NASCAR on TV this week

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Couch Potato Tuesday: A Brief 2013 NASCAR TV Season Preview

Phil Allaway

Hello, race fans. Hope you had a great holiday season. Mine was decent. I got a new camera, then took it to the Rolex 24 at Daytona. I’ll post some of my best pictures from there on my “Facebook fan page”:http://www.facebook.com/WritingOfPhilAllaway/ later this week for you. Let’s just say that I really like my new Nikon 1 J1.

However, pictures of Audi R8’s and Porsche 911’s are not what this column is about. TV telecasts are what we’re discussing here. I don’t have anything to critique this week, but within a few days there will be V8 engines growling and exciting action on television. It is my goal to give you a little preview of what you’re likely to see this year as the NASCAR 2013 campaign revs up.

25 NASCAR Questions For 2013: Martin, Busch, Labonte, Montoya, McMurray

Dan Greene

*Mark Martin*
*2013 Ride:* No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota (Michael Waltrip Racing)
*Season With Team:* 2nd
*Crew Chief:* Rodney Childers

*Burning Question: How much longer can Martin be competitive?*

With Martin, at this point it’s continually a question of age. The veteran turned 54 years old in January, and while his skills haven’t diminished at the rate of many of the drivers of his generation (Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace) it’s only a matter of time before Father Time catches up with him – physical fitness be damned. Even the timeless Harry Gant, who holds the record for oldest Cup victory at 52 years of age couldn’t hang on forever. Holding his retirement tour in 1994, two years after that record he couldn’t even pull down a top-5 result despite driving for the same organization.

2012 NASCAR Driver Reviews: Sam Hornish, Jr.

*2012 Ride:* No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge
*2012 Primary Sponsor:* Alliance Truck Parts
*2012 Owner:* Roger Penske
*2012 Crew Chief:* Chad Walter

*Stats:* 33 races; 0 wins, 10 top 5s, 22 top 10s, 1 pole, 0 DNFs, 4th in points.
*Average Finish*: 9.7.
*Best Finish*: 2nd – three times (Indianapolis, Montreal, Kentucky – September).

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Homestead

Th-th-th-that’s all, folks! For the second year in a row, we are talking about someone not named Jimmie Johnson winning the championship. For the first time since 2005, someone not named Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson finally took the trophy home. But who would have thought that out of all the experienced, talented, and qualified drivers out there, that it would be Brad Keselowski? Not that there could have been a better driver considering his outreach on social media, but still .. he beat Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin when it came to winning their first titles. I get the feeling that this dude is going to be around for a while.

Couch Potato Tuesday: Title Usurps All, Including Covering the Race

Phil Allaway

Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where race telecast critique is the name of my game. This will mark the final full-fledged TV critique of the 2012 season, as every series of note with the exception of Formula One and the V8 Supercars are done for the year. This past weekend was Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final races of the 2012 season for the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Phoenix II

One to go! Can you believe we are down to Homestead already? While it doesn’t appear that this weekend’s championship will be nearly as exciting as last year’s and that Keseowski all but has this one, all that needs to happen is, well, basically what happened to Johnson last week and it’s back to a barn burner.

Couch Potato Tuesday: Fracas Coverage Good, Focus Again Hurts ESPN

Phil Allaway

Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where race telecast breakdown is the name of the game. This past weekend, NASCAR’s National series were all in Avondale, Arizona for 662 scheduled miles of action. I have no doubts that ESPN wasn’t expecting what they got on Sunday, but let’s take a look at the three race telecasts on offer.

Decision 2012: Election Night Parallels Between Keselowski and Johnson

Beth Lunkenheimer

The 2012 Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship is setting up to read a bit like Tuesday night’s election results. With two races to go, it’s down to Phoenix (Ohio) and Homestead (which actually is in Florida) for Brad Keselowski to pull this one out in the 11th hour. Can the challenger (or Charger… since it’s not Nationwide) defeat the incumbent from four years ago to ascend to the highest motorsports seat in the land?

I won’t bore you with lap by lap or county by county breakdowns, but the path that each of them took to get here is parallel to the two men who squared off Tuesday night. Keselowski hails from Michigan originally, along with his father Bob, a very successful competitor in the ARCA and NASCAR Truck Series. Mitt Romney was born in Michigan, his father a former Governor of the state, while the younger Romney went on to be Governor of Massachusetts.