Race Weekend Central

The Frontstretch 5: Pictures that Say More Than Words Alone

2016 Fontana Nxs Darrell Wallace Jr Laughing Brett Moist Nkp

(Photo: Brett Moist/NKP)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  If that’s true, the pictures here speak volumes, far more than I could possibly convey in mere paragraphs. Racing, at its heart, is about people. Here, some of the people show a myriad of emotions. Photography is intimacy at its raw core; it sees people as …

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The Frontstretch 5: Items That Should Be on the Collective NASCAR Mind This Week

2016 Bristol I Cup Matt Dibenedetto Racing John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson / NKP)

1. Fans need to know who the drivers are The finish at Bristol featured something you don’t see very often: a pair of top-10 runs by a couple of the smallest teams in the sport.  Matt DiBenedetto and Clint Bowyer proved that at a track where the price of the equipment takes a back seat, …

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The Frontstretch 5: (Seemingly) Unlikely Drivers Who Could Get to Victory Lane in 2016

2016 Fontana Cup Austin Dillon Brett Moist Nkp

(Photo: Brett Moist / NKP)

Austin Dillon OK, so this one’s not really a stretch.  Dillon has been strong this season, he’s got the resources (his grandfather owns the team, so there might even be a little extra incentive), and the former Truck and XFINITY series champ has shown he can run with just about anyone. Dillon’s numbers are already on …

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The Frontstretch 5: Really Cool Trophies

2016 Fontana Cup Jimmie Johnson Trophy Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

1. The Borg-Warner The iconic prize for winning the Indianapolis 500, the Borg-Warner Trophy, has the tiny sculpted face of every winner displayed on its sides.  It’s huge and shiny, yet classy enough for the history it represents.  Put it right on up there with the Stanley Cup among the most iconic trophies in all …

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The Frontstretch 5: Practical Ways to Address Cup Drivers in Lower Series

2016 Fontana Nxs Pack Racing Ii Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

In recent years, fans have become increasingly vocal about limiting the number of Sprint Cup drivers in the XFINITY and Truck series races, or limiting the number of races they run as the number of series regulars winning races has dwindled, particularly in the XFINITY Series. In that series, of 71 races dating back to …

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The Frontstretch 5: Things NASCAR Can’t Have

2016 Fontana Cup Ryan Blaney Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Admit it, you’ve heard the talk in NASCAR in recent years.  The racing is boring, the drivers are boring, some people have no business racing in the Cup Series. But wait, what do you mean there won’t be a parade of new teams fielding backmarkers? Drivers are robots if they don’t speak their minds, jerks …

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The Frontstretch Five: Feel Good Stories So Far In NASCAR 2016

2016 Phoenix I Cup Matt Dibenedetto David Ragan Nigel Knrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Finishes like this one: … and this one: No, they won’t all be like that, but these finishes were pretty spectacular, and the racing through the field hasn’t been too shabby either, with the exception of Daytona. Maybe someday, FOX will see fit to show that part to fans at home… 2. A few new …

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The Frontstretch 5: NASCAR Commercials You Might Wish You Never Saw

Lvms Nscs Johnson Pack 030516

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

There have been some great commercials over the years featuring NASCAR drivers, though if you believe what you see, they wear firesuits and drive their racecars everywhere they go, and would apparently forget their own car number if it wasn’t embroidered on their pajamas.  However, they can’t all be instant classics.  Here are a few …

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The Frontstretch 5: Things to Keep an Eye on in 2016

1. This new package It’s still too early in the season to say for sure what the racing will look like when everyone figures out the low-downforce package.  Drastic changes generally do produce a period of enhanced competition because some teams figure things out faster and get in the mix while others lag. But the …

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The Frontstretch 5: Drivers Who Need to Up Their Game in 2016

Every year, there is a group of drivers who, for a variety of reasons, needs to step up the game.  It could be a contract year, a need for a comeback from a slump, a matter of living up to expectations.  Sometimes it’s all three, sometimes it’s a self-inflicted pressure that simply stems from not …

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The Frontstretch 5: Unrestricted Plate Track Musings

1. Do we really need these restrictor plates? Define need. Do the cars need to be slowed down? Absolutely. A few years back, Rusty Wallace tested an unrestricted Cup car at Talladega and ran speeds of almost 240 mph. That’s too fast. But do they have to do it with plates? Technically, no. It could …

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Frontstretch 5: Things You Need to Know About the NASCAR Charter System

2015 Phoenix International Raceway Nscs Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick Pit Road Rain Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

1. It will make very little difference to the racing you see. While the Sprint Cup field will now be comprised of 40 cars instead of 43, thanks to the charter announcement, the impact on the actual racing will be minimal, at least in the short term.  Fans won’t see a different product on the …

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