Race Weekend Central

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2021 Ally 400

2021-Cup-Nashville-Kyle Larson-Pit-Stop-NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who … should you be talking about after the Ally 400? Kyle Larson proved again Sunday (June 20) that the No. 5 team is no fluke. Larson led a whopping 264 of 300 laps at Nashville Superspeedway and was rarely challenged up front in the track’s NASCAR Cup Series debut. Larson’s fourth win of the season …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Sonoma Brings Increased Action, Good and Bad Times

Joey Logano leads a pack of NASCAR Cup Series cars at Sonoma Raceway, June 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Back in the mid-1990s, I really looked forward to NASCAR making the yearly haul out to Sonoma Raceway for 300 kilometers around the 2.52-mile road course. I thought that the race was too short at the time. So did Papyrus. When then-Sears Point Raceway was included in the NASCAR Racing Track Pack in 1995 (note: …

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NASCAR 101: The 5 Best — & 5 Worst — Throwback Paint Schemes

2020 Darlington III fall Reed Sorensen throwback car NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

It’s throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. The concept seems to be starting to wear out just a bit. In fact, the vast majority of Cup throwbacks this year are either bad or just average. All of the truly great NASCAR schemes have been done to death, and very few sponsors want to actually throwback to …

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Up to Speed: Inconsistent Calls Embarrass NASCAR in Kansas

Chris Buescher races in the 2021 Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway, May 2021. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

If Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway was too orderly for the first 200 laps, the ending was full of surprises. A flurry of cautions in the closing laps kept the field bunched together. While the drivers up front were running into each other for the lead, those further back in the pack …

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Thinkin’ Dirty: 2021 Bristol Throwdown

2020 - Knoxville - David Gravel VL - WRG

Photo Credit: World Racing Group via Trent Gower

The A-Main: David Gravel swept the World of Outlaws Bristol Throwdown on Sunday (April 25), winning the $25,000 finale feature in a green-white-checkered finish over Donny Schatz. Gravel took the lead on lap 24 after pole sitter Logan Schuchart led the first 23 laps, only for Schuchart to break on the backstretch and bring out …

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Martinsville Penalty Report: 4 Cup Teams Fined, 2 Xfinity Crew Members Suspended

William Byron leads inside line in his No. 24 Liberty University car, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson holds outside lane. Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and Brad Keselowski also race at spring Martinsville Cup, Photo NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Four teams (three NASCAR Cup Series, one NASCAR Xfinity Series) fell victim to the NASCAR officials’ penalty report on Tuesday (April 13). All three Cup teams involved were caught for lug-nut violations, with each team having a single unsecured lug nut on their car at the conclusion of Sunday’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain 500. FOX commentators …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Will a JTG Daugherty Car Make the Playoffs?

JTG Daugherty Racing drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Ryan Preece talks, stands against Preece’s car at 2021 spring Las Vegas Cup race NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Coming off a second-place finish on Bristol Dirt, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is solidly inside the top 15 in points (with Ryan Preece 18th as an open car). Will either JTG Daugherty Racing driver make the playoffs? – Harold C., St. Louis, Missouri This is the million-dollar question (literally) for Tad and Jodi Geschickter, as well …

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Stock Car Scoop: Was the Bristol Dirt Race a Successful Weekend?

Harvick, Keselowski, Hamlin practicing on Bristol Dirt Photo NKP

Was racing in the dirt at Bristol worth it? (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The NASCAR Cup Series went dirt racing for the first time in 50 years and when it was all said and done, Joey Logano emerged victoriously. The question is, when it was all said and done though, was it a success? Frontstretch’s Bryan Nolen and Adam Cheek dive into it that topic, whether Adam was …

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Zach’s Turn: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Proving Strong Start No Fluke

2021 Cup Bristol Dirt Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet (Credit: NKP)

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.‘s runner-up finish in the inaugural Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday (March 29) was unquestionably his best performance yet this season. Stenhouse is a dirt track ace with sprint car experience as both a driver and owner. He even spent time working with Speedway Motorsports, Inc.’s Steve Swift …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2021 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

Brad Keselowski car with Dent Wizard paint scheme at Homestead 2021 Cup Photo NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

After a couple of weeks out west, the NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Peach State for the 2021 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Get your fantasy NASCAR DraftKings rosters ready for this 325-lap event down in Georgia, televised by Fox beginning on Sunday, March 21 at 3 p.m. ET. Atlanta …

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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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