NASCAR on TV this week

IndyCar Race Recap: MAVTV 500

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*In A Nutshell:* Now that’s how you end a racing season! The race featured 12 different leaders with cars coming and going all night and a number of different faces running near the front. In the end, Ed Carpenter had just gotten by Dario Franchitti when a caution froze the field on the last lap and he took the win. Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves completed the top 5. As far as the championship, points leader Will Power crashed on lap 55 and had to watch as Ryan Hunter-Reay, who had to finish fifth to beat him, pushed all night and in the closing laps finally got there to take the big prize by three points.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2012 GEICO 400 at Chicagoland

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The Chase is on… and for 12 drivers that means the chance at standing at the pinnacle of NASCAR in November. For everyone else, unfortunately, it means toiling in relative anonymity for the next two months, especially when seven of the top-10 finishers in the race are in the Chase as was the case in Chicago. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was not among them; but both of his teammates were. Kyle Busch and Joey Logano finished fourth and seventh, respectively, though neither received much recognition during a television broadcast that was clearly more concerned with the Chase contenders.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Dollar General 300

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It’s hard to believe that Roush Fenway Racing entered the weekend without a win to their credit at the Chicagoland Speedway, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took care of that on Saturday. Running down Kyle Busch in the closing laps with a car that was unstoppable on the high side of the track, the defending Nationwide Series champion scored his fifth win of the 2012 season… and took the points lead back for his troubles. Busch, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard rounded out the top 5.

Tracking the Trucks: American Ethanol 200 presented by Hy-Vee

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*In a Nutshell:* Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag 0.168 seconds ahead of Ty Dillon to win the American 200 Saturday night at Iowa Speedway. Blaney survived four restarts and a hard charge from Dillon to grab his first career Truck Series victory in his third start. Todd Bodine, Johnny Sauter and Cale Gale rounded out the top 5.

*Who Should Have Won:* *Ryan Blaney.* Parker Kligerman started on the pole and looked to be the guy to beat, having led 107 laps on the night, until late-race pit strategy forced the driver of the No. 7 to make a green flag pit stop.

BSNews!: Brian France Vows to Bring Peace to Mideast Via NASCAR

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Daytona Beach, FL- Having exhausted the supply of NASCAR zealots in North America, NASCAR CEO Brian France, announced his plans to expand his sport around the world to the troubled areas in the Middle East.

“I was sitting here, and by here I mean here in my palatial office, watching a bit of TV, just kind of surfing ya know, trying to find the Oprah channel, when I came across what I guess was a news piece about all this violence that has suddenly erupted in an area they call the ‘Middle East’,” said France.

Four Burning Questions: Hamlin’s Survivor Weekend As All Eyes Turn Towards Chicago

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*1. Can Denny hold his momentum?*

In a Chase that can be defined in simple terms – Hendrick chassis vs. the field – Denny Hamlin stands out as the lone “wild card” capable of dethroning the Johnson juggernaut so many expect. Entering the Chase with two wins in his last three races, the driver of the No. 11 Toyota repositioned himself after a miserable summer and enters this Chase the No. 1 seed, albeit with a scant three-point advantage over his closest competition. The 2010 championship runner-up appears to have learned from that year of “almost,” now paired with a crew chief in Darian Grubb that’s won more Sprint Cup races since the start of 2011 than anyone else. Together, both create a compelling case of redemption and have the full focus of Joe Gibbs Racing behind them.

8 Reasons NASCAR Fans Should Also Be Watching IndyCar this Weekend

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Love NASCAR? Of course you do, that’s probably why you’re reading a NASCAR column! But this week, I’m going to switch it up and talk another type of racing..Indy cars. Yeah, that’s right, those funny-looking pointy cars that sound more like mosquitoes than monsters..and go really, really fast. The bottom line is, if you love racing but aren’t watching IndyCar, you’re missing a whole lot. As NASCAR revs up its championship Chase this weekend, IndyCar will be deciding theirs once and for all. You say you need some good reasons to try out the season-ending, championship-deciding IZOD IndyCar Series race this weekend? Well, then, try these on for size:

*1. There’s no Chase* That’s right, there’s no points reset, no gimmickry, and yet the title contenders are separated by just 17 points. The championship will—yet again—come down to the last race of the season. It often comes down to the last lap of the last race.

Michael Annett Driver Diary: Knocking on the Door, Politics, and Football

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We were in Richmond last week. After practice I thought we definitely had a top 5 car that was going to be competing for the win. Then the green flag dropped and our car just went completely the other way. It was really loose pretty much through the whole corner at both ends and it took us about two or three stops to really get the grip we needed. We kind of ran around in 12th to 15th for the first 150 lap, made some good changes and got the grip we needed and then the last 100 laps we really started to move forward.

Richmond is the type of track where you really can’t relax. You have to be really aggressive there, whether you run laps by yourself or your racing, you just have to be aggressive and make the car work there. We got the grip we need and we were able to be aggressive and move forward. After making it through a couple of late race restarts and brought home another top 5 for our team.

IndyCar In-Depth: The MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championship

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With one week off after the Baltimore Grand Prix, the IZOD IndyCar Series returns, the last appearance of the season. This race, labeled the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championships at Auto Club Speedway, really comes down to two drivers: Will Power, the points leader, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who trails by 17. The race throws an interesting curve towards all the drivers as the track is one where many do not have much experience. In addition, it’s a high speed oval, one of only three tracks like that on the circuit this year.