2013 Sprint Cup, Nationwide, And Camping World Truck Series

[Massa 0]

Switzerland's Cyndie Allemann races an Audi R8, which makes her even better.

[Massa 0]

I enjoyed the Nationwide race yesterday. It may have been the softer tire compound, but the racing was pretty entertaining.

Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing were just dominant, but a pit road speeding penalty and an alternate strategy saw him climb from P23 to P1 and then P5 to P1 at different stages in the race. It was pretty exciting; any chance you get to see Kyle Busch up front is a good one.

Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Larson had a great battle for twelfth-ish, too. Johnson's such a master of tricking the other driver into an error, and he did it again today. Larson will learn a lot about stock car racing if he keeps getting to race with guys like that. It was really nice of ESPN to show those battles deeper in the field; they normally don't, but I guess Larson's a big draw, so they did. I hope they start doing it for more drivers. There was some good stuff going on in that 5-12 range and we saw a lot of it.

Sam Hornish, Jr. took an aerodynamically disadvantaged car on worn tires and scored a finish well above where he had qualified, practiced, and been running prior to his wreck. Days like that win you championships. The Penske team did an excellent job, and it was great to see some different strategies at the end of a race for once (Keselowski, Hornish, and two other Ford teams decided to bypass the final pit stop. They all made it on fuel, despite being projected around 9 laps short).

Good stuff. Race begins around 20:14 UTC today. About 45 minutes from the time I made this post.

[JHS18 0]

Cool race.

Enjoyed the finish, with Edwards, Johnson and Keselowski closing up on each other. Nice move by Denny Hamlin right at the end too, great battle between him and Johnson right to the flag. It seemed pretty certain that Edwards would win after that last restart, but really nice battle between Johnson, Keselowski and Hamlin. Brilliant stuff.

Another good run for Bowyer too. Seemed like he had a fast car today, so good to see him up there again. Second race in a row I've watched in its entirety, and yeah, I am enjoying it. Looking forward to the race at Las Vegas next weekend already.

Some funny commentator moments I picked out today as well, which always makes a race entertaining:

"Turn five"

"That orange car" - talking about Kenseth. Either my monitor's not very good or something, because I'm sure it looked red.

"When the engine's not running, no fuel is being used" - my brain literally exploded from that technical insight.

[Massa 0]

Glad you enjoyed it...

...because I sure didn't!

[JHS18 0]

Haha, why not?

[Massa 0]

I don't want to ruin your enjoyment and bring everything down, so I'll keep it short.

I think I just get fatigued by the length of the races. They're too long for me to watch start-to-finish, but too short to take a break from as you'll miss a ton.

So, to stay positive, I'm going to focus more on the Nationwide Series this year. The races are ~2 hours long which is a better length for me. You also get a good mix of superstars (Busch, Keselowski), former Cup drivers (Sadler, Smith, Hornish, Vickers), journeyman drivers (Allgaier, Scott), and future stars (Dillon, Bayne, Larson). I prefer the look of the Cup cars, of course, though the Camaro in Nationwide's pretty neat, I think. Even if it's shaped nothing like a Camaro (maybe that's why it's neat).

I'm glad you're enjoying the Cup races, though. Stock cars are still fun and the cars look great. It's so different from any other kind of racing, which makes it an interesting change of pace.

[Massa 0]

FOX will be moving Cup races to FS1 (formerly SPEED) in 2015.

NASCAR is going back to cable...yet it's still getting the huge revenues, so the sport itself won't be changing.

In fact, I think there would have been more pressure for change had it stayed on network. The networks wanted shorter races (and I do, too); cable will let them run on and on like one of my posts does. I just have a hard time seeing casual fans enduring a 3.5 hour race, but hey, no need for me to be negative. I don't get SPEED/FS1, so I won't need to care, now will I?

44 entries for Cup's 43 spots. 43 for Nationwide's 40. With a ton of 1.5-mile tracks in NASCAR, Las Vegas will be a good indicator of what Gen-6 can do, though I think I'll take the SparkNotes version of it second-hand over seeing for myself.

[JHS18 0]

Really enjoyed both the Nationwide and Cup races at Bristol. It's really cool that it is so short you're constantly overtaking or being overtaken. A lot of two and three-wide stuff in both races, and that finish between Busch and Larson in the Nationwide race was very good. Good to see Bowyer have a better run of it this week too after being pretty anonymous last week at Las Vegas.

Enjoyed the fall out between Logano and Hamlin as well.

