Race Weekend Central

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 AAA Texas 500

2016 Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Texas

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? When the season has been a struggle almost from day one and the best qualifying effort a driver can muster is 31st, it would be easy to write the weekend off as a lost cause.  But for Kasey Kahne at least, the day-to-night switch at Texas worked out well. …

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Carl Edwards Wins Rain-Shortened AAA Texas 500, Advances to Championship 4

2016 Indianapolis Cup Chase Elliott Carl Edwards Brett Moist Nkp

(Photo: Brett Moist NKP)

The very thing that kept Carl Edwards out of the Championship 4 in 2015 had his back Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. That thing, of course, was rain. Following a five-hour weather delay to start the afternoon in Texas, the rain returned with 42 laps to go, giving race leader Carl Edwards the race victory. …

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Did You Notice? … The Chase Where Nobody Wrecked

2016 Charlotte All Star Cup Tony Stewart Crash Damage Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Did You Notice? … This Chase has been the one where nobody wrecked? We’re on pace for the fewest cautions in the history of NASCAR’s playoff, races decided through a handful of restarts and pit strategy spread out over long green-flag runs. Think back to last year and the title’s defining moments. Joey Logano spins …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in NASCAR: Trick or Treat Edition

Jimmie Johnson Sunlight Burnout Martinsville Cup 2016 Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

The first race in the third round of the Chase was a bit of a treat for some drivers and teams and maybe a bit of trick for others trying to become one of the four drivers to compete for the title in Homestead later this month. And of course, one of those drivers is …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Jimmie Johnson Sets the Table for a Run at Title Seven with Victory at Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson Sunlight Burnout Martinsville Cup 2016 Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Who’s in the headline – Jimmie Johnson had eight wins at Martinsville Speedway entering this weekend’s activities. While that is an impressive number, he had gone six races without a win and had not finished better than ninth in the last four. The race wasn’t a dominating effort by the No. 48 team, but they …

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Jimmie Johnson Wins Martinsville for 9th Time; Advances to Championship 4

Jimmie Johnson Front Stretch Burnout To Victory Lane Martinsville Cup 2016 Mike Neff

(Mike Neff)

The Toyota boys were snookered Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Despite leading 374 of 500 laps in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500, Toyota found themselves in the rear view mirror of Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, who passed Denny Hamlin for the lead with 92 laps to go, led the rest of the race as the Joe Gibbs …

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Carl Edwards Hits Wall Hard in Martinsville

2016 Chicago Cup Carl Edwards Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The first significant issue in Sunday’s Goody’s Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway swallowed up a Chaser in Carl Edwards. Running ninth during a green-flag cycle on Lap 357, Edwards cut a right-front tire entering Turn 1, sliding and slamming into the wall. Bringing the damaged No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the garage, Edwards …

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Beside the Rising Tide: It Don’t Come Easy

2016 Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Talladega

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/ NKP)

The race is not always to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong…. – Ecclesiasticus – Sunday’s Talladega race was not at all what many of us expected or dreaded in the week leading up to the event. There were no big, huge smoking pig-piles of wrecks and blessedly nobody got hurt. Whether that …

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5 Points to Ponder: The Best Track in NASCAR

2016 Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Talladega

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/ NKP)

ONE: Martinsville I’ve said it many times before, and I’m sure I’ll continue to say it as long as the editors allow me to keep writing this column. There’s nothing in NASCAR that can’t be fixed, at least temporarily, with a visit to the oldest, slowest and flattest track in the sport. Martinsville Speedway is …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: Waiting For The Big One Edition

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Joey Logano John Harrelson Nkp

(Photo: John Harrelson/NKP)

When it comes to restrictor place races at Talladega and Daytona, the big question is, when will the big one happen? As in, when will we see a big crash with at least seven or eight cars involved. If you were waiting on that to happen during Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Talladega, then you …

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Biffle, Johnson Fastest In Talladega Practices

2016 Cup Talladega Greg Biffle Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

An unpredictable first practice at the Talladega Superspeedway on Friday featured two former Sprint Cup Chase drivers that have had unremarkable seasons the last couple years as the fastest on track. Things stabilized in the second practice session as Jimmie Johnson continued his strong Chase run at the top of the charts. Greg Biffle is …

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The Fronstretch 5: Final Races and What to Expect

2016 Kansas Ii Cup Matt Kenseth Kyle Busch Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

1. Talladega If there’s anything to expect about Talladega it’s that you shouldn’t expect anything. The nature of restrictor-plate racing, especially at the Alabama track, makes it pretty much one giant crapshoot. While some drivers certainly have more skill than others at the track, one mistake by somebody else can erase it all in an …

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