Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: ESPN’s Fight Night At The Races

2014 Texas Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Postrace Brawl Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

The specter of violence has reared its head once again. Cripes. Before we even get into the critique, I’ll state for the record that this fighting is passé. Not only is it played out, it’s also ludicrous and makes the sport look bad. I do a lot more pertaining to motorsports coverage than critiquing TV …

Read more

Friday Faceoff: Feuds, Winning & the Dynamic Duo’s Demise?

2014 Martinsville Cup Martin Truex, Jr., Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, More Wreck Credit Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)

Welcome to Friday Faceoff! What do you get when you take some hot-button NASCAR topics and hand them over to our dedicated and… er, opinionated staff? A little disagreement and a whole lot of thought-provoking insight! Check out this week’s edition to see what everyone is arguing… um, we mean, discussing this week! Martinsville Speedway‘s …

Read more

Going By the Numbers: Chase Elliott, Brian Scott Ramping Up Results as Season’s End Nears

2014 Atlanta Nns Chase Elliott Cockpit Cia

When it comes to the Nationwide Series title battle, many drivers are peaking or gaining momentum at just the right time. Don’t consider it true for everyone, but when checking out the average finishes of full-time competitors in the second-tier series over the 2014 season versus what they’ve accomplished more recently, the results are simple: …

Read more

Five Points to Ponder: Projecting Final Four, Junior’s Good Year & Frayed Tempers

2014 Martinsville Ii Cup Brian Vickers Car Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. © 2014)

One: Final Four Up for Grabs Two races remain until we learn which quartet of drivers will contest for the Sprint Cup championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Most of us, myself included, had assumed we would find out at least one of those four names at Martinsville, but for the first time in seven Chase races …

Read more

Pace Laps: Veterans Struggling, Rookies Succeeding and Tempers Flaring

2014 Martinsville Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Window Cia

Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Sprint Cup Series: Favorites Back in the Pack – Jeff Gordon somehow kept his car clean and was able to to score a second-place finish at Martinsville.  For a driver who probably had to hire someone to keep all of his Martinsville clocks polished and keeping time, that result is not surprise.  In fact, he had …

Read more

Nuts for Nationwide: Regan Smith’s 2015 Could Be His Most Important Year Yet

2014 Loudon I Nns Regan Smith Ii Cia

(Photo: CIA Editorial Photography)

Silly season might not have been silly enough for Regan Smith. But that’s OK – for now. Smith, 31, just signed a one-year extension with JR Motorsports to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series again in 2015. Next year will mark his third consecutive season with the organization after getting the boot …

Read more

Couch Potato Tuesday: The Need For NASCAR TV To Delve Deeper

2014 Loudon Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Eyes Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

So, big news: Kansas Speedway’s NASCAR races were nowhere near as irritating TV-wise as Dover was. It feels great to not want to rip your hair out, doesn’t it? Of course, everyone can see my headshot to the right of the article. I don’t have that much to rip out. However, just because I stated …

Read more

Nationwide Breakdown: Kansas Lottery 300

2014 Chicago Nns Kyle Busch Derrike Cope Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or not. While seeing Kyle Busch win a NASCAR Nationwide Series race isn’t necessarily unusual, Busch winning at Kansas is more of a rarity. Though Busch does have a Nationwide Series victory at the track from back in 2007, a variety of bad luck and …

Read more

Did You Notice? … One Saving Grace That Lies Ahead

2014 Aaron's 499 Talladega Superspeedway Sprint Cup Mike Neff

Credit: Mike Neff

Did You Notice? … How much of a crapshoot Talladega makes the next round of this Chase? No one has an advantage on paper entering this three-race sprint as all 12 drivers are tied for the point lead. That means it’s nearly impossible to create a 47-point cushion, locking yourself into the next round before …

Read more

Pace Laps: Dover Downer, Elliott’s Excellence, Crafton’s Consistency and More

2014 Dover Ii Cup Aj Allmendinger Racing Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Sprint Cup Series:  Dover Downer – After the excitement of the first two races of the reborn Chase, Dover produced a race that didn’t follow the script.  Rather than being a hard-charging affair, with the four drivers positioned to lose out racing like madmen, it seemed like everyone did his best to log laps, not make …

Read more

Nationwide Breakdown: VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky

2014 Chicago Nns Brendan Gaughan Ii Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Underdogs have a way of hitting emotions. Brendan Gaughan was the underdog of underdogs on Saturday evening. After Ty Dillon dominated much of the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway, multiple late-race cautions gave his Richard Childress Racing teammate the advantage. Gaughan, 39, running his first full year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series since 2010, visited to …

Read more