NASCAR on TV this week

Bryan Davis Keith

Five Points to Ponder: The Young, the Old and the Future of NASCAR

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*ONE: Truck Schedule Key to NASCAR’s Future*

For all the talk that Brad Keselowski is generating for being the bridge that NASCAR needs to get back to its core fans after his beer-guzzling exploits celebrating Penske Racing’s first Cup title, it’s all perhaps a bit premature. Keselowski has always been brash, old school and outspoken, much to the annoyance of many fanbases (just ask any Hamlin or Edwards fan). The fact that he won a Cup ahead of both of those stars isn’t going to change that opinion.

Pace Laps: Runner-Up Blues, American Success Stories, and Weird Weather

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_Did you see all of the race action this weekend? Or, like a lot of busy fans, did you miss a late-night adventure, a Friday controversy, or a juicy piece of news? If you did, you’ve come to the right place! Each week, The Frontstretch will break down the racing, series by series, to bring you the biggest stories that you need to watch moving forward. Let our experts help you get up to speed for the coming week no matter what series you might have missed, all in this edition of Pace Laps!_

*Sprint Cup: Which No. 2 Is The First Loser?* If he didn’t lead a lap, Brad Keselwoski needed to finish 15th to clinch his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup title. Keselowski finished 15th—his worst since coming home 30th at Bristol in August—though in the end, he could have finished anywhere and taken it as Jimmie Johnson’s broken drive train ended the day for his only challenger.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Ford EcoBoost 300

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After a late-race wreck drastically changed the championship picture at Phoenix courtesy of Elliott Sadler’s troubles, the season finale race at Homestead was tame by comparison. Though Sadler started strong and even challenged for the lead during the first run of the race, by event’s end it was business as usual, with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. comfortably ahead of Sadler, who had faded in the final stretches. The result was Stenhouse and the No. 6 team easily scoring their second consecutive Nationwide Series championship, with Sadler holding off teammate Austin Dillon by only one point for second in the standings.

Handicapping the 2012 Nationwide Series Finale at Homestead

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One race. Three hundred miles. Three contenders left. Let’s handicap the 2013 Nationwide Series championship race as it ends in Homestead:

*Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet*
*3rd in points (-25)*
*2 wins, 26 top 10s*
One race. Three hundred miles. Three contenders left. Let’s handicap the 2013 Nationwide Series championship race as it ends in Homestead:

*Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet*
*3rd in points (-25)*
*2 wins, 26 top 10s*

Five Points to Ponder: The Latest Failings of a Failed Sanctioning Body

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*ONE: Hello, Consistency?*

Anyone that needs more proof as to whether or not name means something in the eyes of NASCAR got it this afternoon, with NASCAR bucking their typical Tuesday announcements to notify the racing world that when the Cup Series takes the green at Homestead, Jeff Gordon will be on the track. Despite premeditating a clear act of payback on the racetrack that collected championship contender Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano and Aric Almirola (not to mention very nearly wrecking points leader Brad Keselowski as well), Gordon got away with a points penalty that means nothing and a fine Hendrick Motorsports will scoff at.

Pace Laps: Bowyer-Gordon Brawling, Lost Title Trauma And Kyle Larson Mania

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*Sprint Cup: In Whirlwind Weekend Of News, Brawl Takes Center Stage* Kevin Harvick’s reported signing with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2014 season was supposed to be the top story of the weekend — until Jimmie Johnson, the point leader before the race at Phoenix, slammed into the wall coming off Turn 4 late in the race. That was destined to take over the top spot — until the fight broke out. That happened on pit road after a pair of incidents on-track between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon. Bowyer gave Gordon a tap, thinking he was being held up, and Gordon got into the wall. Gordon then waited for Bowyer on track and turned the No. 15 into the barrier himself, collecting Joey Logano in the process and causing extensive damage to all three cars.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Great Clips 200

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If Joey Logano has taught the Nationwide Series anything in 2012, it’s that there is still no contest: Joe Gibbs Racing still has the strongest cars in the game. Though he was challenged late following a lap 198 crash triggered by championship contender Elliott Sadler, Logano was able to hold off JGR teammate Brian Vickers to score his ninth win of the 2012 season. Vickers, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, and Austin Dillon rounded out the top-5 finishers.

Vickers a 2013 NNS Title Contender…Is That Enough?

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There are very few drivers that have taken to the track in 2012 more deserving of a full-time ride in anything than Brian Vickers. A stellar part-time performance with Michael Waltrip Racing after finding himself out of a job following the closure of Red Bull Racing has kept Vickers in Toyota’s good graces, as he will drive a Nationwide car full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013. It will mark Vickers’ first full Nationwide campaign since 2003, where he won the championship driving for Rick Hendrick.

5 Points to Ponder: Yellow Flags, Timely Contracts and Lost Enthusiasm

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*ONE: Debris Will Decide This Championship*

The Jimmie Johnson/Brad Keselowski finish this past Sunday was a battle well worth watching, and an example of strategies battling it out. Paul Wolfe’s decision to trust his driver’s intuition and go with two tires late even as the rest of the field took four would have panned out sans the rash of cautions to close the event. But there’s no doubting that Chad Knaus considered that in choosing to put four tires on the No. 48 car. And that extra rubber allowed Johnson to build his biggest lead of the Chase at the track that nearly cost him title number five two years ago.