Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Richmond, Take II

2018 Las Vegas I Cup Aric Almirola John K Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John K. Harrelson / NKP)

Kyle Busch captured his 50th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win by taking the checkered flag on the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night. It was the seventh win of 2018 for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. He was followed by the Ford of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in second and …

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Up to Speed: Aric Almirola Exceeding Playoff Expectations

Aric Almirola 2018 Mencs Cup Series, Sonoma

(Photo: Danny Peters)

Two races into the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Aric Almirola’s performance is the biggest positive surprise.  After getting through a chaotic race in Las Vegas unscathed, Almirola earned a fifth-place finish Saturday night at Richmond Raceway.  That finish, coupled with a sixth-place run last week, has lifted Almirola to sixth 0n the …

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The 10: NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings After Las Vegas II

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

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

The last time the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, a championship contender arose in the form of Kevin Harvick. And when the series came back around to Vegas last weekend, another driver was feeling lucky, topping our NASCAR power rankings in the process. Brad Keselowski had zero …

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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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Up to Speed: Pressure to Win on Denny Hamlin

2018 Cup Pocono Zach Catanzareti Denny Hamlin

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Denny Hamlin has rarely suffered from a lack of wins in his NASCAR career.  Since 2006, his rookie year in the Cup Series, he has never had a winless season.  Some of those years certainly were not big-win seasons, but Hamlin always found a way to get to Victory Lane at least once. Even in …

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NASCAR 101: Who’s Most Likely to Progress Out of the Cup Playoffs’ First Round?

2018 Cup New Hampshire Zach Catanzareti Kyle Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

This year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, which begin this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marks the fifth time in which the series has employed an elimination-based format to help decide its champion at the end of the season. Starting in 2014, the series cooked up different rounds throughout the playoffs that eliminated …

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5 Points To Ponder: In The 2018 NASCAR Playoffs

2018 Cup Pocono Zach Catanzareti Kyle Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

ONE: Should We Fast-Track The Big Three Straight To Homestead? Never in the five-year history of NASCAR’s 16-driver playoff format have we seen three wheelmen so far ahead of the pack. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. start the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff as overwhelming favorites. They won 17 of …

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The 10: NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings after Indianapolis

2018 Cup Pocono Zach Catanzareti Kyle Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

It had been a long 26-race regular season with multiple teams falling behind while others went above and beyond in the performance department. The wait for the end of the regular season, however, was nothing like the three-day wait NASCAR faced this weekend in Indianapolis. Heavy rain throughout the weekend pushed both XFINITY and Cup …

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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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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Monday Afternoon Racing at Indianapolis

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

For the second week in a row, Brad Keselowski parked his Team Penske Ford Fusion in Victory Lane in one of the crown jewels of NASCAR, winning the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race was delayed until Monday afternoon because of pouring rain, just after the XFINITY Series …

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Kurt Busch Content Going into Playoffs Under the Radar

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

While much of the chatter this NASCAR season has been about the “Big 3,” Kurt Busch is consistently running at the top of the next tier of drivers, currently sitting fourth in the championship standings, just behind the alluded Big 3. Busch, 40, picked up his first victory since the 2017 Daytona 500 three weeks …

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Up to Speed: Will Team Penske Catch Stewart-Haas Racing in the Playoffs?

#2: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Stars, Stripes, And Lites #22: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

There is a battle brewing among the Ford teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.  With the postseason just weeks away, all four Stewart-Haas Racing cars are poised to make the playoff field.  Team Penske has all three of its drivers heading for the playoffs as well.  With at least seven drives ready to …

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