Race Weekend Central

Mirror Driving: Final Word On The Brawl, Crawling To A Title And Caution Controversy

*After Sunday’s tangle between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon, and the subsequent fights among crews — not to mention an obscenity-laden tirade by Brad Keselowski afterward — are the penalties NASCAR levied sufficient?*

Amy: Sufficient? More like over the top. Pattie’s fine for not controlling his crew, I agree with, because the way they ambushed Gordon was not cool. The penalties for Gordon and Keselowski were both over the top.
Mike N.: I thought the fine for Gordon was too much. I was surprised at Gustafson; I thought he would get some money taken, too. Other than that, I thought Pattie’s was fair.

Fan’s View: If You’re Bored with NASCAR Now, You Might Want to Get a Checkup

I’m betting a simple thing this week: You’re having a really good time chewing over the events of the past Phoenix NASCAR weekend. If there’s a fan out there who has decided they’d rather be at the dentist office rather than deliberate on who was right, who was wrong, the timing of flags, the fickleness …

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Pace Laps: Bowyer-Gordon Brawling, Lost Title Trauma And Kyle Larson Mania

*Sprint Cup: In Whirlwind Weekend Of News, Brawl Takes Center Stage* Kevin Harvick’s reported signing with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2014 season was supposed to be the top story of the weekend ā€” until Jimmie Johnson, the point leader before the race at Phoenix, slammed into the wall coming off Turn 4 late in the race. That was destined to take over the top spot ā€” until the fight broke out. That happened on pit road after a pair of incidents on-track between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon. Bowyer gave Gordon a tap, thinking he was being held up, and Gordon got into the wall. Gordon then waited for Bowyer on track and turned the No. 15 into the barrier himself, collecting Joey Logano in the process and causing extensive damage to all three cars.

Mirror Driving: Rating The Restart, Dillon vs. Hamlin And Tough Times At EGR

*Other drivers and race fans were quick to accuse both Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, respectively, of jumping the final two restarts on Sunday, though NASCAR says neither driver broke any rules. Did either one gain an unfair advantage on a restart… and should NASCAR consider a return to single-file restarts late in Cup races?*

Summer: Oh, my gosh _no_ do _not_ go back to single-file restarts. Double-file restarts are the best change NASCAR has made. Also, I watched both replays and I didn’t see either of them do anything wrong. They both did what they needed to do.
Tom: Well, you know I’m the first to say the double-file, lead-lap restart system is a total gimmick. But in terms of what happened Sunday night… couldn’t agree more with Brad Keselowski when he said, “Fair play on both sides.”

Fan’s View: Voting for No Change in NASCAR

NASCAR’s got to change! Isn’t that the platform just about all of NASCAR Nation has been chanting for the past few years? And yet even though we go to the voting booth (um, er, track) or don’t, things haven’t changed. Somehow the cookie-cutter tracks still make up the vast majority of our schedule, the leader …

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Mirror Driving: Offense Or Defense, NASCAR’s Win Starved Vets & Regan’s Rise

*Jimmie Johnson’s win at Martinsville propels him into the points lead with three races to go in the season — will the change from defensive mode to offensive for opponent Brad Keselowski change the outlook from here on out?*

Phil: Well, I think they’ll both be on the offensive this weekend in Texas.
Summer: I’ve been saying for a few months now that Jimmie Johnson will win the championship and I’m sticking by that.

Fan’s View: Leave the Utensils on the Table; Hamlin’s Dinner Isn’t Done Yet

Denny Hamlin‘s season is done. It is? When did this happen? As soon as the No. 11 began its stuttering and rolled to a stop on lap 391, my Twitter feed exploded with the overused, “Put a fork in him!” And I wondered why NASCAR Nation decided that the Virginian gave up the ghost yet …

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Mirror Driving: Progress Or Problems? Make-Or Break Moments And Eldora, 2013

*Kansas Speedway was the latest racetrack to add progressive banking in hopes of producing a more competitive race. Did it work, and are there other ways that tracks and track owners should be looking towards to beef up the competition?*

Phil: Not really. There were faster speeds and a lot of wrecking. Overall, it wasn’t any more competitive.
Amy: There wasn’t any more passing on Sunday.