Race Weekend Central

Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2016 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona

Who’s in the headline – After being involved in an early caution Denny Hamlin played pit strategy to get to the front of the pack and stretched his fuel to the end of a green-white-checkered finish to take his third Sprint Unlimited victory. The vast majority of cars had damage during the evening but Hamlin’s …

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Team Penske Paces Second Daytona 500 Practice

2014 Indianapolis CUP Brad Keselowski Joey Logano CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

It’s a good day to be a part of Team Penske. Teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski topped the final Daytona 500 practice of the day Saturday, with laps of 195.933 mph and 195.848, respectively. Ryan Blaney, whose Wood Brothers Racing Ford shares a technical alliance with Penske, slotted in third with a lap of …

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Earning Respect at Forefront for Incoming Sprint Cup Rookies

As the clock ticks on one’s NASCAR career, respect can come naturally, with both fans and media truly understanding what you sacrificed and what you contributed throughout your Sunoco-fueled career. With legends like Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon, respect came hand-in-hand with popularity as they led the sport from one generation to the …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: 2015 NASCAR Season Finale Edition

2015 Homestead CUP Kevin Harvick car Chase CIA

Photo credit: CIA Stock Photography

The NASCAR season had its usual ups and downs, and a lot of sideways moments too, but the biggest up came in the last race just as it is designed to do with the championship four going for the title. So, while I like to say that life is all about the journey, for most …

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Wood Brothers Racing, Ryan Blaney Plan Full-Time Cup Schedule in 2016

2015 Talladega II CUP Ryan Blaney Dale Earnhardt Jr CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

The Wood brothers are coming back to NASCAR full-time, and they’re bringing with them a young up-and-comer. Wood Brothers Racing announced Friday (Nov. 20) that the team will return to full-time competition in the Sprint Cup Series in 2016, and Ryan Blaney will return to the seat for his first full year in Cup, while Jeremy …

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Entry List: 2015 AAA Texas 500

2014 Texas II CUP Jimmie Johnson Jeff Gordon racing CIA

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

After an eventful afternoon in Martinsville the Chase for the Sprint Cup rolls on to Texas Motor Speedway. NASCAR released the preliminary entry list for the Nov. 8 AAA Texas 500 on Monday (Nov. 2). There’s a total of 45 entrants, meaning two teams will fail to make Sunday’s race. Should qualifying be rained out, …

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Friday Faceoff: Did Jimmie Johnson Cross a Line?

2015 Jimmie Johnson Bank of America 500 Charlotte Cup Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

Many took to social media on Sunday after Jimmie Johnson stayed on track during a late caution.  The move gave Johnson the race lead, but also trapped Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. a lap down in fast cars, which was beneficial to teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Is that kind of teamwork acceptable, or …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2015 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas

2015 Kansas II CUP Joey Logano Flag Chris Trotman/NASCAR via Getty Images

(Photo: Chris Trotman/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Joey Logano will be the only driver sleeping well this weekend at Talladega. After contact with leader Matt Kenseth in the closing laps, Logano took his second straight checkered flag and is the only driver with a win in the Contender Round. Hendrick Motorsports put three drivers in the top 10 led by non-chase contenders …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in NASCAR: 2015 CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Edition

2015 Kansas II CUP Martin Truex Jr helmet CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

There could be quite a long list of drivers on the cold part of this column, but there is one unmistakable driver who belongs on the hot list, whether you like his tactics or not. But one thing every NASCAR fan can agree on is that with the points being so close and with a …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2015 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas

2015 Kansas II CUP Austin Dillon crash damage CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? It has to be difficult to know that you’ve run well almost everywhere you’ve raced, despite running for a part-time, underfunded team, and to still not know where you’ll be racing next year. That’s Ryan Blaney‘s reality; unless he’s picked up by an established team like Roush Fenway …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2015 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas

2015 Kansas II CUP Joey Logano woohoo CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Who’s in the headline – Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth are going to dominate the headlines this week. Kenseth led the most laps in the race but, heading into turn 1 with five laps to go, Logano made a move to the bottom of the track and tapped the left-rear corner of Kenseth’s car. Kenseth spun …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: 2015 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas

2015 Kansas II CUP Kurt Busch Brad Keselowski racing CIA

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

The drivers are at Kansas this week and it appears that much like last week the Penske team is at the top of their game. Kansas is another mile-and-a-half track, and the scheduled distance for Sundays race is 400 miles, so that means we’ll be looking to identify the lap leaders with maybe a little back …

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