Race Weekend Central

4 Burning Questions: The State of NASCAR

2019 Indianapolis Mencs Kyle Busch Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who will advance to the final round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs? When it comes to the Cup race this weekend at ISM Raceway, it’s really a question of who among Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin will not make the championship round. Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson may point their way into …

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4 Burning Questions: Showdown at the Formula 1 Corral

James Hinchcliffe 2019 Indycar Grand Prix

(Photo: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)

Was it the right move to release Hinchcliffe? Arrow McLaren SP, formerly Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (presumably with Felix Sabates), announced this week that fan favorite James Hinchcliffe will not be on the two-car team next year in the NTT IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe, a nine-year veteran of the series, was blindsided with the news on …

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4 Burning Questions: The Rags-to-Riches Myth

2016 Martinsville I Cup Overhead View Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who will win themselves a grandfather clock this week? A couple of weeks ago in this column, it was noted that there were just three lead changes at Martinsville Speedway in the spring race. While I don’t think that number is going to go into double digits this weekend, there’ll definitely be at least a …

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4 Burning Questions: Refusal to Be Wrong

2017 Talladega Ii Cwts Pack Racing Ii Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Has the current aero package been a failure? This week, Austin Dillon took a special Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racecar to a closed test session at Richmond Raceway. The car, generic as the car manufacturers are still early in development of their own spins on the rules package, represents the direction that NASCAR wishes …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2019 Drydene 400

2019 Dover Mencs Kyle Larson Victory Celebration Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The Headline(s): Stop me if you’ve heard this before: you just can’t pass. Sure, Kyle Larson’s 75-race winless streak was snapped. Sure, he led over 150 laps, and another led over half the race. But once again, the prevailing sentiment from drivers leaving the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway was the lack of ability to …

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Kyle Larson Wins the Drydene 400 At Dover, Advances to Round of 8

2019 Dover Mencs Kyle Larson Victory Lane Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

At the conclusion of the 100th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, it was Kyle Larson winning the special golden Miles the Monster trophy. It’s his first triumph in 75 races, besides the non-points win in this year’s All-Star Race in May. It locked the Chip Ganassi Racing driver into the …

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Chase Elliott Out Early at Dover Cup Race with Engine Problem

2019 Dover Mencs Chase Elliott Engine Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Chase Elliott began the Round of 8 on the wrong foot at Dover International Speedway Sunday afternoon (Oct. 6). The defending race winner blew his engine on lap eight while running inside the top 10. Elliott was given a push to the garage, then the crew attempted to fix the issue for a few minutes …

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Cole Custer Survives The Monster, Wins at Dover

2019 Dover Nxs Cole Custer Victory Lane Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Cole Custer ended up victorious at Dover International Speedway, upsetting, Justin Allgaier, who won the first two stages, after a pair of late race cautions. Custer finished second in Stage One, but a terrible pit stop put him back in 13th to start the second stage. Allgaier led all of Stage 2, while Custer was …

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Chase Briscoe On Provisional Xfinity Pole, Complained of Electrical Issues

Nascar Xfinity Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Chase Briscoe was the fastest driver in qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway, but electoral problems may force the playoff driver to give up the pole. Following Briscoe’s qualifying lap, the rookie came back to the pits complaining about the car “skipping” during the lap. …

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4 Burning Questions: ARCA Just Can’t Stop Going

2019 Dover Cup Zach Catanzareti Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Will the new ARCA be a success or failure? This week, NASCAR officially unveiled their new direction for ARCA and what is now known as the K&N Pro Series East/West. One platform. ? Four Championship Series. ???? Exciting changes are coming to the ARCA Menards Series in 2020: https://t.co/cMVOtRjllJ pic.twitter.com/hh4s19cFgz — NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 2, …

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4 Burning Questions: Is Corey LaJoie About to Get His Big Break?

2017 Kansas Ii Cup Corey Lajoie Barry Cantrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)

Is the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL the wildest of cards in a playoff format that also includes races at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway? Yes. No, but really. Until about two or three years from now, the ROVAL will be the greatest unknown. Anything can happen, and the only thing we know for absolute certain …

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Martin Truex Jr. Wins Richmond, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishes 1-2-3

2019 Richmond Mencs Martin Truex, Jr. Victory Lane Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Martin Truex Jr. triumphed at Richmond Raceway in a one-two-three finish for Joe Gibbs Racing — which was nearly just the second top-four team sweep in the 71-year history of NASCAR until Erik Jones failed post-race inspection. Saturday’s (Sept. 21) Federated Auto Parts 400 was also a second straight chance for Truex to flex his …

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