NASCAR on TV this week

By Amy Henderson

Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Sprint Showdown at Charlotte

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about racing at Charlotte after dark this week. “As late as it gets in the night, at this track,” he said, “The groove narrows up. It gets faster and faster on the bottom and there’s no time to be gained in trying to step up the race track or run the high line like you might during the afternoon. So, it’s a really fascinating race track in the middle of the day. But, as it gets darker and darker and cooler and cooler, the groove really shortens up. So you need to be in that top three, I think, to have a shot at it.”

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

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Some drivers just sneak up on you, and so far in 2014, Brian Vickers has been one of those drivers. He’s quietly put together some strong runs, including his fourth-place finish in Talladega this week. Vickers wasn’t totally stealthy on Sunday; he did lead three times during the race. The No. 55 team does still have some holes to patch (they’re not yet consistent enough to be a title threat), but Vickers sits 10th in points. That’s ahead of race winners Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, as well as three-time champion Tony Stewart and teammate Clint Bowyer. Vickers still needs to win to lock down a Chase spot, but he’s making a case for that happening.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond

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Kyle Larson continued to show that he’s not only a threat for Rookie of the Year honors, but also for winning. Larson got the top starting spot by virtue of his practice speed after qualifying was rained out, part of showing speed and prowess all weekend long. Unfortunately for Larson, he got tagged by Bowyer on the first lap of the race which dropped him to the rear of the field. Larson was able to recover somewhat to finish 16th, still good for Rookie of the Race honors, but clearly lacked the confidence and speed to get back to the front after that moment.