NASCAR on TV this week

Racing To The Point: NASCAR Kept Its Head In The Sand With The NRA

NASCAR stood its ground in the weeks following Texas Motor Speedway’s decision to sign the National Rifle Association as the primary sponsor for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race.

The stance was simple: race entitlement sponsorships are signed by the track, not the sport’s governing body. So when Texas Motor Speedway announced that the NRA was going to sponsor a race seen by millions in the middle of a debate on gun control in Washington D.C., NASCAR effectively said, “It wasn’t us, it was them.”

Who’s Hot / Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: Texas-Kansas Edition

After a week of debate centered on the NRA 500, nothing could prevent Kyle Busch from firing off the revolvers following a runaway win in Texas Saturday night. Controversy aside, Busch was one of several drivers to make headway in the Lone Star State.

As track temperatures fell, the No. 18 team was able to keep up with crucial adjustments, while other drivers weren’t as fortunate. Pit road miscues and ill-timed mechanical failures spelled disaster for several of his top rivals, leaving only Martin Truex, Jr. as the main opponent for Busch down the stretch – one he disposed of easily.

NASCAR Wants Silence? No One Gives A Rip Anymore

“Silence! I ‘keel’ you.”

Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you don’t know the lovable little skeleton I’m referencing. He’s famous for “Jingle Bombs” and being slightly offensive but mind-blowing hilarious.

However, it appears another entity is attempting to utter a very similar phrase: NASCAR.

Tearing Apart the Trucks: Hornaday Loses His Head at Rockingham

Sunday afternoon presented one of the rare times for the Camping World Truck Series to be in the spotlight; they put on just the race I expected them to. And though Kyle Larson thoroughly dominated the field, leading all but a handful of laps, there was still plenty of action throughout the race right up to the final caution.

That’s when things went, well, crazy for lack of a better word. When Timothy Peters and Ryan Sieg got together, causing the yellow it was clear the field would be set up for an exciting green-white-checkered finish. But more than half a lap after the yellow came out, Darrell Wallace, Jr. was sent spinning and out of the race off the bumper of Ron Hornaday, Jr. Several replays later, it became clear that the veteran had spun the rookie intentionally in retaliation for earlier contact between the two.

Tracking the Trucks: North Carolina Education Lottery 200

*In a Nutshell:* Kyle Larson was the class of the field from the drop of the green flag until the drop of the checkered. He held off Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano and CWTS veterans Brendan Gaughan and Johnny Sauter on a green-white-checkered finish to win his first career Truck event. Chase Elliott rounded out the top 5 in Rockingham.

*Who Should Have Won: Larson.* It’s only been a matter of time since he made his series debut last year. Still, given the skill and poise he showed, It was hard to believe that Larson was running just his fifth career CWTS race. Larson led 187 of 205 laps en route to complete dominance on Sunday.

The Big Six… Questions Answered After the NRA 500

_Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday’s race? Amy Henderson has you covered with each week with the answers to six race day questions, covering all five W’s and even the H…the Big Six_

*Who…gets my shoutout of the race?*

After getting a bombshell dropped on his team just before race time, *Brad Keselowski* had reason to be angry. And sometimes, an angry danger is a dangerous driver. But instead of letting them get the best of him, Keselowski was able to focus his emotions into a deeper drive on Saturday night, and with help from the free pass on the final caution, went out and took ninth place in the closing laps. If that’s what Keselowski does when he’s mad, Penske Racing needs to get someone to really piss him off come Chase time…