The Underdog House

Think Small If there is a lesson to be learned from the 2018 season and the underdog teams, it’s that the right combination of team and driver is everything. Perhaps the biggest example is one of a small-team driver moving into fully-funded equipment and flourishing, as Aric Almirola has when …

Think Small Martinsville Speedway sure feels like a long time ago for the underdogs of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Following what was an uplifting weekend for some at the half-mile, the back half of the series came to Texas Motor Speedway. The 1.5-miler gave us the best non-plate …

Think Small Similar to the Martinsville Speedway lights, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series underdogs showed a little bit of light in Sunday’s (Oct. 28) First Data 500. With the race ending in one of the most thrilling finishes in recent memory, there was also some good news for the …

Think Small Following a recent trend in this year’s playoffs, Sunday’s (Oct. 21) Hollywood Casino 400 from Kansas Speedway fit what most people would define as a clean race. With three cautions (one non-stage) flying across 267 laps, it tied the least amount of yellow in track history, spanning back …

Think Small This weekend was it for the underdogs of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. No longer will they end their interviews with, “We still have Talladega out there, so we’re looking forward to that.” And no longer will they have more than a slight chance at scoring a …

Think Small With 60 laps to go in Sunday’s (Oct. 7) Gander Outdoors 400, people were asking: “Could it happen?” After two caution-free stages and a third green-flag run of nearly 100 laps, Dover International Raceway was near completion without a straight caution flag for danger or incident. In other …

Think Small Road courses present a unique opportunity for underdog teams. Much in the same way as restrictor plate races, they are an equalizer in terms of minimizing the performance gap between the haves and the have nots. The absence of the cars’ dependance on aero also contributes to the …

Think Small This weekend at Richmond Raceway stood in stark contrast to the previous weekend in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, where 12 cautions flew at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This time, the 0.750-mile track in Saturday night’s (Sep. 23) Federated Auto Parts 400 came out quiet with only …

Think Small Every year once the NASCAR playoffs kick off, it’s tougher than usual to see what’s going on with the small teams of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Most of the attention, updates and TV time is directed to the 16 title contenders, and rightfully so. But while …

Think Small When the four days of rain finally ended for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the next form of nature was yet to make an appearance. It not only affected the underdogs of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series but the XFINITY Series as well with a doubleheader being run mid-day …