Race Weekend Central

NASCAR, Bubba Wallace Confronting Unsettling Symbols From the Past

2020 Talladega Ncs Unity For Bubba Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

In 1960, C.Vann Woodward, the esteemed Southern scholar, remarked, “It would take a blind sentimentalist to mourn their passing.” The passing Woodward addresses has to do with all manner of Southern customs, from the statues that dot the region to the lynching bee. Yes, that’s right, there used to be something called a lynching bee …

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Fire on Fridays: Change a Beautiful Thing for NASCAR

Nascar Cup Series Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500

Bubba Wallace (right) greets Kirk Price (left), an official who kneeled for the National Anthem at Atlanta, before Wednesday nights race at Martinsville. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Being a NASCAR fan is weird. It’s a bit hard sometimes, too. Constantly explaining that it’s not just cars, driven by good ‘ol boys, running around in circles. It’s not something any average Joe can do. It’s not only set and popular in the South. It’s not racist. It’s not what you think it is. It’s different …

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NASCAR: Opening Doors Daily

Petty Peace Graphic

Peace sign designed by Richard Petty for Martinsville paint scheme

NASCAR was started in a time where moonshine running was commonplace and discrimination was an accepted practice in the United States. While people still run ‘shine, it isn’t nearly as prevalent as it was in the 1950s. The same is true with discrimination. While it is still present in society today, it is not nearly …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2020 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville

Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Editors Note: What in blazes am I doing here? Yeah, Matt, what’s up? You write on Tuesdays, having given this column up years ago. Yep. You recall correctly. Bryan Keith, who took over this column when Mike Neff stopped doing it, has been doing a fine job with the race recaps under whatever title he’s …

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Nashville Superspeedway Return Comes from Out Of Nowhere

2011 Nationwide Nashville

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The date was July 23, 2011. Carl Edwards came off of turn 4 for what many assumed would be the final NASCAR-sanctioned event at Nashville Superspeedway. He earned the victory, the 34th win of his Xfinity Series career. The previous year, in 2010, Nashville was up against Kentucky Speedway for a NASCAR Cup Series event, …

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Is Racing Overload Good for NASCAR?

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(Photo: NASCAR Media/Getty Images)

With Thursday night’s (May 28) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, we have seen four NASCAR Cup Series races in in 12 days. And we can’t forget we’ve also seen two Xfinity races and the return of the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series with one race as well – that’s seven races in 12 days …

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NASCAR’s Brief Return to Slight Normalcy at the Coca-Cola 600

2019 Charlotte Cup Martin Truex Jr. Checkered Flag Nigel Kinrade Photography

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The Greatest Day in Motorsport will be a shell of its traditional self.  But thanks to NASCAR, it won’t be entirely empty, either. With the NASCAR Cup Series done with a flexible shift to Darlington Raceway to restart the 2020 season, the tour is now preparing for its Memorial Day weekend classic, the Coca-Cola 600. …

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Godspeed, Good Darlington: Thoughts on the End of The NASCAR COVID-19 Shutdown

2019 Darlington Mencs Kyle Larson Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

For all the successes of pros going iRacing during the NASCAR COVID-19 shutdown, the general consensus seems to be that the return to real-track racing is coinciding almost perfectly with the eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series running its course. Be it the Kyle Larson slur fiasco or Santino Ferrucci turning the end of last week’s IndyCar …

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NASCAR Contradictions on Full Display With May 17 Return Looming

2019 Darlington Mencs Racing Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Be it in Brasstown, N.C. Thursday night (April 30) or Lancaster, S.C. on Friday (May 1), live racing trickled back this weekend to locations throughout the southeast. For me, where Virginia is still under a stay-at-home order through June 10, there’s not much for a motorsports writer here to do but long for racing to …

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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.

Bury NASCAR’s Heart at Park Jefferson? Successful Return to Racing Could Force Their Hand

Olympus Digital Camera

(Photo: Rick Lunkenheimer)

Amidst the ongoing debate within the NASCAR community on returning to racing, which is raging from social media to the North Carolina statehouse, earlier this week I had a good chat with fellow Frontstretcher Mark Kristl as we worked to edit one of his upcoming columns. Mark, like I, has immediate family members working on …

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