Race Weekend Central

Thinkin’ Out Loud – Charlotte Chase race 5 – Wrestlemania 31

2014 Charlotte Ii Cup Kevin Harvick Woohoo Credit Yvonne Leonard

Key Moment – On lap 328, Brian Vickers‘ No. 55 done blowed up. The cleanup from the oil laid down lasted until lap 332. Rodney Childers, crew chief for Kevin Harvick, decided to leave his driver on the track. Several other cars also stayed out, so the two-lap dash to the trophy was a battle among …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Breaking Down NASCAR’s Kansas Chase Race

2014 Kansas Ii Cup Joey Logano Confetti Cia

Credit - CIA Stock Photography

Key Moment – With 53 laps to go in the race Kevin Harvick thought he had a right front tire going bad. After the team swapped out all four skins on his ride it was determined that all four tires were good. The end result was Harvick slipping back into the upper 20s and having …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud – Dover – Chase Race No. 3 – The field is trimmed to 12

2014 Dover Ii Cup Jeff Gordon Family Trophy Cia

Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Key Moment – The pass for the lead by Jeff Gordon over Brad Keselowski with 95 laps to go was the difference in the race. Keselowski was in the top 3 all day long and looked to be the driver to beat once Kevin Harvick’s car had issues with an inner liner going flat. Gordon …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Sylvania 300 – Joey Logano Punches His Ticket While Others Punch the Wall

2014 Loudon Ii Cup Joey Logano Burnout Cia

Key Moment – On the penultimate restart with 29 laps to go, Brad Keselowski started on the inside of leader Kevin Harvick. As they raced through turns one and two, Keselowski slipped up and made slight contact with Harvick, moving him up and out of the groove. Joey Logano pounced on the opportunity and swept …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Chicagoland – Brad Keselowski Threads the Needle to the Second Round of the Chase

2014 Chicago Cup Brad Keselowski Trophy Cia

Credit: CIA Editorial Photography

Key Moment – Brad Keselowski was running in second when he made a yellow flag pit stop on lap 183. His team felt they did not properly secure the right rear tire to the car on the stop so they returned to pit lane and changed the tires again. As a result, Keselowski restarted behind …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Richmond – The Chase is Set, Brad Keselowski Dominates and a Drunk on a Fence

2014 Richmond Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Burnout Cia

Credit: CIA Editorial Photography

Key Moment – In a race where the winner leads 383 laps, including the final 274 in a row, there really aren’t any key moments in the race. Based on the practice sheets the key moment came between the first practice and the final practice. Brad Keselowski was 14th fastest in 10 lap average in …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud – Atlanta Oral-B 500: Stewart Makes His Return

2014 Atlanta Cup Tony Stewart Press Conference Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. Copyright 2014)

Key Moment – Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. had a dispute in Turn 1 with two laps to go. Busch hit Truex in the back bumper and put him into the wall. The resulting contact brought out the caution flag, which prompted a Green-White-Checkered finish. Kasey Kahne, who was headed to a potential victory …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Irwin Tools Night Race

2014 Richmond I Cup Joey Logano Champagne Cia

Credit: CIA Editorial Photography

Key Moment – With 67 laps to go the caution flag flew for what ended up being the final time on Saturday night. Matt Kenseth stayed on the track with four other cars while Joey Logano headed to pit lane and bolted on four fresh bolognas. When the race restarted, Logano took the green in sixth position and quickly sliced …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Pure Michigan 400

2014 Michigan Ii Cup Jeff Gordon Burnout Cia

Key Moment – On the penultimate restart of the day, Kurt Busch was alongside Joey Logano when the green flag flew. Busch laid it all on the line trying to get past the car of his former employer but broke loose and bounced his car off of the wall. His rear tire ultimately failed, bringing out …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Watkins Glen A Mix Of Tony’s Tragedy, AJ’s Triumph

2014 Watkins Glen Cup Aj Allmendinger No 1 Cia

Key Moment – On lap 78, Josh Wise stopped in the grass on the inside of the exit of the Bus Stop. Rather than throw a local caution to give Wise an opportunity to refire the car and continue on, NASCAR threw a full-course caution. As a result, AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose drew immensely closer …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: GoBowling.com 400

2014 Pocono Ii Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Checkered Flag Cia

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. after winning the GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. (Credit: CIA)

Key Moment – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Clint Bowyer pitted when the pits opened after the Big One with 39 laps to go. That decision by Steve Letarte put Earnhardt in position to take a splash of gas to make it to the finish of the race. Earnhardt made that final stop to top off …

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