[Massa 0]

Sounded like the Cup race was regarded by many as the best of the year so far. I'll have to look for highlights.

The NNS finish was, indeed, cool. I'm no Kyle Larson fan, but it's hard to deny that he has the potential to be something really big in NASCAR.

[JHS18 0]

How old is he? He looked about 15 when they interviewed him after the race...

[Massa 0]

He's 20. Will be 21 this summer. The minimum age for Cup and NNS is 18, while it's only 16 for the Truck Series (for certain tracks, it is still 18).

[bumpsteer 0]

The Cup race was pretty enjoyable, which no doubt means that Bruton will reconfigure the track again. I'm certain the 27 people that attended the race liked it.

[Massa 0]

Both Bristol dates go to Las Vegas.

[JHS18 0]

What a finish to that race. Incredible stuff for the last twenty laps or so. Just hope Hamlin's okay. That was a big hit...

[Massa 0]

Videos of the finish, the fight, and the interview, for anyone like me who missed it:

http://deadspin.com/auto-club-400-ends-with-denny-hamlin-in-an-ambulance-an-458624294

The way Logano races, I am not surprised to see this. I guess if people want to call Vettel "unsporting today," I'd like to hear their opinions on Stewart, Logano, etc.

Kyle Busch is a very exciting driver, and that classic three-wide while the two leaders make contact move hasn't been seen in a while. I just hope Hamlin is okay. I don't like to see close racing marred by a huge hit like that, and then by drivers acting like children in the pit lane, personally. I realize that makes me the opposite of the target audience, as NASCAR seems to gear their advertising to focus on wrecks and fights.

A crazy day of racing from the Grand Prix at 4:00 AM to this one in the evening. I would love to see another angle of Busch's outside pass there from a wider shot. The tight one is cool because you don't expect Busch to come out of nowhere, but now I want to see the details of it. He's a really impressive driver, and if the results could ever match that, he'd be so dominant. It's never dull when Busch is in it...

I'll have to watch the contact with Logano and Hamlin a few more times, too. It's almost instinctive to just assume Logano is in the wrong these days; reputation call on my part.

Interesting.

[Massa 0]

Also, looking through the results:

3. Kurt Busch

8. Paul Menard

15. Casey Mears

16. A.J. Allmendinger

These drivers are all having a very good start to their season, especially Busch, Mears, and Allmendinger, as they are not in very good equipment.

[JHS18 0]

I guess I'm not the best to comment on who was at fault given I haven't been following NASCAR all that long.

But for what it is worth, I'd say they both seemed to blame. It was six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. Both were racing each other very aggressively in the last few laps and it looked kinda inevitable that it was always going to end in tears given what happened last weekend.

You're right about one thing though: some F1 fans sure would get a shock if they ever watched NASCAR race. The Webber/Vettel situation is handbags at dawn, if that, compared to what's just gone on here.

Hoping Hamlin makes a full recovery. Read from a couple of different sources that he's re-aggravated his back injury. If that's true, I hope it isn't too bad and won't mean he'll miss any races or anything like that.

[Massa 0]

You watch more NASCAR than I do.

I'd agree; no one's fault there. Just hard racing that went wrong. I wanted to blame Logano based on reputation, but they both played their parts.

If Hamlin's cleared to drive, he'll start, at the very least, to collect the points (starting driver gets points, even if someone else takes over and finishes. Hamlin once took over for Aric Almirola in a Nationwide race...and won. So, Aric Almirola is actually credited as winning the race. Weird, right)?

Last time he had a relief driver? Casey Mears, but he never got in. Hamlin had knee surgery and drove through it. Hopefully, this won't be so serious, and he can do the same. Otherwise, I'd expect a call-up for one of their Nationwide guys, Sadler or Vickers.

I'm interested to see how NASCAR reacts to all this. They don't penalize driving (in fact, Logano was elevated to P3 in the results, while Kurt Busch was demoted to P5. I have no idea why), so I guess only the Stewart/Logano stuff would get looked at. I assume the mysterious probation and a small fine, if anything, for them. There truly are no rules, which I guess helps set NASCAR apart. It's certainly what a lot of the fans like, even if I'd prefer a little bit of discipline now and then.

[Massa 0]

I think I need to stick to this thread and this thread only for my NASCAR information. I ventured out into the world of NASCAR opinions and really regret it.

