Race Weekend Central

Nitro Shots: The Last Chance

NHRA 2018 Tim Wilkerson credit NHRA Media

This weekend is the biggest one of the NHRA schedule — the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals from Indianapolis. It’s the Daytona 500 or the Indy 500 of NHRA drag racing. It’s also the last chance for drivers in the Mello Yello categories to make it into the six-race Countdown to drive for the championship. Miss …

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Pace Laps: Martin Truex Jr. Punches Back Against Kevin Harvick

2018 cup auto club Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Wurth Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing, Toyota Camry Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Truex Back On Top Kevin Harvick? Who’s that? The second his bid for four straight wins ended, slamming into the outside wall on lap 39, Sunday’s MENCS race was all about Martin Truex Jr. The No. 78 car took control the second the No. 4 took a back seat, outdueling Kyle …

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Nitro Shots: Champions of Diversity

NHRA 2015 Las Vegas Antron Brown celebrates championship photo courtesy NHRA Media

Photo Credit: NHRA Media

Recently, I overheard a colleague talking about a situation where someone who knew he covered NHRA called out the league for not having a diversity program. This individual is absolutely right; the NHRA has no such program, no special incentive to put diversity drivers in a car, no audition process to identify potentially talented diversity …

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Pace Laps: Ending Winless Streaks and Kickoff Media Tours

2015 Martinsville I CUP Chase Elliott credit NASCAR via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Sprint Cup Series: Kenseth Creeps Into Contention. Matt Kenseth is a modern man’s Terry Labonte: cool, calm, collected under pressure. Kenseth, like Texas Terry used to be the model of consistency, top 10ing his way to a championship in 2003 while making surviving bad days the hallmark of his driving style. Now, over a decade …

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Pace Laps: Racers Rally Around Justin Wilson

04CJ9036

(Photo: Chris Jones/INDYCAR)

IndyCar: Racing Community Rallies in Support Following Wilson Injury – The racing community is as vast and all-encompassing as any organization in the world, but few groups are as close in times of controversy. Following Justin Wilson’s accident at Pocono Raceway, one that left him hospitalized in a coma, as announced by INDYCAR, racers worldwide …

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Pace Laps: Hot Streaks, New Faces, Contenders & Jumping Series

Slugger-Cover

(Photo: RCR Team Relase)

Sprint Cup Series: “Slugger’s” New Assignment: Swing For The Fences To End Sophomore Slump – Swept under the rug during a week where NASCAR announced a new rules package is an important crew chief change at Richard Childress Racing. It’s a strange time at RCR, an organization whose trio of teams are so-so despite their …

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Nitro Shots: NHRA Deserves Better from TV Partner

NHRA 2015 Topeka Richie Crampton car courtesy Geiger Media

Photo Courtesy: Geiger Media

Each year, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is the Greatest Day in Racing. Every fan knows it. You can start your day with Formula 1 and the Monaco Grand Prix, then follow that with the Indy 500 for INDYCAR and the Coca-Cola 600 for NASCAR. For the really devoted there’s a fourth event, the …

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Pace Laps: The Greatest Day In Racing

IndyCar 2015 Indy Charlie Kimball credit Shawn Gritzmacher

(Photo: Shawn Grtitzmacher)

IndyCar: Charlie Kimball Shows His Worth – Going into the 99th Indianapolis 500, all eyes were on Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) to compete for the win. While Penske ultimately got the upper hand in the battle, one CGR driver came out smiling. Charlie Kimball entered Sunday’s running of “The Greatest Spectacle in …

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Nitro Shots: What a Rush!

zMax Dragway Carolina Nationals JR Todd 2014 Mike Neff-080

Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch

JR Todd, our featured driver in Nitro Shots this week, celebrated his one year anniversary driving a Top Fuel dragster for Kalitta Motorsports this past weekend, having started with the team at Las Vegas last year. So what does a guy who goes over 300 mph in under four seconds do to celebrate? Something that’s …

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Pace Laps: Youth Prevails, Redemption in Vegas, Controversy & More

IndyCar 2015 NOLA Simon Pagenaud in grass credit Bret Kelley

Photo Credit: Bret Kelley

Xfinity Series: The Future Has Arrived – It only took nine races until Erik Jones drove a Joe Gibbs Racing car into Victory Lane. The soon-to-be 19-year-old outran two Cup Series veterans at Texas, and in doing so, gave JGR its first Xfinity Series win since Matt Kenseth‘s triumph in the season-finale last year. Jones’s victory …

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Nitro Shots: Outlaws, Farmers & Getting Beat By a Girl

zMax Dragway Carolina Nationals Matt Hagan 2014 Mike Neff-111

Did the NHRA need to make a statement about Street Outlaws, particularly as some of the cars on the show had NHRA logos showing? Yes. Street racing is in complete opposition to its mission. Will the show change? Doubt it. Most of the viewers know the street racing is staged on a closed road but …

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