Who… gets my shoutout of the race? How about three of them this week?  It’s impossible to ignore the finishes Jimmie Johnson and Paul Menard had because both were 35th or worse at some point. Johnson spun early and recovered to seventh, while Menard had a couple of issues, losing two …

1. Let teams control their destiny There has been much talk about parity in NASCAR in recent years, and while it’s certainly important for teams to be able to enter the sport and establish themselves, NASCAR’s move toward spec everything isn’t working. Cost-cutting attempts have been little more than taking …

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Some drivers just don’t race well under pressure, letting the intensity of NASCAR’s championship battle get under their skin, and that can show up with bad luck and tough finishes snowballing.  With that playoff weight off his shoulders at Dover, Denny Hamlin scored …

1. Should NASCAR run the ROVAL again? Yes, absolutely. Sunday’s race wasn’t perfect and no race really is, but it was exciting. There was more passing than the TV broadcast made it seem, which is standard fare. Most races have a lot more going on than fans at home will …

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? It’s hard enough to face playoff elimination when you make a mistake, but when it comes as payment for someone else’s mistake, it’s really hard to swallow.  For Aric Almirola, trouble kept on coming on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL that was not his …

The playoff drivers may be the focus of a lot of talk this time of year, but Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase Briscoe reminded everyone that he was in it to win it. And win he did, for his first career XFINITY trophy. Briscoe’s win makes him the first …

There’s always that one guy you can’t quite count out no matter how down he is, and in the first of two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practices at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson put himself at the top of the list to be that guy.  Johnson led the session …

You can say that NASCAR isn’t exciting these days, but this year, that certainly doesn’t include Silly Season.  Both rumors and moves started early and have become hot and heavy over the last few weeks. Drivers moving on so far this year include Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Trevor …

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? If you filled out a playoff bracket, raise your hand if you had Austin Dillon clearing the Round of 16. Yeah, you’re making that up, put your hand down. While he’s a long way from being a title contender, Dillon did everything he …

1. The elephant in the room The fact that looms over NASCAR these days is the decline in both ratings and race attendance; it simply can’t be ignored, explained away, or overlooked. There are pieces that can’t be fixed, like the steady erosion of American car culture. That’s outside any …