Whatever your tastes and temperament are when it comes to racing, this weekend was a virtual smorgasbord of racing around what Jim McKay used to call “The Wide World of Sports.” Below are some random ruminations on the highlights.  A goodly percentage of NASCAR fans went to bed shortly before …

One primary problem when race fans get together to debate (OK, argue) whether a race was “good” or not, is defining what makes for a “good” race. Plenty of passing? An unexpected outcome? And if the last three laps are nailbiters that have the majority of the crowd on their …

Wake up every one! The actual 2019 Cup season will now officially begin. Yeah, OK, it’s actually September 9 as this is written, but I’m using an artistic license that currently isn’t revoked. Yes, they’ve been racing the Cup cars since the frosty days of February into a rainy spring …

A funny thing happened in Philadelphia near my home base this week.  Of course, the usually litany of not so funny things happened as well, including a huge church fire, the usual list of shootings of innocents that is totally unacceptable, the annual flocking of the shoe-bees to the shore …

The Peter principle is a longtime cautionary career warning. It states that within a hierarchy, men or women will tend to rise to their level of incompetence. Thus, a hotshot entry level management new hire might do a bang-up job drawing notice and praise from his superiors. As such, he …

I’ll spare you the sleigh bells, slurred toasts and hymns sung slightly out of tune, but for longtime, hardcore stock car racing fans, the argument can be made this is in fact the most wonderful time of the year. With Michigan out of the way, the magical mystery tour that …

Editor’s note: Senior writer Matt McLaughlin is off this week to celebrate a milestone birthday. Which one? We’ll let him tell it when he returns if he so chooses. In the meantime, please enjoy one of his classic columns from the past, the first of a two-part series paying tribute …

I guess I’ve gotten a bit slovenly in cleaning out my inbox at the end of every hard day’s night. Time-to-time I’ve been told I can be a bit obtuse. Well, I’ve been told I can be a bit obtuse more than I’ve been told I tend to be oblong …

Rather unexpectedly, NASCAR’s top three touring divisions have welcomed some first-time winning drivers and teams lately.  On Thursday night (July 11) at Kentucky Speedway, Tyler Ankrum drove his David Gilliland-owned Toyota to victory, a first for both the rookie driver and the team. It was only Ankrum’s 12th start in …

Back at the turn of the century, my sister and then-brother-in-law lived in rural Vermont. I took a lot of road trips to visit them and a lot of road trips while I was visiting, rather a necessity in that nothing of consequence was near their home unless you want …