Did You Notice? … NASCAR’s business model is the center of Speedweeks conversation? The sport enters 2018 with only 40 entries competing for 40 spots in its Super Bowl, Sunday’s Daytona 500 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It’ll be the first time since 1969 that every car that showed up to make the 500 …
Did You Notice? … How quickly NASCAR has undergone a changing of the guard? Two more of the sport’s full-time drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth, bid farewell to the sport this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They’ll be the cherries on top of what has been a mountainous shift towards NASCAR’s youth movement. Here’s a …
Did You Notice? … Matt Kenseth wanted to make his own decision on retirement? As Silly Season winds down, the 2003 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion finds himself without a chair. Without bringing sponsorship to the table, the future NASCAR Hall of Famer was left with two choices for 2018. Choice A: Drive for a …
Did You Notice? … The chorus of cheers as Chase Elliott emerged from his vehicle at Martinsville Speedway Sunday night? The way the crowd erupted when he took the lead at Talladega Superspeedway a few weeks back? If you weren’t looking, you might have assumed Dale Earnhardt Jr. was pushing his way toward the front. He’s not. But his …
Did You Notice? … Matt Kenseth’s missed opportunities? Kenseth’s five-year tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing will end without a Cup Series championship. Despite at least 14 wins and five playoff appearances, the final nail in that coffin came the second an extra man jumped over the Kansas Speedway wall Sunday afternoon. It’s a rule we’ve struggled to understand …
Did You Notice? … The way NASCAR’s damaged vehicle policy has affected drivers running at the end of races? Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway set an all-time high for DNFs in the sport’s playoff era (2004-present) as 26 drivers failed to finish. Only a dozen cars wound up on the lead lap. The rate of carnage also …
Did You Notice? …. Talladega is truly the Russian Roulette of the NASCAR playoffs? This race has now had a green-white-checkered finish three years running. Last fall, two top title contenders (Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr.) failed to finish in surprising fashion (engine failure). Later in that race, a driver who would soon announce his retirement (Brian Scott) …
Did You Notice?… It’s been a difficult, controversial start to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. In the last three weeks, we’ve seen a 25-point penalty by a potential title contender (Chase Elliott). There’s been controversy surrounding the national anthem, forcing NASCAR PR to take a stance. Toyota has been dominating races, leading 299 of …
Did You Notice? … The first two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff races have seen Toyota run away from the field? Chicagoland saw a motivated Martin Truex Jr. win the race by over seven seconds. Then, at New Hampshire Sunday Truex combined with Kyle Busch to lead 299 of 300 laps. The duo would have …
Did You Notice? … The powerful resume of Kasey Kahne? This year’s Brickyard 400 victory, combined with years of wooing major sponsorship, tipped the scales for single-car Leavine Family Racing. Despite a major leap forward with Michael McDowell this season, on-track potential wasn’t enough to keep the ride. “We look at this as an opportunity for …
Did You Notice? … NASCAR needs to throw caution to the wind? It’s been a crazy last day of Silly Season for the sport, but let’s not bury the lead of on-track competition gone awry at Richmond Raceway. The sport was put under fire for not only an ambulance blocking pit road under caution, causing damage …
Did You Notice? … The taboo subject of an athlete’s personal life? The topic came up Sunday night after Cody Ware went off on Twitter following a wreck involving fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series underdog Matt DiBenedetto. The point here isn’t to delve into what was said or whether it was even true. It’s if that …
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