Race Weekend Central

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Confirms 3 Entries for Sebring

2017 Daytona Iwsc Billy Johnson Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Thursday afternoon, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing announced that they will be fielding three Ford GT’s in the GTLM class in the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on Mar. 18.  Joining the two full-time entries will be the No. 68, which will again be piloted by Billy Johnson, Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla. Team …

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Friday Face-off: What Was to Blame for Daytona Carnage?

Kyle Busch Erik Jones Matt Kenseth Daytona

(Photo: Bruce Nuttleman)

This year’s Daytona 500 saw 15 drivers fail to finish due to wrecks. Is that the result of plate racing, the segments, simply coincidence or… what? Is the damage clock the right length or do you think that was also the culprit? Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: In the 500, it was plate racing more than …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: FOX Deals with New Rules, Constant Wrecking

2017 Daytona I Nxs Airplane Russell Labounty Nkp

Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP

Finally, the season is underway.  Sadly, the three races last weekend ended up being the wreckfests that I feared.  The damaged vehicle policy created a real mess as teams weren’t allowed to fully fix their cars.  As far as I’m concerned, having that policy goes against the whole idea of getting drivers to race harder.  …

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Pace Laps: Small Teams Benefit in Daytona, Montoya Has Fun

Elliott Leads Daytona 500

(Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Big Ones Open Opportunity for NASCAR’s Small Teams If your Daytona 500 top-10 predictions were correct, after Sunday you may have a few new friends next time you go gambling in Las Vegas — or when you make a DraftKings team. While veteran Kurt Busch grabbed an epic last-lap victory for the first …

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WTR, Corvette Racing, CORE autosport Top Sebring Charts

2017 Daytona Iwsc Colin Braun Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

Thursday and Friday, teams from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship took to 3.74-mile Sebring International Raceway for 15 hours of testing ahead of next month’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. For most of the teams, it was their first chance to test out new Balance of Performance guidelines that were designed to bring the …

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Friday Faceoff: Do NASCAR’s New Rules Go Too Far?

2016 Xfinity Homestead Miami Speedway Zach Catanzareti Kyle Larson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

NASCAR implemented some new penalties for 2017, including immediate consequences for some infractions. Kyle Larson was parked during the Advance Auto Parts Clash for having too many men over the wall making repairs to his car, one of the new provisions.  Are the new, stiffer penalties a good deterrent to breaking the rules, or do …

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James Davison Returns to TRG in Pirelli World Challenge

2015 Lime Rock Tusc Christina Nielsen Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

On Tuesday, The Racers Group (TRG) announced that they will be returning to Pirelli World Challenge’s GT class on a race-to-race basis.  The team has tapped James Davison to drive a Aston Martin Vantage GT3 starting at the season opener next month in St. Petersburg.  The effort will not affect TRG’s existing Porsche effort in …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Takes Center Stage For FOX

Clash

Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP

Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday (also known as Talking NASCAR TV).  I’m back for my ninth year of TV commentary, suggestions, complaints and more.  It should be a fairly interesting year, although there will be several changes in the personalities that you’ll see.  This week already showed off plenty of them. First off, reporter and NASCAR …

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Pace Laps: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Return, Sebring Testing, Austin Theriault Wins and Florida Speedweeks

The Busch Clash at Daytona 2017 Photo: Nigel Kiinrade/Nigel Kinrade Photography

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Welcome back, Junior – Dale Earnhardt Jr. is officially back. The weekend at Daytona International Speedway saw the two-time Daytona 500 champion have some fun again – so much, in fact, that he looked to actually be enjoying a rain delay for once on Saturday night. While trading stories with Jeff …

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Beyond the Cockpit: Justin Marks on Mid-Ohio Triumph, Turner Return

2017 Daytona Iwsc Justin Marks Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

Justin Marks has had an up-and-down career in motorsports.  In NASCAR, Marks has two career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts, 30 in the XFINITY Series and 37 in the Camping World Truck Series.  Success has been fleeting.  He has two poles and four top-10 finishes in the trucks.  In the XFINITY Series, Marks has …

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Cadillac Racing Announces Lineup, Taylor Brothers in for Sprint-X Races

2016 Lime Rock Pwc Johnny O'connell Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

On Monday, Cadillac Racing announced their 2017 Pirelli World Challenge driver lineup.  Their full-time drivers will be unchanged.  Four-time GT class champion Johnny O’Connell will return to the No. 3 Cadillac ATS-VR for his seventh year with the team.  Meanwhile, Michael Cooper will return for his second year in the No. 8.  Cooper’s No. 8 will carry …

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