Every year, there is a group of drivers who, for a variety of reasons, needs to step up the game. It could be a contract year, a need for a comeback from a slump, a matter of living up to expectations. Sometimes it’s all three, sometimes it’s a self-inflicted pressure that simply stems from not …
Who… gets my shoutout of the race? After narrowly avoiding one crash and getting enough damage in another that his car was held together with spare pieces and duct tape, it would have been easy for Carl Edwards to settle for a mid-pack finish, riding to avoid more trouble. But that’s not the racer that Edwards …
Welcome back for another year of staff predictions. Each week our writers duke it out to see who will reign supreme, and with a few tweaks to the rules for 2016, it’s sure to be a closer battle than ever. This week, racing is back, baby, and we’re ready! Check out our picks for the …
Who…gets my shoutout of the race? Duel 1: Sure, he’s running for the team who took the big teams to school in the Daytona 500 in 2011, but Ryan Blaney only has a handful of Cup races under his belt, and he’s been impressive in most of them. Despite making two pit stops in his …
Who would benefit the most from a Daytona 500 win? What driver in the field needs a 500 to complete their resume? Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Any driver with no prayer of winning a non-plate race would benefit the most. Not only would they be a part of the whirlwind winner’s media tour, but they’d …
1. Do we really need these restrictor plates? Define need. Do the cars need to be slowed down? Absolutely. A few years back, Rusty Wallace tested an unrestricted Cup car at Talladega and ran speeds of almost 240 mph. That’s too fast. But do they have to do it with plates? Technically, no. It could …
Who … gets my shoutout of the race? When you’re involved in a crash that sends the race into overtime and suffer a bashed-in front end in the process, it would be easy to cash in your chips for the night. That might be especially true if you had already tangled with a Daytona 500 …
It might seem like just yesterday that the checkered flag came out at Homestead, but another NASCAR season is already gearing up this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, where Daytona 500 practice starts Saturday and 25 teams take the track Saturday night for the pre-season Sprint Unlimited. It’s certainly been an eventful offseason, too. With …
With the changes NASCAR made for 2016, including a new aerodynamic package and charter system, can fans expect better racing? Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: The Charter System won’t have much of an impact on racing in the short-term; save for freeing up a few pit stalls and space in the garage area. The Aerodynamic package …
1. It will make very little difference to the racing you see. While the Sprint Cup field will now be comprised of 40 cars instead of 43, thanks to the charter announcement, the impact on the actual racing will be minimal, at least in the short term. Fans won’t see a different product on the …
It’s official: NASCAR will implement a five-year charter agreement with Sprint Cup team owners that reduces the race field from 43 to 40 cars and guarantee starting positions for chartered teams in every race. NASCAR will award 36 charters to teams who competed full-time in the Cup Series since 2013 based on longevity for each …
As the 2016 season rolls closer and some form of franchising (NASCAR calls it a charter system, but it’s essentially franchising) seems inevitable, the sport will only get more competitive. The elite teams will still be the elite, but things will really heat up in the middle of the field. For teams without charters and …
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