Richard Allen – Page 76 – Inside Circle Track

Articles posted by Richard Allen (Page 76)

Kasey Kahne plans to race more on dirt following NASCAR retirement

Kasey Kahne announced earlier this week that the 2018 campaign would be his final season as a full-time driver on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The Enumclaw, Washington native who has taken 18 checkered flags at NASCAR’s highest level cited a desire to spend more time with his family and to seek other business opportunities as reasons for his departure. After leaving industry powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2017 season, Kahne has spent this year piloting Leavine Family Racing Chevrolets with limited success. One top-5 finish in the July event at Daytona International Speedway along with…

The Bowman-Gray provides a truly unique racing experience

For fans of short track racing there can be little doubt that Bowman-Gray Stadium offers up one of the most unique experiences and entertaining programs in the sport. The tight quarter-mile track that was once featured in a series called “Madhouse” on The History Channel provides fast paced action, intense rivalries, varying formats, and old style, hard-nosed racing. Bowman-Gray Stadium is truly a must see venue for any fan of short-track racing, or any form of racing for that matter. Recently, I took a break from my usual Saturday night dirt track routine so that my two sons(ages 15 and…

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series news and notes for Bristol

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway The Date: Saturday, August 18 The Time: 6:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 266.5 miles (500 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 125), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500) Starting Lineup for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol 1. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet 2. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet 3. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota 4. (21) Paul Menard, Ford 5. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet 6. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford…

Do Ford teams have reason to worry about the switch to Mustang?

This past week the performance arm of the Ford Motor Company unveiled the Mustang that will be used in competition by its teams on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019. The announcement, made at Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, was well timed with the series heading to the heart of American auto industry for the Consumer Energy 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Former MENCS champion and current co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing(a Ford team) Tony Stewart drove the new Mustang onto the stage where it was greeted by a host of Ford drivers, owners and other dignitaries. Needless…

Starting Lineup and Race Info for the Consumer Energy 400 at Michigan

Race: Consumers Energy 400 The Place: Michigan International Speedway The Date: Sunday, August 12 The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 1:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200) Starting Lineup: 1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 202.794 mph. 2. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 202.731 mph. 3. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 202.100 mph. 4. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 201.805 mph. 5. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 201.748 mph. 6. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 201.658 mph. 7. (78) Martin Truex…

NASCAR must find someone who will lead from the front

Championship winning UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was quoted as saying “Great leaders are always out front with a banner, instead of behind with a whip.” In a sport in which being the leader is a highly prized position to hold, NASCAR has seemingly been led from the rear for almost two decades. During the organization’s formative years and then during the time in which it came to be known as the top form of motorsports in America, NASCAR was headed up by two of the strongest leaders a sport could have. On a weekly basis there was no doubt…

A healthy NASCAR is good for short track racing

There are many fans of other forms of racing who may criticize NASCAR or downplay the importance of that racing body to their particular favorites. Plummeting television ratings and empty pockets within the grandstands surrounding many tracks provide those who claim to dislike that form of racing with opportunities to point out failures. And certainly, this most recent news of NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France’s arrest for a DUI and possession of oxycodone has offered up yet another chance to point fingers at the top form of stock car racing. However, the simple truth is that all of racing,…

Jeremy Clements looking forward to Xfinity Series hitting road courses

Last year Jeremy Clements shocked the NASCAR world, or better yet the entire racing world, when he pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory by winning the Johnsonville 180 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. It was the first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win for the driver whose family-run team operates out of a shop in Spartanburg, SC. The victory not only provided those who enjoy rooting for the Davids of the world in their perpetual battles with the Goliaths a reason to cheer but it also allowed the 33-year-old racer to achieve one of his…

Blake Jones looking to achieve big goals following first NASCAR Cup start

Sometimes it takes a lifetime to realize a dream. And sometimes those dreams are never realized at all. This past Sunday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway racer Blake Jones realized one of his lifelong dreams. Even while growing up as a small child in Sevierville, Tennessee Jones wanted to be a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver and when the command to start engines was given after a persistent New England rain shower delayed the start of the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, the 21-year-old racer had accomplished that goal as he fired the No. 23 BK Racing Toyota to…

Should NASCAR’s Cup and Xfinity circuits race on dirt?

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series made its sixth annual trek to Rossburg, Ohio and the dirt-surfaced Eldora Speedway this past Wednesday night. The result was a door-slamming finish as Chase Briscoe just edged Grant Enfinger at the finish line to get the win. But perhaps the real story surrounding the event came even before the green flag waved as track owner and former NASCAR champion Tony Stewart lobbied for more races, particularly for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, to be staged on dirt tracks. “Maybe one of the days, we’ll get an Xfinity or…