Think Small After last weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway, where Derrike Cope brought out a late caution while racing several laps down, fans and some media suggested Cope should have been removed from the track by NASCAR long before the incident. That group, which included regular season champion Martin Truex Jr., claimed Cope was so far in …
Last weekend at Richmond Raceway, NASCAR set the field for the annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a lineup of drivers that consisted of 2017 race winners and three drivers who pointed their way in. All 16 drivers had a regular season that made them worthy of making the playoffs, but only one …
Think Small Ah, fall. Race fans can welcome cooler temperatures, cheer for their favorites in the playoffs…and kiss the chance of seeing the smaller teams mentioned during the broadcast goodbye. With the exception of Ryan Blaney, who made the postseason, all other underdogs will fade into the background of championship talk. That goes for any …
ONE: Don’t Sleep On…. Denny Hamlin? 24/7 news cycles these days can cause storylines to be greatly exaggerated. So it’s no surprise everyone and their mother screamed, “Don’t sleep on Denny Hamlin!” seconds after his astounding Darlington comeback. It’s true Sunday’s Southern 500 was perhaps a stepping stone in Hamlin’s career. A driver who’s at times …
Darlington had what is becoming its annual throwback weekend with NASCAR’s Cup and XFINITY series each having a number of cars with paint schemes resembling those from the past. But no matter how enjoyable it is to take a look back in time, there is no time like the present for many drivers as there is now just …
Did You Notice? … The past few days marked the last off weekend of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season? Starting Sunday at Darlington, we’ve got 12 races in a row which culminates with the crowning of the champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. In a season filled with mixed reviews, there’s still plenty of …
Menards is adding some sponsorship to its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series campaign for 2018: Team Penske’s No. 12 and Ryan Blaney. Penske and Menards announced Wednesday (Aug. 30) that the company will adorn Blaney’s No. 12 for 14 races in 2018 while continuing its sponsorship of Paul Menard, who moves to Blaney’s old ride, …
How… important are stage points? Assuming Martin Truex Jr. doesn’t completely under perform at Darlington Raceway or Richmond Raceway, the No. 78 team will enter the playoffs with at least 50 total playoff points. That’s 30 more than Kyle Busch, as he had 20 playoff points. That’s going to be a huge advantage for Truex …
Wood Brothers Racing’s Ryan Blaney set the fastest lap in the final NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday afternoon. The No. 21 Ford driver put in 46 laps with a fastest time of 14.926 seconds at 128.554 mph, 0.057 of a second faster than runner-up Kyle Larson (128.065mph). Larson led the …
Races at Michigan International Speedway can be a mixed bag. They can be runaways at times. For fans, whether they enjoy that would ultimately depend on who their favorite driver is. They can be action-packed affairs that pleasure everyone. Or, they could be a combination of both. Last weekend, we got a combination. Pure Michigan …
Ryan Blaney craftily motored his way to the top of the scoring pylon in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice for the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Friday (Aug. 11). Blaney posted a lap of 35.365 seconds with a speed of 203.591 miles per hour in the 90-minute practice. The …
Think Small Dale Earnhardt Jr. was addressing the media at Watkins Glen last weekend when the subject turned to driver contracts and salaries. The NASCAR economic climate, as everyone knows has changed drastically in recent years. When the NASCAR fad was at its height almost 20 years ago, corporate interest and driver income skyrocketed. For a while, that …
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