The NASCAR Cup Series season in 2022 is very much different from that of 2021. This season is one of great parity among the teams as 15 different drivers have won with those pilots representing seven different organizations. Chase Elliott’s four victories leads the series with no other driver achieving more than two wins after 24 of the 36 races have been contested. In 2021, it was a very different story when Kyle Larson dominated the Cup Series by scoring ten victories on the way to his first career championship. There were fifteen different winners over the course of the…

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There has been much talk throughout the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season regarding the aggression exhibited by the sport’s drivers. Numerous incidents have occurred on all types of tracks and among, in one way or another, virtually every competitor in the series. Driver aggression has largely become the method of operation during races, particularly as the checkered flag approaches. Many believe the seeming increase in aggressive behavior on the race track is related to the introduction of the NextGen race car. With its handling capabilities, the toughness of the car, and the sense of security the new machine gives its…

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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. How do you feel about late afternoon starts? Richard: I don’t think it matters how any of us feel about waiting until 3:30 in the afternoon to start NASCAR races unless we happen to be decision makers for NASCAR and its television partners. But to answer the question, I hate them. Especially in the heat of summer it’s almost as if they want to be stuck…

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Remember way back to the second race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season at Auto Club Speedway when Kyle Larson threw a late-race block on Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott that angered the 2020 champion but opened the door for the 2021 champion to score the win in Fontana, California. Consider this- had Larson not thrown the block then gone on to win that race, he would be outside the NASCAR Playoffs bubble as the time for the cutoff approaches. That’s right, the driver who won ten races and the championship in 2021 would not even be in a…

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It’s no secret that Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain haven’t exactly gotten along on the race track this season. Multiple incidents between the two have resulted in torn up race cars and brought promises of retribution along with acknowledgement that certain acts have been deserved. It’s safe to say that both the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet have each had chances to end days in victory lane taken away by these confrontations. With the NASCAR Playoffs fast approaching and both drivers and their teams locked in to the championship run, the feud…

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Certainly one of the biggest news stories during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season has been the uncertain contract status of two-time champion Kyle Busch. The contract of the talented 37-year-old driver with Joe Gibbs Racing will expire at the end of the current campaign and has yet to be renewed. Unless that situation changes, the Las Vegas native could become one of the most highly regarded free agents to be available in quite some time. Busch’s record speaks for itself. He has won a total of 60 NASCAR Cup Series races and was crowned as the champion in 2015…

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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. The Hy-Vee supermarket chain went all out to promote the recent IndyCar double-header at the Iowa Speedway. Is more enthusiastic promotion of this kind needed in all forms of racing? Richard: For any company that chooses to sponsor a race, it is in their best interest for the event to do as well as possible. An empty grandstand serves no one well. With that in mind,…

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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. Is all the Kyle Busch contract drama surprising to you? Richard: I’m not sure anything surprises me anymore when it comes to Kyle Busch. Without question, the Las Vegas native is one of the most talented NASCAR drivers of all time but he also is one of the sport’s most interesting personalities. Getting back to the question at hand, I am not surprised that his contract…

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Call it what you will- circumventing the rules, working in the gray area, finding a competitive advantage, or cheating – but all of those things have been a part of racing since racing has been a thing. And one would think that more often than not, despite the best efforts of the rule enforcers, many have gotten away with something that ultimately led to a victory. That said, NASCAR has stated since early on in the development of the Next Gen car that they will not look favorably on teams that try circumvent the rules(or cheat) and they clearly demonstrated…

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