Race Weekend Central

NASCAR 101: Ford’s Won The Clash, the Daytona 500 & Race 2 — Has That Ever Happened?

Joey Logano Clash Victory Lane

(Photo: Lesley Ann Miller/NKP)

Ford has been on fire to start the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season. Joey Logano kicked the season off by winning the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona for the Blue Oval. Then, Kurt Busch won his first Daytona 500 in nail-biting fashion in his first race for Ford since 2005. Most recently, new Ford driver …

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Double Take: 17 Years in the Blink of an Eye

Rusty Wallace With Sterling Marlin 2004

(Photo: Sheryl Creekmore/NASCAR)

Seventeen years. That’s how long I’ve been a NASCAR fan. I watched a few races as late as 2000, even lived near Daytona International Speedway for a couple of years in the late 1990s, but only when I moved away did I really start to get into the sport that has grown to consume my life. …

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The 10: NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings After Atlanta

2017 Atlanta Cup Joey Logano Pack Racing Barry Canrrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell / NKP)

Following a wild opening weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series moved to Atlanta Motor Speedway for round two. Daytona seemed to create more questions than it answered and many in the sport looked to Sunday’s race to restore order. The Folds Of Honor QuikTrip 500 did feature many of the usual favorites up front, …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2017 Daytona 500

Kurt Busch Daytona Cup Team Victory Celebration 2017 Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Who’s in the headline – Kurt Busch guided a badly damaged race car to the finish line first, ending an 0-for-15 drought in the sport’s Great American Race. He was the third of three leaders in the final three laps, taking control when others around him ran out of gas. In a Daytona 500 that was …

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Team Penske Extends Contract with Joey Logano and Shell Through 2022 ‘And Beyond’

Joey Logano

(Photo: Joseph Wolkin)

“Greatness. There is no other way to put it.” Joey Logano is not leaving Team Penske anytime soon. Logano, 26, announced an extension with the team he has called home since 2013 through 2022 “and beyond.” “We are so proud of the driver Joey has become since joining our team in 2013 and all the success he …

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A Team Penske Clash Versus Joe Gibbs Racing

Keselowski V Hamlin Clash

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Though a new racing season has begun, the battles at the restrictor plate tracks continue to come down to the same competitors – Team Penske against Joe Gibbs Racing. The two teams combined to sweep all of the points-paying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series plate races in 2016, with Gibbs’ Denny Hamlin also winning last season’s …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: Bring On NASCAR 2017

Johnson Larson Patrick Daytona

It’s true NASCAR has the shortest offseason of any major sport. But really, why does it seem like forever between the season finale at Homestead and the start of Daytona Speedweeks? It’s just 90 days, far shorter than the end of the Super Bowl and the start of NFL Training Camps midsummer. For me, the …

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The Big 6: Questions After The 2017 Advance Auto Parts Clash

2016 Indianapolis Cup Danica Patrick Brett Moist Nkp

(Photo: Brett Moist/NKP)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Only one driver this season used Daytona 500 pole criteria to qualify for NASCAR’s revamped Clash: Danica Patrick. The former pole winner of the Great American Race suffered through a difficult offseason, one that featured Stewart-Haas Racing filing a lawsuit against Patrick’s sponsor Nature’s Bakery for pulling their 25-race sponsorship …

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Up to Speed: Does NASCAR have the Right Combination for 2017?

With only one week left before the 2017 Daytona 500, drivers and teams of the newly-renamed Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series are making final preparations for the biggest race of the year. Daytona International Speedway presents a challenge unlike most tracks in NASCAR.  The nature of pack racing in close quarters at 200 mph, leaving …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2017 Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona

Joey Logano Clash Victory Lane

(Photo: Lesley Ann Miller/NKP)

Who’s in the headline – The 2017 season took an extra day to kick off thanks to rain on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, but The Clash did not disappoint. Joey Logano has proven to be a strong plate racer since joining Team Penske, and it showed again on Sunday. Avoiding the spinning cars …

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Joey Logano Dodges Last-Lap Crash to Win Clash at Daytona

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Joey Logano John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson/NKP)

Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing went from following to hitting on the final lap of the Clash at Daytona International Speedway. After contact between Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin for the lead in Turn 1, Joey Logano dodged the spinning No. 11 Toyota to take his first win in the rain-postponed Clash at Daytona. …

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Daily NASCAR Fantasy Hot-Start: Advance Auto Parts Clash

2016 Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Phoenix

11-13 November, 2016, Avondale, Arizona USA Joey Logano celebrates his win with a burnout © 2016, Nigel Kinrade NKP

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off Saturday night when last season’s top performers hit the asphalt for the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway. The 17-car field is made up of former Daytona 500 pole sitters, 2016 Coors Light Pole Award winners, past Clash winners and 2016 playoff-eligible drivers. Also …

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