Going By the Numbers: The Cup Season’s First Off Week, Before and After

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After these last few weeks, perhaps a breather is the best thing for the Sprint Cup Series.

Two straight weeks have resulted in post-race feuds and, on Sunday, a spectacular finish from which Denny Hamlin had to be taken to a local hospital.

Now, the series (as well as the second- and third-tier Nationwide and Truck series) faces an off week, giving the teams a week to regroup from the west coast trip to California in preparation for what promises to be an action-packed Martinsville race.

Couch Potato Tuesday: NBC Sports Does Well; FOX Lucky with Feud Focus

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Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where race telecast criticism is the object of our affection, or hatred. This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series were both at Auto Club Speedway. Meanwhile, the IZOD IndyCar Series held their season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

*Before we start*, I need to rant. I tried to watch NBC Sports Network’s live coverage of the Grand Prix of Malaysia early Sunday morning (gotta love that 4am start time that screwed up my entire Sunday and Monday). I wasn’t even planning on critiquing the telecast for the site. I just wanted to watch the race, because I like Formula One. My cable system (Time Warner Cable) has SD and HD feeds of NBC Sports Network.

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Fontana’s Wild NASCAR Race Recap

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*Key Moment* – Kyle Busch stayed out when most of the other lead lap cars came to the pits during two crucial caution flags. His two biggest rivals all day chose to stop. Denny Hamlin came in and took tires with 24 to go; Joey Logano got fresh skins with 29 laps left. Those moves, while costing them track position early allowed them to get past Busch and set up the day’s crazy ending.

IndyCar Race Recap: 2013 Season Opener In St. Petersburg

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*In A Nutshell:* James Hinchcliffe outdueled Helio Castroneves late in the race to deliver his first career win in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The race was marked by attrition and unusual accidents, most notably one late in the race in which JR Hildebrand flew over the top of Will Power’s car under caution. Castroneves stalked Hinchcliffe for the last 26 laps of the race but he couldn’t get close enough to make an overtake. Hinchcliffe coasted home to a 1.1 second victory while Castroneves, Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, and Scott Dixon rounded out the top 5.

Near Catastrophe Mixed With Fontana Excitement: 3 Reasons How And Why

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It was true, though. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin fighting for the lead post-Bristol/Twitter feud on the final lap of the race and I think we all knew what was coming next. Regardless of all those who were looking to Martinsville for “Round 2”, the 22 and the 11 were just inevitably drawn together in Fontana. Logano slides up the track, into Hamlin, and Hamlin takes the ride of his life that eventually sends him to the hospital.

The Big Six: Questions Answered After The Auto Club 400

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There’s no doubt that Furniture Row Racing has come a long way from the days when they once failed to qualify for a Sprint Cup race because someone put a brake rotor on the car backwards before their run (yes, that really happened). With a fifth-place finish for *Kurt Busch* on Sunday, the Denver-based team, which hasn’t had a win since 2011 and has five top-5 finishes since its start in 2005, cemented itself as the best of the single-car teams (though it does have a strong enough satellite relationship with Richard Childress Racing to be considered a de facto fourth car) in the sport for the first time in its existence.