NASCAR Features – Page 11 – Inside Circle Track

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Kevin Harvick and Team Fighting to Again Contend for a Title

Kevin Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing team are on somewhat unfamiliar ground as the AAA Texas 500 approaches this weekend. After having qualified as one of the four drivers to compete for a title in four of the past five season, the No. 4 crew is currently outside the NASCAR Playoffs cutoff with Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway and next week’s event at ISM Raceway in Phoenix remaining before the four racers who will contest the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship are decided. With Martin Truex, Jr. already locked into the Championship 4 by virtue of his win…

Mike Marlar hoping for more NASCAR opportunities

Mike Marlar is one of the most accomplished Dirt Late Model racers in America today. During the 2018 season he was crowned as the World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion which, added to major event victories such as his two Knoxville Late Model Nationals triumphs and his two Hillbilly 100 victories, gives the pilot of the No. 157 car a résumé that would be the envy of many in the sport. But even with all of those accomplishments, the Winfield, Tenn. driver wanted to add even more to his list of achievements. And this past summer, he did exactly…

The Numbers Indicate That Talladega Could Upset the Playoff Balance

Virtually every driver who is still involved in the NASCAR Playoffs has at some point mentioned their concern about this weekend’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at the Talladega Super Speedway. This track, like no other within the playoff mix, holds the ability to completely shake up the standings during this ‘Round of 12’ segment of the championship deciding run toward the final race of the 2019 season in November. Simply having the best car, an outstanding pit crew, a well thought out strategy, or even a great driver may not be enough on this track to assure a win or even a…

Joey Logano needs to pick up performance in order to defend title

Joey Logano came into the 2019 version of the NASCAR Playoffs as the defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. And after the first round of three races within the championship series of events he remains alive in hopes of capturing a second consecutive title. However, a look at the recent finishes compiled by the No. 22 Team Penske Ford might offer a bit of troubling evidence that the hope of claiming the top prize at the end of the day at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in November could be in jeopardy. Over the last ten races Logano has managed only…

Has Clint Bowyer done enough to remain with Stewart-Haas Racing?

After reading the headline of this piece you may have thought this would be about Clint Bowyer’s fourth place run on Sunday in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on the road course portion of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. And indeed, the 40-year-old driver did turn in a solid effort that lifted him from below the NASCAR Playoffs cut-line coming into the race to a position that would allow him to advance on to the ‘Round of 12’ moving forward. However, life on the modern-day Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is only partially considered successful based on a driver’s on-track…

Stewart Friesen scores timely NGOTS win at Eldora

One of the most commonly used phrases during television broadcasts of NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races is “Stewart Friesen has more second place finishes than any driver in series history who doesn’t have a win”. That phrase can now be put to bed as the Canadian racer finally scored his first win on Thursday night when he captured the Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH. The 36-year-old driver put his Halmar Friesen Racing Chevrolet in the lead on lap 93 of the 150-lap event and held off the pack until the checkered flag waved. Friesen is…

Pressure Mounts on Stewart Friesen Heading to Eldora

Whenever the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series makes its annual trek to the Eldora Speedway much attention is typically focused on driver Stewart Friesen and his Halmar Friesen Racing team. The Canadian driver is regarded as one of the top Big-Block Modified racers on dirt and many believe those skills will serve him well on the famed half-mile track located in Rossburg, OH. And that faith in the 36-year-old appears to be well placed as he has recorded finishes of second and third in his last two appearances at the Tony Stewart-owned facility. This year, Friesen enters the Eldora Dirt…

A Weekend Worth Forgetting for Hendrick Motorsports

In the movie Men in Black the characters played by Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith had a device they could click that would erase the memories of those it was directed toward. No doubt, the folks from one particular Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team would like to borrow that device. Without question Hendrick Motorsports is one of the most successful organizations in the history of NASCAR. A visit to their campus located near Charlotte Motor Speedway will reveal scores of race winning cars, trophies and memorabilia dedicated to the race wins and championships collected by their drivers. However,…

Will 2019 be Chase Elliott’s Championship Year?

An old adage in racing declares that “The first one is the hardest one to get”. If that is indeed true Chase Elliott managed to break that wall down and then some in 2018. As a matter of fact, the Hendrick Motorsports pilot amassed a total of three victories during a season that ended with him in the sixth spot of the overall Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Further, the 23-year-old driver has shown that he can piece together the type of consistency that will always make him a championship threat as he has made his way into the…

Brett Moffitt, Hattori Providing Great Story in CWTS Playoffs

It is believed by many that only teams with major sponsors that are affiliated with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams and drivers can succeed in the sport’s two lower divisions. However, independent Hattori Racing Enterprises with driver Brett Moffitt have gone a long way toward proving that theory wrong throughout the entirety of the 2018 season and during the playoff rounds in the Camping World Truck Series. Over the course of the season Moffitt has scored five wins along with 12 top-5 results. And more, the No. 16 team roars into the ‘Championship 4’ race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on…