NASCAR on TV this week

Four Burning Questions: New Standards and Clinch Scenarios

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*Has NASCAR inadvertently set a standard for itself?*

The lack of a call on the final lap of last week’s race at Watkins Glen has a debate roaring in the NASCAR community, and as such may have changed expectations. See, even if NASCAR couldn’t see the oil, the fact that they let the race play out on the final lap even though it was pretty obvious that something was going on speaks volumes.

So what happens if, say, someone blows an engine, runs out of gas, or cuts a tire on the final lap this weekend at Michigan? The fans will fully expect NASCAR to leave the race green. Unless there is a very serious wreck, it will just be an expectation simply because of what happened last week.

You Can’t Play the ‘Blame Game’ When It Comes to Lightning

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NASCAR is one of the few entities left in this country that is not ashamed to actively honor God before each of it’s events. So unashamed, that even the invocation is televised before each race. I ask you; When is the last time you saw a televised prayer before a professional or college sporting event? You can’t remember if you ever have, can you?

Having established the precedent that God is actively recognized in our sport, I am going to share a bit of scripture with you. Why, you may ask? Simply because I am sick and tired of any number of people out there that continue to assert that NASCAR, Pocono Raceway or anyone else is responsible for the tragic events that followed the rain-shortened event a couple of weeks ago.

Kenny Wallace Driver Diary: Taking Care of Business On and Off-Track

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We just got dirt racing this year. The DIRTCar Summer Nationals for the modifieds (is a series of races where the points are for) your ten best races. We had run nine races. I really like the Summer Nationals because they race a lot during the summer-28 races in 32 days. I wasn’t thinking about the championship, but we just got to racing and all of a sudden we started winning. We won like three out of five and all of a sudden I looked and I was only 39 points out of the lead. Well, my competitors had all already run ten or more. So I decided to go for the championship.

It was a crazy story because on Saturday, I had to be at a one hour Speed TV production meeting at Loudon. So, I came to the meeting and the stars aligned perfectly: Tony Stewart was flying to Eldora and the plane was literally going right over Toledo. So Tony just let me ride in his airplane, he didn’t even ask for any money, and they landed and dropped me off. Now, my guys were in Indiana. I told them to turn around, and they turned around and drove five hours the other way. We showed up, ran second in our heat. It was a 25-lap feature and we led like 18 or 19 laps and then my car picked up a big push—I guess we had it adjusted wrong—and we finished sixth and pulled it off.

Formula 1 Friday: The Brits – Part 2

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There’s nothing more infuriating for an F1 fanatic then the seemingly interminable mid-season break. It somehow feels longer and more dragged out even than the off-season. At least then you have a year of racing behind you, and sometimes you’re glad of the break, ready to come back afresh in March…this though…oh this is tiresome. Roll on the end of August and my favourite race, Spa Francorchamps.

In the interim you may have noticed that we here in Great Britain have been hosting another rather significant major sporting event, and rather well too, if I may be so bold. I say “may have noticed” as all reports from this side of the pond indicate NBC didn’t do a terribly good job of showing it to you guys, but take my word for it, the whole event was spectacular, uplifting and joyous – so we’re clinging on to that proud to be British feeling right now – which leads me beautifully on to part 2 of the 10 British World Champs…

MPM2Nite: One Tin Soldier Rides Away…

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Regretfully, gentle readers, this will likely be my last commentary column, at least for the foreseeable future. I’ve been at this NASCAR writing gig for sixteen years now and trust me, it’s tough to walk away. For all my cynicism, bitching, and occasional panic if I’d be able to find anything interesting to write after a boring race, I’ve loved every minute of it, being able to provide many of you with a few minutes of enjoyment or making you think on various issues while reading my columns. Your comments, both positive and negative have made a better writer out of me after a near hopelessly amateurish start to my so-called career.

Professor Of Speed: Good Finishes Make A Good Start

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So there I was … pretty much finished with NASCAR, when …. Wham! There’s Kyle Busch slipping and sliding, and there’s Brad Keselowski running through the grass, and there’s Marcos Ambrose beating and banging his way to a .571 second margin of victory in the Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen. It took just a moment for the final lap of that race to become etched in NASCAR folklore; all the radio announcers said so, as did the television commentators. The newspaper/internet writers who covered the event echoed the same fact when their stories were posted.

What a difference an exciting finish makes.

Potts’ Shots: Bobbling Busch, Last Lap Push, and Hello — Where’s The Yellow?!

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Lots of questions this week, most of them in personal questions and phone calls from long-time acquaintances, regarding NASCAR’s handling of the final laps at Watkins Glen.

First, the question of whether it’s safe to continue racing on a road course has to be left up to race control, and they have to depend on their observers and course marshals. In my own experience, on a short track, and even up to a 1.5-mile if you’re in a good enough position in the flagstand to see the whole course, the flagman can make that call.

Truckin’ Thursdays: A Myriad of Changes Just in Time For Michigan

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As the Camping World Truck Series heads to Michigan International Speedway, a couple of drivers won’t be in the rides you’ve become accustomed to seeing them in.

Parker Kligerman, who was released from Brad Keselowski Racing following a solid seventh-place finish at Pocono, announced last week that he had joined Red Horse Racing to pilot the No. 7 Toyota vacated when Daytona winner John King was released just five races into the year.

Vexing Vito: Petty’s Saving Grace?

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Marcos Ambrose winning the Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen could not have come at a better time for Richard Petty Motorsports. After spending the better part of the summer dealing with Dodge and trying to secure a deal for 2013, they were caught off guard a bit by the brand’s announcement that they were bailing at the end of this season.

Without a manufacturer in place for 2013, that has put the team who has been on unstable ground for the last three seasons in another pickle. The delay in commiting has as Richard Petty put it, “shuffled them around.” Winning, however, has a way of smoothing things over.

Start Times, Consistent Schedule Keys to INDYCAR Success

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Prior to the Mid-Ohio IZOD IndyCar Series race on August 5, Randy Bernard, the CEO of the series, stated that more races are needed for the series to be successful. He intimated that 15, the number on the schedule this year, is not enough and that he’d feel better if the number of races totaled about 20.

Fair enough. That seems like a smart, if not obvious, comment. To keep fan interest up, there must be enough of a product to, in essence, keep them reminded that it’s still out there. That only 15 races grace the schedule this year is problematic, and the swift reaction to reconsider fast oval tracks due to Dan Wheldon’s on-track death last year is a large factor. But it also seems that INDYCAR was caught without contingency plans, and that’s when an organization gives a sense, whether it’s true or not, that it is floundering.