1. Authentic racing Why did the recent race at Martinsville Speedway have people talking? Because it was uncontrived. Say what you want about stages; if they change the way you ultimately watch a race, you might be looking for something that’s really not there. Even with the stages, what went down was created completely by …
1. Differences Since the dawn of NASCAR, the sport has thrived on rivalries. Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough; Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt; David Pearson and Richard Petty. Many say these types of exciting rivalries been missing in recent years. But a rivalry doesn’t just start overnight, or with one incident, and it doesn’t end …
Cup Series racing at Martinsville is about survival and persistence. The on-track action always ruffles some feathers, best evidenced by the late-race incident between alpha dogs Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott. What was happening between Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney served as the consolation sideshow. PETERS: What Happens Now For Hamlin & Elliott? But at Underdog …
Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Chase Elliott doesn’t need to apologize to anyone for finishing 27th on Sunday. Elliott was racing for his first career win, and he did everything right in the process. He got a great restart late to take the lead, and got dumped. Denny Hamlin was on his bumper, …
Who… gets my shoutout of the race? While Noah Gragson was winning the Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway, two part-time rookie teammates were handling themselves like old pros. Harrison Burton, making just his sixth Truck Series start of 2017 and the seventh of his career and Todd Gilliland in his fifth career start, finished …
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took to Martinsville Speedway under a chilly grey sky to qualify for the Texas Roadhouse 200. Chase Briscoe took the pole with a lap of 19.774 seconds (95.762 mph), edging out two-time series champion Matt Crafton for the top spot. Ben Rhodes, Johnny Sauter and Noah Gragson rounded out …
Last weekend’s race featured the second cut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, and among those out is veteran Matt Kenseth, who was parked by NASCAR for having too many crew members working on his car under the damaged vehicle policy. Is the consequence for that particular infraction too harsh, or is this …
I reconnected with an old friend not so long ago. She was someone I knew well a lifetime ago, and we still get together every now and again. Our paths diverged several years back when I moved to North Carolina. She was a diehard race fan when we spent weekends in New Hampshire watching any …
Think Small Checking out social media on Monday, there were a lot of posts expressing outrage at Matt Kenseth being parked Sunday at Kansas for having too many crewmen working on his car after damage put him on the five-minute clock. Kenseth’s disqualification took him out of the playoffs in what may be his last …
Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, just two of the remaining 12 playoff drivers — winner Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin — and 14 of the 40-car field finished the race, with just four cars not listed as involved in an on-track incident. Does this race belong in the playoffs? Amy Henderson: It doesn’t belong on the …
1. Watkins Glen in, Charlotte Roval out While it’s great to finally see NASCAR recognize that a true champion needs to prove himself on a road course in the playoffs, a pseudo-road course isn’t really a great choice. How about the Glen as the first-round elimination race? The weather is still beautiful in upstate New …
Think Small One thing that struck me when I first started in NASCAR was that if you spent enough time looking, you could see fans at a race who supported every driver in the field. T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers were among the ways they proclaimed their loyalty. Fast forward a couple of decades, and …
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
