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Five Points to Ponder: Politics Surrounding Short Tracks, Injuries, And Jeff Burton

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*ONE: Build More Short Tracks*

A lot of what you read on Twitter is not much more than garbage, but there was one tweet late Saturday night from USA Today NASCAR beat writer Jeff Gluck that really hit the mark.

“The longer I’m around this sport, the more I’m convinced additional short tracks would be the solution to many of NASCAR’s problems,” “tweeted Gluck.”:https://twitter.com/jeff_gluck/status/328595945480654848

Racing to the Point: Everybody Loves Talladega! Don’t They?

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Let the phony smile-a-thon begin. While NASCAR and FOX revs up for another nail-biting weekend at Talladega, how many drivers are actually looking forward to the race?

“If this is what we did every week, I wouldn’t be doing it,” Junior said after getting involved in an accident at Talladega last fall. “I’ll just put it to you like that. If this is how we raced every week, I’d find another job.”

Going By the Numbers: Plate Racing’s Best At Finishing In One Piece

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The last time NASCAR’s national series visited a restrictor plate superspeedway, this column focused on the kings of the restrictor plate in NASCAR, and the drivers who should be called the best versus those that are popularly considered to be such.

This time, with Talladega in our sights, we’ll focus again on drivers who tend to finish well while plate racing. While it may be about the wins in the long run, it’s also rewarding to simply make it to the end of a restrictor plate race these days. With the introduction of tandem racing, the subsequent return of the pack and the always looming “Big One,” each turn is treacherous, every closing lap more harrowing than the last. Once it’s crunch time, you tend to see racers really going for broke.

Diva Complex 2.0: Why It Won’t Ever Go Away

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I wrote a column not too long ago about the “diva complex” NASCAR faces with some of the egos in this sport and how aggravating it is watching millionaire racecar drivers complain about others racing them too hard. Incidentally, many of you agreed with me and are just as aggravated by this phenomenon as I am. Sure, tempers are part of the sport, but temper tantrums over how someone else is racing you? It’s maddening!

We wouldn’t be very smart, though, to not fully expect it at a track like Richmond. After all, a short track Saturday night race is well known for its tendency to get under the skin of even the most patient drivers.

Frontstretch Foto Funnies: I’m So Happy I Feel Like Skipping!

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_Welcome to the Frontstretch Foto Funnies! Ever see a photo that’s just begging for a caption? We see them all the time! Each week, we’ll pick a few, then let our staff give it their best shot. We’ll post the best ones for you!_

_Want to get in on the fun? Each week, we’ll also designate one of the photos for fan captions. Leave your best ideas in the comments below or on our “Facebook page.”:https://www.facebook.com/Frontstretch We’ll choose our favorite one and reprint the photo next week with its new caption! Then, at the end of each month, we’ll randomly choose one winner from the four winning captions, and that person will receive a free weekend rental from our friends at FanVision during any Sprint Cup race weekend in 2013! What could be better than that? In order to be eligible, comments must include a valid email (nobody can see it but us, and we promise we’ll only use it for notification purposes!) Note while you can post as many captions as you like, you aren’t eligible for the monthly prize if you’ve won a contest from us in the last 90 days._

Mirror Driving: NASCAR Engine Aggravation Among Richmond Realizations

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*After the No. 20 engine failed postrace teardown, NASCAR slapped the team, which won the race in Kansas, with a 50-point penalty along with a six-week suspension and fine for crew chief Jason Ratcliffe. Did NASCAR make the right call?*

Phil: Knowing what we know now, I think it seems incredibly draconian. However, they’ve definitely sent a message. Don’t cross us.
Amy: Given that it was an engine and NASCAR has _never_ taken engine infractions lightly, I think it’s close to being right. I think they should have taken only points earned in that race, though.

Side By Side: Do NASCAR Drivers Need To Do More For Fans?

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_Welcome back to Side By Side. There are always two sides to every story, and we’re going to bring them both, right here, every week. Two of our staff writers will face off on an important racing question … feel free to tell us what you think in the weekly poll and also in the comments section below!_

*This Week’s Question: Do NASCAR drivers need to be more accessible to their fans on race weekends?*

Amy Henderson, Managing Editor: Drivers Can And Should Do More

Racing, like all professional sports, owes its very existence to fans. If nobody watched, if nobody cared, NASCAR would not exist, and stock car racing would not have progressed from weekend contests in someone’s hay field to see whose souped-up machine could outrun the other. There would be no racetracks that seat thousands upon thousands, no souvenir trailers hawking brightly-colored wares, no handsome paychecks at the end of the race. The fans are everything.

NASCAR Writer Power Rankings: Top 15 After Kansas-I

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It looks like the move to Joe Gibbs Racing has rejuvenated Matt Kenseth’s career. He is the league leader in laps led (482) and just won his second race of the season…and we’re only eight races into the year. To put it in perspective, Kenseth only had three wins in the entire 2012 season. There are no guarantees, but it looks like he is on his way to many more wins this season.