Race Weekend Central

Double Take: The Arrival, Rise & Potential of Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson Win

2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA USA Sunday 26 March 2017 Kyle Larson celebrates his win in Victory Lane World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade/NKP

Kyle Larson has arrived. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to race fans — after all, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver came into the sport much heralded, being possibly the most hyped driver since Joey Logano’s entry into Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing a half-decade or so back. Despite only a handful of years …

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Daily Fantasy Forecast: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Preview

2016 Loudon I Cup Jimmie Johnson Helmet Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

The seventh stop on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit comes Sunday in Fort Worth. The green flag rolls off after 1:30 p.m. ET at Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. MENCS teams hit the track Friday at noon ET for practice and then 6:15 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole …

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The 10: NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings After Martinsville

2017 Martinsville Cup Zach Catanzareti Brad Keselowski

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams rolled into Martinsville Speedway last weekend for the first short track race of 2017. As is always the case, a field of pristine, hand built cars started the race. Then, their drivers promptly beat against, leaned on and slammed into each other until nearly all of them looked …

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Holding A Pretty Wheel: Stage Racing Changes the Game In a Good Way

2017 Martinsville Cup Zach Catanzareti Brad Keselowski Kyle Busch

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

The checkered flag flew at Martinsville Speedway as the sun dipped below the grandstand, lengthening the shadows over the backstretch.  Brad Keslowski took his victory lap as the rest of the field pulled onto pit road, battered and bruised (both cars and egos). Teams rolled their cars back onto the haulers in elation or frustration …

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Up to Speed: Everything is Great at Martinsville

2017 Martinsville Cup Zach Catanzareti Kyle Larson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

In the still young 2017 season, NASCAR is trying to find reasons for fans to get excited.  First, there was the implementation of the new stage format.  Pre-determined cautions with points awarded to the top 10 drivers mid-race made for some initial curiosity at Daytona International Speedway. However, stage racing has mostly led to more aggressive …

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The Big 6: Questions After The 2017 STP 500

2017 Martinsville Cup Zach Catanzareti Kyle Larson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? The Martinsville Speedway has been a great racetrack for JTG Daugherty Racing. AJ Allmendinger finished second in the spring race last season and 10th in the fall race. It shouldn’t be surprising that both Allmendinger and teammate Chris Buescher both performed well on Sunday. Allmendinger finished sixth, coming back after …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Brad Keselowski Survives Beating, Banging and Trading Paint to Win Martinsville

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Who’s in the headline – Rusty Wallace won at Martinsville Speedway six times drivng for Roger Penske. He last won a grandfather clock for Penske in 2004. Since then, it had been an agonizing drought for Team Penske. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have both come very close in Southern Virginia, but failed to seal …

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Cup Qualifying Cancelled at Martinsville; Kyle Larson to Start on Pole

2017 Martinsville Cup Zach Catanzareti Kyle Larson

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

The rain won Friday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. Despite the dry start to the day, a series of heavy rains put an end to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying before it even began. With the lineup being based off the rulebook, point leader Kyle Larson will start from pole in Sunday’s STP 500. “This …

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4 Burning Questions: Will Kyle Larson Bring Dominance to Martinsville?

2017 Auto Club Kyle Larson Cup Russell Labounty / Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

1. Kyle Larson: Will the Kid Keep It Going? Kyle Larson is in a special place as a racecar driver. He can win every week. We all know anything can happen on Sunday, but this guy was only a few close breaks away from having six consecutive wins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. …

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The 10: NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings After Fontana

2017 Fontana Nxs Kyle Larson Woohoo Rusty Jarrett Nkp

(Photo: Rusty Jarrett / NKP)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series went Hollywood this weekend for its annual visit to Fontana, CA. The stars were were out and the red carpet dazzled with NASCAR’s best. But it was California’s own Kyle Larson who stole the show. Larson stuck to his script and delivered an award-winning performance. The Chip Ganassi Racing …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Breaking Down Stage Breaks

2017 Phoenix I Nxs Austin Dillon Pack Racing Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP)

NASCAR’s new policy of implementing stages into races is in full effect, and it is quite wild. It seems like ages ago since NASCAR made the major step of having double-file restarts, rather than having lapped cars restart on the low line of the leaders, enabling them to have a chance to get their lap(s) …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Second Chance Edition

2017 Las Vegas Cup Clint Bowyer Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

We saw a lot of Kyle Larson and Martin Truex, Jr. up front during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at California’s Auto Club Speedway. But what we had not seen this year, and only once before, was Larson finishing up front. Larson’s second career victory put to rest a series of oh-so-close second-place finishes to …

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