Beside the Rising Tide: Twin Sons of Different Mothers
For better or worse, the first NASCAR doubleheader Cup weekend races are now in the rearview mirror, presumably closer than they might appear. Given the … Continue Reading
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: Daytona Lowering? NASCAR Superspeedway Rule Changes Ignore Larger Problem
At least partially due to the severity of Ryan Newman’s last-lap wreck in this year’s Daytona 500, NASCAR made several tweaks to the rules package … Continue Reading
Beside the Rising Tide: Only On a Need to Know Basis
There are some statistics and numbers NASCAR types prefer to keep to themselves. Starting in 2014, NASCAR information services stopped giving out attendance figures for … Continue Reading
Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2020 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville
Editors Note: What in blazes am I doing here? Yeah, Matt, what’s up? You write on Tuesdays, having given this column up years ago. Yep. … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Beside the Rising Tide: Disqualified, The 6-Ton Elephant in the Room and Other ObservationsÂ
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading