Richard Allen – Page 13 – Inside Circle Track

Articles posted by Richard Allen (Page 13)

Daniel Suarez: “We’re happy but we’re not satisfied”

After several seasons marked by struggles at the NASCAR Cup Series level while driving for teams such as Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing, Daniel Suarez seemed to find a comfort zone in 2022 in his second campaign with Trackhouse Racing. Bolstered by confidence provided by team leaders Justin Marks and ‘Pitbull’, the 30-year-old driver became a consistent front runner and secured his first win at the top level of the sport when the No. 99 Chevrolet pulled into victory lane at the Sonoma Raceway. While Suarez was happy to earn his first Cup win, he believes there were other…

Is there enough rising talent in the pipeline to fill potentially vacant seats?

It looks as if NASCAR could be set for a generational change such as that from a few years ago when drivers such as Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards left the sport within the space of just a few seasons. Now, it appears as if Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are at the age where they will be stepping away in the not-to-distant future. Of course, that process has already begun. Kurt Busch retired last year and Kevin Harvick has announced that this will be his last as a full-time competitor….

Which career would you rather have: Rusty Wallace or Denny Hamlin?

Is winning a championship the best gauge of career success in the NASCAR Cup Series? Many contend that Denny Hamlin is the best driver to have never(at least not yet) won a championship at the sport’s top level. It’s not very likely that anyone would say the 42-year-old driver’s career has been a disappointment despite not having earned a title. After all, he has won a total of 48 Cup races during his time wheeling the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11. Importantly, among those victories have been three Daytona 500 triumphs which, of course, is NASCAR’s premier event. But still,…

Kyle Larson’s dirt racing season off to strong start following Wild West Shootout

It is not unusual to be talking about Kyle Larson’s dirt racing adventures at this time of year. Normally in mid-January the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the NASCAR Cup Series would be coming off a run in the week-long Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, an event he has won on two separate occasions. However, the 30-year-old racer opted this year to skip the contest for a ‘Golden Driller’ trophy held each year in Tulsa, Oklahoma in favor of another multi-day dirt racing affair. Larson entered the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout for Dirt…

Kevin Harvick has gone from brash newcomer to respected veteran

Brash. Arrogant. Uncompromising. Emotional. Aggressive. Few would dispute that the words listed above describe what Kevin Harvick was like when he first appeared on the NASCAR scene in the late 1990s as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor then in the early 2000s as a pilot of Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets on the NASCAR Xfinity Series. And he would carry many of those character traits to the NASCAR Cup Series when he was thrust into the role of a full-time driver at the sport’s top level following the death of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt. While he is still regarded as…

Christopher Bell looking to continue progression in 2023

It is sometimes said that getting to the top is one thing and staying on top is another. Christopher Bell will be working to prove that he can stay on top after having proven last season that he could get there. The 28-year-old driver from Norman, Oklahoma won three NASCAR Cup Series races in 2022, two of which came in the most pressure-filled situations imaginable. While 2021 was not necessarily a bad season. After all, the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver won his first Cup race on the road course at the Daytona International Speedway. But this past year seemed…

Would you subscribe to a streaming service that showed only NASCAR content?

I have written several times on this website’s sister page, InsideDirtRacing.com, that the landscape of dirt racing was forever changed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It was around that time, with the restrictions placed on large gatherings, that streaming broadcasts began to proliferate across Dirt Late Model, Sprint Car, and Modified competition. Now, there is rarely an event to take place on clay surfaces that cannot be viewed live within the comfort of a living room, hotel room, or in a sports bar. The way sporting events are being viewed by fans is most definitely in a state of transition. A…

Ross Chastain: “We were and we are willing to do anything”

If Hollywood were looking to make a movie about racing, a possible script idea could sound something like the following. A driver spends several seasons struggling at the lower levels of NASCAR with no real success achieved only to finally get a big break. However, that opportunity is ultimately ripped away leaving said driver seemingly out of luck. However, new opportunities arise that ultimately lead to a seat with a new and unproven team that quickly emerges as a contender allowing the driver to score Cup Series wins. Those victories ultimately lead to some miraculous last lap heroics and a…

Kyle Busch looking for return to championship form at RCR

Without a doubt, the biggest piece of news involving a driver moving from one team to another this past season was that of Kyle Busch parting ways with longtime team Joe Gibbs Racing then ultimately landing at Richard Childress Racing. The 37-year-old star has compiled one of the most impressive records in NASCAR history with two Cup Series championships and 60 wins at the top level of the sport to his credit. And all of that has been accomplished before the age that has often been considered the prime of a racer’s career. Now, for the second time in his…

Turn 2 Blog: Looking ahead to 2023

*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. What driver or team is on the upswing and will continue moving up in 2023? Richard: I am going to pick an entire organization that seems to be on the upswing and I believe that trend will continue next season. That team is Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. As the 2022 season played out, it seemed as if both of their cars were getting stronger and finding…