NASCAR on TV this week

By Dan Greene

Uncertain Times Await for Suddenly-Replaced Regan Smith

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Hearing the news of Kurt Busch’s arrival at Furniture Row Racing next season might cause one to recall the path that the team has traveled to get to 2013 — from Jerry Robertson to a former Cup champ. But, aside from the fanfare of a superstar driver’s big announcement, it also elicits a worthwhile question: what happens to Regan Smith?

Smith, who’s been within the NASCAR ranks since 2002, came to Furniture Row, a Denver, Colo.-based, single-car organization, in 2009, when the team was running on a part-time basis after failing to qualify for multiple races from 2006-2008. After switching back to full-time status in 2010, Smith and the No. 78 team scored a popular victory in the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington. Just this past off-season, Smith moved to Colorado to be closer to the rest of the organization, expecting his future to lie with the Denver-based race team.

Did You Notice? … Risk vs. Stability, And What The NFL Can Learn From NASCAR

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*Did You Notice?…* Kurt Busch’s pick of Furniture Row was based on finances more than future success? Yes, he had offers from plenty of other programs, and Richard Petty Motorsports in particular would have loved to add him. But after a year with Phoenix, in which sponsorship has been near impossible to come by, Busch knows the obstacles at stake in NASCAR today. There are no new companies waltzing in for a 36-race schedule, and the ones remaining know all about the 2004 Cup Series champ and his personal _Days Of Our Lives_ history with the fans, media, NASCAR officials … you name it. You don’t erase that “bad boy” image up at corporate in less than ten months, no matter how many touchy-feely statements people make before you enter the boardroom. Let’s not forget, this “recovery period” included a one-race suspension for swearing and personal misconduct, applied after a postrace interview at the same track we’re headed to this weekend: Dover.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not: New Hampshire/Dover Edition

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Denny Hamlin called his shot, and hit it out of the park when it mattered. Hamlin dominated New Hampshire for the second straight race, but did something he wasn’t able to do the first time around — close.

On Sunday, Hamlin led 193 laps and never even came close to relinquishing the lead down the stretch on the way to his fifth victory. The win moved him within seven points of series leader Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin made a statement by closing the deal at New Hampshire, but he could make an even bigger statement by stringing together consistent finishes like the top two in points have, Keselowski and Johnson.

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Loudon-2 Race Recap

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*Key Moment* – Kyle Busch had another motor issue which relegated him to also-ran status and allowed Denny Hamlin to pass him for the lead with 206 laps to go. From that point on, barring a major mechanical failure or strategic blunder, Hamlin was just logging laps until he did a tremendous burnout.

*In a Nutshell* – Hamlin’s crew forgot to add extra air to his tires before he went out for qualifying on Friday which resulted in him starting the race from the 32nd position. From the drop of the green flag, Hamlin was on a mission to get to the front. Once he got there, he just drove away with the race.

Reinstated Allmendinger Faces Uphill Battle

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As fast as the news came of AJ Allmendinger’s suspension for a failed drug test, it seems only fitting that the news that suspension is already lifted was equally as quick.

No, seriously. Not two months after the news broke in July, Allmendinger, the former driver of Penske Racing’s No. 22 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is already “back,” or at least could be back, in theory. The news comes as a shock not in the sense that Allmendinger completed NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program; I don’t think anyone who knew the driver on even the most basic of levels would peg him as a bad guy whose problems were only going to worsen.

Did You Notice? … Sponsors Make Things Silly

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*Did You Notice?…* Sponsorship is what’s making the Silly Season world go round these days? Matt Kenseth didn’t have enough of it at Roush Fenway; Joey Logano had it stripped from him at Joe Gibbs Racing. Their financial problems, not personality conflicts or performance issues led to the biggest day of announcements we’ll see for 2013.

Kenseth’s time in front of the cameras came first, one of the most poorly kept secrets in NASCAR history due to a contract that kept him from “officially” announcing his move until a certain date. (Side note: When will NASCAR get with the 21st Century? Do they really think an archaic piece of paper will keep the Twitterverse silent for three months? Hello… someone get Jack Roush an iPhone and a paper shredder – that contract should have been ripped up and a press conference held back in July. But I digress.)

RPM makes crew switches for Ambrose, Almirola

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RPM Makes Pit Crew Switches for Ambrose, Almirola According a report from FoxSports.com’s Lee Spencer (http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/Richard-Petty-Motorsports-shifts-parts-of-NASCAR-Sprint-Cup-pit-crews-082212), Richard Petty Motorsports announced they’re changing up the pit …

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Professor Of Speed: Good Finishes Make A Good Start

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So there I was … pretty much finished with NASCAR, when …. Wham! There’s Kyle Busch slipping and sliding, and there’s Brad Keselowski running through the grass, and there’s Marcos Ambrose beating and banging his way to a .571 second margin of victory in the Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen. It took just a moment for the final lap of that race to become etched in NASCAR folklore; all the radio announcers said so, as did the television commentators. The newspaper/internet writers who covered the event echoed the same fact when their stories were posted.

What a difference an exciting finish makes.