Is The Competition Getting Better in NASCAR? Or Is It Still the Same Old Guys Winning Week After Week... Recently we had a discussion about the competition level in NASCAR. We wondered why NASCAR racing was starting to get a little on the boring side. But we have all been told over the past few years that the competition in the Cup series has been getting better. With the trend of racing organizations growing to 4 race teams and the implementation of the COT we were curious if the competition was actually getting better. So we took the race results over the past 31 years and after looking at the data we may have found that NASCAR reached a peak moment a few years ago but since the implementation of the COT this trend has started to back off. Granted, every year for 31 years there have been multiple winners. The difference over the years is the amount of different winners. You'll notice that in the late 70's and early 80’s the same names kept popping up. This trend even continued into the late 90's when the trend began to change a bit. Read more...
Since When Has NASCAR Been So Wimpy?
"I’m honored to be on the race track with guys like Jimmie (Johnson) and Jeff (Gordon) and Tony (Stewart). Those are the guys who are the best in the business. We came up short. That was short-track racing. I would’ve done the same thing to him, and if it comes back around, I will do the same. It’s just the way it is. In Martinsville, you have to battle for every inch, and I was trying to protect a spot, and he was trying to get it at the end of the race. That’s the way it goes."Read More...
Up and Comer Tyler Reddick Debuts in a Late Model On February 12, 2009 young Tyler Reddick stunned a packed Florida crowd by racing his way into the first feature of the 2009 WoO Late Model Season at Volusia Speedway Park. In the process he made WoO history by becoming the youngest driver to ever make a feature. Adding to the importance of the tremendous feat was the fact that he did it in his first attempt in WoO competition. Tyler bested 50 other Late Model racers by posting an 11th place qualifying run to place himself on the outside pole of his heat. At the start of the heat race Tyler had to make some evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision and was shuffled back to 5th place. After a yellow flag, Tyler quickly realized he needed to pick up 2 positions to make the feature. Read more...
Scott Speed Proves He Has More Than Just a Fast Name
But does his style really matter? This young man can drive a stock car. Unlike much of his open wheel predecessors Speed has shown promise immediately. In his very first ARCA/ReMax series start at Talladega Superspeedway in October of 2007, Speed finished with a resounding 7th place. His first ARCA Re/Max victory came on the intermediate Kansas Speedway. Since that first win in a stock car, Speed has won at Dover in the Craftsman Truck series and went back to back in the ARCA Re/Max series winning at both Kentucky and Berlin Speedway in July. If there’s any doubt that this young man can wheel a stock car a simple look at his statistics in the heavier cars will squash those doubts. Read More...
Statistically Is Kurt Busch Better Off At Penske?4/13/2008 It’s been almost 3 years since Kurt Busch shocked the racing world by announcing his intentions to move from Roush Racing to Penske Racing. The defending NASCAR champion at the time was seeing much success at Roush so his decision was seen as a huge surprise. Since moving to Penske, Kurt Busch has seen some success but since analyzing the numbers we found that he was twice as succesful with Roush. Only time will tell if his move to Penske was a smart move
But in the meantime it seems as though he could have been quite successful had he remained at Roush. No one knows for sure the details of the contract with Penske so it’s hard to say if his choice was more financially sound. But we thought it was all about winning races and championships. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
Oh Where Oh Where Has My Bristol Gone?
It was the helmet tossing, fist throwing, car crashing excitement that brought the fans. It was the single groove, move them out of the way to win, fast paced grudge fest that kept them coming back for years and years. It was 18+ cautions, twisted metal, cars hitting the wall at full speed and high emotions. It was where friends became enemies and drivers would do anything to make a pass. It was Dale Earnhardt spinning out Terry Labaonte for the win. It was Kurt Busch pushing Matt Kenseth out of the way for a chance at the lead.Read More...
