Race Weekend Central

Nuts for Nationwide: A NASCAR Journeyman’s (Comparably) Hot Start

If you’re looking for a feel-good story four races into the Nationwide Series season, look no further than Mike Harmon.

Harmon, a longtime journeyman contender in multiple NASCAR series and ARCA, published an article with Catchfence last October decrying the change from 43- to 40-car Nationwide fields, writing that he “just [didn’t] think NASCAR has really thought this thing out” and that he was “just about finished with NASCAR.”

Formula 1 Fridays: The Iceman Cometh And Other Reflections…

There are few things in the world of Formula One more likely to leave you with egg on your face than the pre-season preview predictions. However, like a siren’s song it becomes hard to resist not to draw a few conclusions following on from the first race of the season. And so the shell is cracked and the stove lit in preparation as we ponder a few of these lessons prior to this weekend and the oppressive heat of Malaysia…

*Red Bull not so dominant?*

There was a shudder of fear after Friday’s two practice sessions prior to Australia as Red Bull stopped sand-bagging and showed their true pace. This was compounded after qualifying on Saturday as the team secured a dominant front-row lock out of the grid.

Categories F1

Voices From the Cheap Seats: BSNews? No, Unfortunately It’s Real

Here are a few items that, had anyone even had any interest in caring about, you may have missed recently. All are worthy of my just now made up, imaginary award I’m suddenly going to call the ‘Jeff Meyer side to side bobble head WTF!’ award. (Picture me shaking my head in disgust and disbelief and you get the idea. Hey, this could be big! I can see me on dashboards nationwide…)

Nudge to the bobble head to set it a’goin number one…

Keepin’ it Short – Racing in History

There are many historic race tracks around the country and most every short track fan will have their own favorite. In the Southeast there are quite a few small race tracks that are well known just by their affiliation with the early days of NASCAR. This weekend, there will be two big races taking place …

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The Critic’s Annex 110- NASCAR Now

Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic’s Annex, where we take an additional look at motorsports-related programming. Last week, I was supposed to bring you a look at NASCAR Now. However, circumstances beyond my control prevented that from happening. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that ESPN has made it very difficult to watch the …

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NASCAR Mailbox: “Long”ing For Money You’re Rightfully Owed

So while relaxing at my home on Wednesday night, I was once again browsing Twitter whilst listening to a local country station. As I listened to Brad Paisley twang _Beat this Summer_ into my ears, a Twitter notification popped up on my screen, and then another, and another. What did they all say?

“They just showed Brad Keselowski on American Idol!” “OMG Brad K was just on American Idol!” “Holy cow that pizza was good…”

Ok, so that last one was just an interjection of someone’s evening meal. Still, though, it was a big deal to see the defending champion on one of the most watched TV shows on the air right now.

Tech Talk: Steve Letarte On Tires, Aerodynamics And Fontana

_Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the second hottest driver on the Cup circuit right now, with top-10 finishes in all four of the races that have been held this season. Some pundits predicted that Earnhardt would do better with this new generation car than he did with the previous incarnation of Cup cars. Other people might just point to the man on top of his pit box. Earnhardt is starting his third season with Steve Letarte as his crew chief and the two seem to be hitting their stride as they begin the 2013 season. Letarte gave Frontstretch a few minutes to look back at Bristol and ahead to California._

Mike Neff: *Dale made some contact with the wall early on in the race at Bristol. He fell back for the remainder of that run but rebounded rather quickly after the next pit stop and ended up with his fourth top 10 of the season. Did the contact damage the car requiring adjustments to correct it or was it just cosmetic damage?*

Truckin’ Thursdays: Four Tracks That Belong On The Truck Series Schedule

Today, the Camping World Truck Series remains in the middle of a ridiculous six-week break and won’t return to the track until April 6th, and while the season will pick up as we get toward the summer months, by the time June rolls around, the series will have run just six of its 22 events. Compare that to five consecutive weeks of competition to close out the season, and it’s clear there’s a serious imbalance when it comes to scheduling.

With reports coming out late last season that NASCAR might consider allowing tracks without SAFER barriers on the schedule, fans and media alike became hopeful that the sanctioning body would restore some of the races dropped for 2012. And though the new schedule for this season has its bright spots – Eldora Raceway and the addition of a road course come to mind – the biggest problem still wasn’t addressed. With just 22 races on the schedule, drivers and fans once again are forced to endure breaks that last way too long between events, breaking momentum and challenging the attention span of even the most dedicated fans.

Fantasy Insider: Left Coast The Place To Right Your NASCAR Ship

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to California for the first time this season with Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway. It may be showing up on the schedule at just the right time for a couple of traditionally top drivers who are off to slow starts. The race on the two-mile D-shaped oval is scheduled for 200 laps and with high speeds that will reach in the 200s, meaning that engine durability will be a factor too. Then of course, there’s the more simple way of trying to predict who will do well, by just looking at who is hot at the moment. Don’t out-think yourself when it comes to these picks this week.

Beyond the Cockpit: Mark Sibla and the Business of INDYCAR

_The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to the track for the start of the 2013 season this weekend in St. Petersburg, and Frontstretch is here to get you up to speed on your favorite open-wheelers. As part of our season preview coverage, IndyCar Editor Toni Montgomery recently had the chance to speak with Mark Sibla, Vice President of Partner Strategy for INDYCAR, about the state of the sport. Find out how INDYCAR copes with a challenging economy, offers exceptional value to their partners, and who Sibla thinks might be the breakout driver of the year._

Toni Montgomery, Frontstretch.com: Please tell us about your background. How and when did you start in INDYCAR? Did you grow up around racing or did you come from outside and if so, how did you end up in motorsports?

Did You Notice? … Who Has Something to Prove, Underdogs Overachieving and Quick Hits

*Did You Notice? …* A running theme among all the drivers succeeding this season? You’ve got Brian Vickers, in a part-time ride running eighth in his first 2013 start with Michael Waltrip Racing. There’s AJ Allmendinger, making spot starts for James Finch flirting with the top 10 every time out. On the luck rollercoaster sits Matt Kenseth, more emotional than perhaps ever before in surging to the front at Las Vegas. Even the point leader, Brad Keselowski, who spent the offseason feeling disrespected by critics, has roared out of the box with four top-5 finishes in the first four races.