Race Weekend Central

The Underdog House: Why NASCAR’s Small Teams Matter

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Chris Buescher Bob Osborne Trophy Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

The teams covered in this article each week aren’t likely race winners (though many of them certainly can—and on occasion have—win if circumstances dictate). However, NASCAR is about more than winning.  Consider the amount of preparation that one of the sport’s elite teams has to put into bringing a racecar to the track, race ready, each week—it’s …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered after the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen

2016 Nscs Watkins Glen Green Flag Carl Edwards Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Who… Gets My Shoutout of the Race? This week’s shoutout goes to the staff at Watkins Glen International, including track president Michael Printup.  Many years ago, Watkins Glen was known as the race with the lowest purse on the calendar and maybe not the most exciting action. Also, the facilities weren’t exactly the greatest.  During …

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Pocono Win Has Yet to Sink in for Chris Buescher

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Chris Buescher Trophy John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson/NKP)

Four days following Chris Buescher‘s rain-shortened victory at Pocono Raceway, he took to the twist and turns of Watkins Glen International for the first laps since his triumph on Monday. Leading 12 laps at Pocono, the only laps the No. 34 car has been out front this season, Buescher upset a lot of teams chances of …

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2-Headed Monster: Can Chris Buescher Crack the Top 30 in Points?

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Chris Buescher Bob Osborne Trophy Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

It’s not a secret that Mother Nature likes to throw a monkey wrench in NASCAR. Rain has played a big role in the sport over the years, and the sport has even seen snow delays. Wind, lightning, and fog have also delayed of races, and last weekend’s events at Pocono included a bit of all …

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The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR’s Small Teams from Pocono to Watkins Glen

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Chris Buescher Champagne Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

Tommy Badwin Racing Regan Smith, No. 7 APC Chevrolet Looking back: Chris Buescher wasn’t the only small-team driver who scored a top finish Monday. Smith’s third-place run ties his organization’s best finish ever and marks TBR’s top finish not on a restrictor-plate track.  Sound strategy played into the team’s hands and Smith walked away with his …

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Chris Buescher Confident Heading into Second Half of Rookie Season

Chris Buescher Indianapolis 2016 Cup Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

On the heels of a career-best 14th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chris Buescher sees light at the end of the tunnel. A season filled with many low spots, the No. 34 team is starting to its stride. Making six starts for Front Row Motorsports in 2015, primarily competing for the XFINITY Series championship with Roush …

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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 Loudon to Indy

2016 Loudon I Cup Michael Annett Reed Sorenson Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

NASCAR has a few tracks that are fairly unique in layout.  Among those are both new Hampshire Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway-a flat one-mile oval with long straights and tight turns – think big Martinsville – and a huge, flat, rectangular behemoth with four separate corners and four straights to match.  These tracks are …

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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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4 Burning Questions: Can Tony Stewart Go Back-to-Back at Daytona?

1. Can Tony Stewart Go Back-to-Back? Tony Stewart stunned the NASCAR world in January when he announced he’d broken his back just weeks before starting his final tour on the Sprint Cup Series circuit. He stunned it again when he returned just three months later, showing up basically unannounced to race at Richmond International Raceway. …

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