*10.* Keeping tabs on Brian France’s legal woes.
*9.* Guessing how many temper tantrums Kurt Busch will throw this year.
*8.* Manti Teo’s relationship status.
*7.* Understanding the Higgs-Boson particle theory.
@KyleLarsonRacin: I honestly feel bad but I’m here to win. I’m a racer and won’t settle for anything less. @CEFalk40: Great job by the #40 …
I’m asked often why I like NASCAR. I get questions like “Do they ever take right turns?”, and the less simple “How can you call …
While much of America only begins to recover from winter, NASCAR is already off to a blazing start under the sun of Daytona Beach. With the Sprint Unlimited and qualifying for the Great American Race already in the books, the action continues to heat up in preparation for the much anticipated Budweiser Duels.
This Speedweeks edition of *Who’s Hot and Who’s Not* shows that many of the usual restrictor plate racing suspects have already emerged at the historic superspeedway leading up to Sunday’s main event, while other favorites have yet to thaw out. Here’s who’s on their way to a strong start for 2013…
They say Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the modern-day master of the restrictor plate race.
At least, that’s what they said years ago. In droves. All the time. It wasn’t a matter of if Junior won, but when and how.
Nowadays, the reaction has tempered, but the sentiment remains, particularly when the series visits Daytona for the Great American Race (aka the Daytona 500). Little E is now more visible than usual, his name spoken in the broadcast booth as a driver to beat. And it’s not wrong to say that. Earnhardt Jr. does have two Daytona victories, along with six top-three finishes, though he hasn’t actually won at the track in a points race since 2004 (2008 brought a Gatorade Duel victory). Add to that five plate wins at Talladega, and you can see why people point to Junior as number one.
No other professional sport has as short an offseason as NASCAR; it’s less than 90 days between the checkered flag flying at Homestead and the drop of the green for Sunday’s Daytona 500. So why does it feel like it gets longer and longer every year?
Especially this one. As you might imagine, I’m raring to go-go-go in 2013 for what, at least at first blush, might be one of the sport’s fantastic seasons with plenty of changes designed to bring back its competitive edge. Here’s five things to report on, as of now with Daytona continuing to unfold…
Hello, race fans. Welcome to the first regular critique of the 2013 season. Before we get started, I want to start with my hope for the year, a lesson to learn through quoting the late Larry Nuber. On the second lap of the 1987 Winston 500, Nuber said, “I must tell all of you, racing on TV is the best because you can get right up in the cockpit, you can see all the way around [the track]. You don’t miss any of the action.”
In this case, Nuber was comparing racing on TV to being in-person, live in the broadcast booth at Talladega. Say what you want about Nuber’s ability as a booth analyst, but he had a point in what he was saying about telecasts. Racing is an excellent sport to watch on TV. However, not all of the action has been shown, for various reasons in recent years. NASCAR’s partners, be it SPEED, FOX, TNT, or ABC/ESPN should strive to get back to that “ideal” Nuber describes, becoming as inclusive as possible for their viewership.
It’s a beautiful place, a true monument to all we hold dear as racing fans. Daytona International Speedway stands tall in the soft Florida wind, …
At Daytona International Speedway, the driver doesn’t really play all that much of a role when it comes to actually qualifying the car. All they …
Harvick Holds Pack Off to Win Sprint Unlimited Coming into the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night, no one really knew what to expect. Every time …