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After taking a month off after the the July 4th shootout that saw Josef Newgarden take Penske's first win of 2021. The stars of the series heads to the home of country music as the first ever Music City Grand Prix takes place through the streets of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. This race marks the beginning of separating the contenders from the pretenders in this years quest for the Astor Cup as the season winds down with only six races left to go. Track Facts: The Downtown Nashville Street Circuit is an 11 turn, 2.17 mile temporary street circuit that incorporates the area surrounding the home of the Tennessee Titans. With the primary piece that the circuit will show off is the crossing of the Cumberland River via Korea Veterans Memorial Bridge. Which that section will be the widest and fastest part as speeds will approach 180 miles per hour. It is also one of three tracks on this year's calander do be ran anti-clockwise. Drivers have compared the elevation changes to Laguna Seca with the bumpiness of Belle Isle. Championship Standings: Top 3 Alex Palou holds a 24 point advantage over Pato O'Ward with six races left to go. Scott Dixon holds firm in third as he is still in championship contention. Assuming he makes it through this weekend. Race Preview: Not much is known about this upcoming Music City Grand Prix. It has been the most anticipated race outside of the Indy 500 this year and for good reason. Stars like Dale Earnhardt Jr and Dario Franchitti have been used to elevate this race in and around Nashville to superstar status on the IndyCar calander. Through Practice One, Colton Herta has been on point by taking to the track so quickly. Look for single file racing for most of the day as drivers position themselves to make passes after and before the bridge section. Track position will be key so qualifying will be super important. But, a new race with no real expectations could surprise us. That's why I am taking Roman Grosjean to take the checkered flag this weekend in Nashville. You can watch the Music City Grand Prix from Nashville at 5:30 P.M. Est on NBC on Sunday.

AJ Appeal - RacingRefresh.com Years prior to him chasing his 8th road course win in the top stock car racing circuit in the nation, NASCAR's most popular driver was winning on road courses in NASCAR's truck series and the ARCA Menard's West tour. While he seems to be the favorite this weekend at Watkins Glen, Chase assured members of the media today that he felt no added pressure or confidence when competing at the right-turning New York track. When asked if he felt like road racing would be a specialty of his at a younger age, he had this to say. "Well I wouldn't say [that]..i mean you know I've always kind of taken it week by week but no I didn't think just because we won the truck race (Canada) and K+N [Now ARCA Menard's West] (Sonoma) race in a row course that certainly our first win would be [on a road course]. I feel like it was kind of random really. I'm not really sure why you know...why that's been, but it's been fun. We're proud of our accomplishments but we also are hungry for more and we'll try to do that this weekend." Despite saying there was no added pressure, the always calm driver of NAPA's #9 Chevrolet was also asked about mental health and his thoughts in response to the recent Simone Biles US Olympics headlines. "I think mental health is important for everybody. I think you have to respect that being in a good place mentally is key to success in all walks of life. I feel like I support that. I think everybody should be sharp in their head and make sure their head is in the right place, so i support it. I think it's vital to being happy and doing a good job professionally. That's a that's a key element in doing that so it should matter." Elliott is the winner of the last two races in NASCAR's Cup Series at Watkins Glen International Raceway. He again emphasized no added pressure when pursuing his third win in a row this coming weekend, instead he says that finding the proper places to pass will be the weekly challenge. "Yeah I think the most challenging part about Watkin's Glen is passing. It's a racetrack that has a lot of grip and you know you're kind of getting a rhythm and there's just not a lot of passing zones. It seems like a lot of the heavy breaking zones are after some fast straightaways or the 'essses' which are really aero-dependent and if you have clean air you can certainly get through that section faster than you would if you're directly behind somebody and that leads to an opportunity in the bus stop...but it's just hard to get close. I think passing to me is the first thing that comes to mind, so track position is huge. Positioning yourself well for that second-to-last run, the last pit stop, and then obviously the last run of the race are key." If Chase earns the win, he will tie NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Tony Stewart for 2nd place all-time in road-course wins, with 8. Another road course event will follow on August 15th, at Indianapolis. With big road racing accomplishments already this season, he will be the driver everyone has their eyes on this month.

