Indy a real indicator of who Chase champion will be
It can be debated where the Indianapolis Motor Speedway stands among NASCAR’s best tracks, though it has been open for more than 100 years and …
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Mirror Driving: Head Wrench Head Scratchers, Missing IRP And Buescher’s Title Push
Beth: I wouldn’t mind having that hype, Mike. At least there’d be some excitement for the ten race playoff that (with the exception of last year) hasn’t been all that exciting.
Phil: This isn’t even the longest consecutive race stretch ever. I seem to recall a nasty 20 race stretch at one point.
Amy: Honestly, I think the best plan would be to have one now AND one in September.
Mike N.: Assuming they want to have two breaks, I’d rather see them do one after 13 weeks and another before the Chase.
Amy: I like that idea, Mike.
Nationwide Series Breakdown: STP 300
The good news for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his No. 6 team on Sunday was that the event marked a return to championship form. For the first time this summer, the defending champions were the class of the field.
The bad news? That still wasn’t enough. Though Stenhouse was running down Elliott Sadler in the closing laps, a late-race yellow bunched up the field and left the event up to a final restart. On that restart, Justin Allgaier gave Sadler a huge shove down the frontstretch, which provided all the No. 2 team needed to score their third win of the 2012 season and first since Bristol way back in March. Stenhouse, Allgaier, Kenny Wallace, and Michael Annett rounded out the top 5. The late caution interrupted what had been a largely green event, one of only five yellows to fly Sunday afternoon.
Tracking the Trucks: American Ethanol 225
*In a Nutshell:* James Buescher took the checkered flag 0.247 seconds ahead of Brendan Gaughan to win the American Ethanol 225 at Chicagoland Speedway Saturday night. Buescher went two laps down thanks to a carburetor change, but managed to get both back before bolting on a set of four fresh tires and making quick work of the field en route to his third win this year. Timothy Peters (who started at the back of the field thanks to an engine change), Matt Crafton, and Parker Kligerman rounded out the top 5.
Four Burning Questions: New Crew Chiefs and Old Stereotypes
The thing is, I doubt if Norris can really make a difference. With only seven races left until the Chase is set, unless Norris and Edwards have an instantaneous chemistry tantamount to that of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, we likely won’t see a change.
Here’s the thing. Edwards is already 46 points out of the Chase—basically an entire race—and is continuing to slide. With an already uphill battle to climb, and a glaring goose egg in the “wins” column, without a miracle fuel mileage or rain victory, it’s looking less and less likely that we’ll see the 2011 runner-up to the championship in this year’s playoffs.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Loudon
BREAKING: Wins really do matter! Kasey Kahne’s victory in New Hampshire practically signed, sealed, and delivered a wild card spot to the Hendrick Motorsports driver. It came at the expense, however, of dominant driver of the day Denny Hamlin, whose four tire mix up with crew chief Darian Grubb cost them a near sure trip to Victory Lane. I guess there is always September!
Did Kasey Kahne’s “stolen” victory bump him up in our rankings? Did Hamlin and Grubb’s flub knock them down? Continue reading to find out:
Mirror Driving: Kyle’s Recovery Prospects, Amber In The Way And Drug Bans
*What looked like a dominant day for Kyle Busch early went away after a speeding penalty and an untimely caution. Can Busch recover to win a championship, or is even his Chase berth in danger?*
Amy: Here’s the thing with Busch this year. He’s had some bad luck lately but is fast enough to win, and another victory would solidify the “wild card” for him. The thing I still see with Busch is that sometimes you have to back off a notch and be patient to be fast at the end, and I don’t know that he can do that for 10 races. The Chase is just not suited to his style.
5 Points to Ponder: Talking NASCAR Trash, Tires and Tracks
Yes, Sunday’s race was far from a classic, with rock hard tires again making track position the sole dictator of everyone’s race strategy. But this one was shaping up awful nice before a communication breakdown between Denny Hamlin and Darian Grubb put the No. 11 car that was the class of the field back far enough in the field that even a brilliant late-race charge couldn’t produce a checkered flag. And there’s not many race tracks out there that can overcome hard tires anyhow…or the mentality that every driver that didn’t win had, that they’d win in September…when it counted for something.
How Do TNT’s Commercials and Peter Griffin Compare?
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where TV critiques are the name of the game. I’m back after a one week hiatus, which was brought on due to my trip to Daytona to cover the Coke Zero 400. This week, we’ll be reviewing the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series race telecasts from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the Camping World Truck Series telecast from Iowa Speedway.
*Before we start*, I want to mention a couple of things. Firstly, as you are likely well aware of, ESPN’s Jamie Little is currently eight months pregnant and is now officially on maternity leave. However, this leave might not be as long as you think. On her Twitter page Sunday night, Little tweeted that she’s “…sad I’ll miss some races but I’ll be back for [the] final 11!” This means that she plans on returning to pit road at Richmond in September. Until then, Shannon Spake will likely take her place in the pits.
Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2012 New Hampshire Summer Race Recap
Denny Hamlin dominated much of the race but miscommunication in the pits dropped him to 14th. Kasey Kahne inherited the lead and with clean air on the nose of his Chevy drove to an easy win.