Race Weekend Central

Pace Laps: Roush Fenway’s Struggles, Truck Championship Contenders and Racing vs. Rain

2014 Chicago Cup Brad Keselowski Paul Wolfe Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Sprint Cup Series: Slow Start for Roush Fenway Racing – There has been a gap between Penske Racing and Roush Fenway Racing all season.  Though both teams use Ford engines, Penske has been gapping their counterpart, and never was it more evident than at Chicagoland on Sunday. While Brad Keselowski earned the win and Joey Logano …

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Pace Laps: Congenial Richmond, KyBu Nationwide, other stuff

2014 Richmond Ii Cup Pack Racing Ii Cia

(Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Cup:  The Race That Wasn’t – No one did anything surprising in the race at Richmond.  Well, that’s not correct.  The idiot who climbed the catchfence in turn 4 surely did something surprising.  While many people have done idiotic things at a race track, it’s doubtful that anyone anticipated a fan climbing the fence bordering …

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Pace Laps: Kahne In, Harvick Cruises, IndyCar Adieu, and More

2014 Atlanta Cup Kasey Kahne Victory Credit Cia

Kasey Kahne stepped up in a big way late in Sunday's Cup race. (Credit: CIA)

Cup: Sweet Relief for Kahne          By racing for the Cup juggernaut Hendrick Motorsports, there are high expectations for Kasey Kahne.  That his brethren at the organization have all earned three wins apiece makes his season look all the worse.  In fact, with only two top-5 finishes in 2014, Kahne was looking like …

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Nuts for Nationwide: It’s No Longer the Kyle Busch Series

2014 Loudon I Nns Kyle Busch Racing Cia

The so-called Kyle Busch Show has been rewritten. The 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season has instead been the tale of a rookie named Chase Elliott, with a few chapters on what dominance looks like (in the form of JR Motorsports), along with the fight from the little engines that could in Ty Dillon and Chris Buescher. …

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Nationwide Breakdown: Food City 300

2014 Mudsummer Classic Eldora Speedway Ryan Blaney Camping World Trucks Mike Neff 243

(Credit: Mike Neff)

It was another Nationwide Series race at Bristol that featured a late battle between the No. 22 and the No. 54 – only this time, the former bested the latter with someone other than Brad Keselowski behind the wheel. Ryan Blaney aced the final restart of the night with six laps to go, taking the …

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Nuts for Nationwide: Joe Gibbs, Series Score with Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez

(Credit: NASCAR)

The current young roster of the NASCAR Nationwide Series is brimming with talent – talent that is, it’s a safe bet to say, the future of the sport. Chase Elliott, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher, Dylan Kwasniewski and many more are already household names as well as the storylines that have begun to read repetitive. Each …

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Pace Laps: Jimmie Johnson Success, First Time Nationwide Winners and Powers’ Power

2014 Michigan Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Car Cia

Sprint Cup: A normal race at Michigan for Jimmie Johnson usually means that he runs out of fuel in the final laps after leading for most of the day and having the best car.  Johnson, however, did the other Jimmie Johnson thing at Michigan.  That usually means falling way back in the field and then seemingly arriving …

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Nationwide Breakdown: Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200

Buescher Mid Ohio 2

(Photo: Roush Fenway Racing)

Chris Buescher and his Roush Fenway Racing team gave up on their Nationwide Series championship hopes long ago. Instead, they focused on trying to win a race during their rookie season. Saturday it was mission accomplished. Buescher and crew chief Scott Graves played the fuel mileage strategy at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in order to …

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Nuts for Nationwide: Road Courses, the Land of Opportunity

2014 Road America Nns Alex Tagliani Pole Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Credit: Getty Images)

Goodbye, short tracks. Thanks for the memories. I appreciate what you used to do for NASCAR. However, you’ve been replaced – by road courses, where the NASCAR Nationwide Series heads for the third and final time this weekend. Mid-Ohio will be the center of attention, and most likely, the most-entertaining race of the weekend. Everything …

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Pace Laps: Settling Safety, Farewells At Watkins Glen

2014 Indianapolis Cup Marcos Ambrose Cia

Sprint Cup: Watkins Glen Odds & Ends – One of the things that makes Formula One racing successful is the commitment the series expects from its viewing constituency.  Races typically conclude in a two-hour window, and when it seems that might not be the case, due to weather, an accident, or some other issue, F1 switches …

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Nuts for Nationwide: Chase Elliott Won’t Miss a Beat with New Crew Chief

2014 Chicago Nns Chase Elliott Burnout Credit Jonathan Daniel Nascar Via Getty Images

(Credit: Getty Images)

Regardless of change, time is on the side of Chase Elliott. The 18-year-old Nationwide Series points leader will lose his crew chief, Greg Ives, following the 2014 season. Ives is set to take the reins for Sprint Cup Series driver – and Elliott’s boss – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., beginning in the 2015 season. The move means …

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Pace Laps: Pocono Oddity, Iowa Adventures, Ohio Excellence, and More

Cup: Strange Results from Pocono It’s not a surprise that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won at Pocono.  He raced with the leaders all race long and his crew chief, Steve Letarte, made a brilliant strategy call that put him in the best position to win. But what about the rest of the field? Kyle Busch completed …

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