Race Weekend Central

2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Bubba Wallace

2019 Dover Mencs Darrell Wallace, Jr. Face Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Rainy days are dark, gloomy, sometimes quiet. Bubba Wallace’s 2019 NASCAR Cup Series campaign could be likened to a rainy season. Sometimes there was a light drizzle; other times a heavy downpour. It can cause muddy conditions, large puddles or even flooding, yet offers glimpses of hope in rainbows. Wallace endured all of these this …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Matt Tifft

2019 Dover Mencs Matt Tifft Face Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Entering the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, Matt Tifft was not the favorite to win the rookie of the year award. Still, after back-to-back top-10 finishes in the Xfinity Series championship standings, Tifft joined Front Row Motorsports to pilot the No. 36 Ford in his rookie season. Having no prior Cup Series experience and FRM …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Rick Ware Racing

2019 Daytona Mencs Jj Yeley Car Christian Koelle

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

Rick Ware Racing had more of a presence in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019 with at least two cars in all 36 races. The team also had four cars in some of the season’s races, debuting a fourth entry at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, the No. 54, after previously unveiling the …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Martin Truex Jr.

2019 Martinsville Mencs Martin Truex, Jr. Face Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

In regards to the last few seasons, the best driver paired with the best crew chief paired with the best team sounds like an extremely potent combination, right? In 2019, it certainly was. After several stellar seasons with Furniture Row Racing, Martin Truex Jr‘s future after 2018, for a time, was in serious jeopardy after …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Ricky Stenhouse Jr

2019 Michigan Mencs Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The 2019 season is one Ricky Stenhouse Jr will never forget. It’s a season that resulted in bad luck, disappointment and, in the end, came with the biggest surprise of his career, one that ended a 12-year relationship. Stenhouse entered his seventh full-time Cup Series season in 2019. The team was looking to bounce back …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Daniel Suarez

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

2019 was Daniel Suarez‘s third full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, but his first time in unfamiliar territory. With a few exceptions, Suarez had spent his entire time in NASCAR’s national series racing for either Joe Gibbs Racing or an affiliated team like Kyle Busch Motorsports.  However, the closure of Furniture Row Racing at …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: David Ragan

2019martinsvillemencsdavidragancarcck

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

While Kyle Busch performed celebratory championship burnouts on the frontstretch at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series in November, David Ragan took a minute to debrief his team on the performance of his car, a 27th-place finish, for the final time in the 2019 season and the final time in his 14-year, 470-race Cup …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Spire Motorsports

2019 Daytona Mencs Justin Haley Cup Victory Lane Christian Koelle

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

The NASCAR Cup Series’ newest team made a major impact in the 2019 season in multiple ways. With support from Premium Motorsports, Spire Motorsports turned 2019 into a success story — often a tall order for a first-year team. With a total of eight drivers behind the wheel, the No. 77 team earned one victory …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Ryan Preece

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Like Steve Park, Brett Bodine, and Jimmy Spencer before him, Ryan Preece’s racing journey from the mighty modifieds of the Northeast has finally lead him to the pinnacle of stock car racing: the NASCAR Cup Series. Preece, the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, was tabbed to replace stalwart AJ Allmendinger in the JTG Daugherty …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Ryan Newman

2019 Las Vegas Mencs Ryan Newman Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

When one thinks of teams and drivers that were an absolute force during the early-mid 2000s, one couldn’t name a more prominent pair than Roush Fenway Racing and Ryan Newman. Two entities that were once a fixture at the front of the field have seen the well gone dry in recent years. While he almost …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Paul Menard

2019 Kansas 2 Mencs Paul Menard Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

After a somewhat successful first season with Wood Brothers Racing in 2018 in the NASCAR Cup Serie, Paul Menard had an even quieter but arguably more successful 2019. Seven top-10 finishes dotted Menard’s 2018 resume, higher than his 2019 statline of four. But Menard also enjoyed an average finish of 16.6, the second best of …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Joey Logano

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

For such a young man approaching the age of 30, Joey Logano’s 2019  NASCAR Cup Series season had the makings of a lesson in maturity. Not only will he and his wife soon welcome a second baby into their family, but Logano also addressed changes in his personal health. In September, he announced being diagnosed …

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