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/WGI)

The release of NASCAR '21 gets closer by the day. While no official release date has been confirmed, fans should expect a release within the next two months. One topic that tends to spark some debate among the fanbase is the athlete who will grace the cover of the next game. Being a sport's game cover athlete has long been an achievement for an athlete. A cover athlete is typically viewed as someone who is the face of a sport, or at least a key player. NASCAR's top stars, such as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Tony Stewart, have all been on the cover of a game. Even current champions such as Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Busch have been cover athletes of NASCAR games. This leads me to the question: Who should be the next cover athlete? NASCAR '21 will be a new era for NASCAR gaming. The cover athlete should represent this as well. I believe there are two routes that Motorsport Games should go with the cover athlete. I'd like to remind everyone that this is strictly my opinion, but I believe these drivers would be the best fit for bringing in the next series of NASCAR games. The first athlete I would consider is Brad Keselowski. The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion is a veteran of the sport. He is also one of the few champions that have not been on the cover of a game. What makes Keselowski such a great option, though, is his new partnership with Roush Fenway Racing. While this partnership does not go into effect until after 2021, it shows Keselowski's interest in being an owner in NASCAR. Assuming Motorsport Games will continue and expand the ownership side of career mode, Keselowski is the perfect athlete to hold the cover. The second route Motorsport Games could go would be to have two drivers grace the cover. These two drivers would be Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace. Bubba Wallace is a young driver in NASCAR, but he has brought in a new audience into NASCAR. One thing Bubba does not bring to the table that Keselowski does is results. That's where his owner, Denny Hamlin, comes in. While not being a champion of the sport, Denny Hamlin does have over 40 wins at NASCAR's highest level of competition. The duo of Hamlin and Wallace have also recently appeared in other media outlets with projects such as "Motley Crue" by Post Malone. Like Keselowski, Hamlin has an interest in ownership in NASCAR. The pairing would be a great duo to put on the cover of NASCAR's next game. I am not sure if either of these routes will be the way Motorsport Games chooses to go, but I believe that either of these choices for the NASCAR '21 cover athlete would be great choices. However, only time will tell who will carry NASCAR into it's newest era of video games.

The newest installment of the F1 game series from Codemasters was released earlier this month. Since release, the game has given Motorsports fans something new to enjoy when hitting the sticks. Our open-wheel analyst, Collin Bestor, reviewed this game from the standpoint of a seasoned player who has played F1 games heavily. I, on the other hand, played F1 2021 completely new to the experience. As someone who comes from the world of NASCAR, I had not previously experienced a true open-wheel sim in any capacity. Coming at this review from a gaming analyst perspective, I will illustrate what stood out to me as the good and the bad in F1 2021. There are many good things I can say for F1 2021. The game gave me a good feeling from the moment I started. The opening scene showcasing all of the key drivers in the series was empowering to me. I could not help but think of how I would like the NASCAR games to try something like that. In many ways, F1 provided many things that I wish Motorsport Games would incorporate in the NASCAR series. First and foremost, was the way the game looked and how it felt. The graphics of the game were extremely realistic. Codemasters did an excellent job of fully immersing the player into the world of F1. The physics were just as immersive. During a race, even the slightest amount of contact with another car could drastically change the way your car drove. This level of simulation was unreal as someone who was playing for the first time. The game has the option for a two-player career mode, a feature that allows a player to move up through the ranks with a friend. The multiplayer lobbies were separated into casual and ranked lobbies, which provided options for online play. However, the one key that made F1 2021 so much fun for me was customizability. Gamers play games for different reasons. Some players want the highest level of realism as humanly possible. Others want to go into a game and just mess around and have fun. F1 2021 delivers to both of those mindsets and anywhere in between. Almost every setting one can possibly think of in relation to realism can be changed to one's liking. This ability to customize the game makes it to where anyone can hop on F1 and find an experience they enjoy. This customizability is a feature that I believe other racing games have lacked in recent years. This, in my opinion, is what sets F1 apart from other major racing games and even other sports games out there. As a video game analyst, I spend a lot of time trying to find things that are bad within a game. Each little problem a game has can be a detriment to the player's experience. However, F1 2021 did not have a lot to report in this category. The game was fairly solid all the way through. I did want to mention the inclusion of an item shop in F1. Item shops have been made popular by games such as Fortnite and other major shooters. Personally, I do not find the addition of an item shop to be necessary for sports games. The whole concept feels like a money grab and tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth. With that said, F1 does take a better approach with an item shop than some games. While real money is involved, the prizes are strictly cosmetic and do not provide a player with any sort of advantage in the game. Thus, a player can avoid the item shop and spend no extra money on the game and still have an enjoyable experience. Also, there are ways to earn "Pitcoin" without buying it. This allows players who do not want to spend extra money on a game an opportunity to check out the item shop on occasion. Overall, F1 2021 is a fantastic racing sim that allows players to fully feel immersed in the world of Formula racing. The game feels like a true top-level sports game and easily competes with the likes of Madden and NBA2K. This is easily a game that I would pay $60 for and I will certainly be keeping up with the F1 series in the future. For the final part of this review and other reviews in the future, I'll be leaving a numerical ranking for the game. Similar to Game Informer magazine, I will rank games on a scale of 1-10 with decimal rankings of .25, .5, and .75 included. My ranking reflects only my personal opinions on the game. F1 2021 will be kicking this review series off well with a solid score. F1 2021: 9.25/10

