Race Weekend Central

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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Kyle Larson Fastest in Opening Martinsville Practice

Kyle Larson Martinsville Cup 2016 Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Kyle Larson proved there is still life outside of the final eight drivers in the Sprint Cup Chase on Friday, being the fastest in opening Martinsville Speedway practice with a lap at 19.289 seconds (98.170 mph). Larson had made the Chase and was a somewhat popular dark horse contender last month before multiple problems in the …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: NASCAR’s Kansas Clutch Edition

2016 Kansas Ii Cup Kevin Harvick Confetti Matthew T Thacker Nkp

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)

When you think about how a clutch works for a vehicle, when a driver pushes it down, while at the same time shifting gears and accelerating, most of the time it means it’s go time. That’s the case at this point in the season for the Sprint Cup Series. It’s go time and the teams …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Chris Buescher Impresses In Broadcast Debut

2016 Chicago Cup Chris Buescher Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Last weekend, we had three interesting races at Kansas Speedway.  They were different races, but each had their charms.  We also had three approaches to these races. Before we get going, FOX Sports announced a new online offering last Thursday.  Danielle Trotta and Kaitlyn Vincie will host a new digital show, Off Track, that will …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: The Chase Stymies Dover Enjoyment

2016 Pocono Ii Cup Martin Truex Jr Helmet Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton / NKP)

Author’s Note: This week, we’re going to keep this column to just the Cup race.  I will cover the XFINITY and Camping World Truck series races later this week. Martin Truex, Jr. kicked some butt on Sunday.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was more than fine with that. I can appreciate a good ass kicking. Some might call …

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Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: Chase Elimination Edition

2016 Nscs Jimmie Johnson Kentucky Photo Logan Whitton Nkp

(Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)

Sunday’s Sprint Cup contest at Dover served as the first Chase elimination inside NASCAR’s ten-race playoff. That means we had to say goodbye to four of the 16 drivers who, just a few short weeks ago believed they were the favorites to hold up the championship trophy in Homestead. As the Monster Mile showed us, despite a clean race Sunday holding on to a spot …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Martin Truex, Jr. Dominates at Dover

Who’s In The Headline Martin Truex, Jr. is on fire to start this Chase. Round 1 has been a showcase for he and the No. 78 team, who won the first race at Chicagoland, then came close in the second at New Hampshire before late restarts shuffled them back. At Dover, they had the second-fastest …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: Restart Edition

2016 Chicago Cup Michael Mcdowell Matt Dibenedetto Racing Russell Labounty Nkp

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Wouldn’t it be nice if life regularly offered us a chance for a restart, a chance to pull back even with the leaders after falling behind? A chance to get our lap back when we feel like we are a lap down to the rest of the field. A chance to win a race when …

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Kyle Larson Completes New Hampshire Practice Sweep

2016 Pocono I Cup Kyle Larson Chad Johnston Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

In the third and final Cup Series practice of the weekend Kyle Larson found himself on top, again. A speed of 132.577 mph claimed the top spot, edging out Denny Hamlin (132.549 mph) by .006 seconds. Those speeds left Larson, currently 15th in Chase points coming out swinging at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Prepping for Round 1’s …

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Kyle Larson, Martin Truex, Jr. Tie in Cup Practice at New Hampshire

Kyle Larson Indianapolis 2016 Cup Mike Neff

(Photo: Mike Neff)

Kyle Larson and Martin Truex, Jr. tied atop the scoring pylon in the first practice Saturday morning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. At a lap of 132.186 mph, the two Chase drivers were slightly faster than the rest of the Chase field. The first nine times were clocked in by …

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Carl Edwards Captures New Hampshire Cup Pole, 6th of 2016

2016 Darlington Cup Carl Edwards Zach Catanzareti

(Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

Carl Edwards added another pole to his resume on Friday when he turned the fastest lap in the final round of qualifying in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, at 135.453 mph. The No. 19 has started atop the scoring pylon six times in 2016, the most in a single season of …

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