Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: Jeff Gordon Gets Blasted

Jeff Gordon Indy 500 Pace Car Driver Indianapolis Motor Speedway

(Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

Much like almost any of you reading this column, I despise rainouts.  So many people had the DV-R on Monday and they experienced an added disappointment; the race was nearly three and a half hours long, going far longer than the regularly scheduled recording.  Whomever at FOX Sports thought the race would finish within a …

Read more

Kurt Busch Grabs First 2016 Win At Pocono

Kurt Busch

[Photo: Zach Catanzareti]

For Kurt Busch, it was a monster restart with 33 laps to go that sealed the deal in winning the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway. The No. 41 Monster Energy Chevrolet stormed past Dale Earnhardt, Jr. before taking off in the final 32 laps to win by 1.126 seconds. “It’s an amazing …

Read more

Brad Keselowski Frustrated After Pocono Penalty For Body Modification

Brad Keselowski Paul Wolfe

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Pole sitter Brad Keselowski entered Pocono Raceway Monday with high expectations. He left it scratching his head at how a victory could have potentially slipped away via a NASCAR penalty. The white No. 2 car led the field to green for the first time in 2016, and the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion was attempting to win …

Read more

Brad Keselowski Leads Team Penske 1-2 Punch In Pocono Qualifying

Brad Keselowski

[Photo: Zach Catanzareti]

A familiar sight in American auto racing, Team Penske, has swept the front row once again in NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying. This time, it is Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano who ended up 1-2 for Sunday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway. Both previous Pocono winners, the duo finished ahead of Kevin Harvick, Matt …

Read more

Did You Notice? … The Changing Face Of NASCAR Sponsorship

Did You Notice? … The deal Dollar General had with Joe Gibbs Racing runs fewer and farther between in this sport? I took a look at the 2001 full-time Sprint Cup grid, the first year the series went to 36 races and looked at how many teams signed a primary sponsor for the same number …

Read more

It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint: Big Names Winless In NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600

2016 Martinsville I Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Matthre T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T Thacker/NKP)

Charlotte, NASCAR’s home base hasn’t been a racetrack where everything’s coming up roses for this sport. Its premier event, the Coca-Cola 600 has gone from a peak of 10.2 million TV viewers in 2005 to just 6.4 million last year, a decline of 37 percent over the past decade. It’s a track that’s been hurt by “levigation,” higher …

Read more

Couch Potato Tuesday: FOX Confounds; ARCA’s ASN Debut Decent

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

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

All-Star Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway has always been interesting.  You never know what you’re going to get.  Unfortunately, Saturday brought confusion to everyone involved, even the sport’s FOX broadcast partner. Sprint Showdown/Sprint All-Star Race Holy cripes.  Saturday marked new formats for the Sprint Showdown and Sprint All-Star Race. While I’m not a fan of …

Read more

Up To Speed: Brad Keselowski Stands By Complicated All-Star Format

2016 Charlotte Motor Speedway Nscs All Star Race Brad Keselowski Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

In perhaps what was the most complicated Sprint All-Star Race format in the history of the exhibition event, many drivers went in without a full comprehension of what the rules were, and left still not knowing. Not only that, but the drivers were able to find some holes in NASCAR’s plot to bring some life back …

Read more

Dover Surprises with a ‘Monster’ Race Weekend

Stands

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Half-filled grandstands and mediocre racing have usually been the theme surrounding Dover International Speedway since the recession. Ticket prices for a day of XFINITY Series racing in the fall will be $47, on top of $65 for Sunday’s Sprint Cup matinee. Yeah, that’s what it has been like for several years, and things have not changed. The …

Read more

Thinkin’ Out Loud: A Monstrous Matt Kenseth Comeback

2016 Dover I Cup Matt Kenseth Jason Ratcliff Trophy Matthew T Thacker Nkp

Who’s in the headline – The 2016 season has been anything but stellar for Matt Kenseth. After a near miss at Daytona he’s only managed one top 5 finish before Sunday, and that as a fourth last weekend at Kansas. Sunday Kenseth was in the mix but didn’t look like he’d be in contention for …

Read more

Dover: The Moments A NASCAR Silly Season Makes

2016 Kansas I Cup Kevin Harvick Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The Monster Mile was overdue for a monstrous performance. Sunday, Dover delivered in a big way with one of the most unexpected and competitive races of the year. There were fireworks literally everywhere you turned in the final 100 laps, whether it was a race for the lead, jockeying for position on pit road or …

Read more

The 10: NASCAR Power Rankings Pre-Monster Mile

2016 Kansas I Cup Kyle Busch Kevin Harvick Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

 Saturday was an interesting night at Kansas Speedway. Martin Truex, Jr. dominated nearly the entire race just to fall victim to circumstances outside of his control once again. Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski threw their races away going for broke in the late stages. Ryan Blaney drove the kind of consistent, impressive race that the …

Read more