Race Weekend Central

Off the Wall With: Ryan Newman

2014 Homestead CUP Ryan Newman smiling CIA

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. @2014)

Welcome to Off the Wall With…, where we ask your favorite drivers five questions that are… well, off the wall! We’ll check in with a different driver each week to get a peek into life outside the racecar. This week, NASCAR veteran Ryan Newman gives it up. What’s fun besides racing? Ryan Newman: Being outdoors …

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NASCAR 101: Top 5 Winless 2015 Drivers Who Could Take Richmond

2015 Bristol I CUP Jeff Gordon vertical credit Amy Henderson

Photo Credit: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch

Richmond International Speedway, the track of racing perfection, is the host for the ninth race of the season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. And going into Richmond, six drivers have visited Victory Lane this season and have secured their spots on the Richmond stage in September as a part of the 2015 Chase for …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the Food City 500 at Bristol

2015 Bristol I CUP Matt Kenseth burnout credit NASCAR via Getty Images

Photo Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

I’d like to take this opportunity to pass along my condolences to the entire Byrnes family. #ByrnesStrong It was almost a carbon-copy of the 2014 spring race at Bristol: delay after delay due to rain. However, thanks to lights, the entire race was able to be run… and then some. Matt Kenseth finally broke his …

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RCR To Appeal NMAP Decision to Final Appeals Officer

Ryan Newman Martinsville 2015 Mike Neff-001

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

Richard Childress Racing has decided to appeal the reduced P5 penalties issued April 16th by a three-person National Motorsports Appeals panel. Originally Luke Lambert, crew chief of the No. 31 team (as well as James Bender, the team’s tire technician and Phillip Surgen, the team’s race engineer) were to begin serving their six-race penalties starting …

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Richard Childress Racing Appeal Heard, Fines Reduced

On Thursday afternoon, the National Motorsports Appeal Panel upheld the P5 penalty assessed to Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 team on March 31, 2015 following the race at Auto Club Speedway. The three-person appeals panel consisted of Mr. John Capels, Mr. Hunter Nickell and Mr. Dale Pinilis. The trio determined that the No. 31 team was in violation …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2015 Duck Commander 500 at Texas

2015 Texas I CUP Jimmie Johnson six guns credit NASCAR via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway might have foreshadowed the battle for the 2015 Sprint Cup championship between Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick. It was a riveting battle for the win in the final 15 laps. And if Harvick didn’t push his car a bit too far and scrape the wall, it might have been an …

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5 Points To Ponder: Winning, Channel Hopping & Steve Byrnes

Duck Commander 500

(Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images)

ONE: Get well soon, Steve Byrnes Easily the best piece of NASCAR-related news I read in the last week or so was the report that the upcoming Bristol Motor Speedway race has been renamed to the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up To Cancer. When I say easily, let me …

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Did You Notice? A Quick Look Inside the NASCAR Numbers

STP 500

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Did You Notice? Six races into 2014, the difference between sixth and 20th in the Cup standings is just 35 points? However, the difference between first and sixth is 90 points, with Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne creating some distance between themselves and the rest of the field. It’s an …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Tracks You’ll Never See Again & What’s Up with Toyota?

David Ragan Martinsville 2015 Mike Neff

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

How fitting that following the first NASCAR off-weekend, the Sprint Cup Series descends on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. They say things are bigger in Texas, and the return of NASCAR as we kick off spring, couldn’t be any bigger. Speaking of big, the fine that Ryan Newman and crew chief Luke Lambert, were handed …

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5 Points to Ponder: Texas Time, Penalties Galore at RCR & New Streaks?

Paul Menard Martinsville 2015 Mike Neff

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

Everything’s Bigger in Texas After taking an off weekend to start the season, NASCAR is back, and that includes the Xfinity Series as well. It’s finally time to get back to Texas Motor Speedway after the chaotic race at the 1.5-mile track in November. Hopefully, there won’t be any fist fights for this event, but …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: 2015 Duck Commander 500 at Texas Edition

2015 Martinsville I CUP Kevin Harvick racing credit Amy Henderson

(Photo: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch)

Burnouts (Hot) Since the Sprint Cup series was off this past weekend due to the holidays, it’s just a little more difficult to tell who is hot and who is not. Maybe it should be who hasn’t cooled off after Martinsville. One driver that will continue to be on the favorites list each week is …

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Holding A Pretty Wheel: NASCAR Rules

2015 Fontana CUP Kurt Busch pit stop  credit NASCAR via Getty Images

Photo Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

There are a lot of very descriptive words that get bandied about in NASCAR. Some of them aren’t even fit to print. But it seems that one word has come to the forefront in recent weeks, and it’s only mildly dirty: rules. Actually, if you’re following them, it’s not so much a dirty word as …

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