Race Weekend Central

Curb Your Enthusiasm For NASCAR at Indianapolis

A pack of NASCAR Xfinity cars race in the turns at the Indianapolis road course in 2020, Jamie Squire/Getty Images

(Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

As a wide-eyed kid in love with NASCAR, I still remember the excitement, the hype surrounding the first ever Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994. For the first time in 83 years, stock cars were running on the shrine of open-wheel racing and 350,000 screaming fans were there in person to see it. …

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Does NASCAR Have a Donald Trump Problem Going Forward?

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

In February 2020, NASCAR was rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump at its season-opening Daytona 500. The first sitting U.S. President to visit a race since George W. Bush in 2004 arrived to great fanfare and support from track officials. He couldn’t have been happier addressing the crowd, giving the “start your engines” …

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One Last NASCAR Comeback: Can Matt Kenseth Defy the Odds at Age 48?

2017 Sonoma Mencs Matt Kenseth Face Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography) Friday 23 June 2017 Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing, DEWALT Flexvolt Toyota Camry World Copyright: Matthew T. Thacker NKP

Matt Kenseth dropped a NASCAR bombshell Monday (April 27) by announcing another comeback. He’ll drive Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 in place of the banished Kyle Larson and run full-time once again at age 48. NASCAR typically doesn’t grant playoff waivers for drivers who voluntarily missed the season’s first four races, but chances are they’ll let Kenseth become championship-eligible.

2018 Top NASCAR Storylines: Have We Moved On From Brian France? Or Not?

2017 Xfinity Richmond Zach Catanzareti Brian France

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Aug. 5, 2018 at Watkins Glen International should have been a watershed moment for NASCAR and CEO Brian France. 22-year-old Chase Elliott, running his third full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, finally got over the hump. The soon-to-be Most Popular Driver earned his first career victory on the road course, delighting a sold-out crowd …

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Richard Petty, Richard Childress National Anthem Remarks Leave NASCAR Teetering On Sponsorship Crisis

Cup 2016 Charlotte Richard Childress Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Sunday, Sept. 24, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Richard Childress spoke out about protesting the American national anthem. It would be a full 18 hours before any other meaningful voice in the sport was heard. “Anybody that don’t stand up for the anthem oughta be out of the country,” Petty …

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NASCAR Opportunity Lost: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. With The Steal

Stenhouse Daytona Win

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

As the laps wound down at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night, the leaderboard of NASCAR’s Coke Zero 400 read like a Who’s Who of Cinderella stories. You had David Ragan in the lead, running for a Front Row Motorsports team that struggles to crack the top 25 most weeks. Other names in contention included rookie Ty Dillon, Paul …

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Kyle Larson Or Martin Truex Jr.: Take Your Pick

Larson Truex

(Photo: Matthew Thacker/ NKP)

Three years ago, Martin Truex Jr. led a total of just one lap in the Cup Series. His team had won at NASCAR’s top level only once, at Darlington in the 2011 Southern 500. Kyle Larson? He was halfway through a rookie season in which he never cashed in on Victory Lane. Neither driver came close to …

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Big Days Shared Together For Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney At Pocono

2014 Mudsummer Classic Eldora Speedway Camping World Trucks Darrell Wallace Jr Ryan Blaney Mike Neff

Credit: Mike Neff

For Bubba Wallace, it couldn’t wait. Moments earlier, Wallace had fainted while answering questions for a throng of print and online media. The driver blamed it on anxiety over mistakes made in his first start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The reality might be dehydration on a hot, humid day at Pocono Raceway. Either way, …

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When Will Jimmie Johnson Get His Due?

2017 Dover I Nxs Jimmie Johnson Helmet Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

As the sun beamed down on Dover International Speedway, car owner Rick Hendrick was still taking it all in. Driver Jimmie Johnson had snatched a victory, his record 11th at the Monster Mile, right out of a dominant Kyle Larson’s hands and no one on his own team believed it. Crew chief Chad Knaus found the ending improbable enough he kept Johnson …

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NASCAR’s Top Talent Scouts: Who’s Got the No. 1 Draft Pick?

2016 Daytona Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Joey Logano Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. news cycle finally got trumped in the sporting world by Thursday night’s NFL draft. As you read this, stories are popping up over names like Mitch Trubisky, Jabrill Peppers and I-can’t-remember-his-name-but-god-he-better-help-my-team. It’s a reminder for all that life must go on. At Hendrick Motorsports, those words ring truer than ever as it …

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NASCAR’s Carl Edwards Walks Away: Humble, Human & Healthy

2016 Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Texas

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

20 years ago, Carl Edwards walked around telling his world he’d rise to the top in NASCAR. No one believed him. 20 years later, Edwards walked to the podium, an established NASCAR star and told the world he was walking away. No one wanted to believe him. Yet here he was, the opening act of a cool winter morning …

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