Race Weekend Central

Did You Notice?: How Quickly Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 Winners Forgotten

2016 Xfinity Homestead Miami Speedway Austin Dillon Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Did You Notice? … By Wednesday, no one seems to care who triumphed on the greatest weekend in racing? That the biggest story from both the Indianapolis 500 and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Coca-Cola 600 had nothing to do with who won? It’s not just that both races suffered through ratings declines (both were down 13 percent). Other sideshow-like …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kyle Busch Snares Huge Victory to Shed Charlotte Monkey

2017 Charlotte All Star Cup Kyle Busch Celebrates John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

Who’s in the headline: Kyle Busch had won 15 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in national touring series but never once visited Victory Lane in a Cup car. That changed Saturday night when Busch made an aggressive move on the restart to begin the final segment and took the lead, holding on for the final 10 laps …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR Forecast: Go Bowling 400 Preview

2017 Las Vegas Cup Kevin Harvick Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Next up for daily fantasy NASCAR players is Kansas Speedway. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the 1.5-mile oval for the Go Bowling 400 this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Cars hit the track on Friday at 11:30 a.m. for first practice. Then, at 6:45 p.m. that same day they have Coors Light Pole …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Who Has Impressed, Disappointed Thus Far in 2017?

2017 Talladega I Cup Ryan Blaney Pack Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season has seen it’s fair share of winners and losers thus far. 10 races into the 36-race season, there have been a handful of surprises as well as disappointments. One of those surprises found victory lane this past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as well …

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Double Take: Ford’s Fiery Start Comes at Toyota’s Expense

2017 Richmond I Cup Pack Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

Ford has been on fire in 2017. With Joey Logano picking up his first win of the season at Richmond International Raceway last weekend, the Blue Oval now has four victories through the first nine races of the season, including the sport’s crown-jewel event at Daytona International Speedway in February. The fact these four wins …

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Did You Notice?: Joe Gibbs Racing Still Lags Behind at One-Quarter Pole

2017 Martinsville Cup Zach Catanzareti Daniel Suarez

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Did You Notice? … The difference a year makes for Joe Gibbs Racing? This time last year, JGR had won five of nine races and had all four drivers firmly within playoff position. This time around? The organization is 0-for-9. Of its four-driver team, only Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are in playoff position. Matt Kenseth hadn’t even led a …

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The Big 6: Questions After 2017 Toyota Owners 400

2017 Richmond I Cup Pack Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Kurt Busch, the 2017 Daytona 500 champion, has struggled with consistency since winning the biggest race in NASCAR two months ago. Busch hasn’t had a top 5 since, and has only four top 10s in the first nine races of the season. On Sunday, Busch had a much …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Logano Pulls Richmond Robbery From Keselowski, Kenseth

2017 Richmond I Cup Joey Logano Confetti Rusty Jarrett Nkp

(Photo: Rusty Jarrett / NKP)

Who’s In The Headline It took pit strategy to get Joey Logano up front at Richmond International Raceway, but no one on the No. 22 team is complaining this Monday morning. Not when you have a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series trophy on your mantle. After a late caution, while restarting behind cars that stayed on …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR Hot-Starts: Toyota Owners 400

2017 Fontana Cup Matt Kenseth Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series hit the track Friday at Richmond International Raceway in preparation for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400. Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light Pole Award while Ryan Blaney notched his third front row start of the season. The DraftKings strategy for short tracks is much different than any other type of …

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Matt Kenseth Gets His Season on the Right Track, Wins Pole at Richmond

2017 Atlanta Cup Matt Kenseth Vertical Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/ NKP)

Entering the ninth race of the 2017 season, Matt Kenseth sits 20th in the championship standings, recording four top 10 finishes, but also having three finishes of 36th or worse. During qualifying at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, Kenseth won the pole, with a lap of 121.076 mph, hoping it can kick start his year. …

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5 Points to Ponder: Should Kyle Larson Feel Good or Bad About 2017?

2017 Texas I Cup Kyle Larson Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

ONE: Pit Road Speeding During the first 300 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, not a single Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver got busted for speeding. The pits were so tame, the only major incident was a commitment line violation by rookie Gray Gaulding. If that name’s your front page headline, after answering the obvious question of “Who’s that?” …

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The Big 6: Questions After The 2017 Food City 500

2017 Bristol I Cup Kyle Busch Pack Racing John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John K. Harrelson/NKP)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Matt Kenseth’s day looked about done when the 2003 champion ran afoul of a speeding penalty on pit road on lap 386 and had to start at the tail end of the field on the ensuring restart. Kenseth ended up racing back up to the front over the …

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