NASCAR on TV this week

Pace Laps: Decision 2012 For ‘Dinger And Finch, George Goes Kaput & Title Dreams

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*Sprint Cup: Did AJ Earn Himself A Second Chance?* AJ Allmendinger’s season has been nothing short of a nightmare. Owner James Finch had spent the year _living_ with a nightmare in Kurt Busch, then seeing bills mount as a lack of sponsorship money has put his team, in existence for 20+ years on the brink of foreclosure. Both men, with 2013 a great unknown are in search of both survival and redemption in this sport.

Underdogs Shine In Kansas… And Beyond

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Matt Kenseth is taking the “lame” out of “lame duck” by winning two races in the Chase in his final season with his current Sprint Cup Series team. It’s impressive, to say the least, and completely unexpected from my point of view.

My reaction to Kenseth’s success, however, is nothing compared with my reaction when I saw Aric Almirola take the lead and keep it during the first chunk of the race. Almirola? Really?!

Or Menard, when he started 14th and somehow found his way up to the top five and maintained it.

And how about Regan Smith? He gets thrown to the wolves when Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets thrown out and he makes the most of the situation.

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2012 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas

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What a mess. That’s what several teams were left thinking after the wreckfest that was the Hollywood Casino 400. A track-record and season-high 14 cautions marred the racing over the course of the 400-mile event, caused by everything from a rash of blown tires, a couple of driver errors at the wrong time, a move made in anger, and a very slick repaved racetrack. “If people are wondering where all the cautions went, they moved to Kansas,” Brad Keselowski said at one point during the day, referencing complaints about a lack of yellow flags during several events this season.

Johnson’s Big Loss Or Keselowski’s Big Break? How The Title Could Be Won

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Sunday’s race in Kansas was a challenge for all the teams, new pavement and rough tire compounds leading to a 14-caution, 400-miler Survivor of an afternoon. No one knew the roller coaster better, though, than the top two drivers in the point battle who got caught in the crossfire. Brad Keselowski started the race mired in 25th position. Throughout the day, his team plugged along and coaxed a finish out of a car that Keselowski wasn’t supremely confident in after a qualifying run that wasn’t near his best, on the type of track that hasn’t always treated him well. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson had a car that started in the top 10, allowed him to lead the race and then deflated into a self-induced mistake that could have cost the No. 48 team a title chance. Yet as the checkered flag flew over the field, Keselowski beat Johnson to the line by only one position. As a result the drivers are still equally separated in the point standings with one fewer race to go.

Nationwide Breakdown: Kansas Lottery 300

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A championship comeback if there ever was one, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. saw his championship hopes vanish then reappear again over the course of a race due to some patience, strategy, and a little bit of luck. Around lap 100, Stenhouse made contact with Joey Logano and in the process severely damaged his No. 6 machine. After getting trapped a few laps down to repair the damage, Stenhouse fought tooth and nail to get back on the lead lap and finally received the free pass on lap 163. From there, Stenhouse worked his way up through the field and on the final caution found himself right back in contention.