(Aric Almirola stands on his car in front of the crowd after winning at New Hampshire) https://twitter.com/StewartHaasRcng/status/1416934640720486401?s=20 Aric Almirola shocked the world in what could be looked at as a controversial victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In spite of weather causing the race to be shortened due to darkness, Almirola stormed by the competition and made it known that he deserves to be in the playoffs this season. Kyle Busch started on Pole for the 301 mile race and as to the surprise of many, no PJ1 traction compound was used for this race. On lap six the skies opened up and started raining causing multiple cars to spin and wreck including race leader Kyle Busch. Others involved in the incident included Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin along with Ross Chastain. Under caution Busch would take out his frustrations by bumping and pushing the pace car, ultimately damaging it. As rain would continue to pour bringing the cars to pit road and under the red flag conditions, a crew member from Joey Logano's team tried to be sneaky and work on the car through the hood flap. The action was caught by the on board camera of the 22 car and was penalized two laps down when the race went back to green. Almost at that halfway mark in stage one, Anthony Alfredo would make contact with Bubba Wallace ultimately spinning out and causing damage to the rear of his 38 car. Ryan Blaney would cruise his way to victory in stage one. Quinn Houff would cause the fourth caution of the day as Kevin Harvick paced the field halfway through stage two, the caution would come out during a cycle of green flag pit stops as Austin Dillon would now be stuck one lap down because of being on pit road during it. Caution number five would come out for both Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher as they get together spinning off of turn two almost hitting the inside wall. This caution would allow Logano to finally be back on the lead lap with the leaders. The end of stage two would be belong to Brad Keselowski picking up his second stage win of the year. Aric Almirola would have the better car at the end of the day, but as the race neared to close and with no lights on the track, NASCAR was forced to shorten the scheduled distance by 10 laps. With Christopher Bell gaining ground on leader Almirola, he would be a few laps too short as Aric Almirola would seal the deal to win his first race of the season and third of his entire career locking himself into the playoffs! Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Top 5: 1. Aric Almirola 2. Christopher Bell 3. Brad Keselowski 4. Joey Logano 5. Ryan Blaney Honourable Mentions: 7. Kyle Larson 8. Ross Chastain 12. Martin Truex Jr 23. Corey Lajoie Written By: Matt Marr

Motorsport Games reveals the closest look into the NASCAR '21 video game yet. On the Motorsport Games Twitter page Tuesday afternoon, the team posted a short teaser video of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Motorsport Games commented only by congratulating Aric Almirola on his win Sunday and remarking on the great weekend of racing. Using that approach, Motorsport Games found a fun way to showcase some of the upcoming game's graphics. The track looks much smoother on this game than in previous NASCAR titles. Motorsport Games took to social media earlier in the weekend to share screenshots of New Hampshire in the game. It appears that Motorsport Games is ready to begin revealing more about the game. Hopefully, this will mean more information will be coming in the near future.

