Race Weekend Central

Paul Menard Posts 8th-Place Finish in Return to Trucks at Watkins Glen

2021 Watkins Glen Trucks Paul Menard truck NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Paul Menard is rarely seen at NASCAR racetracks these days. He proved, however, that his road-racing abilities are just as sharp as ever, wheeling the No. 66 Toyota for ThorSport Racing to an eighth-place finish in the rain-shortened NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 7). This wasn’t …

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Todd Gilliland Wins Inaugural COTA Truck Series Race

2021 Trucks Cota Todd Gilliland Checkered Flag Celebrate Jared C Tilton Getty

Todd Gilliland celebrating his win at the first Truck race at COTA (credit: Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images)

In a race that was full of road course specialists battling in slippery race conditions, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular Todd Gilliland took the victory in the first-ever NASCAR event at Circuit of the Americas just outside Austin, Texas. It is the 2021 DAYTONA 500 Champion race team Front Row Motorsports’ first win in …

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2019 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Paul Menard

2019 Kansas 2 Mencs Paul Menard Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

After a somewhat successful first season with Wood Brothers Racing in 2018 in the NASCAR Cup Serie, Paul Menard had an even quieter but arguably more successful 2019. Seven top-10 finishes dotted Menard’s 2018 resume, higher than his 2019 statline of four. But Menard also enjoyed an average finish of 16.6, the second best of …

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2019 NASCAR Top Storylines: The Pay-to-Play Trend

2019 Atlanta Cup Landon Cassill Car Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Money buys a lot of things in NASCAR. It buys speed, or at least the parts and pieces to make speed happen. It buys alliances between teams that can also lead to more speed. It buys advertising time that gets sponsors and drivers exposure. Money also buys rides. It’s a trend that has been on …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Monster Ending Goes Out with a Whimper

2019homesteadmencskylebuschburnoutcck

Well, the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season is over, and Kyle Busch has won his second title, overcoming teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr, and Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing, as they all had problems of one sort or another (documented elsewhere by my colleagues). While Busch did run the full season …

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Paul Menard, David Ragan End Full-Time NASCAR Careers

2019 Homestead Cup David Ragan Jeff Burton Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

While the focus on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway was clearly on the Championship 4, there were other stories in play.  For both Paul Menard and David Ragan, Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 marked their final races as full-time drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Menard had a relatively quiet race and mostly ran around …

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Kyle Busch Cruises To Ford EcoBoost 400 Victory, 2nd NASCAR Cup Title

2019 Homestead Mencs Kyle Busch Trophy Cck

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

Kyle Busch is a NASCAR champion once again. For the second time in five years, Busch won the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and with it the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title. A 21-race winless streak left Busch a bit of an underdog heading in, but a consistent, mistake-free performance led to a …

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Kyle Busch Leads Lone Homestead Practice, Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2-3

2019 Homestead Cup Kyle Busch Car Phil Allaway

Joe Gibbs Racing came out swinging in the only Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice held before Sunday’s (Nov. 17) season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Busch led a 1-2-3 practice sweep as the team’s three title contenders led from virtually the drop of the green flag. Busch posted a one-lap speed of 168.966 mph, …

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5 Points to Ponder: The Fantastic Four

2019 Phoenix Mencs Denny Hamlin Victory Lane Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

ONE: The Championship Four All week long, conventional wisdom suggested that Kyle Busch (+22 points up on fifth place) and Joey Logano (+20 on fifth) would secure their berths alongside Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick in the final four for the second straight season. While each of the four drivers below the cut line …

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Pace Laps: Rain & Controversy for NASCAR at Talladega Superspeedway

2019 Daytona Mencs Rain Christian Koelle

(Photo: Christian Koelle)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Rain Delays Talladega Race Rain halted the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday (Oct. 13) afternoon with just 57 of 188 laps completed. William Byron, who won stage one, was scored as the leader when the red flag flew. No major wrecks have impacted the race as of yet; 33 …

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NASCAR 101: 5 Longest Active Winless Streaks in All 3 Series

2017 Daytona I Cwts Joe Nemechek Barry Cantrell Nkp

Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP

It’s hard to believe that Kyle Larson had not won in 75 races. Or the fact that Jimmie Johnson still can’t find victory lane. While Larson was able to take a home a much needed checkered flag last Sunday (Oct. 6) at Dover International Raceway to end his winless streak in the Monster Energy NASCAR …

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