Who’s Hot / Who’s Not

Bristol Motor Speedway presents a unique, early-season test for the Sprint Cup Series. The tightly packed, 0.533-mile bullring offers plenty of opportunities for passing, yet very little room for error. Those who kept their cars in good health were able to take advantage of NASCAR’s first scheduled short track. Of …

Tornadoes threatened the Daytona 500, but conditions were near-perfect in the desert Sunday. Nearly 27 years after a lightning strike ignited the main grandstand at Phoenix International Raceway, there was plenty of sunshine for The Profit onCNBC 500k. The track transformed into a refreshing desert oasis for certain drivers troubled by …

The Daytona 500 got off to a blazing start. It became apparent from the beginning that all three lanes could sustain action, a definite improvement over last season’s races at the track. All seemed balanced and just in the NASCAR universe… then the rains came. A six hour and 22 …

Who’s Hot and Who’s Not is ready to pick up where it left off last season. Defending champion Jimmie Johnson is the driver to beat in 2014 after rediscovering his title touch last year. Johnson starts his championship defense at Daytona International Speedway, where he is also the defending winner …

After rain shortened the running of the Nationwide race at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday afternoon, Mother Nature struck again once the Sprint Cup Series took the track Sunday. The Aaron’s 499 may have taken most of the day to complete after a 3.5 hour weather delay, but nothing could dampen the 2.66-mile track’s ability to produce unpredictable finishes. In the end, David Ragan crossed the finish line first after a daring set of moves left him ahead of the pack during the green-white-checker scenario brought about by the second massive crash of the afternoon.

Richmond International Raceway hosted the most unpredictable race of the season to date last weekend as the field was shuffled more than once before the checkered flag waved. Juan Pablo Montoya appeared to be ready to snap a multi-year winless streak before a late caution for Brian Vickers mixed up the leaders for a final time. In the end, Kevin Harvick was able to surpass Jeff Burton and others during the resulting green-white-checker sequence to claim his first victory of the season, and third ever at the 0.75-mile track.

Now that the checkered flag has flown over an eventful final weekend at the “World Center of Racing,” the Sprint Cup Series season is finally kicking into high gear. Jimmie Johnson finds himself in a familiar position atop the standings after Race 1 of 36, leading NASCAR’s premier drivers westward towards the desert oasis of Phoenix International Raceway. While defending champion Brad Keselowski managed to maintain the blistering pace, other perennial favorites must now pick up the pieces after faltering early. Here’s the rundown on where they presently stand in this post-Daytona 500 edition of Who’s Hot and Who’s Not.

While much of America only begins to recover from winter, NASCAR is already off to a blazing start under the sun of Daytona Beach. With the Sprint Unlimited and qualifying for the Great American Race already in the books, the action continues to heat up in preparation for the much anticipated Budweiser Duels. This Speedweeks edition of *Who's Hot and Who's Not* shows that many of the usual restrictor plate racing suspects have already emerged at the historic superspeedway leading up to Sunday’s main event, while other favorites have yet to thaw out. Here's who's on their way to a strong start for 2013...

This year’s rendition of the NASCAR offseason was action-packed, to say the least. A new car model has been vigorously tested since the checkered flag last waved at Homestead-Miami, all while several of stock car racing’s biggest names hopped onto the Silly Season carousel, landing with new organizations. Some drivers were left out in the cold, while others look to flourish aboard their newfound rides with high-profile car owners. All of them, inside the garage will be dealing with changes, from one less manufacturer afoot, to new qualifying procedures and the addition of a historic dirt track to the Camping World Truck Series circuit. All of these combine to make the 2013 schedule one of the more highly anticipated we've seen since NASCAR's peak in the mid-2000s.

Brad Keselowski couldn’t catch a break in the final 50 laps of the race at Texas, but he caught a big one at Phoenix. Jimmie Johnson’s right-front tire failure and subsequent crash put Keselowski in the catbird’s seat (20-point lead) heading to Homestead-Miami. Johnson must have left his golden horseshoe in Victory Lane at Texas, or maybe Kevin Harvick finally stole it. Either way, after Johnson caught all the lucky breaks at Texas, Keselowski caught them all at Phoenix. After Johnson’s wreck, the race wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for Keselowski, especially in the final laps. He had to avoid Jeff Gordon’s stupidity (more on that in Cold), then get to the finish while skating in oil and avoiding a massive accident on the frontstretch. It must’ve felt like Watkins Glen all over again, except the championship was on the line so it wasn’t as easy to laugh at.