Race Weekend Central

4 Burning Questions: Will Focus Be on Pit Road or the Racetrack in Vegas?

2015 Nascar Fontana Jennifer Coleman Nkp Pit Road

(Photo: Jennifer Coleman NKP)

Will Focus Be on Pit Road or the Racetrack in Las Vegas? AJ Allmendinger officially scored negative 24 points last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. None of us enjoy seeing penalties on the forefront of weekly discussion, but it is there again. From the Camping World Truck Series to XFINITY to Cup, Atlanta kept us …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Brad Keselowski Overcomes Loose Lug Nuts, Takes Advantage of Others Speeding to Win Atlanta

2017 Atlanta Cup Joey Logano Pack Racing Barry Canrrell Nkp

(Photo: Barry Cantrell / NKP)

Who’s in the headline – For most of the race Sunday, it looked like Kevin Harvick would be the the whole story of the QuikTrip Folds of Honor 500. Unfortunately for him, a pit road speeding penalty on Lap 311 put an end to the storybook day for the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series …

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Kyle Busch Cut Tire Causes Melee in Daytona 500

Kyle Busch Erik Jones Matt Kenseth Daytona

(Photo: Bruce Nuttleman)

The first half of the Daytona 500 avoided the big wreck. The second half? It took just four laps. On Lap 104 in the 59th Great American Race, Kyle Busch‘s right rear tire went down right in front of a crowd of racecars. Busch, winner of the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stage had no warning …

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR: Daytona 500 Preview

The official start to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season (and daily fantasy NASCAR) is finally upon us. The Advance Auto Parts Clash and two Can-Am Duels were full of nail-biting action, a great preview of what’s to come during Sunday’s Daytona 500. When it comes to daily fantasy NASCAR on DraftKings, the strategy …

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4 Burning Questions: Will Hendrick Motorsports Keep It Straight in Daytona 500?

2016 Daytona Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Dale Earnhardt Jr Racing Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade NKP)

Will Hendrick Motorsports Keep It Straight in Daytona 500? The dubious tone from Dale Earnhardt Jr. during Sunday (Feb. 19)’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway spoke volumes about how the rest of Speedweeks may go for Hendrick Motorsports. Despite sweeping the front row for Sunday’s Daytona 500, single-car speed doesn’t seem to …

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NASCAR 101: Your Cheat Sheet to Cup Series’ Team & Driver Changes

Clint Bowyer 2017 Daytona

(Photo: John Harrelson/NKP)

Good lord, is it really that time of year again? Despite an offseason that frankly felt like a four-week break, it is indeed true: NASCAR racing is back, and even though you just now figured out who Kaulig Racing is and finally learned how to spell half the new Camping World Truck Series drivers’ names, too bad, …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: Bring On NASCAR 2017

Johnson Larson Patrick Daytona

It’s true NASCAR has the shortest offseason of any major sport. But really, why does it seem like forever between the season finale at Homestead and the start of Daytona Speedweeks? It’s just 90 days, far shorter than the end of the Super Bowl and the start of NFL Training Camps midsummer. For me, the …

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5 Cup Series Drivers Who Need to Win in 2017

2015 Chicago Cup Clint Bowyer Danica Patrick Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­­

When NASCAR announced changes to the race format late last month, it made consistency relevant again. Winning is still going to have its virtues, including an automatic playoff berth, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the end-all, be-all it often has been. Like other changes NASCAR has made in the past, the best …

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Erik Jones Adapting to Format Changes While Climbing NASCAR Ladder

2017 Cup Charlotte Media Tour Zach Catanzareti Erik Jones

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Unlike any other driver competing in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Erik Jones has had some extra adapting to do in recent years. Specifically, three years, three series and three different championship formats. Jones, who will now attack the new stage-style championship format in his rookie Cup season with Furniture Row Racing, …

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Friday Faceoff: Who’s the Top NASCAR Rookie For 2017?

2016 Xfinity Iowa

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Carl Edwards pulled off a move that shocked the racing community, announcing he’ll step away from NASCAR competition full-time.  If Edwards has really hung ’em up for good, what is his legacy in the sport?  Is he a future Hall of Famer? Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: I think he goes down as one of the …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: NASCAR Championship Edition

2016 Indianapolis Cup Jimmie Johnson Hat Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

The final race of the season ended with the kind of drama that NASCAR could only hope for when it devised the Chase system, and especially this current Chase system. There was no ceremonial ride around for 267 laps for the champion as there had been at times when the championship was all but won …

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Daniel Suarez Dominates Homestead to Win XFINITY Championship

2016 Xfinity Homestead Miami Speedway Zach Catanzareti Daniel Suarez

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Pole, most laps led and a race victory. Daniel Suarez had it all Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win his first XFINITY Series championship in his second season. Steering clear of an off-the-pace Cole Whitt, whose TriStar Motorsports team decided not to pit under the final caution, Suarez held off Ty Dillon to win the …

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