Race Weekend Central

2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Erik Jones

2018 Cup Zach Catanzareti Dover Erik Jones

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

2018 was a solid step forward for Erik Jones. Avoiding the dreaded “sophomore slump,” Jones built on the foundation he made in his rookie season by improving in just about every category in 2018. The first half of the season didn’t really show that, however. In the first 15 races, Jones had just one top-five finish …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Kasey Kahne

2018 Las Vegas I Cup Kasey Kahne John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John K. Harrelson / NKP)

Kasey Kahne did everything he could to continue racing in NASCAR’s premier series this year. He raced until he couldn’t do so any longer. Twenty-five races into the 2018 season and Kahne couldn’t handle it anymore. His body could no longer handle the wear and tear that comes with 400- to 500-mile races. When he …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Jimmie Johnson

2018 Cup Richmond Jimmie Johnson Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

2018 was a year of transition for everybody in NASCAR. For the fans, it was the first season without the sport’s most popular driver for the last 16 years making an appearance in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. For NASCAR’s management, it was a year where both a new CEO and a new president …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Kevin Harvick

#4: Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Mobil 1

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

It’s one thing to be named to a so-called elite (here known as big) class of NASCAR’s top racing series early on in a given season. It’s another thing entirely to prove it was the right decision for the rest of the year. That’s what Kevin Harvick, easily among the class of the 2018 Monster Energy …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Denny Hamlin

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Pennzoil 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nv Usa Friday 2 March 2018 Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Fedex Office World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

More than a few drivers would have liked to have had Denny Hamlin’s 2018 MENCS season. He finished in the top five in over a quarter of the season’s races, earning top 10s in nearly half of them. Those are respectable numbers.  But other aspects of 2018 were very un-Hamlin-like, particularly that goose egg in …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Austin Dillon

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fl Usa Sunday 11 February 2018 Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, Dow Chevrolet Camaro World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

For Austin Dillon, 2018 was a year of outsized success.  He started out the season by winning on the sport’s biggest stage.  However, he also more or less drove through Aric Almirola to get there. Winning the Daytona 500 also locked Dillon into the playoffs.  Ostensibly, that gave Richard Childress Racing more than six months …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Ty Dillon

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

If there one thing missing for Ty Dillon in 2018, it was speed, something Dillon himself was vocal about. Entering his sophomore season, Dillon hopped to improve upon his rookie numbers from 2017 and avoid a slump. Even with an alliance with Richard Childress Racing, Dillon and his small single-car Germain Racing team had to …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Matt DiBenedetto

2018 Cup Matt Dibenedetto Zach Catanzareti Michigan

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

If there is one word to describe Matt DiBenedetto‘s 2018 season, it would be grit. DiBenedetto and his No. 32 team did not light the world on fire by any means this past season, but once again outperformed expectations with aging equipment, a can-do attitude and a little bit of help from their fellow competitors. …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: William Byron

2018 Cup Pocono Zach Catanzareti William Byron

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

They say it is never easy moving up to the top level of a sport and, unfortunately, William Byron, who recently turned 21 years old, found that out in 2018. Byron entered his rookie season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. Not only that, but he stepped into …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Kurt Busch

2018 Darlington Cup Zach Catanzareti Kurt Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

In 2017, Kurt Busch wasn’t confirmed to be returning to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2018 season until Dec. 12, though he and sponsor Monster Energy both ultimately returned to the No. 41 Ford Fusion for his 18th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The 2018 season started out poorly for Busch, as he couldn’t defend …

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