Race Weekend Central

Chip Ganassi Fined, Suspended for Violating NASCAR’s COVID Protocol

2018 Phoenix Ism Zach Catanzareti Chip Ganassi

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Chip Ganassi, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, has been fined and suspended for violating NASCAR’s at-track COVID-19 protocol, NASCAR announced Feb. 22. Ganassi is suspended for one race and has been fined $30,000. According to NASCAR, Ganassi brought a “non-essential individual” into the competition area at Daytona International Speedway last weekend. CGR owns the Nos. …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2021 O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at the Daytona Road Course

2021 Daytona Rc Cup Bell Victory Lane Nkp

What happened? Christopher Bell won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at the Daytona road course on Sunday (Feb. 21), making it back-to-back first time winners to open the 2021 Cup Series season (the first time since 1950 that has happened). Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five finishers. ? …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2021 O’Reilly Auto Parts 253

Christopher Bell won at the Daytona Road Course in 2021 Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who… should you be talking about after the race? First-time winners don’t happen every week… oh, wait. After Michael McDowell won his first career NASCAR Cup Series race in the Daytona 500 last week, Christopher Bell drove a masterful final 10 laps to reel in and pass veteran Joey Logano under the white flag to …

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Christopher Bell Uses Late Charge to Win Daytona in 1st Cup Victory

Christopher Bell Celebrates his victory in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 253

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

It took until the final pair of laps, but Christopher Bell made it back-to-back first-time winners to kick off the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Bell passed Joey Logano in the waning laps of Sunday afternoon’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at the Daytona International Speedway road course, chasing down the No. 22 and cruising to …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2021 Busch Clash

Denny Hamlin and Matt DiBenedetto are solid picks for the 2021 Busch Clash Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

It’s finally here! NASCAR is back and the 2021 Cup Series season is upon us. Before teams get set for the Daytona 500, 21 drivers will compete in the Busch Clash, with a new twist for this year. The exhibition will take place not on the 2.5-mile superspeedway but on the Daytona International Speedway road …

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2021 NASCAR Preseason Power Rankings, No. 11: Kurt Busch

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

You may not think so at first, but of the full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Kurt Busch has the earliest series debut out of them all, finishing 18th at Dover International Speedway in September 2000.  Twenty-one years later, the 2004 champion isn’t backing off the gas just yet. The 42-year-old driver from Las Vegas has …

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2020 NASCAR Team Reviews: Chip Ganassi Racing

2020 Review Cgr

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The 2020 season was tough on everyone involved in NASCAR. It got off to a fine start but was stopped just four races in, and the remaining 32 races were run with COVID-19 guidelines in place. It was not what any team expected or was prepared for. The team that may have been affected the …

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Reel Racing: The Best (& Worst) Movie Paint Schemes of the 2010s, Pt. 1

Martinsville Cup 2019 Mike Neff Aric Almirola

In June, I undertook a project to dig up every single movie-themed paint scheme that ever ran across NASCAR’s three touring series and, eventually, rank them. The weeks-long search yielded that exactly 100 films have been represented on stock cars throughout the years, ranging from The Wizard of Oz to Shazam. Unfortunately, 2020 became the …

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Power Rankings: Chase Went to Chase Edition

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Oftentimes, NASCAR gets the short end of the deal — faces a lot of criticism, but they deserve a tip of the old Frontstretch hat for managing to get a full season in during trying times. No other major American sport was able to accomplish this feat. There is no hiding the fact that I’m …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2020 AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who… should you be talking about after the race? Kyle Busch hadn’t won a race all year, but he managed to squeak in a victory under the wire with just three events left in the season. Appropriately enough, his Skittles Zombie car fit both the time of year, with the race finally finishing a few …

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Kyle Busch Wins Rain-Delayed 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Texas

2020 Kansas Ii Cup Kyle Busch Car Nkp

(Photo: NKP)

After a 72-hour rain and mist delay, Kyle Busch came back from the dead, so to speak, to win the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Wednesday night (Oct. 28). Though he was close on fuel, Busch saved as much as he could and held on to continue his yearly race-winning streak. ”I …

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Fire on Fridays: Chip Ganassi’s Hendrick Engine Woes Are a Playoff Trend That Breeds Conspiracy Theories

2020 Kansas Ii Cup Kurt Busch Engine Failure Nkp

The clock may have struck midnight for Kurt Busch, the Cinderella of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The 2004 champion is now 73 points below the Championship 4 cutline after experiencing a blown engine this past weekend at Kansas Speedway. But was it simply just misfortune, or was there more to it than that? …

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