in every generation of car he’s competed in as a full-time …

Read more

NASCAR Stat Sheet: The Field Gets Busch Whacked in Atlanta

Kurt Busch holds the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, July 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography )

The term “Busch Whacker” first surfaced in NASCAR circles back in the late ’90s, used as a term to describe the Cup Series regulars who stole wins in what was then the Busch (now Xfinity) Series. On Sunday, the racing brothers from Las Vegas gave the term a whole new meaning. Kurt and Kyle Busch …

Read more

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 …

Read more

Up to Speed: A Final Moment of Teamwork for Chip Ganassi Racing

2021 Darlington I Cup Kurt Busch Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing (Photo: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Kurt Busch scored what could be the final win for Chip Ganassi Racing on Sunday (July 11) at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Less than two weeks ago, Ganassi announced that he was selling his NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing effective the end of 2021.  Trackhouse, in turn, confirmed that its team would field two cars in …

Read more

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2021 Quaker State 400

Tyler Reddick waits for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas to begin, May 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who … should you be talking about after the Quaker State 400? Kurt Busch has had moments this season where he looked stout but hadn’t been able to put a winning run together.  That ended Sunday (July 11) at Atlanta Motor Speedway where Busch was dominant in the Quaker State 400. He led three times …

Read more

Kyle Busch Takes Issue with Ross Chastain’s Late-Race Moves

Kyle Busch car at Atlanta NASCAR Cup race NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

As Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch sent Atlanta Motor Speedway’s aged surface out with one more thrilling race to the end on Sunday (July 10), both drivers had to carefully navigate lapped traffic, a factor magnified by the absence of a caution flag in the final stage.   Kurt Busch went on to win, and in …

Read more