NASCAR on TV this week

Is Denny Hamlin a Serious Title Contender? We’re About to Find Out

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Color me impressed. Seven months ago at the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series season, if someone would have told me that Denny Hamlin would be the winningest driver on the season going into the final regular season race at Richmond, I would have laughed at them. I, along with many others in the NASCAR community, had written Denny Hamlin off as a serious title contender heading into 2012.

After all, it was Hamlin who entered this year reeling from a miserably disappointing 2011 season that saw the Virginian driver finish an unimpressive ninth in the standings with only five top-5 finishes on the year. 2011 (and the end of 2010 as well, of course) was so bad for Denny that he had to go see a sports psychologist to help reclaim all of his lost confidence. Not exactly the mindset known to be possessed by champions, to say the least.

But here we are, almost a full year later, and Denny Hamlin is on top of the NASCAR world once again.

Pace Laps: Setting the Chase Field, Selective Editing and Dillon Redux

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*Sprint Cup: 11 Drivers Locked Into Chase, but Things Still Up For Grabs* Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500 almost completely filled out the cast of characters for this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. The “almost” is important here. There was a fear earlier in the season that the top-10, plus the two Wild Cards, would be set weeks in advance and there wouldn’t really be much to race for in Richmond other than positioning. However, that is not the case.

The top-9 drivers are officially locked into the top-10 and can redeem their victories for bonus points. The exceptions here are Martin Truex, Jr. and Kevin Harvick, who, despite dominating portions of Sunday’s race, are both still winless. Denny Hamlin’s fourth win of the season Sunday means that he has earned 12 bonus points and at least a share of the points lead at the beginning of the Chase in Joliet.

Nationwide Breakdown: NRA American Warrior 300

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Kevin Harvick ran away and hid from the field for 157 of 195 laps on Saturday night. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get to lead the last lap. After a late-race caution for debris, then a wreck that resulted in a red flag, Harvick had to withstand the onslaught of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. with the help of Brad Keselowski in order to win the NRA American Warrior 300.

That’s when dominance turned to disaster. Taking advantage of the short run, Stenhouse made a pass on the outside of turns one and two and held onto the lead for the last ¾ of a lap to score his fourth win of the season. Brad Keselowski, who pushed Stenhouse past Harvick on the final lap was able to hold off Harvick to come home in second. Harvick was forced to settle for third while Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five.

Tracking the Trucks: Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200

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*In a Nutshell:* Ty Dillon took the checkered flag 3.227 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch to win the Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200 Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dillon passed Busch for the lead with just six laps remaining and never looked back en route to his first career victory. James Buescher, Parker Kligerman and Aric Almirola rounded out the top 5.

Four Burning Questions: Wild Cards and Rivalries

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*Is it realistic to think that a wild card hopeful will beat a championship contender this week in Atlanta?*

Just look at the variety of drivers who could potentially snag a wild card spot with a win this weekend. While it wouldn’t necessarily be a lock, Atlanta will almost serve as a last ditch effort for drivers like Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards. Sure Richmond is always there, but if Atlanta slips through their hands, a win at Richmond might not even be an option.

In actuality, Edwards and Gordon are probably thrilled that they’re racing in Atlanta this weekend judging by their statistics. With three wins for Edwards and five for Gordon in 14 and 38 races, respectively, it’s not at all unlikely that either of these drivers could find a victory and maybe get inside the Chase.

IndyCar In-Depth: Grand Prix of Baltimore Preview

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*What’s News?*

After four races of tinkering, INDYCAR has opted to remove the activation delay on the push to pass system for Baltimore this weekend. The system will only be used this season on road/street courses so this is its last appearance for 2012. The system was used with no delay in its first two races back in Toronto and Edmonton and then a five second delay was added at Mid-Ohio. The delay was reduced to 3.5 seconds at Sonoma and after driver feedback, it was removed altogether for Baltimore.

“We’ve had two races without the activation delay and two races with it,” INDYCAR Director of Engine Development Trevor Knowles said. “Based on driver feedback, we’re adjusting the parameters of push to pass to fit this particular circuit.”

In the Middle: Sometimes NASCAR Isn’t About Extremes

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Hot or cold. Wet or dry. High or low. Good or bad. There are plenty of extremes we apply to NASCAR racing—and to the rest of our lives–every week. Often, it is an “either / or” situation: the track is either wet or it’s dry. A team either qualifies or goes home. You either win or you don’t.

But not everything is one or the other…often, the truth lies somewhere between.

It seems like many people in the sport, from drivers to fans, forget that there is middle ground. To be fair, it’s not limited to NASCAR or even sports; one simply has to view a few political ads to realize that candidates like to make it a game of extremes when perhaps they ought to be appealing to a more moderate audience. Whatever the case, it appears that in this sport, we love extremes.