Denny Hamlin (the black FedEx car) and David Stremme battle for the lead in front of a snarling pack during the 2008 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo Credit: Curtis Palmer / Wikimedia Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The last lap pass. It is what fans dream for. For drivers, it is either a moment of triumph, or a moment of devastation. At Talladega, the last lap pass is what’s expected.
Talladega Superspeedway has a history of producing thrilling finishes. Seven of the last 10 Sprint Cup Series races at this track have been decided on the last lap. Three of those were photo finishes, and the October 2010 finish had to go to a video review before declaring Clint Bowyer the winner. The margin of victory for the 2011 Aaron’s 499 finish was .002 seconds, which is tied for the closest finish in NASCAR history. Continue reading No Lead is Safe→
Chase Elliott scored a historic win at Darlington Raceway last Friday. He became the first rookie driver to win in their Darlington debut.
Next week, NASCAR will head to the 0.75 mile short track of Richmond International Raceway. Will we see another trend in the Nationwide Series broken at Richmond?
The last 20 Nationwide races at Richmond have been won by Sprint Cup Series drivers. Johnny Sauter was the last non-Cup Series driver to win a Nationwide race at Richmond in 2003. He moved fellow Wisconsin driver Matt Kenseth with a bump-and-run maneuver on the last-lap.
Brian Scott almost pulled off an upset in the series’ last trip to Richmond. Scott dominated and led 237 of 250 laps. However, he did not lead the one that counted the most, and Brad Keselowski stole the race to keep the Cup dominance going. Scott hopes to settle some unfinished business and become the next trend ender.
Chase Elliott is on fire. He’s won the last two races. No non-Cup Series driver has won three Nationwide races in a row since 1999. That driver was Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott’s owner. Elliott’s talent, combined with Hendrick horsepower, makes him a threat to win every weekend.
Elliott Sadler, who just came up short at Darlington, is also one to watch next week. Sadler has five top-10 finishes in his last seven starts, including one top-five. Joe Gibbs racing usually have good cars at the track. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have combined for four Nationwide wins and six Sprint Cup series wins at the short track.
Will the Cup guys continue their dominance or will we see another trend come to an end?
When a driver hits the wall at Darlington Raceway, they have earned their “Darlington Stripe”. Photo Credit: Matt Trudeau / Flickr This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is off to a competitive start as we have seen five different winners in the first five races. That trend could continue Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson loves Auto Club Raceway. It is close to home for the El Cajon, Calif. native, and he is a five-time winner at the track. He also has finished in the top-10 in nine of the last 10 races. By the way, seven of those top-10 finishes were top-three finishes. In addition, Johnson has led 716 laps in the last ten races at Auto Club Raceway, the most out of anyone. In other words, Johnson owns this track.
Bristol Motor Speedway has become synonymous with road rage. As former NASCAR champion, and current analyst on ESPN Dale Jarrett said, “Only one driver will leave Bristol happy.”
Every race seems to have conflict. Last year’s Food City 500 saw Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano scuffle after the race. Hamlin found himself again in the ring in the last race at Bristol.Hamlin triggered a multi-car pileup after his car shot up the track into Kevin Harvick. Hamlin said it was a cut tire that caused him to shoot up the track, but Harvick did not see it that way on the track. Harvick parked in front of Hamlin, exited his car, and stormed over to Hamlin’s car. NASCAR officials had to separate Harvick and the drivers’ pit crews.
Over the years, fans have seen hotheads like Harvick, and Tony Stewart lose their cool, but also drivers like Jimmie Johnson have been caught up in Bristol fever too. Even the female drivers succumb to Bristol fever, as Danica Patrick gave Regan Smith a finger wag in 2012. Now the question is who will lose their cool this year? Will an old rivalry be renewed, such as Kyle Busch vs. Brad Keselowski? Or will Kasey Kahne finally snap? Bristol fever is contagious, and you never know who it will take a hold of next.
Kyle Busch is easily one of the best NASCAR drivers out there right now. Busch has particularly dominated the Nationwide and Truck Series. For instance, he is the all-time wins leader in the Nationwide Series with 64 career wins and counting. However, his home track has eluded him.
Believe it or not, Busch does not have a Nationwide Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His average finish is 19.8 in the last 10 races there. Busch finished 30th or worse on four of those occasions including three wrecks. This is surprising considering he has a win at the track he despises most: Kansas.
Is this the year? Perhaps. Odds are that he will win one before he retires. After all, he was able to find victory lane at Vegas in the Cup Series in 2009. Busch is off to a good start, as he posted the second fastest lap in the opening practice for Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300.
Daytona lately, has been the site of some of the most unusual moments in NASCAR history.
The pace car for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ Sprint Unlimited suddenly burst into flames in Saturday night’s race. Thankfully, no one was injured.
