Race Weekend Central

Pace Laps: Happy Days at Sonoma, Underdog Takeover at Iowa & Scott Dixon Wins Big

Nascar Xfinity Series

(Photo: Brett Moist / NKP)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Happy Days for Stewart-Haas Racing in Sonoma – Car owner Tony Stewart called it a “perfect race” for driver Kevin Harvick, who broke a 20-race winless drought Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. Expanding to his three other teams under the Stewart-Haas Racing umbrella, he called it “awesome.” Starting from the top, …

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Slipstream Saturday: Kaltenborn’s Departure & More Ahead of the Azerbaijan GP

Monisha Kaltenborn Sauber

Monisha Kaltenborn, former head of Sauber (photo: Getty Images)

The first female team boss in F1 split with her organization this week in what came as a surprising move.  Monisha Kaltenborn began her involvement with F1 beginning around 2000 when the company for which she worked, the Fritz Kaiser Group, joined the sport backing the then BMW team.  As principal players in the structure …

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Happiness Is: Stage Racing At Its Finest

2017 Pocono Cup Zach Catanzareti Kyle Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

This past weekend was chock-full o’ racing, with NASCAR hosting three events, IndyCar in action accompanying the Trucks in Texas and Formula 1 making its annual appearance in Canada.  That meant there should have been something for everyone.  And if not, well what are you doing hanging around a motorsport site? Each race had its …

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Pace Laps: Another NASCAR First-Time Winner in 2017

2017 Pocono Xfinity Zach Catanzareti Brad Keselowski

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Pocono, 2017 Deliver Another First-Time Winner – What a popular streak for both the sport and a racetrack to be on in 2017. After Chris Buescher’s fog-shortened victory at Pocono Raceway last August, many thought a win like that would never come again. In part, they were wrong, as Ryan Blaney …

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Slipstream Saturday: Spreading the Wealth & Rumors Ahead of the Canadian GP

F1 Williams Felipe Massa 2017

Felipe Massa has driven well for the Williams team in 2017 (photo: Getty Images)

When we last joined the Formula 1 daredevils, they were speeding through the streets of Monaco.  The commonwealth, a veritable playground for the rich and famous, seems to match with the sport like no other environment does.  At the same time, racing the Monaco GP also represents the elements of class that are representative of …

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Happiness Is: Criticism, Arguments & Mettle

2017 Dover I Cup Jimmie Johnson Happy Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

This past weekend at Dover International Speedway was a crash course in, well, crashing.  Sheet metal suppliers must have been in love with the races, if that’s what you want to call them, because for much of each event they resembled demolition derbies rather than examples of racing par excellence.   Blame it on whatever …

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Happiness Is…: Moving On from the Best Day in Motorsport

Austin Dillon Crew Celebration Charlotte Cup 2017 Yvonne Leonard

(Photo: Yvonne Leonard)

This past Sunday marked a wonderful day in motorsport with Formula 1, IndyCar, and NASCAR all putting on varied shows.  In many ways, the culmination of all three races and 1200+ miles of racing showed that everything can happen, from the seemingly mundane to the incredibly fortunate.  The race leading the day turned out to …

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Slipstream Saturday: Kissing the Walls at the Monaco GP

An overhead shot of the Monaco Grand Prix in 2017. (Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: Getty Images)

This weekend is the annual return to Monaco for Formula 1.  In some ways, the race is a bit of a stay-at-home affair, as many of the drivers and team principals have residences in the area.  In fact, when Nico Rosberg finished the race last year, he reportedly walked home after his disappointing finish.  He …

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Happiness Is…: The Best Day in Motorsports

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

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

This weekend marks the annual best day in motorsports.  Sunday features three crown jewel events, beginning with the Monaco Grand Prix, followed by the Indianapolis 500 and capped by the Coca-Cola 600.  That’s a full, long and storied day of racing, yet according to people at Nielsen, only two percent of U.S. viewers will bother …

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Happiness Is: Testing, Trucks & Bricks

2017 Texas I Cup Aric Almirola Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

The wreck that overshadowed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway highlighted a topic this column addressed the previous week regarding safety.  As Aric Almirola is still with us and able to walk should not be ignored by any stretch – and his appearance at the Martin Truex Jr. Charity function on …

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Pace Laps: Aric Almirola’s Wreck Changes the Game, Ben Rhodes Comes up Shy of First Victory

2017 Kansas I Cup Aj Allmendinger Aric Almirola Pack Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Almirola Crash Changed The Game – Just one week ago, Aric Almirola stood inside Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway. He’d won his second XFINITY Series race in his last three restrictor plate attempts, following that up with a fourth-place effort in the Cup race. A season-long goal of making the playoffs suddenly …

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