Race Weekend Central

Friday Faceoff: Revamping Rules and Racetracks

2008 O'reilly Raceway Park Nns Landscape Nascar Media

(Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

After a Saturday night rainout, the Bank of America 500 ran on Sunday afternoon. Should NASCAR consider making it a day race, as it was through 2002? Mike Neff, Short Track Coordinator: At this point, I don’t know. I hate night races. There should be two night races per season: the Bristol night race and …

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Happiness Is… New 2016 NASCAR Rules Package

The NASCAR Sprint Cup field races during the 2015 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

(Photo Credit: Yvonne Leonard, Frontstretch)

Editor’s Note: P. Huston Ladner is off this week. In his place steps our king of sarcastic wit, Matt McLaughlin, who puts a positive spin on some NASCAR news as of late. Happiness Is… A New 2016 NASCAR Rules Package: Looking across the desolate landscape of modern day stock car racing through the thick black …

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Beside the Rising Tide: New NASCAR Excitement Manufactured Daily

2015 Bank Of America 500 Joey Logano Charlotte Cup Mike Neff

(Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

“Curiouser and curiouser” as our old friend Alice might have said during her field trip down the rabbit hole. (And trust me, me and Alice spent a lot of time together during my hard partying years. Go ask Alice.) Even while the races themselves have become as tepid as clambakes at a Tupperware sales conventions …

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Friday Faceoff: Franchises, Replacements, and John Wes Townley

2015 Richmond Ii Cup Tony Stewart Clint Bowyer Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

There has been lots of talk about franchising in NASCAR’s top divisions. Is this the right direction for the sport to look in for the future? Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: Maybe. It depends on how it’s done and what it includes. While I don’t like the idea of new teams being essentially locked out of …

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Beside the Rising Tide: Nothing To See Here

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Photo Credit: Zach Catanzareti, Frontstretch

In the Dark Ages, there were “scientists” determined to find a way to turn dross metals into gold, back in an era when the periodic table, the bane of high school chemistry classes, was still centuries away. What fans saw at Dover on Sunday was NASCAR’s alchemists doing their best to contrive excitement when there …

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Friday Faceoff: Tony Stewart’s Final Season

2015 Chicago Cup Tony Stewart Helmet Ica

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Two of the heavy Sprint Cup title favorites, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, are in danger of falling out of contention after Dover.  Is this harmful to the sport and/or the current Chase format? Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: If the television ratings are to be believed, not really sure what could make things any worse. …

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Beside the Rising Tide: A Fine Line For Brad Keselowski On Restart

2015 Loudon Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Paul Wolfe Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Down here it’s just winners and losers, baby, And don’t get caught on the wrong side of that line… -Bruce Springsteen- Be Careful of What You Wish For – Everyone from the drivers right down to us lowly fans asked NASCAR to start policing their own restart rules after some very controversial calls the last …

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Friday Faceoff: Is Kevin Harvick Toast?

2015 Chicago Cup Kevin Harvick Josh Wise Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Kevin Harvick finished 42nd at Chicago after a mid-race crash. Can he rebound and make the cut after Dover, or is his repeat bid toast? Mark Howell, Senior Writer: As the dearly departed Yogi Berra used to say, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” That said: Harvick must win one of the next two races; …

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Beside the Rising Tide: If I Ran the Chase

Joey Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon in conversation between practices for the myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­­

Is there any better way to spend a late summer Sunday afternoon that devoting four hours of the rapidly dwindling sunlit hours watching an event you know will most likely leave you alternatively bored and angry? But in contemporary NASCAR racing there’s still always room for an occasional surprise. Even given my cynical nature, I …

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Friday Faceoff: Who Are the Early Chase Favorites?

Matt Kenseth leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup field to a restart during the 2015 Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Speedway

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

The race at Richmond International Raceway last weekend was tame by short track standards. What caused the lack of action, and should fans be worried? Jerry Jordan, Contributor: There was plenty of action at Richmond. No, it wasn’t what most are accustomed to when they go to a short track, but there were a lot …

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Beside the Rising Tide: NASCAR S.O.S.

2015 Richmond Ii Cup Aric Almirola Pack Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein Hey, who knew? After the much ballyhooed and largely successful experiment with a new rules package at Kentucky, NASCAR reverted to their tried-and-true 2015 rules package which has consistently delivered substandard results and stood back as if they expected …

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Friday Faceoff: Can NASCAR Sustain Southern 500 Success?

Kurt Busch goes for a spin during the 2015 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

The Bojangles’ Southern 500 was by most counts a success with the new aero package and tires matched to it; ratings were the best for a Labor Day weekend show since 2007. Can NASCAR sustain the success of the Southern 500 and in general, and what could be done differently? Summer Bedgood, Senior Editor: I …

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