Five Points to Ponder: NASCAR Rivalries Unleashed And A Champion Returns

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I think it’s safe to say that erstwhile teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano will not be sharing a gentle game of hoops anytime soon. The acrimony between the two began – in public, at least – after the Daytona 500 in a Twitter war about the final restart of the Great American Race. The situation revved up to full-on animosity at Thunder Valley this past weekend after an on-track incident and a post-race altercation of sorts.

Going By the Numbers: Keeping A Sizzling NASCAR Start Throughout 2013

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Four races into the 2013 season, the top performer at Richard Childress Racing is not the guy you’d expect. Not Kevin Harvick, the 19-time Cup winner and current flagship of the organization. Not Jeff Burton, the past-his-prime veteran who can still turn in a solid finish here and there. Not even Kurt Busch, whose Furniture Row Racing team is, according to him, basically a fourth Childress car.

Shattering NASCAR’s Open-Wheel Curse… With A Second Chance

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One driver said a derogatory term and was suspended, another was fined for a slight criticism of his car, and 28 fans were injured when pieces of a car shot through and over the fence at Daytona.

There have been plenty of negative stories in the opening weeks of the 2013 NASCAR season. There also have been a few positive stories. Look no further than the Nationwide Series point leader.

Who’s Hot / Who’s Not in NASCAR: Bristol-Fontana Edition

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With performance of the new Generation-6 models beginning to come into question, NASCAR got just what it wanted in an exciting weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Action packed racing took center stage as some drivers found that the World’s Fastest Half-Mile wasn’t spacious enough to contain their ill fortunes and boiling tempers.

Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: Bristol-1 Race Recap

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*The Key Moment* – Brad Keselowski, the race leader, never got up to speed on the final restart, allowing Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch to pass him before the first corner. While Keselowski and Busch battled over second, Kahne drove off to a win.

*In a Nutshell* – New car, new track, same old Bristol racing.

*Dramatic Moment* – There’s many to choose from, including that final restart, but my nod goes to the incident where Jeff Gordon blew a tire while leading and took out second-place contender Matt Kenseth. It’s rare these days you see the entire complexion of the race change in the blink of an eye. (Or during commercial break, in this case… sigh.)

Bristol Racing, Bad Crowds: Can Bruton Smith Ever Win?

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The folks at Bristol Motor Speedway had the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg. They threw open the gates and sold out the joint for a generation: 27 years, in fact, from the summer of 1982 straight through 2009. Then, nearly a half-dozen years ago the powers that be made a fatal mistake; they repaved the goose. While the simple act of repaving is not a bad thing, especially with a concrete track, the process of adding progressive banking and trying to make more than one lane of racing — especially on a place that made its reputation by people wrecking each other to pass was the kiss of death.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2013 Food City 500 at Bristol

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The thing about Brad Keselowski that makes him a threat every place on the circuit is that he doesn’t let any racetrack beat him. You can’t look at past finishes and think, “Hey, a rival could really have a great day, because Keselowski isn’t that good here.” No sooner will the thought be formed than Keselowski will go out and prove it to be wrong by posting a stronger finish than he’s ever had before. That, really, is what makes him scary good, and a threat to win every time out. Sure, he’ll have his bad luck, but that rarely indicates a trend. Prior to his back-to-back Bristol wins (fall ’11 and spring ’12), Keselowski hadn’t even cracked the top 10 in three Cup races there, posting a best finish of 13th. Now, he’s a top pick. And he can do that anywhere.