Who’s in the headline – While there are multiple drivers who have run well this season, the brightest spotlight of the year has been on one organization. At this point in the season, Joe Gibbs Racing has been the class of the field for a majority of the races. Between its four teams, it has 10 wins. …
Ah, yes. The twisties. Even if the races were relatively boring, I’d still love them, the road course detours that throw a wrench into typical stock car competition. We had two races this weekend with quirky incidents and hard racing, both elements missing from the NASCAR landscape as of late. Last weekend, the Sprint Cup and XFINITY …
Who… Gets My Shoutout of the Race? This week’s shoutout goes to the staff at Watkins Glen International, including track president Michael Printup. Many years ago, Watkins Glen was known as the race with the lowest purse on the calendar and maybe not the most exciting action. Also, the facilities weren’t exactly the greatest. During …
Tommy Badwin Racing Regan Smith, No. 7 APC Chevrolet Looking back: Chris Buescher wasn’t the only small-team driver who scored a top finish Monday. Smith’s third-place run ties his organization’s best finish ever and marks TBR’s top finish not on a restrictor-plate track. Sound strategy played into the team’s hands and Smith walked away with his …
On Wednesday morning, NASCAR released the weekly penalty report. Once again, NASCAR has come down hard on a contending team due to lugnuts. Kevin Harvick‘s No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet was found to have loose lugnuts after the finish of Sunday’s Crown Royal Presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As …
Indianapolis represented a mixed bag for the small teams this week, with finishes ranging from 14th for rookie Chris Buescher to 40th for Matt DiBenedetto, thanks to an untimely engine expiration. Indy is a tough track for teams that are a step or two behind the elite teams in both handling and horsepower, and next …
The race-winning team from Loudon was penalized following post-race inspection. Matt Kenseth’s No. 20 team was docked 15 points and crew chief Jason Ratcliff was fined $25,000 for failing laser inspection following the New Hampshire 301. Multiple teams were warned for failing pre-qualifying inspection. The No. 1 of Jamie McMurray, No. 3 of Austin Dillon, …
NASCAR has a few tracks that are fairly unique in layout. Among those are both new Hampshire Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway-a flat one-mile oval with long straights and tight turns – think big Martinsville – and a huge, flat, rectangular behemoth with four separate corners and four straights to match. These tracks are …
So… what makes a small team? Yep, I addressed this last week, but again, we’ll give it one more time for those race fans who missed the last edition. I’m frequently asked how I categorize NASCAR’s teams, and I’m sure lots of people have a different definition, but I look at a couple of things …
What makes a small team? I’m frequently asked how to categorize NASCAR’s teams. I look at a couple of things when I make the list each spring: budget and performance. Small teams simply don’t have the budgets of the larger ones, even middle-tier organizations. They may have alliances with bigger teams, but that doesn’t mean everything gets handed …
Another lug nut penalty was issued this week following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono. Chad Johnston, who crew chiefs the No. 42 car of Kyle Larson, was hit with a P3 penalty for failing to have all lug nuts properly installed on the car following the race. He was suspended for the …
Tears flowed down 24-year-old Matt DiBenedetto’s face just seconds after crossing the finish line at Bristol Motor Speedway in mid-April. Competing for a team that considers a top-20 finish a victory, finishing sixth during the Food City 500 helped the young man realize that dreams can indeed come true. DiBenedetto landed a part-time slot with …
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