Race Weekend Central

NASCAR Mailbox: Predicting the Future

2106 Sonoma Cup Tony Stewart Helmet Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

With a new aerodynamic package added to the mix in 2016, many things have remained the same. The same core of organizations are winning races, ultimately dominating the sport. Could there be a change in the near future? Familiar foes are near the Chase cutoff, and it’s something that those drivers and teams are accustomed to, …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: FOX Goes All-in for Stewart

2106 Sonoma Cup Denny Hamlin Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

Last weekend saw NASCAR’s National Series put on two very different races.  Sonoma on Sunday was very clean, possibly the cleanest Cup race ever run at Sonoma Raceway.  Yes, there were four cautions, but they were for either stalled cars or debris.  No one spun out all day.  Don’t recall that ever happening.  Meanwhile, there …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Inside Tony Stewart’s Stunning Sonoma Victory

2106 Sonoma Cup Tony Stewart Woohoo Close John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson/NKP)

Who’s in the headline – Friday, Tony Stewart said, “driving a Sprint Cup car does not make me happy right now.” Wonder how he feels after a trip to Victory Lane? Based on that winning look on his face my guess is “ecstatic” after a last-lap, last-turn re-pass of Denny Hamlin earned Smoke his first victory since Dover in June 2013. …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 Toyota Save Mart 350

2106 Sonoma Cup Denny Hamlin Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who…gets my shoutout of the race? He may have been visibly disappointed when the checkered flag flew, but the fact is that Denny Hamlin had a great day at Sonoma Raceway.  Hamlin’s second-place run was his best-ever result at the track and the first time since 2009 that he’s finished better than 18th there.  Hamlin …

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Daily NASCAR Fantasy: Drafting Your Sonoma Lineup at the Toyota/Save Mart 350

2016 Dover I Cup Aj Allmendinger Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Sonoma Raceway June 26 for the Toyota / Save Mart 350. Sonoma is the first of two road-course circuits NASCAR will compete at this season. Sonoma, Calif., is home to one of the most unique race tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. When teams embark on …

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4 Burning Questions: What Has Kept AJ Allmendinger from Sonoma Victory?

What Can Separate AJ Allmendinger from Delivering the W on Sunday? Road course racing is what AJ Allmendinger knows best. He earned his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in thrilling fashion two years ago at Watkins Glen International, and will be going for a second consecutive pole in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma …

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Did You Notice? … Big Names Still Seeking First NASCAR Road Course Win

2016 Pocono I Cup Matt Kenseth Jason Ratcliff Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Did You Notice? … That for many on the Sprint Cup circuit road course racing has become an acquired skill. Sure, the quality of competition has gone up significantly in recent years; months of testing and resources are benchmarked to help series regulars at both Sonoma and Watkins Glen. We’ve seen old road course ringers like Boris Said and Ron …

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Sprint Cup Crystal Ball: A Potential Path To 17 Winners?

The third year of Sprint Cup’s current “Win And You’re (Basically) In” Chase format appears on paper to be on pace with past seasons. There have been 10 different winners in the first 15 races, equal to the pace we saw last year and down nine percent from 2014. The breakdown of those victories is …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in NASCAR: Sonoma Edition

2016 Charlotte Cwts William Byron Truck Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

It was a bit of different kind of racing weekend as the Sprint Cup series was off, but the Truck and XFINITY Series races provided plenty of good plots and subplots throughout the weekend. So, this week’s column will give some time and space to drivers and teams in those two series. HOT William Byron …

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Chip Ganassi Labels NASCAR’s Lug Nut Policy “Silly”

With the one-race suspension of team crew chief Chad Johnston, Chip Ganassi, co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates said that the “whole lug nut thing is a silly thing” while calling into SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday evening. His remarks came hours after NASCAR suspended Johnston, a veteran crew chief, for lug nuts …

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AJ Allmendinger, Ben Kennedy Among 4 Added to Richard Childress Racing’s XFINITY Roster

2016 Fontana Nxs Aric Almirola Austin Dillon Brendan Gaughan Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Richard Childress Racing added some star power to its No. 2 NASCAR XFINITY Series  on Wednesday. RCR announced it has filled the seat for the five NXS standalone races. Ben Kennedy, Sam Hornish Jr., AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell will all get a shot at bringing the No. 2 to Victory Lane, a feat the …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400

2016 Charlotte All Star Cup Martin Truex Jr Denny Hamlin Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who…gets my shoutout of the race? A lot of drivers go on to great careers without winning a race in their rookie seasons, and some of the sport’s best have had rookie campaigns that certainly didn’t hint of any success to come later.  But first-year driver Chase Elliott is looking closer and closer to finding …

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