Race Weekend Central

Fire on Fridays: NASCAR Silly Season Dominoes Left to Fall

2021 Charlotte I Cup Ryan Newman Denny Hamlin NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

This NASCAR Cup Series silly season has already been a wild one. From Brad Keselowski buying into Roush Fenway Racing to Trackhouse Racing Team purchasing Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cup program, there hasn’t been a silly season that’s shaken up the garage this much in quite a while. And it’s not over yet. There’s still a …

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5 Points to Ponder: Aric Almirola Comes Up Big, and What’s Next for Matty D

2021-Cup-Loudon-Aric-Almirola-Wins-NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

1. Has there ever been as clutch a win as the one Aric Almirola just pulled off? Ever since Kyle Larson started getting on a roll, the dream of NASCAR Cup Series playoff intrigue has been just about dead. Then this past Sunday (July 18), Aric Almirola decided to give it the racing equivalent of …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2021 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301

2021 Richmond I Cup Denny Hamlin Martin Truex Jr racing Logano NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The NASCAR Cup Series makes the trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. Let’s get your daily fantasy NASCAR DraftKings lineups set for Sunday’s (July 18) race, airing at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Teams have traveled to Loudon, a 1.058-mile racetrack, once a year since 2018, so …

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4 Burning Questions: What’s Next for Xfinity Silly Season?

Austin Cindric wins 2021 Pocono NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who did Wood Brothers Racing hire? After a hint from Door Bumper Clear earlier in the week, it was made official July 15 that in 2022, Austin Cindric will take over the No. 2 for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series while Harrison Burton will take over the venerable No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing …

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Fire on Fridays: Where Does Matt DiBenedetto Go Now?

Matt DiBenedetto

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

I love to imagine Roger Penske sitting down a few weeks ago, opening the illustrious NASCAR website Frontstretch on his browser, reading this article and saying, “Well, that settles it. Time to make a call.” To be clear, much of the last paragraph is said in jest. Roger Penske does not read Frontstretch. Frontstretch is anything …

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Harrison Burton: ‘Hard to Say No’ to Ford, Wood Brothers Racing

2021 Charlotte NXS Harrison Burton NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Recently, former NASCAR Cup driver and NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton helped his son Harrison Burton pick out a suit for an important meeting. The younger Burton wasn’t even sure what the meeting was about. As the world found out Thursday morning (July 15), the meeting led to Harrison Burton being named the driver of …

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Matt DiBenedetto on Free Agency: ‘I Was Just at a Loss for Words’

Matt DiBenedetto smiling at 2021 NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The news finally broke this morning: Matt DiBenedetto is indeed a free agent. DiBenedetto will not return to Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 in 2022, with Harrison Burton driving the car in the NASCAR Cup Series after this season. His original replacement, Austin Cindric, will move to Team Penske’s No. 2. After the news came …

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Harrison Burton to Drive For Wood Brothers Racing in 2022

Matt DiBenedetto during the Instacart 500k at Phoenix Raceway, 3/14/2021 (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Harrison Burton has been tapped by Wood Brother Racing to drive its iconic No. 21 Ford in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced Thursday, July 15. Burton, the son of former Cup driver Jeff Burton, will take over the ride from Matt DiBenedetto, who has driven the car since 2020. Austin Cindric …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Perception, Reality & NASCAR’s Million-Dollar Problem

NASCAR Cup Series

#10: Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Smithfield

There was once a young driver with a reputation for winning. He built a name for himself at the local bullrings, racing — and sometimes winning — against drivers twice his age and who had been racing before he was born. He scraped together what sponsorship he could, and put more than he could probably …

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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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Did You Notice?: 6 NASCAR Storylines to Follow With 6 Regular Season Races Left

Kyle Larson races teammate William Byron in the 2021 Pennzoil 400 Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Did You Notice? … There’s six races left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season? After some incredible parity, with 10 different winners in the first 11 races, the 2021 playoff battle has mostly sorted itself out. We’ve had just one new winner in the last nine races as Cinderellas have been replaced by the typical …

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5 Points to Ponder: Impending Atlanta Repave May Cause Longing for Current Surface

Chase Elliott featured racing ahead of the pack at spring Atlanta Cup race 2021 NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

1. Will we long for this Atlanta surface when it’s gone? At some point, father time and the elements of nature will force the inevitable repave of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s aged surface. If you’ve not been able to see a race at AMS in person in recent years, you’ve missed a real treat. Much like …

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