I'm not sure how there's a "side" to be taken in the Logano versus Stewart stuff. Logano blocked. Stewart ended Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s season blocking at Talladega last year. The other 41 drivers all block, too. It's almost as if blocking is legal in NASCAR and helps you to hold your position, and they're all out there racing to finish ahead of everyone else.

You only need to see Smith's comments, even in light of what happened, after the Nationwide race at Daytona to get an idea of how blocking is seen in NASCAR. No matter the consequences, Smith said he'd do it again and again. I don't know of any NASCAR driver who doesn't agree. As long as it's allowed in NASCAR, it will happen. Imagine that.

Now, would I like a blocking rule in NASCAR? I don't know. However, there isn't one, so how can people get angry about it?

[JHS18 0]

Latest on Denny Hamlin:

"JGR announces Denny Hamlin has L1 compression fracture in his back. Might miss some races and/or need surgery."

[Massa 0]

There can never be too much praise for SAFER barriers, and never be too many around oval circuits, in my opinion. I've seen tons of hits into the SAFER barrier that, had it been without one, like Denny's wreck was, would just not have ended well.

One nice thing about the Chase's "Wild Card" policy is that it's not imperative for Hamlin to race in Martinsville. In the past, a driver would almost always start the race, get out under a caution, and let another driver finish. Now, Hamlin can probably afford to miss a race or two if he needs to. As long as he is twentieth or higher in points, he is eligible to be the Wild Card if he has the most wins of the drivers P11 to P20. Missing races won't end his season.

That's a good thing because it lets Hamlin recover if he needs to. He will not have to risk further injury or delayed recovery. The priority should be recovery, and I think it gets to be because of the Wild Card situation.

They'll decide later this week, which is fair. Brian Vickers is in the #55 for Michael Waltrip this weekend, so Elliott Sadler would seem to be the leading candidate to be in the car, as he drives for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series.

Hopefully, Hamlin will be fine to race soon. You never like to see someone like that go down because he's almost always a factor in the races...

...and speaking of the races, I think I need to start recording them. I've missed a lot of action it seems, and I could alleviate the problem with the length of the races by fast forwarding through safety car periods. Not sure why I never thought of this. It seems like there's certainly a lot of interesting things happening this year from the last two weeks.

[JHS18 0]

Yes, the last two races have been very entertaining in particular, but to be honest I've enjoyed watching them all this year. Even Las Vegas was a good race with Kenseth and Kahne fighting it out right till the end, and I enjoyed the Texas race too, even though you've said you didn't.

But really, this was the first race I've watched where I didn't have a clue who was going to win. A few races it has been pretty certain when the leader has got out front that they were going to win and not really get any pressure - but with this race it was really great to see the likes of Logano, Hamlin, the Busch brothers and Stewart all being in contention right at the end. Any one of those five looked like they could win it, which is how it should be.

Agree with you about Stewart - not sure why he was so upset given it was his blocking at Talladega last year that caused absolute carnage.

Is the Martinsville race this weekend or next? Wasn't sure if NASCAR would be racing on the Easter weekend or not.

[Massa 0]

I assumed there was a race this weekend with the way everyone was talking about Denny Hamlin.

Apparently, the race isn't until April 7...

...so why is there such an urgency for everyone to know if he can race or not? They have a long time to decide. I should have known NASCAR journalists would be making a huge fuss over nothing.

I'm also disappointed because it means no racing this weekend. I guess it's easy for me to say that when I don't celebrate the holiday and wouldn't understand why drivers/teams might want to be home this weekend, or why fans might be too busy to watch. Just another Sunday to me, and only my perspective matters.

[JHS18 0]

You could always watch BTCC. It is almost identical to NASCAR - lots of crashes, far too many safety cars, questionable driving standards, commentators you can't understand and the probability of a fight before the day is out.

[bumpsteer 0]

I assumed there was a race this weekend with the way everyone was talking about Denny Hamlin.

Apparently, the race isn't until April 7...

...so why is there such an urgency for everyone to know if he can race or not? They have a long time to decide. I should have known NASCAR journalists would be making a huge fuss over nothing.

I'm also disappointed because it means no racing this weekend. I guess it's easy for me to say that when I don't celebrate the holiday and wouldn't understand why drivers/teams might want to be home this weekend, or why fans might be too busy to watch. Just another Sunday to me, and only my perspective matters.

Jim Utter spent most of yesterday shaking his head on twitter about Jeff Gluck doing an interview with Denny (that Denny himself requested) as he was leaving the hospital. The fact that he has a job and your masterpieces go unrecognized is a travesty of the highest order.