Race Weekend Central

Voice of Vito: Crew Chief Central – Junior’s New One, Grubb’s No-No

2014 Darlington Cup Denny Hamlin Darian Grubb Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photography)

Engineering the Future for Junior The big news that came down yesterday was the announcement that Greg Ives will be the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2015. The move comes well ahead of The Chase to avoid any distractions for the driver who will experience a rebirth under current crew chief Steve Letarte. …

Read more

Midweek Mud Slinging Proves Best Ideas Come From Outside The Box

Ryan Blaney 2013 Eldora Speedway Camping World Truck Series Mike Neff

(Credit: Mike Neff)

On Monday this week, Brian France voiced his opinion on the newly formed Race Team Alliance, the consortium of the nine largest teams in the sport, who have banded together to help speak with one voice with – although sometime presumably against – NASCAR and their decision making processes. Appearing on Sirius XM’s Sirius Speedway …

Read more

Voice of Vito: Mid-Season Musings

2014 Loudon I Cup Joey Logano Spin Cia

Joey Logano and Morgan Shepherd spin at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Credit: CIA)

Morgan’s Meltdown      Wow the kids sure got angry over the incident with Morgan Shepherd and Joey Logano this Sunday at New Hampshire! Not sure why – between this and Jimmie Johnson blowing two tires in less than 15 laps, it was the only real action of the day. Logano’s ire was understandable, though the age …

Read more

Method of Marginalization: RTA Shifts Power Balance in NASCAR

2014 Sonoma Cup Jack Roush Carl Edwards Trophy Cia

Carl Edwards and Jack Roush have enjoyed a decade's worht of success together. Edward's move to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2015 comes at a time where their outsourced engines have been largely left in the dust this season.(Credit: CIA)

The biggest news this week was the announcement of the RTA – Race Team Alliance – within NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series. It’s a business alliance vociferously downplayed and described as a not-a-union, one that seeks to “work together to increase revenue, spend more efficiently, and deliver more value to our partners” as declared in …

Read more

Voice of Vito: Harvick’s Huff, Road Course Stuff, and Roush Fenway’s Futility

2014 Darlington Cup Kevin Harvick Credit Yvonne Leonard

Credit: Yvonne Leonard

You Mad Bro? Kevin Harvick wasn’t exactly what one would call chatty following this past weekend’s race at MIS. For the second time in three weeks, the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet was the fastest car on the track when it counted – but was too far back to do much following more problems in the …

Read more

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s Decade of Decline Comes Full Circle

2014 Pocono I Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Champagne Cia

In the wake of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s popular Pocono triumph, there was one stat that resonated this week while reviewing the turnaround the No. 88 team has enjoyed over the course of past few seasons: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is in the midst of his first multiple win season since 2004; i.e., a decade. That 2004 season was …

Read more

Contract Quandary: Could Biffle And Edwards Be Ending Their Tenure At Roush Fenway?

It seems as if every two years, we have the same conversation surrounding Roush Fenway Racing. Rumors swirl due to a stretch of spotty performance, hinting that a key member of the once-dominant Ford organization might be leaving for greener pastures. This time, it’s doubly dubious, as both Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle might be …

Read more

Vexing Vito: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s Championship-Caliber Sacrifice

With Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s 26th-place finish at Talladega Sunday, many of his fans (OK, let’s be honest — his Dad’s fans…) have taken to railing against his decision to call no-joy, doubling back to the rear in the closing laps instead of going all-out for the win. However, while it wasn’t exactly reminiscent of his …

Read more

Vexing Vito: Three Drivers In Need of a Role Reversal

At Bristol Motor Speedway In Bristol, Tennessee On March 16, 2014.

Carl Edwards win at Bristol has him in The Chase, but Roush Fenway’s speedway sluggishness could conspire to make him irrelevant — and a potential first-round exit.

Yes, this Thursday perhaps no driver needs good luck more than Parker Kligerman,out of a ride for now as Swan Racing restructured in a way that keeps him off the track. The rookie’s bad luck continues, a rough start that’s left him 38th in driver points and wondering if a mid-level ride in the Nationwide Series …

Read more

NASCAR Easter Eggs: A Few Off-Week Nuggets to Chew On

Knockout Qualifying Moved from FS2 & FS1 to FOX: For Talladega, at least. While many fans do not have access to FOX Sports 2 (thereby negating the change to the qualifying format), the new knockout qualifying format has been delivering double-digit ratings increases every weekend so far. While FOX has been airing the sessions five to 10 minutes delayed (for reasons …

Read more

Voice of Vito: Win And In? Five Drivers Who Can Call Their Shot

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article stating there was no way there would be more than 16 winners by the time we got to the Chase, and that points still mattered, along with consistent finishes. With Joey Logano’s win at Texas on Monday (that I predicted three weeks ago over at Athlon Sports), I might …

Read more

Voice of Vito: Three Drivers That NASCAR Need Not Silence

NASCAR has long been home to a range of varied personalities. From the quiet to the quarrelsome, the range of emotions and cast of characters has served to establish the fabric of the sport. That said, this past weekend painted a perfect picture of who the Sprint Cup Series should focus their efforts around if the …

Read more