What Does it Take to Break a HANS Device?By: HANS Performance Products The only injury was to his HANS Device - As James Bond might have said, "cracked, not broken." HANS Performance Products CEO Mark Stiles commented, "We were pleased to see Kyle shrug off such a dramatic wreck. It takes a lot to even produce a slight stress crack in a HANS Device. It worked as designed, and was ready for more action - like its driver!" He continued, "HANS Devices are the only head and neck restraints built to the strength standards demanded in all major international race series. While other manufacturers are content with simply meeting the requirements of the SFI 38.1 performance specification, we go the extra mile. It just makes sense." Inventor of the HANS Device, Professor Bob Hubbard added, "Since we introduced the first HANS Device more than 20 years ago, we have focused our research and development on providing racers with robust and reliable products. Wrecks like Kyle's confirm the value of this investment. Having over 35,000 HANS Devices in use worldwide means we get a lot of feedback on how they work, time and time again, to help save lives and livelihoods."
Kentucky Speedway Needs a Nextel Cup Event6/18/2007 In the meantime Kentucky Speedway is alive and thriving with great racing. Some of the best racing in the Busch series schedule happens at this 1 1/2 mile D-shaped oval. The track was obviously built with the fan in mind. High pitched grandstands and a lowered infield provide great views of the track. The track is shaped similarly to Las Vegas, Fontana, Kansas, Nashville and Chicagoland but the transitions in the turns set this track apart from the others. This configuration lends itself to some very exciting racing. 3 wide racing and evasive moves are commonplace at this very intense track. So is there room in the schedule for Kentucky and NASCAR to both get what they want. We certainly think so and it’s about time for NASCAR to address the schedule and make changes that would be beneficial to everyone. Getting a track in the New York market would be an easy fix. Currently Pocono Raceway has 2 events, which serve this market. We feel if NASCAR finally breaks ground in the New York area that Pocono could go to 1 race and move the other to that track. Adding a track to the Northwest could be addressed by taking one of the Martinsville races, preferably the one in the chase. Build another short track around Seattle and that problem is solved. So where would Kentucky fit into the schedule? It seems pretty simple to us. Both Phoenix and New Hampshire have 2 races. New Hampshire serves a smaller market and only has seating for 91,000. The New Hampshire race fans would also gain from the track in the New York market. Removing one of the New Hampshire races would open up the schedule for Kentucky. Phoenix is only 5hrs from Las Vegas by car. Removing the spring Phoenix event would allow race fans in that area to get a race in nearby Las Vegas. At some point Kentucky will have to be addressed. We don’t think that fighting NASCAR in court is the way to go but the track needed some attention. Someday the track may get a sympathetic judge similarly to the judge AT&T and Childress had in their fight to get AT&T on the car. Instead we feel NASCAR should take the initiative and consider Kentucky in its schedule. Leaving Kentucky Speedway to fend for itself only lends itself to more bad PR for the sport. Good luck Kentucky Speedway fans. We are in your corner. |
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I could hardly believe the interviews I heard after the running of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. An elated Denny Hamlin exited from his car with nothing but praise for Jimmie Johnson, who had just moved the young driver out of the way to capture the win. Race announcers spared no time during the race reminding viewers how hungry Hamlin was for a win. So I am certain a lot of fans were expecting a verbal barrage from the driver during the interview. Instead we got: 
Just like something out of the Disney movie Cars, a hot shoe with a fast name has surfaced on the NASCAR scene. He’s not your typical American stock car driver. He likes pedicures and he dresses quite European. He looks like he would still fit in on the paddock at Monte Carlo or lying on a yacht with Kimi Raikkonen. 
For years fans have flocked to Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol has long been the most coveted ticket in NASCAR. It wasn’t just the charm of this jewel nestled in the Tennessee hills that brought the flocks of fans. It wasn’t just the incredible views of the race from anywhere in the stands that kept them coming. And it wasn’t simply the endless nights of partying in the campgrounds that drove them here. 
Kyle Bush tried, but failed, to break his HANS Device in a "big-one" at this past weekend's Busch Series race at Talladega. Kyle gets to walk away and race another day, thanks to the safety systems in his car, and the HANS Device he wears in every race. Three years of use and abuse, then one huge front-end wall hit, 8-barrel rolls, 2 spins on his roof, and a body slam have failed to break the HANS Device.
