Race Weekend Central

The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR’s Small Teams from Michigan to Darlington

2016 Pocono I Cup Ryan Blaney John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson/NKP)

Tommy Baldwin Racing Regan Smith, No. 7 APC Chevrolet Looking back: Michigan International Speedway was one of Smith’s better runs on a 1.5-to-2-mile speedway this year, with a 26th-place finish and a lap led on his tally. Smith said afterward that he feels like his team is learning some things that will help them in …

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XFINITY Breakdown: Michael McDowell Finally Masters Road America

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Michael Mcdowell John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

Michael McDowell had been close to winning at Road America before, but he had always come away empty-handed.  On Saturday, McDowell got his first chance since 2013 to tackle the four-mile road course in Wisconsin.  This time, McDowell was the one in victory lane.  Driving for Richard Childress Racing, he put together a solid race, …

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4 Burning Questions: New Rules, New Faces and Potential Upset Victors

2016 Bristol Ii Cup Ryan Blaney Pack Racing Rainier Ehrhardt Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: Ranier Ehrhardt / NASCAR via Getty Images)

How will the new rules package affect the racing this weekend at Michigan? NASCAR has ruled that all teams will be running with the 2017 rules package this weekend at Michigan. It is not the first race for the new, even lower downforce package however; the tiny spoiler has been used in the All-Star race, in …

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The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR’s Small Teams From Bristol to Michigan

2016 Pocono I Cup Landon Cassill Anthony Lumbis Sr.

(Photo: Anthony Lumbis, Sr.)

Tommy Baldwin Racing Regan Smith, No. 7 APC Chevrolet Looking back: Smith had a brush with the wall just past the quarter mark of the race, bringing out the first caution of the day after the restart Sunday following the earlier competition yellow.  Even so, he managed to avoid further trouble while others couldn’t do the …

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Daily NASCAR Fantasy: Drafting Your Watkins Glen Lineup

2016 Pocono Cup Aj Allmendinger Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Watkins Glen on August 7th for the Cheeze-It 355. Watkins Glen is the second of two road courses the series travels to in 2016. The weekend was headlined by the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr., but not to competition. Junior will miss the next two races with continuing …

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AJ Allmendinger Tops Final Practice

2016 Watkins Glen Cup Aj Allmendinger Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

After struggling in the opening practice session, AJ Allmendinger found himself on top of the leaderboard for the final practice at Watkins Glen International, with a speed of 127.551 mph, .038 mph faster than Martin Truex, Jr. (127.481 mph) who paced the first practice. Final practice wasn’t all fine and dandy for the No. 47 …

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The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR’s Small Teams From Indy to Pocono

2016 Indianapolis Cup Patrick Carpentier Car Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

Indianapolis represented a mixed bag for the small teams this week, with finishes ranging from 14th for rookie Chris Buescher to 40th for Matt DiBenedetto, thanks to an untimely engine expiration.  Indy is a tough track for teams that are a step or two behind the elite teams in both handling and horsepower, and next …

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The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR’s Small Teams from Kentucky to New Hampshire

2016 Pocono I Cup Ty Dillon Car Anthony Lumbis Sr.

(Photo: Tony Lumbis Sr.)

So… what makes a small team? Yep, I addressed this last week, but again, we’ll give it one more time for those race fans who missed the last edition. I’m frequently asked how I categorize NASCAR’s teams, and I’m sure lots of people have a different definition, but I look at a couple of things …

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The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR’s Small Teams from Daytona to Kentucky

2016 Daytona Ii Cup Michael Mcdowell Michael Annett Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

What makes a small team? I’m frequently asked how to categorize NASCAR’s teams. I look at a couple of things when I make the list each spring: budget and performance.  Small teams simply don’t have the budgets of the larger ones, even middle-tier organizations.  They may have alliances with bigger teams, but that doesn’t mean everything gets handed …

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The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Coke Zero 400

2016 Daytona Ii Cup Pack Racing Iv Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade /NKP)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Perhaps the most positive thing that can be said for restrictor-plate races is that because the cars are more equal than anywhere else, a different group of drivers can shine. That’s what happened Saturday night; a small group of wheelmen whom fans are usually quick to write off shone …

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AJ Allmendinger, Ben Kennedy Among 4 Added to Richard Childress Racing’s XFINITY Roster

2016 Fontana Nxs Aric Almirola Austin Dillon Brendan Gaughan Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Richard Childress Racing added some star power to its No. 2 NASCAR XFINITY Series  on Wednesday. RCR announced it has filled the seat for the five NXS standalone races. Ben Kennedy, Sam Hornish Jr., AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell will all get a shot at bringing the No. 2 to Victory Lane, a feat the …

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The Big Six: Questions Answered After the 2016 Daytona 500

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? After narrowly avoiding one crash and getting enough damage in another that his car was held together with spare pieces and duct tape, it would have been easy for Carl Edwards to settle for a mid-pack finish, riding to avoid more trouble.  But that’s not the racer that Edwards …

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