Category: NASCAR Blogs

Over the past several seasons it has become abundantly clear that the three auto manufacturers involved in the NASCAR Cup Series intend for their drivers to work to together to produce the best possible result at the sport’s two super speedway tracks. And this most recent Daytona 500 provided a clear example that nothing has changed in that regard. Virtually every time a race is aired from either the Daytona International Speedway or the Talladega Super Speedway, we are told by the media present at the track that each manufacturer held a meeting with its drivers and team owners prior…

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Any NASCAR Cup Series team will tell you that it’s never too early to start thinking about making the NASCAR Playoffs. For that matter, doing so becomes the primary focus in race shops throughout North Carolina almost immediately after the previous season ends. So this year coming out of the season-opening Daytona 500, an extra bit of pressure has been added to the mix for those teams who typically consider themselves to be in the hunt for a championship. Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing, Team Penske, Richard Childress Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing all placed at least one…

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To be clear, having racing to watch is far better than not having racing to watch. That said, however, the Daytona Duel races traditionally held on the Thursday prior to the Daytona 500 and used to set the starting lineup for the ‘Great American Race’ don’t hold the significance they were originally intended to hold. So in terms of being an important part of the SpeedWeeks program, these races have really outlived their original purpose. Years ago, the top-14 or top-15 finishers(depending on the finishing position of the two drivers who earned front row starting positions in time-trials) in each…

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All’s fair in love and war … and on the last lap of a season opening NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race. On top of that, friendships don’t matter when it come to going for a win with big money and no points on the line. Good buddies Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott were running first and second on the 35th and final lap of the Busch Clash at the Daytona International Speedway road course on Tuesday evening. As the two cars entered the final chicane with the checkered flag in sight, the second running Hendrick Motorsports car of Elliott closed…

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All photos in this piece provided by Getty Images Going into any new season it goes without saying that every driver and every team in the NASCAR Cup Series hopes to perform as well as possible. For each, however, those expectations of success are different for each team as some have the resources, the experience, and the capability to win races while others may not. For some, the occasional top-10, or even top-20, might meet or even exceed expectations. Of all the members on each team, the driver is obviously the most notable. Often times, whether fair or not, success…

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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: Kyle Larson just continues to impress and amaze. After winning more than 50 feature races last year in Sprint Cars, Midget Sprint Cars, and Late Models combined, he has continued those winning ways already in 2021. For the second year in a row he captured the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals at the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, OK in a Midget then came…

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A few years ago Ryan Blaney was thought of as a can’t miss superstar in the NASCAR Cup Series. And certainly, the High Point, NC native has accomplished some things that many others only wish they could have. But now at the age of 27, the time has come to start asking when, or even if, he will reach the status of multiple race winner and regular championship contender. Blaney is the son of former Sprint Car racing star and NASCAR regular Dave Blaney which perhaps led to exalted expectations when he entered the sport. And further, Blaney himself offered…

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Going into the 2021 season there are going to be many fans who will be rooting for Bubba Wallace and his new team. At the same time, there will be a number of fans rooting against Bubba Wallace and his new team as well. While numerous columns could be written regarding why both of the above statements will almost certainly prove to be true, this piece is only going to graze the fringes of race and other societal issues so if the reader is looking for facts or opinions about the Black Lives Matter movement, nooses, Confederate flags, or otherwise,…

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Early in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season the rumor mill was churning regarding the future of Brad Keselowski as his contract with Team Penske was set to expire at the end of the campaign. Some had him penciled in as the replacement for the retiring Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 car at Hendrick Motorsports with others suggesting that he would ultimately get a long-term extension that would allow him to finish out his career with his current team. About midway through the year, however, both of those ways of thinking were proven to be incorrect as the 36-year-old…

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There is often a debate regarding the relationship between NASCAR and dirt racing. Some would argue that the involvement of NASCAR, whether it be by drivers, teams, or the sanctioning body itself, benefits racing on clay due to the amount of exposure that comes with the more high-profile form of the sport lending its star power. Conversely, there are some in dirt racing who resent the involvement of NASCAR in their favorite type of motorsports because they see it as a somewhat arrogant intrusion of the haves dropping in to take purse money from the have-nots while dabbling in what…

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