According to USA Today, Chevrolet is still examining the car in Detroit. However, Chevy released a preliminary diagnosis on Thursday. Chevrolet Racing Marketer Jeff Chew told the media that a pinched wire caused the fire.
The midnight blue pace car only suffered minor fire damage, and Chew said the car could be reused.
NASCAR fans will always remember this infamous debacle, and thanks to technology, it will also live forever on YouTube. Let’s take a trip down memory land at some of the strangest moments in Daytona history.
The 2012 Daytona 500 had a couple firsts. It was the first time the Great American Race was run on a Monday night after rain postponed the event. It was also the first time we ever saw a jet dryer explode.
Juan Pablo Montoya made a pit stop under the seventh caution of the race. As he was trying to catch back up to the field for the restart, the track bar broke on his car, and sent him spinning out of control. Montoya’s car spun right into a working jet dryer. The impact created an enormous fireball, and the track caught on fire. The race would have to be delayed for a few hours to extinguish the flame and repair the track.
Never saw this race, but watched this clip on YouTube. Back in the day, Daytona International Speedway had a dirt bank to separate the infield from the track instead of a wall and fence. Dave Stacy gave Daytona a reason to build a wall. Stacy spun, flipped over the barrier, and rolled right into the lake. No one was hurt.
No one expects a car that is only on the track. Once in a while, the sport shows that even the pace car is not safe from the mayhem of NASCAR. Fans have seen a pace car stolen, cut a tire, and now a pace car burst into flames.
A late-race crash forced NASCAR to do a video review to determine the winner of the Truck Series race at Daytona in 2005. Jimmy Spencer and Bobby Hamilton were side-by-side for the lead at the moment of caution. Spencer assumed he won the race and drove straight to victory lane. However, the video showed Hamilton in front of Spencer when the caution lights went on. NASCAR had to ask Mr. Spencer to leave, so the actual winner could celebrate in victory lane.
On a restart with five laps to go, Sterling Marlin dove under Jeff Gordon for the lead. Gordon tried to block and forced Marlin below the yellow line. Marlin came back up onto the track and spun Gordon. Marlin suffered damage from the incident, and the right front fender started rubbing the tire. A flat tire was inevitable. Under the red flag to clean up the wreckage, Marlin exited his car and started pulling the fender. According, to the NASCAR rulebook, teams are not allowed to work on their cars under the caution. Marlin was penalized, and Ward Burton would go on to win the race.
NASCAR is back, and the season kicks off with the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway Saturday Night.
The Sprint Unlimited is an exhibition race that consists of drivers who won Coors Light Pole Awards during the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season, which means they were the fastest driver in the qualifying session, and former winners of this very race. Twenty drivers were eligible to participate, but only 18 will take to the track.
For the second year in a row, NASCAR is letting the fans help decide some of the rules for the race. Since this is an exhibition race, why not? Fans get to decide how the 75 laps and three segments are divided up, the method used to determining the starting lineup for the race, and how the field will line up to start the final segment. There are three options to choose from for each category. However, fans must have an account with NASCAR.com or must download the NASCAR Mobile App to be able to vote.
In my opinion, restrictor plate races are some of the most exciting events of the year. The plate bunches the field together and keeps the drivers in a pack that travels nearly 200 m.p.h. As a result, the plate levels the playing field, and big crashes are likely to occur. Every driver has a chance to win. Really, “it’s anyone’s race.”
Saturday’s race will feature the debut of the new look Stewart-Haas Motorsports, which perhaps is the most intriguing driver lineup in the Sprint Cup Series: Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, and Tony Stewart. This will be Busch and Harvick’s first year with the team. In case you forgot, Busch and Stewart have a little history, including an altercation at Richmond in 2013. How will these two be able to work together?
Busch, Harvick, and Stewart are all former winners of this race. Harvick and Stewart have each won this race three times. By the way, Stewart is returning from a season-ending injury after he broke his right leg in a sprint car race at Southern Iowa Speedway on Aug. 5. Stewart is eager to get back on the track, and improve his impressive 4.8 average finish in the Sprint Unlimited.
Ryan Newman, a former Stewart-Haas Racing driver will make his debut with Richard Childress Racing. Newman will be the lone entry for Childress. Although Newman is more known for flipping upside down in the plate races, he is a previous winner of the Daytona 500. Maybe his luck will change with Childress. After all, Childress was in victory lane last year for this race with Harvick.
Another group to watch is Hendrick Motorsports. Their entries of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and defending Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson boast five wins in this race. Johnson was also the top plate racer last season, scoring two wins, and four top-five finishes in six races (this counts the two non-points races at Daytona).
Prediction: Jamie McMurray. He won the last plate race at Talladega in the fall, and he has four plate wins in his career. McMurray also had three consecutive top-three finishes in this race from 2009 to 2011. This time, he breaks through.
The Pace Car 