NASCAR on TV this week

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

by

*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

by

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

by

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

by

_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._

Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2012 AAA Texas 500

by

During the seventh caution flag of the night, Brad Keselowski took two tires on his pit stop to regain lost track position while Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch took four. That got Kes the lead, for a series of restarts but kept what was likely the fastest car from having the speed to pull away. While Busch faded into the background, that decision would ultimately result in Johnson and Keselowski finishing first and second.

Making Mincemeat Out Of Someone Else’s Mistake: How Johnson Keeps Doing It

by

Sunday’s final laps at Texas, after the 400 miles of throw-up preceding it, felt like a heavyweight throw-down. Brad Keselowski, the Sprint Cup challenger up front spent each lap landing frantic punches, unafraid to give the champion inside the No. 48 a few uppercuts to his unyielding confidence. Keselowski’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, pulled the best Chad Knaus impression possible by going against the grain with a two-tire strategy, earning them track position with a car capable of a Five-Time TKO. Mentally, Keselowski jumped inside Johnson’s head, accelerating early on a restart and then physically slamming the No. 2 Dodge into the Lowe’s Chevrolet, shattering sheet metal while making it clear that when both run side-by-side, a title on the line all bets are off. For Johnson, who’s won five championships without playing the contact game, it’s a world of uncontrolled aggression where he is competent but not comfortable.

Pace Laps: Keeping Cool, Calling Toss-Ups and Simona Steps Up

by

*Sprint Cup: How Will Keselowski Respond?* Texas saw the No. 2 team step up and give Jimmie Johnson their best shot. Its driver, Brad Keselowski, entered the weekend without a top-10 finish at the track but waltzed in like he expected to contend. And he did: the car was on top of every practice sheet, qualified eighth and, during the last 100 laps, turned Johnson into mincemeat with the fastest car. Using a two-tire stop for track position, fighting back from a botched pit entry, Keselowski forced Johnson to beat him the hard way — on speed. He even made contact with the No. 48, several times to try and intimidate his rival back into submission while crew chief Paul Wolfe worked wonders in keeping his driver cool.