Beside the Rising Tide: 3rd-Rate Rendezvous
Well campers, what should we talk about this week? I mean there’s nothing going in our insular little racing world across these vast United States of …
Matt joined Frontstretch in 2007 after a decade of race-writing, paired with the first generation of racing internet sites like RaceComm and Racing One. Now semi-retired, he submits occasional special features while his retrospectives on drivers like Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, and other fallen NASCAR legends pop up every summer on Frontstretch. A motorcycle nut, look for the closest open road near you and you can catch him on the Harley during those bright, summer days in his beloved Pennsylvania.
Beside the Rising Tide: If They Ain’t Cheering They Better Be Booing
Hey Boy Blue, can’t you hear all the noise? It’s for you, all the town’s waiting there. – Jeff Lynne It seems like ancient history now, but …
Beside the Rising Tide: Disqualified, The 6-Ton Elephant in the Room and Other Observations
Early in my career Ben Blake, one of the great all-time writers in NASCAR history, taught me that the only thing worse than rain at …
Beside the Rising Tide: Matt McLaughlin Thinks Out Loud After Darlington 2020, Round 1
In a Nutshell: For years I wrote on a Sunday night deadline (that sometimes stretched to the point my alarm clock was going off while …
Beside the Rising Tide: Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby
Back in the late 1960s Marvin Gaye, backed by Tammi Terrell, scored an AM radio hit with a song entitled, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real …
Beside the Rising Tide: Beware the Ides of March
It’s been an interesting week both inside and outside the insular little media niche focused on NASCAR racing. A tempest in a teapot unexpectedly broke …
Beside the Rising Tide: Fire on Gander Mountain
NASCAR’s third level touring division, a.k.a. the Truck Series, came into being in 1995. It was a kinder, gentler era for the sanctioning body, when …
Beside the Rising Tide: Counting on a Miracle
For a sport based on high speed and non-stop action, NASCAR racing can be incredibly frustrating sometimes. It is positively soul-sapping to watch two lines …
Beside The Rising Tide: 2020 NASCAR Changes in Latitude
For the last couple weeks, we’ve been discussing changes that lay ahead in NASCAR in this space. In most cases, those modifications won’t take place …
Beside the Rising Tide: Fixing a Hole in the Ocean
Quite a few fans seem to have been perplexed this weekend as their attention returned to NASCAR racing. They’d apparently heard that there were big …