Inside Circle Track

These four drivers won’t make it out of the first round

The sixteen drivers who will race for the NASCAR Cup Series title in the NASCAR Playoffs have been named and now it is time for the ten-race stretch run that will determine the eventual champion to begin. Three separate rounds made up of three races each will be used to whittle the contenders down until only four remain for the series finale at Phoenix Raceway on November 7th. The bottom four drivers in the rankings of those who do not score a win within that particular round will be eliminated after each of the first three rounds in order to…

Could Denny Hamlin be set to make a Stewart-esque run to the championship?

Going into the 2011 ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’, as the current NASCAR Playoffs system was then know by, Tony Stewart had not won a single race. He and his Stewart-Haas Racing team made it into the ten-race stretch that would ultimately decide the NASCAR Cup Series champion by virtue of their place in the standings at the time of the cutoff. Stewart’s name was not on the top of very many lists when media and fans named off their picks to win the title that year. However, Stewart would make a run in those final ten races that few…

Ryan Blaney claims Coke Zero 400 after wild Daytona finish

August 29, 2021 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway unfolded as billed with dramatic action all Saturday night that included 45 lead changes, a 14-minute Red Flag period and a wild final lap of overtime to decide the championship Playoff picture. Ultimately, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney managed it all and took his second NASCAR Cup Series victory in as many weeks as a huge multi-car accident happened behind him in the last corners of the track on the final lap. Blaney’s…

William Byron: “It’s all about the Playoffs”

Last year at this time it was iffy as to whether Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron would even make the NASCAR Playoffs. However, a win in the regular season finale at the Daytona International Speedway assured the Charlotte, NC native of a place among the sixteen drivers who would enter the final stretch of races with a chance to ultimately be crowned as the NASCAR Cup Series champion. Byron would see his title hopes dashed quickly, however, after he was eliminated from contention at the end of the first round in 2020 ultimately finishing 14th in the final series rundown….

Wait, there are things Kyle Larson needs to get better at?

He’s won five points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races including the Coca-Cola 600. He earned $1 million in the NASCAR All-Star Race. He has won two of the three biggest Sprint Car races held this season. He won the Chili Bowl Nationals. He has won multiple Dirt Late Model features including the crown jewel Prairie Dirt Classic. Surely the driver to have accomplished all of these things has no faults, right? Kyle Larson has been the talk of the motorsports world in 2021. But even with all of his accomplishments this season, the Elk Grove, California driver admits that he doesn’t…

Love or hate of 550 racing is a matter of perspective

The FireKeepers Casino 400 held on Sunday at the Michigan International Speedway clearly illustrated exactly how the 550 horsepower/high downforce package is supposed to work. And some comments made after the race seemed to show exactly who that package is meant to attract. Much of the 400 miles contested on Sunday featured cars racing in close quarters with one another and even, from time to time, coming in contact with each other or bobbling briefly after losing downforce when getting too close to another. But on the flip side of that close racing was the fact that this particular package…

Late charge nets Ryan Blaney a win in Michigan

August 22, 2021 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service Ryan Blaney took the lead on a restart with eight laps remaining and skillfully held off a frantic field to earn the victory Sunday in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Those eight laps out front were the only laps Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford led on the afternoon but it was good enough to give him his second victory of the season – by a modern-day track record margin of .077-second over Hendrick Motorsports teammates William…

A.J. Allmendinger grabs Xfinity checkered flag in Michigan

August 21, 2021 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service Standing in front of an enthusiastic Michigan International Speedway grandstands after his victory burnout, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger paused and took in the cheering crowd – on its feet and chanting his name “AJ. AJ. AJ.” It was the second time in the past week that Allmendinger earned a trip to NASCAR Victory Lane. On Saturday he prevailed in triple overtime to take the New Holland 250 win – the third of the season and the eighth NASCAR Xfinity Series win of his career. He beat Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon…

The time is now if Kevin Harvick is to build playoff momentum

Going into the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs, Kevin Harvick was the talk of the Cup Series. The driver of the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford had amassed seven wins and a series-leading number of playoff points at that time and appeared to be the clear favorite entering the ten-race dash to the championship. Hardly anyone would have predicted that the No. 4 team would not be a part of the Championship 4 when the sport rolled into Phoenix Raceway to contest its finale last November. Of course, Harvick ultimately was not one of the four drivers who had a chance of being crowned…

Sheldon Creed takes Truck Series win at Gateway as other contenders falter

August 21, 2021 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service Sheldon Creed dominated the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff opener, the Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, sweeping both stages and leading 142 of 163 laps to take the victory Friday night in overtime. And while the evening went relatively straight-forward for the defending series champion Creed in his winning-performance, the race was full of storylines elsewhere from a nearly one-hour red flag delay when the track lost power to a multi-truck accident shortly after that derailing championship-eligible drivers such as Todd Gilliland…