Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: FOX Average in Phoenix, ABC Crunches St. Petersburg

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Ticketguardian 500 Ism Raceway, Phoenix, Az Usa Sunday 11 March 2018 Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Skittles Sweet Heat And Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Jimmy John's World Copyright: Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series traveled to the newly-rechristened ISM Raceway for what will be the final race on the current setup.  In November, the new grandstands will be completed and the old tower will be demolished.  Andy Jeffers, who owns and operates Sports & Entertainment Inc. (they do the advertising for …

Read more

Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Racing in Kevin Harvick’s Playground

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Ticketguardian 500 Ism Raceway, Phoenix, Az Usa Sunday 11 March 2018 Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Jimmy John's And Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Pennzoil World Copyright: Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Kyle Busch won the opening stage of the TicketGuardian 500 and led a race-high 128 laps at the newly-renamed ISM Raceway (formerly Phoenix International Raceway), but Kevin Harvick earned his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, and ninth overall at the track, which tied him with Mark Martin at 40 MENCS wins. Harvick …

Read more

5 Points to Ponder: Vets, Rookies & the Power of Twitter

2017 Kansas I Cup Jamie Mcmurray Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

ONE: Harvick’s Not the Champ Just Yet Four weeks into the new season and you’d be forgiven for thinking this is the Monster Energy NASCAR Harvick Cup, especially given dominance of the Stewart-Haas veteran who has won three straight following the season-opening Daytona 500. Making matters more concerning for the chasing pack, Kevin Harvick has …

Read more

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kevin Harvick Vindicates Team With 3rd Consecutive Win of 2018 at Phoenix

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Ticketguardian 500 Ism Raceway, Phoenix, Az Usa Sunday 11 March 2018 Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Jimmy John's Wins World Copyright: Rusty Jarrett Nkp

(Photo: Rusty Jarrett/NKP)

Who’s in the headline Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Kevin Harvick wins at Phoenix. For the ninth time in his career, Harvick was the first to take the checkered flag. The Bakersfield, Ca. native wins for the third time in a row this season. The Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, took the stage wins …

Read more

4 Burning Questions: What’s in Store this Weekend in the Desert?

2018 Las Vegas I Cup Kyle Larson Car John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

What will the homecoming of Alex Bowman look like? If there was just one race anybody could point to as to why Alex Bowman got the nod to permanently replace Dale Earnhardt Jr., it would undoubtedly end up being the 2016 fall race at Phoenix. Bowman, at the time substituting for Earnhardt, drove the race …

Read more

The Underdog House: The Other End Of The Neon NASCAR Garage

Think Small As NASCAR moved to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, we were treated to a triple-header of the top three national touring series for the third consecutive week. Vegas has the feel of a town where the underdog can rise. Your last dime could turn into millions with a roll of the …

Read more

Gene Nead Departs From Go Fas Racing, Randy Cox to Take Over

2017 Cup New Hampshire Zach Catanzareti Matt Dibenedetto

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Go Fas Racing announced on Tuesday that Matt DiBenedetto will no longer have the services of crew chief Gene Nead. In a statement on the team’s Twitter page, Nead’s duties will be taken over by Randy Cox. A statement from Go Fas Racing: pic.twitter.com/iAeEuwPhCI — Go Fas Racing (@GoFasRacing32) February 27, 2018 DiBenedetto and Nead have been …

Read more

The Underdog House: First, You Must Finish the Daytona 500

2018 Daytona Cup Zach Catanzareti Darrell Wallace Jr Bubba Wallace

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Think Small Turn 3 was dubbed “Calamity Corner” years back at Daytona International Speedway, and during Sunday’s 60th Daytona 500, it was the place that saw dreams end and hopeful runs begin for many Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series underdogs. The final 10 laps, specifically, gave us a roller coaster of stories pit-balling between the …

Read more

Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2018 Daytona 500

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP)

Who’s in the headline The clash on Sunday last week had the world abuzz with how uneventful the racing would be at Daytona for the 500. Apparently, someone forgot to tell the drivers. 24 lead changes, seven caution flags for on-track incidents, 14 leaders and the three winningest car numbers in the sport on the …

Read more

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2018 Daytona 500

2018 Daytona Cup Daytona 500 Zach Catanzareti Denny Hamlin Darrell Wallace Jr.

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Before a multi-car pileup with a lap remaining, there were a couple of cars in the top 10, sometimes the top five, that fans don’t see there very often.  Matt DiBenedetto, driving for tiny Go FAS Racing, and Brendan Gaughan, driving for part-time owner Mark Beard, were looking …

Read more

The Underdog House: Small NASCAR Teams Finding Relief – Sort of – Approaching Daytona 500

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fl Usa Sunday 11 February 2018 Matt Dibenedetto, Go Fas Racing, The Hurricane Heist Ford Fusion World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Think Small While most of the sport’s television time goes directly toward big teams with great speed and large personalities — and rightfully so, to an extent — Sunday’s 60th running of the Daytona 500 will have a heavy populous of tiny organizations. Many of these small NASCAR teams, despite being huge underdogs can actually …

Read more

Wood Brothers Racing Retains Go FAS Racing’s Charter, Go FAS Acquiring New One

Ryan Blaney Dover Garage

(Photo: Dustin Albino)

Wood Brothers Racing will reuse Go FAS Racing’s charter and Go FAS will acquire a new charter for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series season. Last year, the Wood Brothers team leased Go FAS’ charter and used it to guarantee Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Ford into every race. Go FAS leased the No. 44’s …

Read more