Race Weekend Central

XFINITY Breakdown: Joe Gibbs Racing Teammates Collide Late, Christopher Bell Wins at Kansas

Christopher Bell Kansas Victory XFINITY

(Photo: Barry Cantrell / NKP)

For the first 195 laps in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, Erik Jones was on rails, leading 186 circuits. Coming to four laps to go, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell made a dive bomb to pick up his first career victory. Over the final 10 laps, Bell closed on Jones from …

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NASCAR 101: 5 Drivers Who Could Make Their Cup Debut Before the End of 2017

2017 Road America NXS Dakoda Armstrong Russell LaBounty NKP

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Chances are you’re focusing more — if not completely — on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship battle that’s wrapping up in a month, and rightfully so, since it seems like it could be quite the nail-biter once all is said and done. That said, five races remain in the 2017 Cup season, and …

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4 Burning Questions: Who Breaks the Points Tie in Cutoff Dover Race?

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism Dover International Speedway, Dover, DE USA Sunday 4 June 2017 Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Roush Fenway, Little Hug Ford Fusion Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, AAA Chevrolet SS World Copyright: Matthew T. Thacker NKP

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

Who Breaks the Points Tie in Cutoff Race at Dover? Despite the fact we have 28 races of playoff and stage points stacked up to every playoff driver entering this weekend at Dover International Speedway, Sunday will come down to every point. Four drivers will exit the championship group after Dover as Round 1 wraps …

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NASCAR 101: 5 Drivers Who Could Take Advantage of XFINITY’s Last Standalone Race of 2017

NASCAR XFINITY Series U.S. Cellular 250 Iowa Speedway, Newton, IA USA Saturday 29 July 2017 Brian Scott, Daniel Defense Chevrolet Camaro, Brendan Gaughan, US Cellular Chevrolet Camaro World Copyright: Brett Moist NKP

(Photo: Brett Moist/NKP)

Time’s sure flown by when it comes to the 2017 NASCAR season, and it’s possible that’s no more prevalent anywhere else than in the XFINITY Series, which runs its final standalone race of the year this weekend. The series travels to Kentucky Speedway for a night race Saturday, Sept. 23, its last event of 2017 …

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XFINITY Breakdown: Hometown Party for Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier Chicago Burnout

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Until 15 laps to go, Saturday’s TheHouse.com 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in the NASCAR XFINITY Series looked to be on its way to being won by yet another Cup Series regular. But an eventful restart was a breakthrough moment for Illinois native Justin Allgaier. Allgaier came out of the pits in fourth position but was …

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Cole Custer Gaining Momentum Heading Into Playoffs

2017 Richmond I NXS Cole Custer Nigel Kinrade NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

The box score will show Cole Custer finishing in eighth place when the checkered flag flew in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Chicagoland Speedway, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Custer led a career-high 41 laps in Saturday’s TheHouse.com 300 from Chicagoland and had the quickest racecar he’s had since joining Stewart-Haas Racing’s newly formed …

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Eyes on XFINITY: Cole Custer Building a Notebook in Rookie Season

2017 Richmond I NXS Cole Custer Nigel Kinrade NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

As the 2017 XFINITY Series season began, there were no set expectations for Cole Custer. He was a proven winner in the Camping World Truck Series, but Stewart-Haas Racing was making its debut in the second-tier division of NASCAR. Custer, 19, showed a lot of speed in the opening months of the season, but successful results were hard …

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Sam Hornish Jr. Administers Whooping on Field to Claim Mid-Ohio Pole

2017 xfinity richmond zach catanzareti ryan blaney team penske

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Sam Hornish Jr. was fastest in practice Saturday.  He was just getting warmed up.  In the second round of qualifying, Hornish came into his own.  With a track record lap of 83.921 seconds (96.863 mph), Hornish easily won the pole for the Mid-Ohio Challenge. Hornish’s lap was nearly a full second faster than JR Motorsports’ …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: The PJ1 Trackbite Dominates NASCAR at Loudon

2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, New Hampshire

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and XFINITY Series teams descended upon New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a now-traditional July weekend of speed.  Given the track’s typical single groove nature, PJ1 TrackBite was laid down in the turns.  Did it have an effect on the races?  Yes.  Did it also affect the broadcasts?  Oh …

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Denny Hamlin’s Michigan XFINITY Win Encumbered After Penalty

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Denny Hamlin beats William Byron to the finish line at Michigan International Speedway. (Photo: Brett Moist / NKP)

Events at Michigan International Speedway and Gateway Motorsports Park took place last weekend in NASCAR’s top three divisions, and no teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series incurred any penalties for only the second time this season. The other two national touring series, however, weren’t quite as lucky. The NASCAR XFINITY Series, like the …

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Cole Custer Takes Control Momentarily to Lead First XFINITY Series Laps

2017 pocono xfinity zach catanzareti cole custer

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Cole Custer’s confidence is in town. The 19-year-old knew his cars are capable of running well, but the results weren’t what he expected. Come Dover International Speedway, that changed with a fourth-place finish after finishing seventh at Charlotte Motor Speedway, breaking a streak of three finishes of 13th or worse. Following Custer’s second career top-five …

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Friday Faceoff: What to Do with the Overtime Line?

2017 Dover I CUP Jimmie Johnson leads Matthew T Thacker NKP

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

1. The teams of both Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe received heavy penalties after Dover International Speedway, including suspensions of crew chiefs, tire carriers and tire changers after each had a wheel fall off in completion.  Did NASCAR make the right call? Amy Henderson: Yes. The rulebook is pretty specific in this area, and NASCAR was …

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