Race Weekend Central

Did You Notice?: NASCAR Stage Points Keeping Big Names Afloat In 2021

Did You Notice?… The weird start to the 2021 NASCAR season, made even weirder by stage points? Let me explain. We’ve talked to death about four surprise winners in the first four races, only one of whom earned a victory in 2020. Michael McDowell is the sport’s Cinderella story, capturing the Daytona 500 while names like …

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Fire on Fridays: 7 NASCAR Cup Drivers Who Have to Win in 2021

Kyle Larson talks with Matt DiBenedetto 2021 Daytona 500 Photo NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Entering August 2020, if you’d asked me which drivers were on the hot seat and might lose their ride if they didn’t produce soon, William Byron would’ve been near the top of my list. Sure, Byron signed an extension with Hendrick Motorsports that month, but contracts aren’t always fulfilled in sports. Plus, Rick Hendrick doesn’t …

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Chris Buescher ‘Most Relaxed I’ve Been in a Racecar in a Really Long Time’

Chris Buescher

Credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images

Remember Chris Buescher? If the 2015 Xfinity Series champion drifted from your mind over the last five years, he surely got your attention Sunday (Feb. 28) in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 28-year-old driver started 12th and took the lead from Brad Keselowski on lap 53. Buescher wound up winning stage …

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4 Burning Questions: Who Wins the 2021 Daytona 500?

NASCAR Cup Series

#7: Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Youtheory

Who will win the 2021 Daytona 500? The 63rd running of the Daytona 500 is going to be a rather interesting iteration of the Great American Race. The pomp and circumstance this race usually provides has been muted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There will still be a few things such as the pre-race …

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2021 NASCAR Preseason Power Rankings No. 24: Chris Buescher

NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Roush Fenway Racing will enter the 2021 season with the same driver lineup for the first time since 2018. That comes after a 2020 season that saw Chris Buescher return to RFR for the first time since his 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series title. Buescher replaced what many thought to be the foundation of the organization’s …

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2021 NASCAR Preseason Power Rankings No. 25: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2020 Daytona NCS RIcky Stenhouse, Jr. Face NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

In his ninth season of full-time NASCAR Cup Series action, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will return to the seat of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet for the second straight season. While the team has not made many announcements this offseason, the general understanding is that Stenhouse’s contract he signed prior to last year was a …

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Thinkin’ Dirty, Vol. 3: 2021 Chili Bowl

Texas

Photo Credit: Ramsey Racing Images

The A-Main – The stats sheet will show that Kyle Larson was utterly dominant in scoring his second consecutive Chili Bowl, but it was far closer than the scoresheet will show. KYLE LARSON IS A BACK-TO-BACK CHILI BOWL CHAMPION!!! pic.twitter.com/L7lAtfkrhn — ?????????? (@Walkapedia_) January 17, 2021 Larson, who bested polesitter Justin Grant on the race’s …

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2020 NASCAR Team Reviews: JTG Daugherty Racing

2020_Review_JTG

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

What a year it was for JTG Daugherty Racing. After essentially swapping drivers with Roush Fenway Racing, JTG was primed to have greater success since expanding to a two-car organization in 2017. Instead, the team endured the opposite. In a year that was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, both Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2020 YellaWood 500 at Talladega

2020 Talladega II CUP DEnny Hamlin team celebrates NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

What happened?  Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s (Oct. 4) YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway after three overtime restarts and a controversial last-lap pass.  Erik Jones, Ty Dillon, William Byron and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five after Matt DiBenedetto (originally second) and Chris Buescher (originally eighth) were penalized for their final moves coming through turns …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2020 YellaWood 500

2020 Daytona NCS Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Face NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

After gambling for a weekend in Sin City, the NASCAR Cup Series takes to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway for its second race in the Round of 12. Get your NASCAR DraftKings lineups set for Sunday’s (Oct. 4) YellaWood 500! The wide, 2.66-mile track hosts a playoff race that’s a total wild card. Pack …

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Up to Speed: Is Austin Dillon’s Playoff Run for Real?

NASCAR Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Austin Dillon has scored back-to-back top-five finishes.  Last week at Darlington Raceway, Dillon pulled off a surprising second-place result.  He followed that performance up with an even stronger run at Richmond Raceway Saturday night (Sept. 12).  Although Dillon finished fourth, he led 55 laps and …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR FanDuel Forecast: 2020 Cook Out Southern 500

2020BristolNCSChaseElliottFaceNASCARMedia

(Photo: NASCAR Media/Getty Images)

An odd year for the NASCAR Cup Series continues in 2020 with its playoff opener. This weekend will mark their third trip this season to Darlington Raceway, the first time they’ve done that since first coming to the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval in 1950. It’s another twist in a year of them for daily fantasy NASCAR …

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