With performance of the new Generation-6 models beginning to come into question, NASCAR got just what it wanted in an exciting weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Action packed racing took center stage as some drivers found that the World’s Fastest Half-Mile wasn’t spacious enough to contain their ill fortunes and boiling tempers.
Let’s be honest. Most of us don’t tune into the race or trek into the tracks with high expectations. High _hopes_, maybe, but certainly not high expectations. After all, why should we? These may be the best drivers in the world, but that also means they know how to conserve, preserve, and basically ride around for the time being. Only with 20 laps to go these days do we see some hard-charging, balls-to-the-wall racing that makes us hold our breath longer than we knew was humanly possible. Either that, or we leave claw marks on the edges of our seats.
But, with Bristol, we allow those expectations to drift ever so higher. The highlight reels, of a generation of hard-fought finishes tell the tale. Bristol is a world where sheet metal has wrinkles, tires leave trails, and helmets grow wings. Drivers may get ticked, but the on track racing is spectacular. It’s fun to watch throughout.
Editor’s Note: Mike Neff is writing Matt’s column this week. The Key Moment – On the penultimate caution of the race, Matt Kenseth took fuel …

“I had an unbelievable Farmers Insurance Chevrolet. Throughout the whole race the pit stops were great. We just came out sixth there which I think …
Every story has two sides. That’s one of life’s truths — along with the truth itself, generally lying somewhere between those two sides. Often, one side makes itself heard before the other, and opinions get formed without knowing the rebuttal. Or, speculation and empty rumors abound until both sides are heard, and then there’s a judgment call about whom to side with on the issue. It’s a little like a court of law: the prosecutor outlines the case and the defense gives their version of events before the jury gets to decide which one is more accurate, and to choose who’s right and who’s wrong.
Daytona weekend stole national headlines for a multitude of reasons; both good and bad. Johnny Sauter redeemed himself from last year’s wreck while leading and won the Camping World Truck Series season opener Friday under the lights. Tony Stewart continued his dominance of the Nationwide Series at Daytona with his seventh February victory. However, his victory lane celebration was diminished after a last-lap multi-car wreck sent Kyle Larson’s car into the frontstretch catchfence, ripping a hole in the crossover gate and sending 28 spectators to either the infield care center or medical centers off-property.
*Did You Notice? …* Daytona International Speedway, along with NASCAR better make some major withdrawals from the bank? Lawyers have been retained for three of the fans injured in the crash, investigating whether they’ll sue both the track and the sanctioning body for negligence. Matt Morgan, of the law firm Morgan & Morgan based out of Florida has taken the case, going national in their quest to publicize their investigation into whether the sport could have done anything to prevent their injuries.
This next wave is where NASCAR’s PR machine, retooled over the last couple of years has to be ready to tackle head-on. It’s notable, in their favor every fan I talked to Sunday at Daytona, including one who had coolant sprayed on his glasses he was so close to where the majority of debris landed had no concerns of returning to the track. The running theme, on the reasonable sample size I spoke with was “fluke accident,” “you can’t live your life in fear” and “you assume a risk when you go to the track.” Heck, some of the fans who got hurt were back the next day attending the Daytona 500 and getting the most out of their money.
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where race telecast breakdowns are the main subject of interest. This past weekend was supposed to be one of the greatest weekends of racing all year. However, the crash that happened at the end of the Nationwide race overshadowed everything else, good and bad. Ultimately, I have to look at the telecasts under that lens. Because of that, the Camping World Truck Series event will not be covered in this critique. Quite simply, under the current circumstances, I would not be able to do SPEED’s telecast justice. However, it will covered later this week in the “Critic’s Annex,”:/notice/9557/ a piece which can be found every Thursday in the Frontstretch Newsletter.
Numbers Game: Daytona 500 0 Laps led by Carl Edwards in his last 13 Cup races, compared to 5 wrecks he’d been involved in with …
=After all the hype of what was ultimately a pretty disappointing Great American Race, it’s back to the start of the “real” unrestricted regular season with a trip to the desert and the one-mile flat track of Phoenix International Raceway, which is exactly where I’ll start this week’s edition of Five Points to Ponder.
*ONE: A Return To The Scene Of The Crime: Round Two*
For Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon, in particular, the trip to the desert is a return to an ugly/entertaining flashback – depending on your point of view. “Rewind back with me to the unforgettable penultimate race of last season when Gordon took out Bowyer”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxAEnmOLXdQ – who still had an outside shot at the championship – in a bush league move.