Announced last Thursday, Motorsport Games said they are in production of a game that will feature the famed cars, tracks, and drivers of the NTT IndyCar Series set to be released in 2023. This could arguably be one of the biggest off-track story lines set to come out of the series in 2021 as IndyCar is making the right steps to have a more successful future. But what does a game mean for IndyCar? What will the impact be for fans? For people who don't know, this isn't the actual first time an IndyCar game will be released to fans. We have to go back all the way to 1989 with "Indianapolis 500: The Simulation" released on MS-DOS. The game was created by Papyrus and distributed by EA Sports. It had four modes with varying different race lengths as you attempt to find glory by taking the victory at the 500. Various games since then have been released about the IndyCar Series all the way up to 2005, when the game "IndyCar Series 2005" was released by Codemasters. Since then, the sole operator of IndyCar series virtual action has been handled by iRacing with the introduction of the multiple series that the service provides. To be honest, nothing can probably be as good as the IndyCars on iRacing due in fact to the physics engine and tire models that make races on the service as competitive as ever. The only downside to iRacing is however, the upfront cost that it takes to get to that series. Spending well over 200 dollars to get to the point where you can race a full twelve-week season in that series. So that's where Motorsport Games comes into play, when they announced that this title is in development. For most of us sim-racers, NASCAR 21 will be the groundwork to see if this game is something to look forward to. Using rFactor physics engine and an updated graphics engine, we have very high hopes that the game can bring a new wave of fans to NASCAR. For me, that was the reason I got into NASCAR by playing NASCAR 98' in my grandparents bedroom. It is how I became a fan of F1, and in 2005, became a fan of the IndyCar series. By having a great way to introduce fans to the tracks, drivers, and nuances of the sport that a fan can watch a race on Sunday. A IndyCar game will introduce young fans by putting them in the virtual drivers seat at famous tracks like Indianapolis or Long Beach. For IndyCar, they have always had a problem marketing themselves to the younger generation of fans. That's what Formula One has done so well as of late, NASCAR even less so and IndyCar has been virtually non-existent in terms of social media presence and gaming. Hopefully the game brings more fans to a potential IndyCar boom in the future.

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/NASCAR)

