NASCAR on TV this week

Mirror Driving: Rating The Restart, Dillon vs. Hamlin And Tough Times At EGR

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*Other drivers and race fans were quick to accuse both Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, respectively, of jumping the final two restarts on Sunday, though NASCAR says neither driver broke any rules. Did either one gain an unfair advantage on a restart… and should NASCAR consider a return to single-file restarts late in Cup races?*

Summer: Oh, my gosh _no_ do _not_ go back to single-file restarts. Double-file restarts are the best change NASCAR has made. Also, I watched both replays and I didn’t see either of them do anything wrong. They both did what they needed to do.
Tom: Well, you know I’m the first to say the double-file, lead-lap restart system is a total gimmick. But in terms of what happened Sunday night… couldn’t agree more with Brad Keselowski when he said, “Fair play on both sides.”

Pastrana’s 2013 Title Chase Surprising, But Exciting for Nationwide Series

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When Travis Pastrana drove a race in Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60, competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Richmond last September a few fans raised an eyebrow at the development.

Two months later, consider both eyebrows raised.

Pastrana, the extreme sports star looking to break into stock car racing, is “reportedly close”:https://frontstretch.com/breakingnews/42015/ to a deal that will have him in a Roush Fenway Nationwide car full-time in 2013.

5 Points to Ponder: Yellow Flags, Timely Contracts and Lost Enthusiasm

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*ONE: Debris Will Decide This Championship*

The Jimmie Johnson/Brad Keselowski finish this past Sunday was a battle well worth watching, and an example of strategies battling it out. Paul Wolfe’s decision to trust his driver’s intuition and go with two tires late even as the rest of the field took four would have panned out sans the rash of cautions to close the event. But there’s no doubting that Chad Knaus considered that in choosing to put four tires on the No. 48 car. And that extra rubber allowed Johnson to build his biggest lead of the Chase at the track that nearly cost him title number five two years ago.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in NASCAR: Texas/Phoenix Edition

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Brad Keselowski had Jimmie Johnson beat when Sunday’s race restarted with 54 laps to go. Keselowski may have been behind, but he was going to make it on fuel and Johnson wasn’t. Keselowski had Johnson beat when the race restarted with 19 laps to go; the No. 2 had more speed with two fresh tires even though Johnson had four. He had Johnson beat again when they restarted side-by-side with eight laps to go, contact notwithstanding.

Unfortunately for Keselowski, there was still one more restart.

Couch Potato Tuesday: Title-itis Hurts Telecasts in All Three Series

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Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where TV criticism and opinion is the name of the game. This past weekend, the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series were all at Texas Motor Speedway.

Before we start, I have a clarification for you regarding the feature on Timothy Peters that ran during NCWTS Setup prior to the Martinsville race. “Last week,”:https://frontstretch.com/pallaway/41958/ I mentioned that SPEED had aired that before. I was right. However, I was under the opinion that it aired during a prior episode of the Setup (hence why I was feverishly going through my pages of notes). Instead, the Peters piece aired earlier this season on NASCAR RaceHub. A shortened version of it is what aired on the Martinsville Setup show.

Tech Talk: Darian Grubb and Putting the Power Down at Phoenix

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_The 2012 Chase has taken a turn for the worse for Denny Hamlin. After a mechanical issue cost him a quality finish at Martinsville, the hopes of the No. 11 team for a title this year went out the window. Can they recover for a season sweep in the desert before the 2012 season dries up? With two races to go on the schedule, it has come down to win or nothing for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Darian Grubb took some time at Martinsville to talk with Frontstretch about the upcoming race at Phoenix, the 2013 car that they tested at the track before Martinsville, the cars they’re putting into the fleet for next season and the changes that the track at Phoenix has presented to the teams._