Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Charlotte Edition

Chase Elliot Charlotte Cup Fall 2017 Yvonne Leonard

(Photo: Yvonne Leonard)

The rain may have stayed away from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon, but Martin Truex Jr. couldn’t stay away from Victory Lane. Truex just reinforced the idea of what most in NASCAR already know: He is a virtual lock to be one of the Championship 4 in the final race at Homestead. That’s not to say …

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Kyle Larson Leads Troublesome Cup Charlotte Practice

2017 Darlington Cup Zach Catanzareti Kyle Larson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Kyle Larson led the way in opening practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Larson’s time of 28.113 seconds (192.082 MPH) was 0.094 seconds ahead of Ryan Newman as he seeks the Bank of America 500 pole. Larson, a four-time 2017 winner has yet to reach Victory Lane in this year’s …

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Did You Notice?: 7 NASCAR Storylines Still Worth Watching

2017 Richmond Ii Cup Kyle Busch Martin Truex Jr Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Did You Notice?… It’s been a difficult, controversial start to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. In the last three weeks, we’ve seen a 25-point penalty by a potential title contender (Chase Elliott). There’s been controversy surrounding the national anthem, forcing NASCAR PR to take a stance. Toyota has been dominating races, leading 299 of …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Late Pass Gives Kyle Busch Victory Over Chase Elliott at Dover

Dover

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Who’s in the headline – We’ve seen it happen multiple times at Dover International Speedway as the No. 48 team makes a late-race charge to lead a handful of laps and win the race. It wasn’t the No. 48 car Sunday, but it was the No. 18 team. Kyle Busch dropped like a stone in …

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Picks up 1st Top 10 Since Sonoma

Dale Jr. Dover

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP)

Sunday’s Apache Warrior 400 at Dover International Speedway was Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s best outing in over three months, finishing seventh, while running better than that for the majority of the event. Earnhardt, 42, was in the midst of his worst 12-race streak since 2009 with Hendrick Motorsports. The No. 88 team went 12 consecutive races …

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NASCAR Drivers Continue Reaction to National Anthem Protests

American Flag Dover

(Photo: Dustin Albino

Friday at Dover International Speedway marked the first time NASCAR was in action following Sunday’s national anthem controversy at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  Sparked by comments from Richard Childress and Richard Petty, quotes that suggested firing employees who protested the anthem a Monday morning tweet from Donald Trump thrust NASCAR into the political conversation. At Dover, …

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5 Points to Ponder: A Sluggish Start to the NASCAR Playoffs — Why?

2017 Michigan Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Helmet Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

ONE: Sluggish Start to NASCAR’s 10-Race Playoff It’s fair to say for NASCAR that it hasn’t been the compelling start to the 2017 playoffs the powers that be at Daytona Beach, Fla.,  would have wanted. We’ve had two poor races with limited-to-no excitement. There hasn’t been a great deal of passing, not really any it seems …

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Donald Trump Applauds NASCAR, At Odds with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Over National Anthem Controversy

American Flag Daytona

(Photo: Rusty Jarrett/ NKP)

Update: NASCAR tweeted a statement Monday afternoon, Sept. 25, concerning its position on nationwide protests during the national anthem and comments made by a few of its owners, drivers and even President Donald Trump. NASCAR statement pic.twitter.com/Sme0Gjww5e — NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 25, 2017 Original article: President Donald Trump and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rocked the Twitter world …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kyle Busch Sneaks by With New Hampshire Win

Loudon

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Who’s In The Headline After events conspired against him at Chicagoland Speedway, the stars aligned for Kyle Busch in Loudon to allow him to win his 41st career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. He was in second place at the mid-point of the race when Kevin Harvick spun and ended up sideways in the middle …

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The Underdog House: NASCAR Must ‘Cope’ With Slow Cars On Track

2017 Las Vegas Cup Landon Cassill Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Think Small After last weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway, where Derrike Cope brought out a late caution while racing several laps down, fans and some media suggested Cope should have been removed from the track by NASCAR long before the incident. That group, which included regular season champion Martin Truex Jr., claimed Cope was so far in …

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5 Points to Ponder: The Future of Richard Petty Motorsports

2017 Richmond I Cup Aric Almirola Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell Labounty/NKP)

ONE: Smithfield’s Shifting Gears Away From Richard Petty Motorsports Tuesday morning (Sept. 12), Smithfield announced it’s leaving Richard Petty Motorsports to join one of the Stewart-Haas Racing Fords. After six years partnering with the No. 43, the strength of SHR’s multi-car organization (which has two of its four cars in the playoffs) became too good to …

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Beside the Rising Tide: The Butterfly Effect

2017 Richmond Ii Nxs Sunset Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

In a NASCAR season full of bizarre incidents and happenstance, the incident at the entrance to pit road on lap 258 Saturday night at Richmond Raceway might have been the most unlikely. Even as race control opened pit road for a crucial series of stops, a wayward ambulance pulled to a stop, almost completely blocking …

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