Race Weekend Central

Eyes on XFINITY: Richard Childress Racing’s Split Agenda

2016 Richmond I Nxs Brandon Jones Car Russell Labounty Nkp

Richard Childress Racing has three drivers who qualified for the new XFINITY Series Chase, and after the first race of the postseason, all three drivers find themselves in a different position. Brendan Gaughan got out of Kentucky the best, finishing sixth and leaving the Bluegrass State with a nine-point cushion over the Chase cut line.  …

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Truckin’ Thursdays: Is William Byron Better than Erik Jones?

2016 Atlanta Cwts William Byron Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

William Byron stormed out of the gate with a dominant win in the opening Chase race, proving he is a strong favorite for the championship, much like Erik Jones was with Kyle Busch Motorsports last season. Under the leadership of Rudy Fugle, Jones’ championship crew chief from 2015, Byron has surpassed anyone’s expectations and reached …

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Did You Notice? … Just How Good Brad Keselowski Has Been?

2016 Chicago Cup Brad Keselowski Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Did You Notice? … Brad Keselowski is quietly having a career year? The 2012 champion was a quiet number one seed after an impressive regular season, and after two Chase races he currently leads the point standings. He is on pace to break his season bests in top 5s, top 10s, and his average finish of …

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Beyond The Cockpit: Michael Annett Trying to Prove Himself on the Track

2016 Las Vegas Cup Michael Annett Car Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP)

Michael Annett is in his third full Sprint Cup season, the second for HScott Motorsports. Admittedly so, 2016 has been one of the toughest years on the Iowa native since coming to NASCAR. Before heading to Daytona in February, Annett had aspirations of performing better than 2015. The organization had experience coming in the door …

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The 10: Happy in New Hampshire

2016 Nascar New Hampshire

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

 For 292 laps, it looked like Toyota had done it again. Carl Edwards took the pole. Martin Truex, Jr., had a rocket ship a week after a Chase-opening win at Chicagoland Speedway. Matt Kenseth was strong, and Kyle Busch lurked just a few positions back. Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing combined to dominate …

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The Frontstretch 5: Drivers You Need to Watch in the Chase

2016 Chicago Cup Brad Keselowski Helmet Brett Moist Nkp

(Photo: Brett Moist/NKP)

1. Joe Gibbs Racing This group has been so strong in 2016, and not just any one of them. When one is having an off day, another is dominating. The JGR Toyotas have a bit more speed than the competition this year, and all four drivers—defending champ Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Denny …

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5 Points to Ponder: Who’s Getting Cut?

2016 Chicago Nxs Pack Racing Nighel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who’s Getting Cut: After Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, the series will make the first cuts of the 2016 Chase. As things stand, it’s Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher who make up the bottom four and will be out of contention should all remain constant. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson is …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: The Round of 16 Can Hurt Race Broadcasts

2016 Chicago Cwts John Hunter Nemechek Matt Crafton Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Last weekend in NASCAR was fairly interesting out on New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  For the most part, the Room of Doom didn’t play that much of a role (unless your name was John Hunter Nemechek). The Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck series were both in action at New Hampshire, and we saw two different …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: Restart Edition

2016 Chicago Cup Michael Mcdowell Matt Dibenedetto Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Wouldn’t it be nice if life regularly offered us a chance for a restart, a chance to pull back even with the leaders after falling behind? A chance to get our lap back when we feel like we are a lap down to the rest of the field. A chance to win a race when …

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The Underdog House: What Small Teams Want You to Know

2016 Kentucky Cup Casey Mears Car Reflection Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Think Small I had a conversation this past weekend with Germain Racing driver Casey Mears, and I asked him the one thing he wished that NASCAR fans understood about his job. Mears offered the following assessment. “The thing I wish more fans knew is just how difficult it is to get one of these cars …

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Beside the Rising Tide: Y’iz or Y’ain’t

2015 Las Vegas Cup Martin Truex Jr Jimmie Johnson Racing Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Sometimes there’s just no gray area.  In the presence of a written rule known to all competitors before a sporting event, you’re either legal or you aren’t — y’iz or y’ain’t. But after the wildly popular (OK, sparsely attended, barely watched and widely ignored) Chicagoland Speedway Sprint Cup Series Chase kick-off race, NASCAR made a …

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