Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: Atlanta Brings Unnecessary Fighting, Long Runs to FOX

Denny hamlin leads the pack in NASCAR Cup Series action at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Atlanta was an interesting weekend. You had a tripleheader of action, but not nearly as much good racing on the track as I would have liked to see. The task here is how FOX can make races enjoyable when they aren’t the most impressive. Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Sunday looked like a Kyle Larson …

Read more

Scott Miller Explains Why Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric Weren’t Penalized After Atlanta Scuffle

Noah Gragson drinks water after the 2021 spring Xfinity race at Phoenix Photo: NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Scott Miller, the senior vp of competition at NASCAR, joined “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio March 22 to explain NASCAR’s decision to not penalize NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric following last weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The two drivers entangled in a scuffle on pit road following the …

Read more

Zach’s Turn: Noah Gragson Pushing His Luck With Competitors

2021 Xfinity Atlanta Noah Gragson, No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Pits (Credit: NKP)

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

It’s no secret NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Noah Gragson doesn’t care about making enemies. So it should be no surprise yet another incident found its way to the JR Motorsports driver, this time following Saturday’s (March 20) EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Daniel Hemric confronted Gragson on pit road after the race, triggering an …

Read more

Xfinity Breakdown: Allgaier Holds Off Dominant Truex Jr.; Gragson and Hemric Throw Fists Post-Race

2021 Xfinity Atlanta Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Victory Lane (Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images via NASCAR Media)

Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images via NASCAR Media

It didn’t take long for two-time Xfinity Series champion Martin Truex Jr. to get his sea legs back after an 11-year absence in the series on Saturday (March 20) in the EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It only took Truex seven laps to drive from his 18th-place starting position to the lead. However, a …

Read more

Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric Clash After Xfinity Race at Atlanta

2021 Xfinity Homestead Noah Gragson (Credit: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

While the oft-nicknamed “Hotlanta” Motor Speedway sat in the mid-50s in regards to temperatures on Saturday (March 20), the tempers were certainly boiling once the afternoon’s EchoPark 250 had concluded in the Peach State. The NASCAR Xfinity Series event was won by Justin Allgaier, followed by Martin Truex Jr. in the latter’s first NXS race …

Read more

Did You Notice?: NASCAR Track Rotation Not the Worst Idea

Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series Folds Of Honor Quik Trip 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga Usa Sunday 25 February 2018 Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing, Jimmy John's Ford Fusion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing, Ford Ford Fusion, And Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta Chevrolet Camaro World Copyright: Barry Cantrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)

Did You Notice?… Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of a handful of tracks to gain back a second NASCAR date in the modern era after losing it? AMS will run its first NASCAR Cup Series race of 2021 this weekend (March 21) before the sport makes a return trip on July 11. There’s a lot of …

Read more

Eyes On Xfinity: Who Will Be 2021’s Next New Winner?

Noah Gragson

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

What have we learned four races into the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season? Simple: Expect the unexpected.  If you’re looking for a series in which one driver dominates each week and everyone else is running for second place, Xfinity is not for you. Defending series champion Austin Cindric opened up by winning at Daytona International …

Read more

Did You Notice?: Hendrick Motorsports is the New Face of NASCAR Youth Movement

Alex Bowman talks with Rick Hendrick before 2021 NASCAR Cup Race at Homestead Photo NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Did You Notice?… NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon retired in November 2015 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a shot at the Cup Series championship. He was 44 years old. Just five years later, William Byron trounced the field at that same track Sunday (Feb. 28) to take Gordon’s former No. 24 car to victory lane at …

Read more

Eyes on Xfinity: Let’s Go Feuding, Boys!

Noah Gragson at 2021 Xfinity race at Daytona Photo NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

If you go in the garage of any NASCAR series … well, at least if you did before the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to see the divide: the one between the haves and the have nots. On one end of the garage are teams that have the resources to run near the front each week …

Read more

NASCAR Mailbox: Will This Season Have More Than 16 Winners?

Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell standing before 2021 Homestead Cup race Photo NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

With three winners already this season that aren’t your conventional names, talk of the 2021 playoff field is already heating up. After all, who would’ve expected Michael McDowell to have a spot locked up? And Christopher Bell and William Byron to have theirs this early? Will 2021 be the year that the regular season sees …

Read more

Frontstretch 5: Best Non-Finale Races at Homestead-Miami Speedway

2021 Xfinity Homestead Myatt Snider, No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Burnout (Credit: NKP)

Credit: NKP

We all remember when Homestead-Miami Speedway hosted NASCAR’s finale weekend from 2002-19. Many fantastic championship battles were fought, which included many joys and many heartbreaks to go along with them. The speedway, though, lost its finale weekend to Phoenix Raceway in 2020, signifying the end of a historic tradition. But the speedway hosted races that …

Read more

Noah Gragson, David Starr, MBM Continue to Sound Off on Late-Race Homestead Crash

2021 Xfinity Homestead Noah Gragson (Credit: NKP)

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway ended in controversy as David Starr and Noah Gragson got together with three laps to go as Starr’s tire failed, while the latter was leading the race. Days later, it’s clear the incident is still a hot-button topic, as Gragson again referenced the contact today (March …

Read more