NASCAR on TV this week

Going By the Numbers: Plate Racing’s Best At Finishing In One Piece

by

The last time NASCAR’s national series visited a restrictor plate superspeedway, this column focused on the kings of the restrictor plate in NASCAR, and the drivers who should be called the best versus those that are popularly considered to be such.

This time, with Talladega in our sights, we’ll focus again on drivers who tend to finish well while plate racing. While it may be about the wins in the long run, it’s also rewarding to simply make it to the end of a restrictor plate race these days. With the introduction of tandem racing, the subsequent return of the pack and the always looming “Big One,” each turn is treacherous, every closing lap more harrowing than the last. Once it’s crunch time, you tend to see racers really going for broke.

Diva Complex 2.0: Why It Won’t Ever Go Away

by

I wrote a column not too long ago about the “diva complex” NASCAR faces with some of the egos in this sport and how aggravating it is watching millionaire racecar drivers complain about others racing them too hard. Incidentally, many of you agreed with me and are just as aggravated by this phenomenon as I am. Sure, tempers are part of the sport, but temper tantrums over how someone else is racing you? It’s maddening!

We wouldn’t be very smart, though, to not fully expect it at a track like Richmond. After all, a short track Saturday night race is well known for its tendency to get under the skin of even the most patient drivers.

The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Toyota Owners’ 400

by

*Who…gets my shoutout of the race?*

One thing about racing — sometimes the driver who _should_ win doesn’t, and that’s exactly what went down on Laburnum Avenue Saturday night. *Juan Pablo Montoya* had the best car late and was driving like he owned the place before a late crash by Brian Vickers shuffled the field and left Montoya on the outside row for the restart. That was all she wrote as it was Kevin Harvick who was able to make the move to the front on a green-white-checkered run to the finish; Montoya was left sitting fourth.

Nationwide Breakdown: ToyotaCare 250

by

Brad Keselowski’s 2013 was off to a solid, if unspectacular start; eight races in the Sprint Cup Series had yielded four top fives and seven top 10s, but recent weeks had found him less and less a part of the conversation when it came to victories. Despite entries in every Nationwide Series race to that point, he had only managed two top-5 finishes, while fellow Cup regular Kyle Busch ran away with the majority of the first six races.