NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Texas

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Kyle Busch completed the second weekend sweep of the year, winning both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway. His win Saturday night was his first Sprint Cup victory at Texas, second of the season and 26th of his career. Kyle led a race-high 171 laps and took the top spot from Martin Truex, Jr. after a speedy final pit stop. It was heartbreak for Truex, who led 142 laps and was one of the strongest cars all night.

Five Points: Ranting About Fines, Kyle’s Win And Vickers’ Vigor

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One of the things I enjoy the most about our current champion is that he is not afraid to speak his mind, giving his honest opinion. It’s a quality you need in a driver who is very much the face of the sport right now and, as the champion, I think it’s even more the case that Brad should say what he thinks. But when I first heard Keselowski’s forthright comments Saturday night, my immediate thought was that his two minutes was going to cost around $50,000 – especially when compared to Denny Hamlin’s much milder comments after the Phoenix race which resulted in a $25,000 penalty for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

But on “FOX Business News”:http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2302666422001/nascars-green-effort/?playlist_id=937116503001 Monday morning, NASCAR head honcho Brian France confirmed that Brad would not be receiving a fine even though he noted, “I would certainly disagree with everything he said.” France went on to suggest that Keselowski was just blowing off steam.

Kansas: A Potential Turning Point for Struggling (Or Winning) Drivers

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*turning point*
_n._
*1.* The point at which a very significant change occurs; a decisive moment.
*2.* Mathematics A maximum or minimum point on a curve.

The turning point of one’s season, if there is ever one at all, could conceivably occur anytime during a given year. However, in order for one’s season needing to be turned around at all, there has to have been much of a season at all to that point. A driver could have a really poor Daytona 500, for example but if everything afterward goes fairly swimmingly, that’s not a turnaround from poor results; that’s just a good season blemished by an early outlier. The same can apply to a rough end of the season after 34 or 35 spectacular showings.

Racing To The Point: NASCAR Kept Its Head In The Sand With The NRA

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NASCAR stood its ground in the weeks following Texas Motor Speedway’s decision to sign the National Rifle Association as the primary sponsor for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race.

The stance was simple: race entitlement sponsorships are signed by the track, not the sport’s governing body. So when Texas Motor Speedway announced that the NRA was going to sponsor a race seen by millions in the middle of a debate on gun control in Washington D.C., NASCAR effectively said, “It wasn’t us, it was them.”

Couch Potato Tuesday: Edwards Improves, But Still A Work In Progress

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Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where we critique all kinds of different race telecasts. This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series were at Texas Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, the Camping World Truck Series made their annual trip to Rockingham for some action on a cheese grater masquerading as a racetrack.

*North Carolina Educational Lottery 200 at the Rock presented by Cheerwine*

On Sunday afternoon, the Camping World Truck Series returned to Rockingham Speedway for their second assault on the tricky, high-banked tri-oval. Honestly, the race was quite similar to last year’s. Turner Scott just plain dominated.

Who’s Hot / Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: Texas-Kansas Edition

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After a week of debate centered on the NRA 500, nothing could prevent Kyle Busch from firing off the revolvers following a runaway win in Texas Saturday night. Controversy aside, Busch was one of several drivers to make headway in the Lone Star State.

As track temperatures fell, the No. 18 team was able to keep up with crucial adjustments, while other drivers weren’t as fortunate. Pit road miscues and ill-timed mechanical failures spelled disaster for several of his top rivals, leaving only Martin Truex, Jr. as the main opponent for Busch down the stretch – one he disposed of easily.