Did You Notice? … The struggles of Hendrick Motorsports this season getting more pronounced? The team’s night at Kentucky Speedway ended with none of HMS’ four cars in serious contention; Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the best of the bunch in 13th place. For the second straight week, the entire four-car fleet ran outside the top 10, the …
Did You Notice? … Timing is everything these days? In the past two weeks, we’ve seen when officials throw the yellow flag make a difference. There was the debris caution at Sonoma, thrown at a point where Tony Stewart was able to catch a lucky break on track position. Then, there was the final lap …
Did You Notice? … Ryan Blaney could have failed to qualify for a Chase race? That’s certainly a loophole NASCAR was looking to shore up by its decision this week to ensure every team that qualifies for the Chase is guaranteed a spot over the final 10 events. Officials looped this adjustment in the rules …
Did You Notice? … That for many on the Sprint Cup circuit road course racing has become an acquired skill. Sure, the quality of competition has gone up significantly in recent years; months of testing and resources are benchmarked to help series regulars at both Sonoma and Watkins Glen. We’ve seen old road course ringers like Boris Said and Ron …
Did You Notice? … Halfway through this Sprint Cup season there’s at least a few new drivers in position to spice up the Chase. Here’s the 16-driver postseason grid after Richmond last September compared to how things stand through 13 races… 2015 Chasers 2016 Chase As Of Now Clint Bowyer Ryan Blaney Kurt Busch Kurt Busch Kyle …
Did You Notice? … The deal Dollar General had with Joe Gibbs Racing runs fewer and farther between in this sport? I took a look at the 2001 full-time Sprint Cup grid, the first year the series went to 36 races and looked at how many teams signed a primary sponsor for the same number …
Did You Notice? … Jimmie Johnson has won a Sprint Cup race at Dover in six of the past seven seasons? It’s a streak of remarkable consistency in line with Johnson’s overall dominance at the Monster Mile. In total, Johnson has won seven times at this one-mile oval since the start of the 2009 season. How …
Did You Notice? … Jim Utter’s comments on SIRIUS XM Tuesday morning expressing confusion about how more wasn’t made of steering wheels coming off race cars after Talladega? One of Motorsport.com‘s main editors made reference to the fact there was an uproar about restrictor plate racing safety, an issue that’s been front and center to various degrees for …
Did You Notice? … Talladega truly is the most unpredictable race on the NASCAR circuit? OK, I know you hear that all the time. But let’s take a look at the type of upsets that have occurred here the last seven years…. Spring 2009. Brad Keselowski wins in a James Finch-owned car that’s a single-car program, only went full-time …
Did You Notice? … Only four different engine combinations are currently in position to make NASCAR’s Chase? A quick look at the top 16 gives us the following breakdown…. Hendrick Motorsports: 7 Joe Gibbs Racing (via TRD): 5 Team Penske (via Roush Yates motors): 2 Richard Childress Racing (Earnhardt Childress motors): 2 In a modern racing world where multi-car efforts have increasingly …
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