Race Weekend Central

Truckin’ Thursdays: Attempting to Pick the 2015 Champion

Michigan International Speedway - Day 1

(Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)

What do a veteran, a rookie and a sophomore driver all have in common? Easy. All three are knee-deep in what has already been one of the more entertaining championship battles in recent years. Separated by just 15 points, Erik Jones, Matt Crafton and Tyler Reddick have a combined eight wins, 26 top-five and 33 …

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Pace Laps: Heartbreaking Losses and Replacement Drivers

Juan Pablo Montoya on track at Sonoma (credit: IndyCar)

(Photo: IndyCar)

IndyCar: Montoya Critical of Himself, INDYCAR Following Championship Loss – 1.179 seconds. That’s all that separated Juan Pablo Montoya from a Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Montoya, who led the points from the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, lost the championship in a tiebreaker to four-time champion Scott Dixon following a sixth-place finish …

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Ryan Blaney Overcomes Early Penalty in 2015 UNOH 200 Win at Bristol

2014 Homestead CWTS Ryan Blaney CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photography, Inc. ©2014)

You need a little luck and perfect timing to overcome a penalty and eke out a win at Bristol Motor Speedway. On a wet Wednesday night, Ryan Blaney had both. Blaney took a victory in the UNOH 200 at BMS Wednesday, overcoming a penalty early in the race and retaking the lead on a green-white-checkered finish to …

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Pace Laps: Using the Bumper & Short Track Excursions

Lyle larson leads a pack of cars during the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­­

Sprint Cup Series: What A Drag – Michigan’s high-drag package was dragged down by poor reviews from the start. Drivers complained openly leading into the weekend that passing was problematic; loose conditions getting behind another driver bogged them down aerodynamically and left everyone running in place. Still, NASCAR thought the many grooves of Michigan International …

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Matt Crafton Tops 2015 Careers for Veterans 200 Qualifying in Michigan, First Pole Since 2012

2015 Michigan II CWTS Matt Crafton pole credit NASCAR via Getty Images

Photo Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

Two-time defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Matt Crafton has accomplished a lot in the last two years, but on a warm Saturday morning in Michigan, he earned something he hadn’t obtained since 2012: A pole award. Crafton laid down a 39.024-second lap around the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway to take the Keystone Light Pole …

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Matt Crafton Paces Final 2015 Careers for Veterans 200 Practice at Michigan

2014 Mudsummer Classic Eldora Speedway Matt Crafton Camping World Trucks Mike Neff-258

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

The two-time defending champion is quickest at NASCAR’s fastest track. Matt Crafton ran a blazing 186.659-mph lap to top Friday’s final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Michigan International Speedway. Crafton’s 38.573-second lap was just under a tenth of a second quicker than second-place Daniel Hemric (38.666), who topped opening practice for Saturday’s Careers for Veterans …

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Friday Faceoff: Safety in the Pits, Silly Season Dominoes & Truckin’ Trouble

2015 Pocono CWTS Brad Keselowski crash damage CIA

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Sunday’s race at Pocono included a nasty crash where Kasey Kahne spun off turn 3 and slid into the pits, hitting the wall so hard metal braces were bent and the concrete cracked. Jeb Burton had almost an identical crash on Saturday during practice. Can anything be done to prevent this type of crash or …

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Pace Laps: Wild Races, Crazy Spins, and Speed Records

2015 Pocono CUP Kasey Kahne car CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Cup Series: Unexpected Wild Race at Pocono Leads to Victory for Matt Kenseth – It was quite the 400 miles at Pocono Raceway. With wrecks filling the first half of the race, the second half seemed like it would get even more wild. However, the field set a steady pace for the final 80 laps, …

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Tracking the Trucks: 2015 Pocono Mountains 150 at Pocono

kyle busch pocono win

(Photo: Joseph Wolkin, Frontstretch)

In a Nutshell: Wild restarts, pit strategy and high speeds controlled Pocono Raceway on Saturday afternoon for one of the shortest races on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. Kyle Busch dominated at the “tricky triangle,” leading 53 of 69 laps in his first Truck Series race of the season in his self-owned No. 51 Toyota Tundra. …

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Erik Jones Edges Out the Boss to Win 2015 Pocono Mountains 150 Pole at Pocono

2015 Pocono II CWTS Erik Jones pole credit NASCAR via Getty Images

Photo Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

Beating the boss is quite impressive. Beating Kyle Busch is even more so, especially with his hot streak as of late. 19-year-old Erik Jones earned his fourth pole award of the year, edging out his Kyle Busch Motorsports owner/teammate in the final round of qualifying on Saturday morning for the Pocono Mountains 150. Clocking in …

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Tracking the Trucks: 2015 UNOH 225 at Kentucky

2015 Kentucky CWTS Matt Crafton woohoo CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

In a Nutshell: Without a single lap on track before the green flag flew, Matt Crafton scored his fourth win this season in Thursday night’s UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway. Ben Kennedy‘s No. 11 Toyota slid along the wall and catchfence, ripping a large hole in the fence with just five laps remaining. NASCAR made …

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Matt Crafton Wins 2015 UNOH 225 at Kentucky

Matt Crafton holds the trophy fromt he Camping World Truck Series Race at Kentucky Speedway.

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­­

Sometimes storylines get lost for other reasons. When fans read up on the 2015 UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway, they will read about the horrific accident in which Ben Kennedy hit the catchfence, causing a massive accident on lap 145, which resulted in the race being called five laps short of the scheduled distance. What …

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