Race Weekend Central

Pace Laps: Keeping Cool, Calling Toss-Ups and Simona Steps Up

*Sprint Cup: How Will Keselowski Respond?* Texas saw the No. 2 team step up and give Jimmie Johnson their best shot. Its driver, Brad Keselowski, entered the weekend without a top-10 finish at the track but waltzed in like he expected to contend. And he did: the car was on top of every practice sheet, qualified eighth and, during the last 100 laps, turned Johnson into mincemeat with the fastest car. Using a two-tire stop for track position, fighting back from a botched pit entry, Keselowski forced Johnson to beat him the hard way — on speed. He even made contact with the No. 48, several times to try and intimidate his rival back into submission while crew chief Paul Wolfe worked wonders in keeping his driver cool.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: O’Reilly Challenge

Although Kyle Busch showed flashes of his past dominance in NNS competition early at Texas, Kevin Harvick cruised to a relatively easy win in his final start of the season on Saturday, leading 127 of the 200 laps run. Ryan Blaney trimmed the margin of victory by more than two seconds during the final green-flag run but was unable to catch the No. 33, settling for a career-best runner-up finish. Polesitter Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 5 in this event dominated by Sprint Cup regulars.

Consistent Inconsistency: NASCAR’s Latest Licensing Episode

While the usual suspects will be battling for the win at Texas come Saturday’s Nationwide Series event, one driver that will not be there is Nur Ali. The driver who two weeks ago made history as the first Pakistani to start a Nationwide Series race was not approved to run Texas, with NASCAR sending Ali back to shorter tracks to garner more experience. A replacement for Rick Ware Racing’s No. 41 car remains to be named.

Of course, what else would one expect from NASCAR, the sanctioning body whose only consistency is inconsistency? If there’s one element of their governance that has proven the definition of subjective and impulsive, it’s with regard to competitors’ licenses.

5 Points to Ponder: Haloes, Half-a-Ride and an Historical Ending?

*ONE: ESPN’s “Miracle” Grasping at Straws*

Considering Martinsville was the hardest track left on the schedule for Brad Keselowski, given both his limited experience at the speedway and the strength of fellow title contender Jimmie Johnson’s setup at the paperclip oval, there was definitely a reason to celebrate finishing sixth on Sunday. Keselowski scored his career-best result there, kept heavyweight Johnson within two points despite giving up a win this late in the Chase, and even survived a late-race gamble to stay out that nearly backfired when all but two cars opted to take tires during the final cycle of pit stops.

Having said that, ESPN’s post-race interview was certainly making Keselowski’s performance out to be a bit more…dramatic…than it was. It was called the “Miracle At Martinsville,” all because Keselowski climbed from 32nd to finish sixth.

The No. 7 and the Risk of Backwards Development

My first visit to the Daytona International Speedway came as a writer in 2010. Though the weekend would eventually be defined by a pothole and the Daytona 500 going from day to night, entering Speedweeks the story was one Danica Patrick. Danica-mania was coming to NASCAR, to an extent that the ESPN broadcast booth and execs took questions in the media center regarding their coverage of her debut race.

Five Points to Ponder: Paving Potholes, Danica’s Dustup and Spec Cars

*ONE: Shutdown for Repaves*

Yes, it would pose an extreme economic hardship. Yes, it would require NASCAR to have a rotating schedule (shudder). But after watching the Midwest’s best impression of “Levigation 2005” render the Chase’s sixth race a never-ending train of blown tires, unassisted spin-outs and another fuel mileage race, I’d rather watch ISC’s facilities leave their racing surfaces alone until they crumble to powder than have them repave another oval. Goodyear’s tires were hard as rocks, yet they kept blowing out. Side-by-side racing caused spin-outs, the cars spun out by themselves, the yellow flags would not stop flying.

Pace Laps: Decision 2012 For ‘Dinger And Finch, George Goes Kaput & Title Dreams

*Sprint Cup: Did AJ Earn Himself A Second Chance?* AJ Allmendinger’s season has been nothing short of a nightmare. Owner James Finch had spent the year _living_ with a nightmare in Kurt Busch, then seeing bills mount as a lack of sponsorship money has put his team, in existence for 20+ years on the brink of foreclosure. Both men, with 2013 a great unknown are in search of both survival and redemption in this sport.

40 Cars to Freedom: Change is Coming for the 2013 Nationwide Series

It’d take an act of God to get this writer to declare that NASCAR has left the state of denial, but they did take a step in the right direction on the Nationwide Series front this week with the announcement that the field will be cut from 43 to 40 cars for the 2013 season. It’s been a change long overdue; though NASCAR’s AAA series has largely dodged short fields over the last eight months, the start-and-park entries filling the starting grids week after week have accounted for nearly 30% of those “full” fields.

Coupled with the return of testing, this week’s announced competition changes are absolutely radical alterations for the Nationwide Series, as 43-car fields have been the norm for a decade-plus. And even at only a three-car reduction, it will have an impact across the series. While it’s impossible to tell just how much of an impact this will have until the entry list for Daytona is released in February, it’s never too early to play a little fact or fiction.

For Once, It’s Jeff Gordon Who Needs to Bite His Tongue

When one thinks of NASCAR racers making stupid comments in press conferences, there’s no shortage of names that come to mind: Harvick, the Busches, Stewart, these names easily roll off the tongue. Then there’s the heat of the moment stupids such as Kevin Lepage insisting he did nothing wrong by merging into traffic at Talladega or Todd Bodine abdicating all responsibility for his actions at Daytona.

Pace Laps: Time Running Out for Title Contender and “As the Concussion Turns”

*Sprint Cup: As The Concussion Turns* — The biggest story by far this weekend was the news Dale Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR’s perennial Most Popular Driver, was out of the car for the Bank of America 500 and will remain sidelined at least through Kansas this weekend after suffering a concussion in a last-lap wreck at Talladega. Earnhardt had suffered a similar head injury five weeks ago, after crashing during a tire test at Kansas Speedway, but it initially went undiagnosed. However, the second hit last week left him suffering from headaches, consistent enough in their severity that the driver took action. After seeing Dr. Jerry Petty, a Charlotte neurosurgeon who has worked with numerous NASCAR personnel as well as the Carolina Panthers NFL team, Earnhardt was declared unfit to race. Regan Smith jumped in the No. 88 Saturday night, putting the car well inside the top 10 before suffering engine failure before the 200-mile mark.

Enough of the Petulant Kurt Busch

So here’s a question. If Furniture Row Racing asks nicely, can they get Regan Smith back for a few more weeks? After all, the rumor mill is swirling that one Kurt Busch may be facing his second suspension of the 2012 season after the weekend’s race at Talladega. Busch, who got dumped in traffic after running out of fuel in the draft, ended up driving his wrecked car away from first responders, who not only had their equipment stashed on the roof of the wrecked machine, but were also visibly working and communicating inside the race car.

The Chase Favorite After Dover…Is Still Jimmie Johnson

The way things are being written, one would think Brad Keselowski was Miles the Monster himself after this weekend at Dover, a giant who smashed all before him in a decisive victory that left nothing in its wake. For those living under a rock on Sunday (and Monday), here’s a quick reminder; Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 was not the best car this race day. Brad did indeed blow by Jimmie Johnson for the lead…when the No. 48 was running at 80% throttle and the dominant JGR Toyotas of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin fell victim to TRD’s awful fuel mileage. And yes, Brad did score his second win of the Chase, and in doing so built a mammoth five-point lead over Jimmie Johnson. Give that man the trophy.