Race Weekend Central

Up to Speed: Doing Something Different in Charlotte

Charlotte Field

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Heading into the Round of 12 for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, most of NASCAR’s storylines have been about everything but the on-track racing.  The sport got dragged into the national anthem protest controversy that has rocked the NFL in recent weeks. An engaging silly season has revealed the unsettling amount of influence …

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Kyle Busch Powers Through to Finish Charlotte Cup Race

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Bank Of America 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, Nc Sunday 8 October 2017 Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry And Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Jimmy John's Ford Fusion World Copyright: Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway was one tough race for Kyle Busch. After starting from the fourth position and leading 22 laps, the Bank of America 500 took a tough turn on lap 136, when the No. 18 car broke sideways and pounded the Turn 3 wall while running second. Bringing his wounded No. 18 …

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Martin Truex Jr. Wins a Hot One in Charlotte

2017 Cup Charlotte Zach Catanzareti Brad Keselowski Martin Truex Jr. Toyota Ford

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

With humidity a high, Martin Truex Jr. earned a cold champagne shower in Victory Lane, winning Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The win, his sixth of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, advances him to the Round of 8, which starts three weeks from now at Martinsville. “Everything is …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR Hot-Starts: Bank of America 500

2017 Chicago Cup Kevin Harvick Helmet Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

DraftKings’ daily fantasy NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for the Bank of America 500. This is the first event in Round 2 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The green flag flies Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. The DraftKings strategy for intermediate tracks is all about finding …

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2017 Frontstretch Cup: Bank of America 500 Predictions

2017 Charlotte All Star Cup Kevin Harvick Kyle Busch Pack Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

Welcome to our 10th year of staff predictions! Each week, our experts attempt to tell you who the winner of each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will be. Take a look to see who your favorite writers think will win it all (or at least score some points) this week! Think you can out-prognosticate …

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Drivers Have Mixed Feelings About Final Charlotte Oval Playoff Race

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Bank Of America 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, Nc Usa Friday 6 October 2017 Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Credit One Bank Chevrolet Ss World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Sunday’s Bank of America 500 will be the final use of the oval track in the playoffs at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the foreseeable future. What’s next for NASCAR home track? A roval, a combination of practically the entire 1.5-mile oval surface with the use of the infield road course inside. While it’s a fairly …

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Denny Hamlin Scores First NASCAR Cup Pole of Season at Charlotte

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Bank Of America 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, Nc Usa Friday 6 October 2017 Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Fedex Office Toyota Camry World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Every October, qualifying takes a twist come Charlotte Motor Speedway in the playoffs… we turn on the lights. The twist also caused a surprise Toyota to make its way to the front. During Friday night’s qualifying session, it was Denny Hamlin who scored the pole for Sunday’s Bank of America 500, ripping around the 1.5-mile track …

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Kyle Larson Leads Troublesome Cup Charlotte Practice

2017 Darlington Cup Zach Catanzareti Kyle Larson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Kyle Larson led the way in opening practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Larson’s time of 28.113 seconds (192.082 MPH) was 0.094 seconds ahead of Ryan Newman as he seeks the Bank of America 500 pole. Larson, a four-time 2017 winner has yet to reach Victory Lane in this year’s …

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2017 Frontstretch Podcast Powered by DraftKings – Episode 30: No Place Like Home

Episode 30: No Place Like Home Frontstretch Podcast with Dustin Albino, Joseph Wolkin and Zach Catanzareti In this week’s episode brought to you by DraftKings, Dustin, Joe and Zach recap the opening cutoff race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, where Chase Elliott went wrong and if anybody can stop the man they call Rowdy. We …

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4 Burning Questions: Will Kyle Busch Earn 3rd Straight Win of 2017 in Charlotte?

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Coca Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, Nc Usa Thursday 25 May 2017 Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, M&m's Red, White & Blue Toyota Camry World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Will Kyle Busch Score Third Straight Win of Season at Charlotte? It happened when most doubted him. When he was deep in a points rut and had much ground to make up. When the odds seemed to be against him, that was when Kyle Busch scored three consecutive wins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup …

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Exposed Concrete: Racecar Drivers’ Kryptonite Thrives at Sonoma

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Toyota/save Mart 350 Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, Ca Usa Sunday 25 June 2017 Jamie Mcmurray, Chip Ganassi Racing, Cessna Chevrolet Ss, Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Target Chevrolet Ss World Copyright: Lesley Ann Miller Lat Images

(Photo: Lesley Ann Miller/LAT Images)

Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen nothing short of a safety revolution when it comes to run-off at racetracks and wall technology.  In 1997, the only soft walls that you heard about were the styrofoam blocks in use at places such as the late Flemington Speedway in New Jersey.  Later on, Watkins Glen International …

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NASCAR 101: Most Top 5s in a Season Without a Win

28 February 1 March, 2014, Avondale, Arizona Usa Elliott Sadler, Onemain Financial Toyota Camry And Dale Jarrett © 2014, Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

There’s nothing wrong with Elliott Sadler’s season this year. Not that you might have been thinking that, but if you’ve been following the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2017, perhaps you let the idea slip into your mind at some point. Despite being the regular season champion, he’s been one of the odd men out at …

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