Race Weekend Central

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Survives the Daytona Pandemonium For Second Career Victory

Rfr Leading Daytona

(Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP)

Who’s in the headline – It took Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 157 races to visit Victory Lane for the first time. It only took eight more to make a return trip. Stenhouse made a late-race pass coming to the white flag and held off the competition to lead the final two laps to score the victory. …

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The Frontstretch 5: Midseason Observations

Martin Truex Jr.

[Photo: Zach Catanzareti]

Sorry, guys, the stages are pretty ok I know there are some fans who are not behind the race structure, but after nearly half a season of racing, has it really changed the racing all that much?  The answer is yes…and no. Why it works is that the actual race remains more or less unchanged.  …

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5 Points to Ponder: Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Together Again?

2017 Atlanta Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

ONE: Dale Jr. to the FOX Booth? I want to start out by saying I have nothing but love and respect for old DW. Sure, his boogity boogity nonsense drives me a tad insane but the three-time champion, 84-time race winner and Hall of Famer has achieved more in his NASCAR career than all but the …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2017 Toyota/Save Mart 350

2017 Nascar Monster Energy Cup Series, Sonoma

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Who … gets the shoutout of the race? How about Dale Earnhardt Jr.? He recovered from a spin early in stage one to finish sixth, his third top 10 at Sonoma in the past four seasons. Earnhardt hasn’t loved road courses before. He even said he wanted to put some dynamite on the 12-turn road course …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kevin Harvick Finally Tastes Well Aged Victory at Sonoma

Harvick Sonoma Win 1

(Photo: Lesley Ann Miller/ NKP)

Who’s in the headline: In a race that saw strategies all over the board, 10 different leaders exchanged the lead 13 times, and questions about leaders having enough fuel to the make the finish emerged to make the Toyota/Save Mart 350 one of the most compelling races of the season. When the checkered flag flew, it …

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Voice of Vito: Injustice in XFINITY

2017 Atlanta Cup Denny Hamlin Nigel Kinrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Taking Candy from a Baby – with a Bat Denny Hamlin’s last-lap battle with William Byron to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ Irish Hills 250 Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, was yet another checkmark next to the growing list of reasons of why Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the lower-tier XFINITY and …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Speed . . . I Am Speed Edition

2017 Nascar Monster Energy Cup Series, Michigan

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Michigan International Speedway is one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit (and that includes the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega). So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised the driver running a design for a racing movie won on Sunday. Kyle Larson isn’t a superstar just yet, but with a few more days like Michigan, he …

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Kyle Larson Or Martin Truex Jr.: Take Your Pick

Larson Truex

(Photo: Matthew Thacker/ NKP)

Three years ago, Martin Truex Jr. led a total of just one lap in the Cup Series. His team had won at NASCAR’s top level only once, at Darlington in the 2011 Southern 500. Kyle Larson? He was halfway through a rookie season in which he never cashed in on Victory Lane. Neither driver came close to …

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The Big 6: Questions After The 2017 FireKeepers Casino 400

Shr Michigan

(Photo: Matthew Thacker/NKP)

Who … gets the shoutout of the race? Kyle Larson is a master at restarts. It’s something that Jeff Gordon always pondered during the late stages of his career, but one of NASCAR’s next potential superstars has restarts down to a science. The  No. 42 car did its best job to depict the likes of …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: Kyle Larson Scores Second Career Michigan Win

2017 Nascar Monster Energy Cup Series, Michigan

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/ NKP)

Who’s in the headline – For only the fourth time this season, a driver led the most laps in a race and went onto Victory Lane. Kyle Larson started on pole, led the most laps and finished the deal to grab his second-career victory at Michigan International Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. looked like he could …

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Pace Laps: Kyle Larson Pulls Off Michigan Win and Lack of Funding Hurting Truck Series

Gateway

(Photo: Barry Cantrell / NKP)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Kyle Larson Does it Again at Michigan- Kyle Larson proved on Friday he had the fastest car at Michigan International Raceway, putting his No. 42 team on the pole for the 400-mile event. This time, the California kid had to hold off a pack of hounds in the waning laps. Larson …

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