NASCAR on TV this week

Voices From the Cheap Seats: BSNews? No, Unfortunately It’s Real

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Here are a few items that, had anyone even had any interest in caring about, you may have missed recently. All are worthy of my just now made up, imaginary award I’m suddenly going to call the ‘Jeff Meyer side to side bobble head WTF!’ award. (Picture me shaking my head in disgust and disbelief and you get the idea. Hey, this could be big! I can see me on dashboards nationwide…)

Nudge to the bobble head to set it a’goin number one…

Mirror Driving: 2013 NASCAR Crossroads On Attendance, Talent, Rivalries

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*We’ve already seen former teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano butt heads at least twice in only four races this season. Going forward, should we expect this phenomenon to rear its head again at tracks like Martinsville — or is this rivalry just a bunch of hot air?*

Phil: I wouldn’t be surprised if they “had at it” again at some point this year. The Twitter Duel looks ridiculous, though. That probably didn’t need to be public.
Summer: That whole thing was ridiculous. It was fun to watch, but it was ridiculous.

NASCAR Mailbox: “Long”ing For Money You’re Rightfully Owed

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So while relaxing at my home on Wednesday night, I was once again browsing Twitter whilst listening to a local country station. As I listened to Brad Paisley twang _Beat this Summer_ into my ears, a Twitter notification popped up on my screen, and then another, and another. What did they all say?

“They just showed Brad Keselowski on American Idol!” “OMG Brad K was just on American Idol!” “Holy cow that pizza was good…”

Ok, so that last one was just an interjection of someone’s evening meal. Still, though, it was a big deal to see the defending champion on one of the most watched TV shows on the air right now.

Tech Talk: Steve Letarte On Tires, Aerodynamics And Fontana

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_Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the second hottest driver on the Cup circuit right now, with top-10 finishes in all four of the races that have been held this season. Some pundits predicted that Earnhardt would do better with this new generation car than he did with the previous incarnation of Cup cars. Other people might just point to the man on top of his pit box. Earnhardt is starting his third season with Steve Letarte as his crew chief and the two seem to be hitting their stride as they begin the 2013 season. Letarte gave Frontstretch a few minutes to look back at Bristol and ahead to California._

Mike Neff: *Dale made some contact with the wall early on in the race at Bristol. He fell back for the remainder of that run but rebounded rather quickly after the next pit stop and ended up with his fourth top 10 of the season. Did the contact damage the car requiring adjustments to correct it or was it just cosmetic damage?*

Truckin’ Thursdays: Four Tracks That Belong On The Truck Series Schedule

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Today, the Camping World Truck Series remains in the middle of a ridiculous six-week break and won’t return to the track until April 6th, and while the season will pick up as we get toward the summer months, by the time June rolls around, the series will have run just six of its 22 events. Compare that to five consecutive weeks of competition to close out the season, and it’s clear there’s a serious imbalance when it comes to scheduling.

With reports coming out late last season that NASCAR might consider allowing tracks without SAFER barriers on the schedule, fans and media alike became hopeful that the sanctioning body would restore some of the races dropped for 2012. And though the new schedule for this season has its bright spots – Eldora Raceway and the addition of a road course come to mind – the biggest problem still wasn’t addressed. With just 22 races on the schedule, drivers and fans once again are forced to endure breaks that last way too long between events, breaking momentum and challenging the attention span of even the most dedicated fans.

Fantasy Insider: Left Coast The Place To Right Your NASCAR Ship

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The NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to California for the first time this season with Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway. It may be showing up on the schedule at just the right time for a couple of traditionally top drivers who are off to slow starts. The race on the two-mile D-shaped oval is scheduled for 200 laps and with high speeds that will reach in the 200s, meaning that engine durability will be a factor too. Then of course, there’s the more simple way of trying to predict who will do well, by just looking at who is hot at the moment. Don’t out-think yourself when it comes to these picks this week.

Beyond the Cockpit: Mark Sibla and the Business of INDYCAR

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_The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to the track for the start of the 2013 season this weekend in St. Petersburg, and Frontstretch is here to get you up to speed on your favorite open-wheelers. As part of our season preview coverage, IndyCar Editor Toni Montgomery recently had the chance to speak with Mark Sibla, Vice President of Partner Strategy for INDYCAR, about the state of the sport. Find out how INDYCAR copes with a challenging economy, offers exceptional value to their partners, and who Sibla thinks might be the breakout driver of the year._

Toni Montgomery, Frontstretch.com: Please tell us about your background. How and when did you start in INDYCAR? Did you grow up around racing or did you come from outside and if so, how did you end up in motorsports?