With the Southern 500 now in the rear-view mirror, the NASCAR Playoffs are officially in full swing! There’s a different layer of excitement when it comes to the final 10 races of every NASCAR season; that is when the championship truly is on the line. Sixteen drivers are chasing a title and looking to live forever in the annals of NASCAR history. However, every year I can’t help but think “What are the non-playoff drivers chasing?” This article talks about 5 non-playoff storylines you should have your eye on. 1. Can Matt DiBenedetto get the 100th win for Wood Brothers Racing? Let’s be honest, both team and driver need a win. The man affectionately known as Matty D is beloved by fans as an underdog. After Levine Family Racing announced it was replacing DiBenedetto with Christopher Bell in 2020 the narrative that Matt DiBenedetto is fighting for his Cup career became water cooler talk for NASCAR fans everywhere. He instantly became known for his raw and authentic post-race interviews and press conferences. The bad news for Matty D is that the idea of his Cup career being on the line has become a constant theme. Going to the iconic Wood Brothers was supposed to be the big break he was looking for. He was supposed to win. He hasn’t. He’s come up short time and time again. Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t gone terribly. However, 2021 has been a year of slight regression. He missed the playoffs and his average finish has slipped from 14.8 in 2020 to 17.1 this season. Thanks to the alliance to Team Penske the 21 car is a possibility to win every week, but after three 2nd place finishes in 2020 and none this season time is running out. Harrison Burton takes over in 2022 but getting that milestone win could get DiBenedetto a call from one of the more prestigious cup car options before everything is finalized and most importantly prove he belongs. Keep your eye on the 21 the rest of this season. 2. Darrell’s Battle For 17th After finishing 2nd in Coke Zero Sugar 400 thanks to Chris Buescher’s failed post-race inspection Darrell Wallace was asked what would make this year a success for him? Wallace quickly replied “17th in points.” Make no mistake about it. It means a ton for Wallace or any other non-playoff driver to finish 17th. While his critics are quick to call this season a catastrophic failure that simply isn’t true. I’m sure Wallace and company are understandably disappointed, especially with his lofty goal of winning 3 races set to come up short barring an incredible unforeseen run. His goal now has to be just getting that elusive first win. It would be one of the most historic moments in NASCAR history. When you place realistic expectations on Wallace and 23XI Racing this season has been a success. Sure, the top-10 finishes may not entirely bear that out when you compare it to his 2020 numbers with Richard Petty Motorsports but if you dig a little deeper and look at the season in total he’s already matched his number of top-5 finishes from a year ago and there’s still 9 races remaining. He has had far more speed and has had some tough luck. Look no further than this year’s Daytona 500. He was by far the quickest car on the track. His average finish has ticked up from 21.2 in 2020 to 19.2 this season. He has 16 lead-lap finishes so far, only 18 in all of 2020. 23XI Racing is outperforming every other “new team”. If he finishes 17th in points with an entirely brand new team that’s all anyone can realistically ask for. (Photo Source : Twitter.com/Daniel_SuarezG) 3. Trackhouse Gaining Traction? Daniel Suarez, in my opinion, has always been a guy that has gotten the short end of the stick. I know it’s a results-driven business but Suarez was never given anything close to a grace period despite being the 2016 Xfinity Series champion. After two seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing and just one at Stewart-Haas racing, he was left out in NASCAR’s proverbial wilderness and took a full-time ride with the extremely limited Gaunt Brothers Racing. He’s now driving for the first-year Trackhouse Racing and he’s quietly proven that he deserves a top-20 ride. His average finish is 20.7. He has 1 top-5 and 3 top-10s. When you consider the fact that they’re a brand-new team that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Consider this, before Aric Almirola’s win at New Hampshire, Suarez was undeniably out-performing everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing, sans Kevin Harvick. With Trackhouse Racing acquiring Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR assets and Ross Chastain coming over to drive a second car for Trackhouse and riding a lot of momentum himself, the future appears very bright. Let’s see if Suarez can finish strong. 4. Can Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer Find Something to Build On? Any way you slice it this has been an abysmal season for Stewart-Haas Racing. It has been underwhelming for Chase Briscoe and a downright titanic struggle for Cole Custer. Briscoe did have a coming-out party of sorts with his performance at the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. However, even that was foiled with the late-race penalty and dust-up with Denny Hamlin. Briscoe only has 3 top10s on the season with an average finish of 19.9. He is going to be the Rookie of the year, but can he find some other tangible positives to build on for 2022? Cole Custer’s situation is much more disappointing. He currently sits 28th in the points standings with an average finish of 21.6. His win last year at Kentucky seems like a distant memory. Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart recently commented on the organizations struggles so far this season saying “It has not been a year that we’re used to, it’s not a year that we’re proud of or happy about, but we still have time to get it turned around, and I can promise you until they drop the checkered flag at Phoenix, we will do everything in our power to give all four drivers the best opportunity we can to get them in victory lane and salvage this season.” we shall see if they’re able to turn things around. We know the organization won’t tolerate being mediocre for long. (Photo Source : Twitter.com/TALLADEGA) 5. Trophy Hunters Naysayers will say that only playoff drivers will win. Well, none of us have a crystal ball and unlike every other sport, no one is sent packing during the playoffs. It is possible that a non-playoff driver plays a spoiler. There’s still one undeniable wild-card on the schedule in Talladega. You’re lying to yourself if you think that non-playoff drivers don’t have the goal to win every week. Look no further than Ross Chastain. He was in contention much of the night during the Southern 500 and finished 3rd. His day is coming. Erik Jones of Richard Petty Motorsports said from the very beginning of the season that his goal was for the team to finish top-20 in points and get a win. Both of those goals are still attainable. Keep your eyes on the 43 at Bristol and Talladega. Ryan Newman is in perhaps his final full-time cup season and hasn’t found victor lane since 2017. You can bet his goal is one more trophy if the curtain does fall on his full-time career at the end of the season. You can also bank on the fact that the entire Roush-Fenway team would love to find a way to win and build momentum for Brad Keselowski and company next season. Without question, the playoff drivers are going to get all the praise and glory for the remainder of the season and they have earned that. With that being said, I’ve never liked the idea or narrative and everyone else on the track no longer matters. That simply isn’t true. Every single team still has 9 races and goals to achieve and you can bet they’re going to give everything they have to do just that. You may say those teams and drivers won’t be important again until 2022 but, the first step to a better 2022 is doing all they can to finish 2021 strong. Pay attention to these teams that aren’t in the playoffs. I promise you, there’s more on the line than you may think. It’s not insanity, it's Loganity!

Welcome to our NASCAR Cup Series Projections page. The Playoff Forecast is where you will find the probability of each 2021 charter making the playoffs, their chances of advancing to future rounds, and also their odds of winning the Championship. Projections are calculated by simulating the 2021 Cup Series schedule 50,000 times, using a top-secret predictive formula that is based on 3 important factors: Driver History @ Each Track, Driver Recent Overall History, and Team Performance. This page will be updated every week, incorporating each week’s real results to (ideally) make the formula more accurate. Keep checking back to see how your favorite driver’s odds change from week to week! *note – As 2021 is this project’s first season, some of the underlying formulas and data were tweaked after race 10 in order to better reflect the parity in the NASCAR Cup Series. Forecast – After Race 21 Projected Winner of the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 @ New Hampshire Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR Or you can email directly: acarabine@racingrefresh.com Get all your StatChat Merch from the Racing Refresh online store! Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!