Ah, road course racing. For the first time in 2014, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series turned right in both California and Wisconsin. After months of oval track coverage, it was good to see some NASCAR TV showing a slightly different picture than usual. However, before we start, we must talk about some expected but …
Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday’s race? Amy Henderson has you covered each week with the answers to six race-day questions, covering all five Ws and even the H… the Big Six. Who… gets my shoutout of the race? It would be easy to give this week’s pat on …
A year removed from Daytona 500 glory, 2012 was a step back for Trevor Bayne.
Regan Smith finished a somewhat disappointing 18th on Sunday after having a shot to wind up much higher. However, about halfway through the race he restarted on the outside of the front row next to Brad Keselowski. After racing Keselowski hard through turn 1 and the South Chute, the two had contact in turn 2. There did not appear to be any malice in what happened, but both drivers never truly recovered.
He didn’t end up in Victory Lane, but Martin Truex Jr. has been knocking on that door for weeks, and it won’t be long now for the Mayetta, N.J. native, who finished sixth on Saturday night. Truex and his Michael Waltrip Racing team have been red hot since last fall at Talladega, when they snatched up four top-10 finishes in five races to finish the year. Truex picked up 2012 right where he left off, with five top 10s in the first seven races and no result lower than 17th. Truex led four times for more than 60 laps on Saturday, flexing his muscle and it looks increasingly like this driver is on the brink of not only a win, but more than one of them.
The late-race focus might have been on Tony Stewart and his battle with Jimmie Johnson for the win, but Stewart has to be extra happy after this one since teammate Ryan Newman managed to quietly move through the late fracas and grab a fourth-place finish with his own Stewart-Haas Racing car. Newman flew in under the radar, weaving among the Roush Fenway triumvirate who had been fighting amongst themselves and stole the show – along with a top-five finish in the process.
You get one guess at this one. Trevor Bayne’s fast Ford and his tandem-drafting skills made him the toast of Daytona Beach before the green flag for the Daytona 500 dropped.
Charlotte Motor Speedway has seen its share of unexpected, if not underdog, winners in recent seasons. This weekend’s 500-miler was not one of those times.
Carl Edwards powered by polesitter Elliott Sadler on lap 11 and never looked back, leading 179 circuits en route to a commanding win.
One race into the Chase, is anyone out of the running after Chicagoland?
Did You Notice? The Chaser pressing the panic button this week should be Jeff Gordon?
Chicago marked the first weekend of a 10-race battle between David and Goliath. Who came out on top in this week’s edition of how the cookie cutter crumbled?
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