NASCAR Features – Page 9 – Inside Circle Track

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Decision to keep Austin Cindric in Xfinity Series for additional year paying off

There is sometimes a tendency to rush young race car drivers up to the highest levels of the sport too quickly. History offers numerous examples of those who were pushed up the ladder to the NASCAR Cup Series before they were ready then ultimately came crashing down. However, Team Penske fought the temptation to do that very thing with 22-year-old Austin Cindric after he was crowned the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. Instead, the driver was left on that tour for another year to add to his experience level and to build confidence. Now five races into the 2021 season,…

No regrets for John Hunter Nemechek after move from Cup to Trucks

Making it to the NASCAR Cup Series is typically considered the pinnacle for most American stock car racers. Getting there, even with one of the teams that may not be considered top tier, is often thought to be the realization of a life-long dream. To voluntarily leave the sport’s top level for the purpose of dropping down to one of the lower divisions would be considered by most within the sport as unthinkable. But at the end of the 2020 season, dropping down is exactly what John Hunter Nemechek did when he announced his intention to leave the Front Row…

Kurt Busch now has to be counted among Vegas favorites

NASCAR Cup Series racing isn’t like football of basketball where playing at home can provide a big advantage. The fact that a track just happens to be in a particular driver’s hometown or home state does not mean that particular racer is guaranteed to be a front runner. That said, however, any driver who races close to home will likely feel some added pressure to perform well in front of the people he/she grew up racing in front of on some local short track or karting facility. Kurt Busch felt that pressure every time the NASCAR Cup Series came to…

Race Day Info for the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead

Race day information for the Dixie Vodka 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway: Green Flag: 3:48pm(eastern) Television Coverage: Fox- RaceDay begins at 3:00pm with actual race coverage beginning at 3:30pm(RaceDay on FS1 begins at 2:00pm) Radio Coverage: MRN Radio beginning at 2:30pm Race Distance: 400.5 miles(267 laps) Stage Breaks: Stage 1 will end at lap 80 Stage 2 will end at lap 160 Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy skies with a high of 80(Sunset at 6:22pm) Starting Lineup: 1. Denny Hamlin(11), 2. Joey Logano(22), 3. Christopher Bell(20), 4. Kevin Harvick(4), 5. Kurt Busch(1), 6. Michael McDowell(34), 7. Brad Keselowski(2),…

Hailie Deegan relying on experienced mentors for guidance

Hailie Deegan comes from a racing background and always had someone to look up to as she began to mold her own career in the sport. Her father, Brian Deegan, is a professional freestyle motocross competitor who is consider the most successful rider in X Games history. Having so much success already within the family has almost certainly taught this up-and-coming 19-year-old racer the importance of leaning on those who have experience in the field as she looks to carve her own path. As Deegan embarks on her first full season as a driver on the NASCAR Camping World Truck…

Daytona 500 Race Day Live Updates

During today’s race I will be offering a ‘Live Updates’ sort of blog presentation on this page that will feature updates of the significant moments within the Daytona 500, driver quotes from those moments, scanner chatter, and running orders throughout the day as well as the final finishing order. These updates will be in addition to posts from @RichardAllenIDR & @ICTwebsite on Twitter. Scroll through the page regularly as information will be added frequently. The 63rd annual Daytona 500 will be aired live on Fox with ‘NASCAR Race Day’ beginning at 1:00pm(eastern). Actual race coverage begins at 2:30pm. Engines will…

Tyler Reddick would consider owning a Dirt Late Model team … but not yet

Racers love to race. Even though someone in that profession might have reached the highest of levels does not meant they have forgotten those others forms of racing that helped push them to the top. And for one current NASCAR driver, there is at least some degree of interest in reconnecting with one of the types of racing that proved to be a stepping stone in his career. Tyler Reddick’s rise through the racing ranks has been a rapid one. And along the way, the Corning, CA native has accomplished a number remarkable feats. Some of those achievements came at…

Kurt Busch looking forward to the challenge of dirt racing at Bristol

Few drivers have had as much success at the Bristol Motor Speedway as Kurt Busch. The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion has pulled into victory lane at ‘The Last Great Colosseum’ on six different occasions along with posting a dozen top-5 finishes over the course of his career on the high-banked track located in the upper northeastern corner of Tennessee. As a result of all that success, this is a driver who should feel quite comfortable whenever the series heads to the half-mile concrete oval. However, the Bristol Motor Speedway that welcomes the NASCAR Cup Series on March 28th of…

Brad Keselowski comments on NASCAR’s youth movement and his own contract status

A quick look through the driver rosters of some of the top teams in the NASCAR Cup Series shows that there is a definite trend toward younger drivers. Over the past few years, some of the sport’s biggest stars have retired and been subsequently replaced by their teams with up-and-comers who, in some cases, are half the age of the race winners they are stepping in for. Some of those changes are a natural shift that is bound to occur over time as the established racers get older and younger drivers who have risen through the ranks take their places….

Justin Allgaier enjoying off-season opportunities to race on dirt

The 5th annual Leftover at the 411 Motor Speedway was a two-day event contested on the Friday and Saturday immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday. The dirt racing venue played host to a total of more than 200 cars spread out over multiple divisions. One of the Schaeffer’s Oil Iron-Man Modified Series machines on the grounds of the Seymour, TN facility was driven by veteran NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor Justin Allgaier. The lure of racing on dirt during the NASCAR off-season proved to be too much for the 34-year-old driver to resist. With a busy Xfinity Series schedule throughout most of…