Race Weekend Central

Voices From The Cheap Seats: BSNews! A New NASCAR CEO On The Rise?

BSNews, a wholly disowned subsidiary of Frontstretch.com, has learned that the CEOof NASCAR, Brian France, will step down as the head of the sanctioning body following the conclusion of the 2014 racing season. The news has been received by both fans and teams with shock and incredulousness, and was announced early this morning from the headquarters ofNASCAR in …

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Voices From The Cheap Seats: How To Mix Predictable And Incredible All At Once

And now for something completely different — different, that is, from some of the fluff that’s been pouring from this very site! While one writer has a caption describing, almost verbatim what I heard from the FOX booth all afternoon Sunday, this writer is going to, as usual, point out some of the realities I …

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The Difference In NASCAR Between Oblivious And Relentless

2014 Darlington Cup Kevin Harvick Credit Yvonne Leonard

Credit: Yvonne Leonard

Once again, I am writing about a topic that, while obvious to the common man (and not to mention that most of us thought it had long ago been taken care of), has reared its ugly head once more: SAFER barriers. I know what you are thinking: aren’t SAFER barriers old news? Yes, Virginia, they are. Unfortunately (and much …

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NASCAR 2014 Season Preview: The Rookie of the Year Battle

New playoff system. New qualifying procedure. New attitude. As NASCAR heads towards Daytona in 2014, all around the sport are focused on the positive, looking for the perfect season to recapture a nation currently preoccupied with other sports, along with the Olympics in Sochi. Can they do it? As Speedweeks dawn, both NASCAR’s Sprint Unlimited …

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NASCAR 2014 Season Preview: Examining Earnhardt and Patrick’s Potential

New playoff system. New qualifying procedure. New attitude. As NASCAR heads towards Daytona in 2014, all around the sport are focused on the positive, looking for the perfect season to recapture a nation currently preoccupied with other sports, along with the Olympics in Sochi. Can they do it? As Speedweeks dawn, both NASCAR’s Sprint Unlimited …

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Voices From the Cheap Seats: Gibbs Redemption Shows NASCAR is Out of Touch

With all the hubbub over the last two weeks about a connecting rod that was found to be a mere three grams underweight in the engine of Joe Gibbs Racing star, Matt Kenseth, and the resulting penalties levied by NASCAR, the main question in my mind is: did we really need to go through all this stupid drama?

Are the powers that be, _that_ out of touch with common sense? Ok, that’s two questions. But really, is there any one among us that didn’t think NASCAR was way off base? Make that three questions … or maybe it’s all one, I don’t know.

Voices From the Cheap Seats: Dropping Appeal And Getting Paid What You’re Worth

Much the same as fans who have dropping appeal for NASCAR, Denny Hamlin announced Thursday that he plans to drop the appeal of the fine that NASCAR levied against him for saying the new car was a piece of crap. As wishy washy as his decision may sound, make no mistake about it, he still doesn’t plan to pay the fine. \"After a lot of thought I have decided not to appeal the fine NASCAR has issued. Dragging myself, my team and NASCAR through the mud for the next 2 weeks would not be good for anyone,” Hamlin tweeted Thursday afternoon. “I firmly believe I am in the right on this issue and will stand behind my decision not to pay. I understand NASCAR will do what they feel is necessary based on my decision. Thanks to all of my fans and peers who have supported me in this decision. I look forward to putting it to rest.\" <div style=\"float:right; width:250px; margin: 20px; border: black solid 1px; padding: 3px;\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/14928.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"367\"/><p style=\"margin: 3px; text-align: left; font-weight:bold;\">Denny Hamlin won't appeal his senseless fine from NASCAR, but he won't pay it either. NASCAR will just have to come and get it.</p></div> I know, the original announcement that he was ‘dropping his appeal’ scared me too! After all, I have yet to hear anyone or read one response to an article that did not support Denny and felt NASCAR execs were, in essence, so dumb that it takes them 2 hours to watch “60 Minutes”. After reading the full text however, I had to smile and applaud Denny for coming up with an even more creative and subtle way to show his utter disdain at the whole situation. Knowing that he has is boss and basically all of the NASCAR fan base, whether an actual fan of Denny or not, in his corner, Denny has basically said that not only is he not going to pay the fine, he’s not even going through with the process to ‘officially’ say he’s not going to! NASCAR’s response was typical in it’s transparency as well as this official release indicates: NASCAR announced today that the $25,000 fine assessed to driver Denny Hamlin on March 7 will be settled per Section 12-3 of the 2013 NASCAR rule book after being informed by Hamlin that he will not appeal the penalty. Hamlin was fined after the sanctioning body determined he had violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing). NASCAR considers this matter closed. Section 12-3 of the NASCAR rule book allows NASCAR to collect fines from the driver points fund and/or race purse winnings.(3-14-2013) So there you have it. Denny isn’t even interested in jumping through the hoops to officially not pay and NASCAR just basically will deduct it from the #11’s paycheck. I wonder if they can get the deductions strung out over the course of the year so it doesn’t hurt so much? (That is ‘sarcasm’ for those of you who do not recognize it or are named Sheldon.) Once, just once I wish that NASCAR would simply do the right thing and admit that they over re-acted in this case. Are they so obtuse that they do not see how such an admission would do more than money can buy to win back fans? It boggles the mind, I tell you! As for getting paid what you are worth, it is amazing what an (arguably) pretty face and a set of ta-tas can get you in NASCAR. I speak of non other than Danica Patrick. Forbes has just announced, in its annual rating of driver’s salaries, that Patrick ranks a whopping 7th, with earnings of 12.9 million dollars in 2012. Earnhardt Jr. was of course first, with 25.9 million. Those figures include off track earnings, but still, 7th? Give me a break! What has the woman done in her career? I’m not trying to sound sexist here but seriously, as a race car driver she is middle of the pack at best, whether it be in open wheel or stock cars. Maybe if I invest in some silicone and a good plastic surgeon….nah, too hard to find nice women’s shoes in my size! Stay off the wall (unlike Danica last week) Jeff Meyer \"Contact Jeff Meyer\":http://www.frontstretch.com/contact/14350/