Race Weekend Central

2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: David Ragan

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

For David Ragan, 2018 was defined by overachievement. In his fifth season driving for Front Row Motorsports, the mantra for Ragan’s year was all about making more with only limited resources. With FRM on a limited budget, the expectations were the same as 2017: just be consistent and bring the car home in one piece. …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Paul Menard

2018 Cup Zach Catanzareti Dover Ryan Blaney Paul Menard

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Paul Menard was a quiet guy in 2018. For the new season, there was one story seen across multiple teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Veteran drivers in new rides. Specifically, underperforming veterans joining competitive teams, arguably of a higher caliber than their previous respectful homes. Though Aric Almirola would be considered the …

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Corey LaJoie Signs with Go Fas Racing for Full 2019 Season

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Go Fas Racing announced late Thursday morning (Dec. 20) at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte that Corey LaJoie will drive the No. 32 Ford Mustang for the entirety of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Longtime team sponsor Keen Parts will return, and Lajoie brings tile company Schluter Systems to the …

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2018 NASCAR Top Storylines: How Did Each of the Big 3 Fall Apart?

2016 Daytona Ii Cup Martin Truex Jr Kyle Busch Nigel Kinrade Nkp

Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP

The Big Three. This was the most popular phrase throughout the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Between Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr., all three dominated the first 3/4 of the season and it looked as if nobody else would be able to overtake them and be champion at the end …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Joey Logano

2018 Joey Logano Talladega Cup

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

It’s perhaps poetic that Joey Logano won his first Cup title in 2018, as his Ford 400 win came on the same Sunday that Matt Kenseth’s career came to a close. After all, had it not been for a run-in with Kenseth at Martinsville in the fall of 2015, Logano may well have had a …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Michael McDowell

Michael Mcdowell 1000bulbs.com 500 Qualifying

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

In 2018, Michael McDowell made the move to Front Row Motorsports in the No. 34 car. The move was met with its own criticism and optimism as McDowell replaced fan favorite Landon Cassill, but McDowell himself was met with a similar situation at his former home of Leavine Family Racing as he was replaced by Kasey Kahne. …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Brad Keselowski

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

2018 will go down as the year that got away for Brad Keselowski. He had the speed to win his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship — evidenced by his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano winning the title — but was plagued by bad luck when it mattered the most. Still, it was a …

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2018 Top NASCAR Storylines: The Closing Of Furniture Row Racing

Martin Truex Jr. Sonoma 2018 Cup Danny Peters

Martin Truex Jr. was all alone out front (Photo: Danny Peters)

In one of the more surprising developments over the course of the 2018 season, it was revealed that Furniture Row Racing would be discontinuing operations at the conclusion of the year. This one was big. This wasn’t just an “also-ran”team. Nor was it an occasionally competitive mid-level team. No, this was the organization that achieved …

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2018 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Kyle Larson

2018 Cup Pocono Zach Catanzareti Kyle Larson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Kyle Larson‘s 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season had its share of new happenings off the track and near-misses on it. The theme of his year could be summed up as “inconsistency.” Target left Chip Ganassi Racing following the 2017 season, so for the inaugural campaign, the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was decked …

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2018 Top NASCAR Storylines: Inspecting Inspection

2018 Chicago Cup Pack Racing Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

“To the rear for inspection failure” Those words were all too common in 2018 as NASCAR’s race weekend inspection process has become more and more technologically based. The precision optical sensors used to scan each race car are meant to catch even the tiniest variance from NASCAR’s rules, and they certainly caught plenty of teams …

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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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