Race Weekend Central

Friday Faceoff: Should NASCAR Require COVID-19 Vaccines for Garage Access?

2019 New Hampshire NXS BJ McLeod Motorsports Garage NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

With the FDA approving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, should NASCAR require vaccinations for garage access? Luken Glover: No, it is not needed. Some drivers have voiced that a negative test should be all that is needed, and I agree with that. While I want the virus to be eradicated as much as the next person, it …

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Up to Speed: How Badly Does Denny Hamlin Need a Win?

NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

If Denny Hamlin can take any solace from his last two races, it’s that he has been close to victory lane.  During the closing laps of last weekend’s race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Hamlin had the checkered flag in sight.  The same was true for Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway.  But …

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Dropping The Hammer: Chase Elliott & Bubba Wallace, the Faces of NASCAR

Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace

(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

You don’t need me to tell you this, but Chase Elliott is kind of a big deal within NASCAR. We are currently nine months into Elliott’s reign as the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion. We’re also in our third year with the 25-year-old as NASCAR’s reigning Most Popular Driver. This is no small thing. 2021 …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Should the 2-Week Summer Break Be a Mainstay?

2021 Pocono Kyle Busch pack racing James Gilbert Getty

(Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

Similar to how Formula 1 operates, I liked NASCAR’s two-week break this summer for the Olympics. Do you think the break should remain on the schedule moving forward? – Tony L., Dayton, Ohio Absolutely, it should. To beat a dead horse, I’m as big of a “less is more” person when it comes to NASCAR …

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Frontstretch 5: Drivers Who Could Dethrone Chase Elliott on a Road Course

NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Defending NASCAR Cup Series champions Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team know how to put a solid road course race together. His seven road course wins rank him third behind eight-time winner Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon’s all-time record of nine. To his delight and the field’s dismay, the first two races …

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5 Points to Ponder: The Rest of the 2021 NASCAR Season

NASCAR Cup Series

#5: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro HendrickCars.com

ONE: Which Hendrick Motorsports is for real? Hendrick Motorsports caught fire this summer, its best performance in the NASCAR Cup Series since Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were on the roster in 2014. From Dover International Speedway in May to the first Pocono Raceway event the end of June, HMS won six straight races and …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: First 22 Races of 2021 Cup Season

Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson pack racing, NASCAR Cup Series spring Kansas race, NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

2021 NASCAR Season… What happened? Denny Hamlin leads the Cup Series points standings through the first 22 races of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, narrowly ahead of Kyle Larson. William Byron, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano round out the top five in points with four races left in the regular season. How did it …

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Eyes On Xfinity: A JGR ‘Star Car’ Should Include Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace NASCAR Circuit of the Americas 2021

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

We’re not even seven full months into 2021, so there’s obviously a long time between now and the start of the 2022 NASCAR season. There will obviously be some things that will be different next year. Some are known, such as the Team Penske plans to move Harrison Burton and Austin Cindric into the NASCAR …

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Up to Speed: Reviewing NASCAR Playoff Points of the Past

Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. two common NASCAR playoff contenders chat at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo: NKP)

#4: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Mobil 1 , #19: Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Bass Pro Shops Red White Blue

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs may be approaching quickly, but there are still plenty of playoff points up for grabs.  Each of the four remaining regular season races offer seven NASCAR playoff points – five for the race win plus one for each of two stage wins.  Taken together, there are still 28 playoff points …

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Change Blanketing NASCAR at Every Corner

NASCAR Next Gen car

(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Each week, someone around here, usually Tom Bowles, writes a “Did You Notice?” piece that focuses on mentioning the trends that may or may not be claiming space in the NASCAR headlines. Consider this column an addendum, kind of. Rather than be an analysis of a trend or whatever else the DYN writer might pull …

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Eyes on Xfinity: Time for Harrison Burton to Prove People Right

Harrison Burton Road America 2021

#20: Harrison Burton, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Supra DEX Imaging

The expectations may be unfair. But racing can be an unfair business at times. That’s just the way it is at times. As last year ended, Harrison Burton may not have been in the Championship 4 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but he carried the mantle of a heavy favorite into the offseason. There was …

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Waid’s World: NASCAR Needs the Driver Who Wears the Black Hat 

Waid's World Graphic

Graphic: Jared Haas

A few years ago I interviewed former NASCAR Cup driver Ricky Craven. One of the questions I asked him was what he thought a very important element would be in sharpening fan interest in competition. I thought he might go through a litany of NASCAR rules and policies that should be improved or dropped altogether. …

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