Race Weekend Central

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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The Frontstretch 5: Winless Drivers Who Could Surprise at Daytona

2016 Phoenix I CUP Clint Bowyer Nigel Kinrade NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

For the second week in a row, the Sprint Cup Series is visiting a track where the usual suspects aren’t the only options as the equality of the cars puts a large percentage of the race in the drivers’ hands. There’s a good chance the series could see its 11th different winner of 2016 and, while Dale …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 FireKeepers Casino 400

2016 Michigan I CUP Tony Stewart pack racing John HArrelson NKP

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? If anyone thought that Tony Stewart was going to simply ride quietly into the sunset, he set them straight on Sunday, qualifying third and driving to his second top 10 of the year. Stewart’s struggles since his 2013 injury have been well-documented, but it’s hard to say that he doesn’t have a …

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Kasey Kahne, Others Penalized After Dover

2016 Dover I CUP Kasey Kahne racing Nigel Kinrade nKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Wednesday was a busy day for NASCAR penalties. The biggest penalty was levied to the No. 5 team of Kasey Kahne, who received a P3 penalty for illegal truck arms found following the race weekend at Dover. Crew chief Keith Rodden was fined $25,000 and the team lost both 15 drivers and owners points. Kahne …

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The Big Six: Questions Answered After the 2016 AAA 400 Drive for Autism

2016 Fontana CUP Kyle Larson Brett Moist NKP

(Photo: Brett Moist/NKP)

Who…gets my shoutout of the race? Looking out the windshield, the yellow rear bumper of Matt Kenseth loomed large in the closing laps, and Kyle Larson, who’s got a reputation for being extremely aggressive, had to have been tempted to use his bumper to push Kenseth aside, and he had a couple of opportunities to …

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Beyond the Cockpit: David Ragan Believes BK Racing is ‘On Track’ in 2016

David Ragan has been just about everywhere in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He’s raced for one of the sport’s legendary teams, pairing with Roush Fenway Racing from his rookie season in 2007 until 2011. Then, in 2012 through the end of 2014, Ragan drove for a smaller team in Front Row Motorsports, entering rebuilding …

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