NASCAR on TV this week

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Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: Talladega-2 Race Recap

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*Key Moment* – Matt Kenseth entered Turn 3 of the last lap a sitting duck – even though he was leading the race. Seconds later, he exited Turn 4 the only car still standing in a 500-mile event that could have easily been run as a 1-lap Demolition Derby.

*In a Nutshell* – A spectacular, heart-stopping final 20 minutes of side-by-side drama turned into an eyesore of an ending. Drivers left angry, owners lost millions, officials are lucky no one was killed, and the sport wound up with a virtual punch in the face.

Regan Smith Driver Diary: The End of an Era and a New Beginning

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As I’m sure you all know, the past few weeks certainly have not been the most pleasant of my career. I was informed that I would not be back with the team and then found out with the rest of you that Kurt Busch would be in the car. I had an inkling that he was going to replace me, but that was for the team to talk about, not me. What did catch me off guard was the fact that I will be out of the car after Talladega. I would have expected to at least have been able to finish the season after all of my efforts, but it is not to be.

With that being said, I am already working on putting this disappointment behind me so that I can focus on the fact that I’ll be a free agent and I need to move forward. It’s late in the season and a lot of moves have already been made in terms of seats being filled, but those are the cards that I was dealt. I will do the best that I can to emerge from this in the best possible situation.

Beyond the Cockpit: Chad McCumbee On A Possible Change In Career Arc?

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_For Chad McCumbee, his career up to this point has been a little unorthodox. Around the time he made his “rather spectacular debut in the ARCA Re/Max Series”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ri0zfKI1mE, he appeared in ESPN’s 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story, an unauthorized biopic of the seven-time champion as the screen version of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (the film premiered months after his ARCA debut, but was likely filmed around the time he debuted)._

_Since then, McCumbee has had a couple of stints in the Craftsman/Camping World Truck Series, along with ten starts in the Sprint Cup Series with a best finish of 17th, and multiple seasons in ARCA. However, for 2012, McCumbee decided to blaze a new trail and moved over to the Street Tuner class of Grand-Am’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge to drive what was originally a Mazdaspeed 3 for the season (early in the year, the team switched to a Mazda MX-5). Recently, McCumbee sat down with Frontstretch’s Phil Allaway at Lime Rock Park to talk about his season, his transition to sports car racing, and his continuing presence in NASCAR._

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Dover II

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Frontstretch Power Rankings
While Talladega is still ahead, it seems that the championship players have clearly been set. Not only are we seeing a repeat of 2010, with a Denny Hamlin vs. Jimmie Johnson championship fight, but the third dog in play, Brad Keselowski, is proving to be more than just a darkhorse candidate. He’s ahead of both drivers in the standings and has won two out of the last three races. Call me crazy, but I think we have a fight on our hands!

Couch Potato Tuesday: Shrunken Lead Lap Equals Shrunken Focus for ESPN

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Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where race telecast breakdowns are the name of the game. This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series each raced at Dover International Speedway, while the Camping World Truck Series raced Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Before we start, “here’s an example of what not to do on an ESPN3 live feed.”:http://deadspin.com/5947950/in-least+professional-broadcast-ever-espn-announcers-mock-wrecked-rallycross-driver-as-hes-taken-to-hospital This is from ESPN3’s coverage of the Global Rallycross Championship race in Las Vegas, held after the Smith’s 350.

Beyond the Cockpit: Parker Kligerman on Transitions And Championship Dreams

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_Parker Kligerman has found himself in a unique situation during his sophomore season in the Camping World Truck Series. After running half of the year with Brad Keselowski Racing, the team he drove for during his rookie campaign, the 22-year-old was released following his seventh-place run at Pocono in August. Less than a week later, he landed at Red Horse Racing behind the wheel of the No. 7 Toyota without missing a race._

_Fast forward to today and Kligerman has four top-4 finishes in five events plus a 23rd-place result in a race where he led 10 of 200 laps before a cut tire and the ensuing damage took him out of contention. Kligerman took some time out of his week to talk about how his passion for racing began, his focus on the championship and so much more._

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After New Hampshire

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He called his shot. Then he didn’t. Then he did. Denny Hamlin set himself up for success no matter how he finished on Sunday and took credit for calling his victory thereafter. However, you can’t say this guy doesn’t have confidence and everyone seems to agree he is now, officially, championship material. However, Jimmie Johnson–much similar to the championship battle in 2010–was right behind him when the checkered flag flew–and has the points lead.