Race Weekend Central

The Underdog House: Small NASCAR Teams Thrive At Short Tracks

2017 Nascar Monster Energy Cup Series, New Hampshire

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/ NKP)

Cup Series racing at Martinsville is about survival and persistence. The on-track action always ruffles some feathers, best evidenced by the late-race incident between alpha dogs Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott. What was happening between Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney served as the consolation sideshow. PETERS: What Happens Now For Hamlin & Elliott? But at Underdog …

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The Underdog House: Where was the Outrage… For Corey Lajoie?

2017 Kansas Ii Cup Corey Lajoie Barry Cantrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)

Think Small Checking out social media on Monday, there were a lot of posts expressing outrage at Matt Kenseth being parked Sunday at Kansas for having too many crewmen working on his car after damage put him on the five-minute clock.  Kenseth’s disqualification took him out of the playoffs in what may be his last …

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The Underdog House: Surviving NASCAR Talladega… Sort Of

2017 Talladega Ii Cup Michael Mcdowell Brad Keselowski Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

Think Small One thing that struck me when I first started in NASCAR was that if you spent enough time looking, you could see fans at a race who supported every driver in the field.  T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers were among the ways they proclaimed their loyalty. Fast forward a couple of decades, and …

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Todd Parrott Out as Leavine Family Racing Crew Chief

2017 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series, Michigan

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

The driver of the No. 95 for Leaving Family Racing isn’t the only thing that’s changing next season. Todd Parrott, crew chief of the No. 95 Chevrolet piloted by Michael McDowell this season, has been relieved of his duties with the team, effective immediately. The team broke the news with a tweet early Monday morning. …

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4 Burning Questions: Who Will Surprise Us All at Talladega?

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Apache Warrior 400 Dover International Speedway, Dover, De Usa Friday 29 September 2017 David Ragan, Front Row Motorsports, Thehouse.com Ford Fusion World Copyright: Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

Who Could Be a Surprise Cup Winner on Sunday? NASCAR’s Talladega week is where it gets fun for us writers. We get to publish our outlandish, bold winners who we predict may make us look like geniuses for once in our nine-month season. In this week’s Frontstretch Podcast powered by DraftKings, we added a little …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: NBC Benefits from Rule, Pounds Playoff Theme

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Bank Of America 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, Nc Sunday 8 October 2017 Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry And Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Jimmy John's Ford Fusion World Copyright: Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Last weekend’s action in Charlotte was quite difficult, and not because of anything NASCAR did.  The weather simply wreaked havoc on everything. Before we even get started, we must talk about the timeslot change for Sunday’s Bank of America 500.  That was only possible thanks to two factors.  One was an agreeable TV partner in …

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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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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: The Late Edition

2017 Loudon Cup Erik Jones Car Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

Sometimes circumstances happen that are completely out of your control that prevents you from doing something you enjoy. That’s the case with the late version of this week’s column and that was the case with a few drivers during Sunday’s race at Hampshire, who would’ve much rather finished up front rather than in the back. …

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Michael McDowell: ‘I’m Not Done Yet’

Michael Mcdowell New Hampshire

(Photo: Brett Moist / NKP)

Michael McDowell is searching for options after Leavine Family Racing announced it will have Kasey Kahne on board for the 2018 season. Soon after Kahne won July’s Brickyard 400, he became one of the hottest free agents on the market, and his talents are being taken to LFR. While the team would like to have two cars down the road, they’ve …

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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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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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2017 Frontstretch Podcast Powered by DraftKings – Episode 28: Playoffs, Please

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Overton’s 301 New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, Nh Usa Sunday 16 July 2017 Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Busch Beer Ford Fusion And Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Fedex Office Toyota Camry World Copyright: Rusty Jarrett Nkp

(Photo: Rusty Jarrett/NKP)

Episode 28: Playoffs, Please Frontstretch Podcast with Dustin Albino, Davey Segal and Zach Catanzareti In this week’s episode brought to you by DraftKings, Dustin, Davey and Zach recap the opening round of the playoffs from Chicagoland, discussing pit road problems and possible trouble afoot for some top contenders. We also debate Kasey Kahne’s move to Leavine Family Racing for 2018 and compare …

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