The NASCAR traveling circus is moving on from the carnival known as Talladega and parking itself in Kansas this weekend. To some fans, that means a return to what may be considered more traditional racing. To others? The weekend at Kansas Speedway will represent a return to boring 1.5-mile, cookie-cutter, follow-the-leader lameness that has brought …
Think Small This past weekend’s action at Talladega illustrated again what can happen when the racing is more in the hands of the drivers. There were several different names at the top eager to display their talent. Aric Almirola nearly pulled off the weekend double, and David Ragan overcame crash damage to finish in the …
Who’s in the headline Restrictor plate racetracks are always the great equalizer. This weekend, Talladega Superspeedway’s parity roulette wheel landed on the name Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It wasn’t a shock Stenhouse was able to make it to Victory Lane Sunday, in large part because he had the fastest car in qualifying by a substantial amount. But …
Who… gets the shoutout of the race? Jamie McMurray. He’s been known throughout his career as a guy who has a knack for winning the big races and excels on restrictor plate tracks. A Daytona 500 win in 2010 and a July victory at the World Center of Racing in 2007, plus two Talladega Superspeedway wins …
Beginning from the pole of the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the opening 13 laps before getting shuffled out of line. With 29 laps to go, he got into the rear of Ryan Blaney, sending the No. 21 car around. But then he charged to the front. On a green-white-checkered finish …
Think Small The 2017 season is at the quarter mark after nine races, and some trends are taking shape. Wood Brothers Racing has established itself at the top of the class, which was to be expected after the team increased its alliance with Team Penske this year. Even within the group, the haves and have …
Think Small Short tracks are popular with race fans because there is almost always some action somewhere in the field. Cars are close together, tempers flare and drivers are aggressive. Another reason to enjoy this type of racing is that short tracks (Bristol and Martinsville more so than Richmond) usually level out the playing field …
Think Small It feels like NASCAR’s small teams get a bad rap right from the start from some fans and even media. Too often, they’re lumped into a “backmarkers” category, often mocked for their poor performance compared to rivals. To hear some people talk, you’d think they went out every week and ran in the 20’s …
It almost seems like an annual rite of passage in these early stages of the Cup Series season. What’s wrong with the No. 48 team? Is Jimmie Johnson finally past his prime? Is this the year the now-seven time champion becomes an also ran as he winds down his career? Well, we got the answer …
Who… gets my shoutout of the race? The Martinsville Speedway has been a great racetrack for JTG Daugherty Racing. AJ Allmendinger finished second in the spring race last season and 10th in the fall race. It shouldn’t be surprising that both Allmendinger and teammate Chris Buescher both performed well on Sunday. Allmendinger finished sixth, coming back after …
Who’s in the headline – Rusty Wallace won at Martinsville Speedway six times drivng for Roger Penske. He last won a grandfather clock for Penske in 2004. Since then, it had been an agonizing drought for Team Penske. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have both come very close in Southern Virginia, but failed to seal …
JTG Daugherty Racing teammates AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher came into Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway with a combined one top-15 finish between in 2017. Afterwards, each had earned another of their own. Allmendinger was in contention on and off through the race but was moved up the running order late in the going …
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