“To the rear for inspection failure” Those words were all too common in 2018 as NASCAR’s race weekend inspection process has become more and more technologically based. The precision optical sensors used to scan each race car are meant to catch even the tiniest variance from NASCAR’s rules, and they …

For several drivers, 2018 marks the end of a NASCAR journey. Among those who have said they don’t plan to race full-time (or at all) in the sport in the future are Jamie McMurray (who may run the 2019 Daytona 500 before he hangs up his helmet), Kasey Kahne, Matt …

If only it was like it used to be. If only the racing was like it was in (fill in the year of your choice here). If only these drivers were real racers. If only NASCAR hadn’t changed. If only… If only… If only. Fans love to wax nostalgic about …

Think Small If there is a lesson to be learned from the 2018 season and the underdog teams, it’s that the right combination of team and driver is everything. Perhaps the biggest example is one of a small-team driver moving into fully-funded equipment and flourishing, as Aric Almirola has when …

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? What a difference a year makes. An average finish of 18.8, 29th in driver points in a season marked by injury. That’s not very promising for a driver, especially one who’s a journeyman at best in his mid-30s. A year later, Aric Almirola finishes …

1. Martinsville Why it would be great: Because Martinsville. Face it, the racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway is generally underwhelming. There have been moments, but it’s an intermediate track with a predictable configuration. A short track has much more potential to give fans a finish like they saw last month, only …

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Let’s make it a pair this week. Shy of a win at Homestead (and even with one), you won’t hear much about a couple of drivers who will very likely drive quietly into the sunset after the checkers next week.  You didn’t hear …

1. The Closer It’s really hard to deny that Kevin Harvick is the most deserving title candidate so far. He leads the Cup Series in wins (eight), top fives (21), top 10s (27), laps led (1859) and total playoff points (51). Take away the playoffs and he’d be currently be …

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? On paper, it doesn’t look like much of a race, starting and finishing in seventh spot. In terms of the playoffs, it wasn’t. But for Kurt Busch, Sunday (Nov. 4) at Texas was a good day. While Busch didn’t lead a lap (he …

1. NASCAR Cup Series: 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400; 0.002 seconds With five laps to go at Darlington Raceway, Darrell Waltrip said that if Ricky Craven could catch leader Kurt Busch, it would be “really, really exciting.” Truer words have never been spoken. The finish in this race was nothing …