NASCAR on TV this week

Focused On Renewed Devotion?

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The beginning of this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship has some fans in NASCAR Nation already pondering the promise and potential of 2013.

As Brad Keselowski wheeled his Miller Lite Dodge into Victory Lane at Joliet last weekend to celebrate his fourth win of the year, it’s very likely that several car owners, crew chiefs, drivers, and fans already looking forward to next season. Such is the plight of the underdog/also-ran – the team (and its fan base) whose mantra is, “Wait until next year!” This kind of hopeful thinking goes for Brian France, too.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Could Kentucky Determine the Champion?

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With just seven races remaining to determine the 2012 Camping World Truck Series champion, the series heads off to Kentucky Speedway for a Nationwide Series companion race this weekend. While a visit to Kentucky may not be all that spectacular on its own, six champions have also won in the Bluegrass state during their respective championship seasons.

It all began back in 2000, the inaugural season for the Truck Series at Kentucky when Greg Biffle snagged his third of five wins that year, in a season where he finished outside the top 14 just once; a 25th-place result at Texas in November. Just two years later, it was Mike Bliss who scored his third of five victories in 2002, winning the championship after leading the standings for the final ten races of the year.

Fans Have Questions, We Have Answers: NASCAR Thursday Roundup

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Hey race fans, welcome to week two of my Frontstretch Thursday Question and Answer session! There’s plenty to get to this week, so let’s skip the intro and head right into the meat of the column…

_NASCAR’s track spotters (the one’s whom watch out for water bottles, spring rubbers, car debris, oil on the track, and/or rain). Who are they? Do they travel with the circuit from week-to-week or are they contracted by individual tracks, themselves?_
_Tim_

Tim, the track spotters are NASCAR officials so they travel with the series just like the officials who work with the teams on pit road.

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A Regal Entrance: John King, Other Rookies Return at Kentucky

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Remember this past February? Yeah, it’s been a good while, but in the realm of NASCAR racing, it may not be too tough to recall. After all, that month saw all three top series visit Daytona, the Speedweeks kickoff which naturally produces the most memorable races of the entire season. The Nationwide and Truck races in particular saw first-time winners in James Buescher and John King, respectively.

And then King, a rookie then driving for Red Horse Racing, pretty much fell off the face of the earth when it came to NASCAR. Although able to secure funding for the first five races of the Camping World Truck Series season, King’s team scaled back tremendously, only resurfacing when Parker Kligerman took over the ride just last month. King was the first in a line of young drivers who lost their rides in the series, and is now the latest to emerge with a new team. At this weekend’s Kentucky 201 at Kentucky Speedway, the Tennessee native aligns with Wauters Motorsports, itself the former home of a much-maligned rookie, Paulie Harraka.

Did You Notice? … Earnhardt’s NASCAR Family Failure

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*Did You Notice?…* For Dale Earnhardt, Jr., there’s no such thing as a “family business” anymore? Just five years after leaving Dale Earnhardt, Inc., getting scorned by stepmother Teresa Earnhardt by his bid for control of the organization Dale Jr. has turned a blind eye to a different set of relatives. Tony Eury, Sr. and Jr., his uncle and cousin respectively have been kicked to the curb from his JR Motorsports operation, a Nationwide Series team that admittedly hasn’t won a race in two-plus seasons but also features a car, the No. 88 solidly inside the top 10 in championship points with rookie Cole Whitt. Add in third-year driver Danica Patrick, 11th in the season standings and it’s not like this organization is the laughingstock of the league. Far from it.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Chicagoland

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Between the Stewart butt grab and the Gordon mustache, you might have forgotten that there was an actual race with actual points for the actual Chase going on. Groundbreaking stuff, right? But, yes, there was a 400-mile postseason kickoff event, one that Brad Keselowski won to take control of the point lead. Yet Jimmie Johnson was right behind him, making sure he wasn’t forgotten either. Heck, he almost won the race himself and sits second in points! Title number six is still very much a possibility.

IndyCar Round Table: Season Finales, American Champions, and Doubleheaders

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*Give your thoughts on the MAVTV 500 overall. Did it live up to the hype?*

Toni: I think it definitely lived up to the hype. I thought the race was great on its own and the championship had all the drama you could want. I particularly loved seeing so many different drivers running well.
Huston: I really don’t have anything positive to offer. For being a championship race, I thought it fell flat.
Matt: I thought it was a pretty good race. Did it live up to the hype? I’m not so sure. Having Power wreck out that early in the event kind of killed some of the drama, and the race itself was “good not great” in my opinion. I felt that they kind of missed a bit on the aero package.

Top Ten Pre-Race Rituals for Chasers Other Than Tony Stewart

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*10.* Jeff Gordon: Burns an effigy of the creator of The Chase. After all, if not for him, he’d have five, maybe six Championships.

*9.* Kyle Busch: Something different than he had been doing before the Chase, obviously.

*8.* Martin Truex, Jr.: Nothing really as he keeps forgetting that he’s actually IN the Chase.

Mirror Driving: Who Can Rebound, On And Off The Track In NASCAR

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*Jeff Gordon’s Chicagoland race was cut short when he hit the wall after the throttle stuck on the No. 24. Is Gordon’s Chase bid over already, or is it too early to count anyone out?*

Kevin: It’s too early to count anyone out completely, I think. But it’s not looking good for him. Another race like this, say this week or next… then I’ll be more likely to count him out.
Mike N.: He’s done. I know it seems ludicrous to say that but Gordon’s already a full race behind with 11 drivers in front of him. The odds of overcoming that are ridiculous.