Race Weekend Central

2016 NASCAR Rewind: Landon Cassill

2016 Cup Charlotte Landon Cassill Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Throughout a season, NASCAR teams will experience — like clockwork — the ups and downs of a racing season, and Landon Cassill’s 2016 season consisted of exactly that. Cassill and Front Row Motorsports showed both flashes of brilliance and rough days at the racetrack. However, the season also consisted of Cassill and his team showing their …

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Double Take: Jeffrey Earnhardt Not Only One Carrying on Legacy Sunday

2015 Daytona International Speedway Nscs Bobby Labonte Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

For a few months it looked like one of the most iconic names at Talladega Superspeedway would be absent from this weekend’s festivities. The Earnhardt name has a long and rich history at the facility, one that has won over 20 races in several different series over the past three decades. However, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s concussion …

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The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR’s Small Teams Through Watkins Glen

Regan Smith Indianapolis 2016 Cup Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Tommy Baldwin Racing Regan Smith, No. 7 Advanced Patient Care Chevrolet Looking back: It was a tough weekend on the twists and turns of Watkins Glen International for Regan Smith and his No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing team. They qualified a mediocre 29th and then found trouble early as troubles with the suspension put the …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Gauging Tony Stewart’s Chase Chances

Tony Stewart Bank Of America 500 2015 Charlotte Cup Mike Neff

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

Another week and another win for Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s more clear than ever that JGR has become the elite team in NASCAR in 2016. Every week we go to the racetrack and it seems as though a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is the class of the field. At Kansas, it was Martin Truex Jr.’s …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Matt Kenseth’s Struggles

2016 Martinsville I Cup Matt Kenseth Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Man, do I love Martinsville! It doesn’t get much better than good old fashioned short track racing! I was a surprised to see Kyle Busch win just because his track record on flat tracks was sub-par. However, I believe running the Camping World Truck Series race on Saturday helped Busch in the Cup race on Sunday. …

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Comers and Goers: 2016 Rule Package a Blessing for Some, Not so Much for Others

2016 Phoenix I Cup Carl Edwards Kyle Busch Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

It’s evident every time there is a new rules package that comes into NASCAR that some teams will hit on the setup immediately and others will take longer to figure it out. Heading into the 2016 season, everyone knew that with the lower downforce package, that reality was very possible. We are three races into the new …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Aric Almirola

Aric Almirola waits in the garage between practice sessions for the 2015 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­­

You couldn’t say it wasn’t an interesting year for Aric Almirola and his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team. The team made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the 2014 season and was looking to do that again as they headed into the 2015 season. Instead, the season would be marked by decent consistency that was …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Debris Cautions and NASCAR’s Youth Movement

2015 Homestead Cup Kyle Busch Jeff Gordon Victory Lane Cua

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

grKyle Busch is your 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. Who would have thought that would be the case after Daytona in February? I was in attendance for the Xfinity Series race in Daytona and never would have thought Busch would have battled back from that incident to win the championship. This championship has helped …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Difficult Decisions for NASCAR in Phoenix

Busch, Kurt 2015 Quicken Loans 500 Penalty Phoenix

(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

So here we are. The final weekend of the 2015 NASCAR season and man has it gone by fast. Think of all the storylines we have heading into Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead. Remember when Kyle Busch was injured in the season-opener crash in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona? That is now nine …

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Cameron Hayley Tops 2015 Lucas Oil 150 Truck Practice at Phoenix

Hayley, Cameron 2015 Lucas Oil 150 Practice Phoenix

Photo Credit: ThorSport Racing PR

Canadian youngster Cameron Hayley topped the charts for the sole NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice session for Friday’s Lucas Oil 150. Hayley’s top speed was 137.477 mph, besting Erik Jones and Brandon Jones in the session. 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion William Byron, looking to make his series debut Friday, was fourth …

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Ernie Cope Named JTG Daugherty Racing Competition Director

2015 Darlington Cup Aj Allmendinger Car Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Veteran crew chief Ernie Cope will leave JR Motorsports at the end of the season and move to JTG Daugherty Racing and become the team’s competition director. Cope’s career started as a driver, running several seasons in K&N Pro Series West prior to becoming a crew chief. His crew chief career started in 1997 and …

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Ross Chastain Back with JD Motorsports in 2016

2015 Dover I Nxs Ross Chastain Car Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

JD Motorsports with Gary Keller announced on Thursday that Ross Chastain will return to the team for the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. “I couldn’t be happier with what Ross has done this season,” team owner Johnny Davis said on the team’s Facebook page. “He is a smart, young driver with unlimited potential. We knew from …

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