Holding A Pretty Wheel

Summer in NASCAR is a time when teams can either thrive or slump under the sun, and those without wins begin to sweat a little when they look at the playoff scenario.  Teams see tracks for a second time and some find that something they need. Others coast a bit, …

Ryan Blaney spent Sunday evening behind the wheel of an iconic race car, trying to find Victory Lane in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing machine. Entering Charlotte with a fourth-place finish at Kansas Speedway and a win in the second stage of the Monster Energy Open, Blaney had started …

Usually, you take what a defeated racer says after the race with a grain of salt.  He’s hot, he’s tired, he’s frustrated.  Sour grapes abound on his vocal vine. But when the frustrated words come from a seven-time champion who rarely says a negative word about anyone, let alone the …

In NASCAR, two seconds is an eternity.  Two seconds behind the leader is a distant second place.  Two seconds is the difference between a good pit stop and a slow one.  Two seconds is plenty of time to avoid a crash. Two seconds is also the amount of time that …

NASCAR announced Thursday (April 20) that the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be moved from its original position as a night race Oct. 7 to the afternoon of Oct. 8. The move looks to help spruce up competition by making it a day race at a track …

As elusive as the printed form is, NASCAR has rules.  Sports in general have policies covering everything from how the game is played to how players dress for competition.  The rules put the competition on equal ground, at least to start. There are good teams and those who don’t perform …

The checkered flag flew at Martinsville Speedway as the sun dipped below the grandstand, lengthening the shadows over the backstretch.  Brad Keslowski took his victory lap as the rest of the field pulled onto pit road, battered and bruised (both cars and egos). Teams rolled their cars back onto the …

Between the fisticuffs on pit road, on-track contact and post-race inspection infractions the last two weeks, the reaction by fans and media members has run the gamut from hysteria to hypocrisy. Many jeered when Kyle Busch walked up to Joey Logano and threw a phantom right cross, while others cheered as …

It’s hard for me to believe it will be 20 years this summer since the day that irrevocably changed me, but there it is. Almost half my life, though I’d like to fib and say it’s been most of it, or something, because otherwise I feel old. I was a …

Raise your hand if NASCAR’s announcement on Monday left you a little shocked and confused. Oh, good, so it’s not just me. Segmented races? Championship points?  Playoff points?  It’s enough to make you wring your hands in despair. It’s certainly going to take some time to digest and learn who …