Category: NASCAR Blogs

NASCAR unveiled the much-anticipated NextGen car Wednesday afternoon. The new generation of Cup car is set to replace the current generation in 2022. Most of the comments have been positive following the unveiling of the new car. But before fans and media members shower tons of praise on the new car, the bottom line is whether the NextGen car is a good race car. Meaning, will the car produce competitive racing once it takes the track? In the looks department, the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, and Toyota Camry editions of the NextGen cars are the closest thing a Cup car…

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No professional sporting organization wants to be seen as manipulating the outcome of its events. And typically, the harshest of penalties are often doled out by the various leagues when it is believed that anyone has acted in a way that will bring about an artificial result. Recall, for example, the instance in which Michael Waltrip Racing had one of its drivers intentionally spin to bring out a caution so that another of its drivers could make the NASCAR Playoffs(Chase). One of MWR’s cars was ultimately barred from the Chase and huge fine was handed down to the company as…

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Anyone who has watched NASCAR Cup Series racing for very long knows that some of the most unpredictable races on the entire schedule are those contested at the Talladega Super Speedway. The threat of the “Big One” that could, on any lap, eliminate or damage half the field in an instant can take favorites out of the race and place unexpected drivers at the front of the field. And more, the draft can favor or discard a driver who looks like a sure winner just yards from the checkered flag. As a result, there is always the potential for a…

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*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day. Richard: It was another weekend and another weather interrupted race for NASCAR as the “Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500” originally scheduled for this past Saturday night at the Martinsville Speedway was halted after just 42 laps when the rain came. This occurred one day after the “Cook Out 250” NASCAR Xfinity Series race was also hampered by precipitation. And more, the much anticipated “Food City…

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It is incredibly easy, albeit unfair, to “armchair quarterback” in some situations and I suppose the attempt by NASCAR to put its Cup Series back on dirt for the first time since 1970 can be considered one of those situations. Still, I am going to use my 20/20 hindsight and do exactly that here. Going into the weekend of the Food City Dirt Race, I had a number of concerns about how all of this would play out. As someone who covers approximately 50-60 dirt track races each year, I feel as if I am qualified to some degree at…

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When it was first announced that the NASCAR Cup Series would stage its first dirt race since 1970, there were a few names that immediately stood out as the most serious contenders to claim victory. One of those names was Christopher Bell. Although only 26 years of age, the native of Norman, Oklahoma is one of the most accomplished dirt racers currently competing on a regular basis in NASCAR. Bell won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on dirt at the Eldora Speedway in 2015 then followed that up with a runner-up finish in the Eldora Dirt Derby the…

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The NASCAR Cup Series schedule contains a few “oddities” on the 2021 calendar. There are more road courses slated for the tour than every before, a first-time trip for the series to the Nashville Super Speedway, a repeat of the double-header weekend at Pocono, multiple dates for the venerable old tracks in Atlanta and Darlington, and perhaps the “oddest” of all comes this weekend when the series races on dirt for the first time since the early 1970s on the clay covered Bristol Motor Speedway. Add to all of that the fact that NASCAR will, for the most part, continue…

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Over the past few years, when fans and media of NASCAR have thought about the Homestead-Miami Speedway the name of Tyler Reddick is one of the first to come up. The Corning, CA native twice used that south Florida track to secure a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship when he won there in 2018 and 2019. And his trend of success continued in the Sunshine State in 2020 during his rookie campaign on the NASCAR Cup Series when he finished fourth on the 1.5-mile oval. The move by the series to one of his better tracks could not be coming at…

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There are currently four NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have scored a top-10 finish in each of the two races held on the grounds of the Daytona International Speedway so far in 2021. Two of those four are named Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, which should not surprise anyone. But the fact that the other two top finishers are named Michael McDowell and Ryan Preece ought to come as a surprise to many fans and followers of the sport. Even though the two tracks located inside the racing facility at DIS are very different, the equipment prepared by Hamlin’s Joe…

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When it was announced that Kyle Larson would return to the NASCAR Cup Series with powerful Hendrick Motorsports following a suspension of several months, there were high expectations. After a season in which the Elk Grove, CA driver tore through the dirt racing ranks piling up scores of feature wins, the status of the 28-year-old racer reached almost legendary proportions. Many expect weekly contention, multiple race wins, and a deep run into the NASCAR Playoffs from the No. 5 Chevrolet team this season, in part, because of the dominance he demonstrated in 2020. This driver’s prowess on dirt has caused…

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