Race Weekend Central

Couch Potato Tuesday: Did “Chasing” Ratings Help Or Hurt ESPN?

2014 Phoenix Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Jeff Gordon Pit Road Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

At the very front of the field, the Phoenix International Raceway race weekend was not the most competitive out there. In 644 total laps of racing across three series, there were only 16 lead changes, and the most dominant driver in each race led more than 84 percent of the laps (interestingly enough, Kevin Harvick …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud – Phoenix Chase Race 9 – And Then There Were Four

2014 Phoenix Ii Cup Kevin Harvick Burnout Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Key Moments – Denny Hamlin was a lap down more than once in the race thanks to a flat tire and a two tire stop that resulted in his car being less than competitive with the faster cars. Hamlin was granted the Lucky Dog under the third and seventh cautions of the race. The No. 11 …

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Nationwide Breakdown: DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veterans

2014 Atlanta Nns Chase Elliott Cockpit Cia

He started out the year in high school. Now, he is a champion. As an 18-year-old, most don’t focus on winning national championships. But then again, Chase Elliott is definitely not like an 18-year-old. With a fifth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway, he has locked up the NASCAR Nationwide Series champion – becoming the youngest in …

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Happiness Is… Drivers Not Liking Other Drivers

2014 Richmond Ii Cup Jeff Gordon Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

So this is what NASCAR wanted, eh?  Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman duking it out at Homestead for the championship.  There’ll probably be another driver there too, like Matt Kenseth, or Carl Edwards.   Then, when one of these drivers hoists the big shiny trophy everyone will collectively yawn and find something else to …

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Did You Notice? … NASCAR’s Gamble With Pandora’s Box, Hamlin’s Heist & Quick Hits

2014 Texas Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Did You Notice? … No drivers were penalized in Tuesday’s list of fines and suspensions doled out after the Texas brawl? NASCAR chose instead to come down hard on four crew members, all from Hendrick Motorsports whose punches were clearly captured either through photos or video footage obtained from the pit road incident. The punishment …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: ESPN’s Fight Night At The Races

2014 Texas Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Postrace Brawl Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

The specter of violence has reared its head once again. Cripes. Before we even get into the critique, I’ll state for the record that this fighting is passé. Not only is it played out, it’s also ludicrous and makes the sport look bad. I do a lot more pertaining to motorsports coverage than critiquing TV …

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Friday Faceoff: Feuds, Winning & the Dynamic Duo’s Demise?

2014 Martinsville Cup Martin Truex, Jr., Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, More Wreck Credit Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)

Welcome to Friday Faceoff! What do you get when you take some hot-button NASCAR topics and hand them over to our dedicated and… er, opinionated staff? A little disagreement and a whole lot of thought-provoking insight! Check out this week’s edition to see what everyone is arguing… um, we mean, discussing this week! Martinsville Speedway‘s …

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Going By the Numbers: Chase Elliott, Brian Scott Ramping Up Results as Season’s End Nears

2014 Atlanta Nns Chase Elliott Cockpit Cia

When it comes to the Nationwide Series title battle, many drivers are peaking or gaining momentum at just the right time. Don’t consider it true for everyone, but when checking out the average finishes of full-time competitors in the second-tier series over the 2014 season versus what they’ve accomplished more recently, the results are simple: …

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Five Points to Ponder: Projecting Final Four, Junior’s Good Year & Frayed Tempers

2014 Martinsville Ii Cup Brian Vickers Car Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. © 2014)

One: Final Four Up for Grabs Two races remain until we learn which quartet of drivers will contest for the Sprint Cup championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Most of us, myself included, had assumed we would find out at least one of those four names at Martinsville, but for the first time in seven Chase races …

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Pace Laps: Veterans Struggling, Rookies Succeeding and Tempers Flaring

2014 Martinsville Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Window Cia

Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Sprint Cup Series: Favorites Back in the Pack – Jeff Gordon somehow kept his car clean and was able to to score a second-place finish at Martinsville.  For a driver who probably had to hire someone to keep all of his Martinsville clocks polished and keeping time, that result is not surprise.  In fact, he had …

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Nuts for Nationwide: Regan Smith’s 2015 Could Be His Most Important Year Yet

2014 Loudon I Nns Regan Smith Ii Cia

(Photo: CIA Editorial Photography)

Silly season might not have been silly enough for Regan Smith. But that’s OK – for now. Smith, 31, just signed a one-year extension with JR Motorsports to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series again in 2015. Next year will mark his third consecutive season with the organization after getting the boot …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: The Need For NASCAR TV To Delve Deeper

2014 Loudon Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Eyes Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

So, big news: Kansas Speedway’s NASCAR races were nowhere near as irritating TV-wise as Dover was. It feels great to not want to rip your hair out, doesn’t it? Of course, everyone can see my headshot to the right of the article. I don’t have that much to rip out. However, just because I stated …

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