NASCAR on TV this week

Bryan Davis Keith

Pace Laps: NASCAR’s Chicagoland “Cutoff,” Mental Mistakes and Big Payoffs

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*Sprint Cup: Will Judgment Call Cloud The Chase?* Brad Keselowski’s decisive win on Sunday was not without some controversy. On the final pit stop of the race, Keselowski’s crew reeled off a lightning fast pit stop and, as he was coming out of the pits, Keselowski gave it everything he had to get on the track close enough behind Jimmie Johnson to make a pass for the lead. In doing so, Keselowski blended into traffic under Johnson’s car, upsetting his line. Johnson was on the radio immediately, questioning Keselowski’s move. When exiting the pits under green, drivers must stay on the apron of the track until the exit of turn 2 before they blend into race traffic. (It’s a safety measure as much as anything.) Drivers are shown the so-called “blend line” in the weekly drivers’ meeting. Johnson wondered whether Keselowski had moved onto the track too soon.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Dollar General 300

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It’s hard to believe that Roush Fenway Racing entered the weekend without a win to their credit at the Chicagoland Speedway, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took care of that on Saturday. Running down Kyle Busch in the closing laps with a car that was unstoppable on the high side of the track, the defending Nationwide Series champion scored his fifth win of the 2012 season… and took the points lead back for his troubles. Busch, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard rounded out the top 5.

Where Next for Kyle Busch, No. 18 Team?

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There really is no excuse for a driver the caliber of Kyle Busch or the No. 18 team missing the Chase for the second time in four seasons. A force on the race track that blasted from Cup prospect to all-star on the back of an eight-win 2008 campaign, which faltered in the Chase, then ultimately resulted in less than a season later Busch failing to object to crew chief Steve Addington being forced off the box of the No. 18, 12 wins in the past two seasons notwithstanding.

Pace Laps: For Many, The Final Chapter Begins

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*Sprint Cup: A Postseason Snapshot* After 26 long weeks, the field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup has been decided. Only one spot actually changed hands in Richmond, as Jeff Gordon passed Kyle Busch for twelfth place on the points chart and the final wild card. (Both Gordon and Busch had one win on the year, making points the deciding factor.) Now, as the series heads toward Chicago, the talk will inevitably turn towards that of title favorites among the twelve who make the final cut.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Virginia 529 College Savings 250

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Although Friday’s event was largely uneventful at the front, the same could not be said for the title contenders that endured a wild 250 laps. Sam Hornish Jr. cut a tire down after contact with teammate Ryan Blaney on lap 156, spinning into the turn 1 wall and eventually backing down directly into Timmy Hill’s path. The resulting wreckage left both ends of Hornish’s Dodge crunched and the fourth title contender with an ugly 30th place result. Even more notable was both the wreck and recovery of Elliott Sadler, who spun himself out trying to pass Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but rebounded with crash damage to salvage a 13th place result.

Five Points to Ponder: NASCAR’s a Tough Sell, Labor Day or Not

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*ONE: Pastrana’s Roush Deal the Latest Scramble for Cash*

Travis Pastrana is returning to Nationwide Series racing this weekend in one of the most storied rides the series has to offer; the No. 60 of Roush Fenway Racing. Despite having scored no top 10 finishes in his brief NASCAR career, Pastrana is getting the seat that Trevor Bayne was pulled out of earlier this year due to sponsorship woes.

Pace Laps: Setting the Chase Field, Selective Editing and Dillon Redux

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*Sprint Cup: 11 Drivers Locked Into Chase, but Things Still Up For Grabs* Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500 almost completely filled out the cast of characters for this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. The “almost” is important here. There was a fear earlier in the season that the top-10, plus the two Wild Cards, would be set weeks in advance and there wouldn’t really be much to race for in Richmond other than positioning. However, that is not the case.

The top-9 drivers are officially locked into the top-10 and can redeem their victories for bonus points. The exceptions here are Martin Truex, Jr. and Kevin Harvick, who, despite dominating portions of Sunday’s race, are both still winless. Denny Hamlin’s fourth win of the season Sunday means that he has earned 12 bonus points and at least a share of the points lead at the beginning of the Chase in Joliet.

Pace Laps: Sizzling Stewart-Kenseth Feud, Bump-And-Buzzkill & IndyCar Tests

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*Sprint Cup: What Effect Will The Stewart-Kenseth Feud Have On The Chase?* Bristol featured plenty of beating, banging, and crashing, but perhaps no incident had the potential to grow into something more than the one that occurred between Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart as they raced for the lead with 167 laps to go. Stewart made a move to the outside of Kenseth, who parried by pinching Stewart by the wall. Stewart then appeared to turn into Kenseth in an attempt to gain some racing room, sending both the No. 14 and the No. 17 into the inside SAFER barrier. Each driver blamed the other for the incident, with Stewart waiting for Kenseth on pit road and hurling his helmet at his rival’s car.