Race Weekend Central

Michael McDowell Rejoicing in Opportunity with Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Michael Mcdowell John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

Moments before the green flag waves on any given Sprint Cup race weekend, Michael McDowell patiently sits in the pre-race prayer service with approximately two to three dozen of his fellow competitors, crew chiefs and team owners. His head bowed down, he focuses all of his attention on prayer, listening intently to a chaplain telling Bible …

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NASCAR Mailbox: NASCAR Heat Evolution Brings NASCAR to the Next Generation of Video Games

Martinsville Nascar Heat

(Photo: Dusenberry Martin Racing)

NASCAR Heat Evolution is finally in stores. Finally.  It’s been quite some time since its predecessor, NASCAR ’15 — an update to NASCAR ’14 — was released in May, 2015. With Dusenberry Martin Racing taking over the rights to the NASCAR video game license, it’s the ultimate “Throwback Thursday.” Essentially re-creating and modernizing the old …

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Beyond the Cockpit: Richmond’s Dennis Bickmeier Implementing Fresh Ideas

2016 Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Richmond

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Richmond International Raceway President Dennis Bickmeier is on a mission to make fans enjoy race weekends as much as possible. The man who took over operations at the 3/4-mile track in 2011 has since spearheaded an effort that makes fans the VIPs during its two NASCAR weekends. As Bickmeier, who formerly worked in baseball, transitioned from …

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Josh Berry to Make Camping World Truck Series Debut

Late Model racer Josh Berry is experiencing a variety of fresh opportunities over the past month. The two-time NASCAR Whelen All-American track champion (Hickory Motor Speedway in 2014 and Motor Mile Speedway in 2012) competed in the XFINITY Series contest at Darlington Raceway Sept. 3 for Obaika Racing. Finishing 27th, he ended the evening eight …

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NASCAR Mailbox: You’ll Like Being at a NASCAR Race – It’s Guaranteed

2016 Richmond I Cup Kyle Busch Pack Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP)

NASCAR races are not just about drinking beer, getting hammered and watching cars go in ovals. OK, maybe it’s like that for some people in the grandstands, but that’s the case at every sporting event known to man kind. There is nothing like the sound of 40 racecars roaring by you, no matter how close …

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Tracking the Trucks: John Hunter Nemechek Wrecks Cole Custer for a Win in Canada

2016 Camping World Truck Mosport

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

In a Nutshell: Cole Custer entered the final corner of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with the lead. His No. 00 truck set the pace throughout the day up north, leading the first 30 laps of the Chevrolet Silverado 250. But Custer’s truck wouldn’t make it across the finish line first. Instead, it was John Hunter Nemechek, …

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to Miss Remainder of 2016 Season

2016 Kentucky Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has been week-to-week with a concussion, will sit out the remainder of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has been out since July, when it was made known he was experiencing concussion-like symptoms after a wreck at Michigan International Speedway. Since then, Earnhardt has missed six Sprint …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Richard Petty Motorsports’ Big Change

2016 Michigan I Cup Aric Almirola Brian Scott Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

The famed No. 43 car is running near the middle of the pack in 2016, averaging a finish of 23.5. Aric Almirola is no longer competing for top 15s on a weekly basis. Instead, his Richard Petty Motorsports group is fortunate to end a race on the lead lap. Along with Almirola, teammate Brian Scott …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Can Another Wildcard Driver Make the Chase?

2016 Pocono I Cup Trevor Bayne Garage Anthony Lumbis Sr.

(Photo: Anthony Lumbis, Sr.)

No one expected Sprint Cup Series rookie Chris Buescher to win at Pocono Raceway. In fact, no one expected his Front Row Motorsports team to even be in contention for the Chase. Buescher’s triumph was evidently a case of David v. Goliath, the famous Bible story that breaks down the journey of a small, determined man …

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Beyond the Cockpit: Josh Wise Optimistic Despite First-Year Struggles with The Motorsports Group

2016 Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Phoenix

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Josh Wise is no longer a start-and-park driver. His days of entering the Sprint Cup garage after a handful of laps on race day are long gone.  However, Wise has continuously faced adversity in his time at NASCAR’s premier level, going from the ego-lowering start-and-park jobs, to losing his job eight weeks after giving a team its only …

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Will Power Wins at Pocono Raceway, Cuts into Simon Pagenaud’s Championship Lead

2016 Pocono Indycar Will Power Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

For the 27th time in the Verizon IndyCar Series, Will Power piloted his racecar into Victory Lane. Taking advantage of a plethora of strategies throughout the race, he climbed through the field late in the going, taking the lead during the final pit stop of the race after the caution flew for debris with 24 laps …

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