Race Weekend Central

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Chase Elliott Wins 2nd Round of 12 Race, Round of 8 Set

2017 Phoenix Cup Chase Elliott Cockpit Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

Who’s in the headline In the typical, overreaction world of 24/7 social media and sports talking heads, Chase Elliott has gone from early title dropout to championship favorite. Elliott went to Victory Lane for the second time in three races, and Elliott Nation is in a lather over the potential for him to contend for …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Aric Almirola Finally in Victory Lane After Stewart-Haas Domination at Talladega

Aric Almirola 1000bulbs.com 500 Victory Lane

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

Who’s in the headline There is domination by drivers and domination by teams. Sunday was total domination by the Stewart-Haas Racing organization. They won every stage and the race with a different driver doing each, and the driver who didn’t win any of them finished second in all three. In the end, fuel mileage bit …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Chase Elliott Fires Up the Siren a 2nd Time

2018 Cup Zach Catanzareti Dover Chase Elliott

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Who’s in the headline Chase Elliott lost a heartbreaking race at Dover in the fall of 2017 and blamed himself solely for the loss. Sunday was a complete team effort that vaulted Elliott to Victory Lane and a berth in the Round of 8. Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola both appeared headed to victory early …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Ryan Blaney Wins the ROVAL, Kyle Larson Survives to Advance

#12: Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Menards/pennzoil Celebrates His Win Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who’s in the headline The list of road course favorites was long going into the first ROVAL race, and it was a safe bet that Ryan Blaney wasn’t on most of those lists. However, sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, and Blaney was lucky to be in the right place at the …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kyle Busch Sweeps Up at Richmond

2018 Cup Richmond Zach Catanzareti Kyle Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Who’s in the headline Kyle Busch has the most wins of any active driver at Richmond Raceway, but prior to this spring, it had been five years since he won a race there. He had also never won a fall race at the Virginia short-track. Not only did Busch win the spring race earlier this …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Brad Keselowski Sets Benchmarks with 3rd Straight Win & Penske 500th

#2: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Autotrader Celebrates His Win Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who’s in the headline Momentum is a beautiful thing when you’re running for a championship, and Brad Keselowski is riding a huge wave of it after winning his third consecutive race and locking himself into the second round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Keselowski won the second stage and the race in a …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard

#2: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Discount Tire Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The Key Moment Denny Hamlin took the lead from Clint Bowyer by pitting two laps earlier than the No. 14. He seemed to have the car to beat Bowyer when a pair of backmarkers, Landon Cassill and Jeffrey Earnhardt, wrecked with six laps to go and bought out a caution. Brad Keselowski was able to …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Brad Keselowski Finally Experiences Southern Hospitality

Brad Keseloski Darlington 2018 Cup Mike Neff (8)

Who’s in the headline While he wasn’t the dominant driver of the evening, Brad Keselowski took advantage of a strong pit stop that put him in the top spot and ran away from the field to claim his first victory at Darlington Raceway. It was the first win for Team Penske at Darlington since Bobby …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kevin Harvick & Kyle Busch Best So Far in 2018

#4: Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Busch Light / Mobil 1 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who’s in the headline The 2018 season has been the story of the haves and have-nots. Stewart-Haas Racing has been the strongest organization all season long and its number one driver has been Kevin Harvick. Harvick is the series leader in victories, stage wins and has accumulated the most playoff points. The other driver who …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Just Like Old Times, Kurt Busch Wins Bristol

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who’s in the headline Kurt Busch owned Bristol at one point in time. He won five races there from 2002 through 2006, including three straight in 2003 and 2004. Since his fifth win in 2006, he didn’t have a single runner-up finish. Busch ran in the top 10 the majority of the night and made …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kevin Harvick Sweeps Lucky Number 7

#4: Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Busch Light / Mobil 1 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Who’s in the headline Kevin Harvick has done it again. For the third time in his seven victories this year, he swept all three stages of the race. Harvick led 108 laps, won every stage and beat the competition into submission. He became the second driver in 20 years to have seven wins through 23 …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Chase Elliott Cranks Up the Siren Again

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Gobowling At The Glen

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Who’s in the headline After almost three years of trying, and eight near misses, Chase Elliott has finally scored his maiden win in the Cup series. Elliott won the second stage and the race while Martin Truex Jr. grabbed the win in the first stage. William Byron crossed the finish line in eighth to claim …

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