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Would you rather win at a “lower level” or run mid-pack at a “higher level”?

If you heard the story of a race car driver who dreamed of making it to the NASCAR Cup Series, and after a successful run through the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Xfinity series, did exactly that. But the ending of that story depends on the reader’s perspective. After making it to the top level of motorsports, the driver in question only scored one top-10 finish in 79 starts. Then after two full seasons, that driver was no longer a part of the NASCAR Cup Series. Is that driver a failure because he didn’t succeed at the “top level”?…

No winners in the Brandon Brown sponsorship saga

A young driver wins his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race driving for a small, family-owned team that had struggled from week to week to find enough sponsorship to literally keep the wheels rolling. This is the kind of stuff that leads to the making of a Disney movie. There’s no way this story could have turned out badly, right? Well, enter vulgarity and politics along with a number of poor, short-sighted decisions made along the way and this dream story turns somewhat nightmarish. Brandon Brown drove to victory for the first time in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career last…

Chase Elliott leading HMS into NASCAR’s “Road Course Era”

There have been times in NASCAR history in which it has been to the advantage of car owners to have a driver with particular skills on certain types of tracks. Having a driver who was great on short tracks was beneficial in the 1970’s and 1980’s with tracks under one mile in length making up a significant portion of the schedule in those days. After restrictor plates became a thing in the late 1980’s, it served teams well to have a driver who was adept at that type of racing, especially with the sport’s marquee event- the Daytona 500 -being…

How long will the ‘Kyle Larson Effect’ be felt in dirt racing?

There is little doubt that all forms of dirt racing have, over the past two years, received more attention within the world of motorsports than at any other time in history. Mentions of dirt races have been made during NASCAR television and radio broadcasts as well as in racing related news shows and various other types of programing. And more, social media posts by the sport’s biggest stars and most followed accounts have brought racing on clay to the forefront. Whether it be Late Models, Sprint Cars or Modifieds, there has probably never been a time when the names of…

Joey Logano finds himself in an interesting position entering 2022

Joey Logano has been with Team Penske since 2013 and has been thought of as a serious contender to win races and championships ever since that time. And while the 31-year-old driver will enter the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season thought of in that same way when the green flag is displayed on February 20th for the season opening Daytona 500, there will be a unique feel for this frequent front runner entering the new campaign. The Middletown, Connecticut racer now finds himself in an interesting position because of several factors. With the new Next Gen car making its long-awaited…

M&M’s departure not the news NASCAR needed at otherwise positive time

Over the most recent weeks and months, NASCAR has been experiencing a wave of positive energy, or a least a wave of happenings that have put that form of motorsports in the headlines on multiple occasions. A highly entertaining NASCAR Playoffs run ended the season with a dramatic battle in the season finale that produced a popular champion with an intriguing comeback story which captured the attention of many inside and outside the sport. A very public dispute between two of racing’s most high-profile stars garnered attention throughout the sports world. And the introduction of a new car has created…

Does NASCAR need to listen more to its competitors during Next Gen process?

NASCAR hasn’t always been an organization that has listened to its competitors and taken what they said into consideration when making key decisions regarding the mechanical and safety aspects of their cars. And in the early development of the Next Gen car, it appeared as if that trend was continuing to be the case as the sanctioning body, teams and drivers have worked through the process of bringing the Next Gen race car to fruition. That “disconnect” between NASCAR and the competitors, as it was labeled by driver Denny Hamlin back in July, was particularly evident regarding some of the…

2022 will be pivotal season for Chris Buescher

At the end of the 2021 NASCAR season it was announced that championship winning driver Brad Keselowski would be leaving Team Penske to take on the role of driver and co-owner of the newly rebranded Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing operation. And as a result, a number of changes have already been made as that organization makes its preparations for the upcoming 2022 campaign. New people have been brought into the fold and some longtime members of that company’s staff have been moved to new positions. One person that remains in the same position he held prior to Keselowski’s arrival is…

Look for Christopher Bell to Step Up His Game in 2022

Without question, Christopher Bell is one of the most talented young drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. And in 2021, the Norman, Oklahoma native took steps toward confirming that talent. The soon-to-be 27-year-old driver garnered his first victory at the sport’s top level which earned him a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs. Ultimately, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota advanced into the ‘Round of 12’ in the post-season before settling for a 12th place result in the final standings. Bell’s rookie campaign in the Cup Series came during the pandemic-impacted 2020 season for then JGR affiliate…

Ryan Blaney took a critical step in his career during the 2021 season

Ryan Blaney’s career seemed to be moving along at a steady but somewhat less-than-extraordinary pace coming into the 2021 season. The 27-year-old driver had won a NASCAR Cup Series race in each of the past four seasons and had made the NASCAR Playoffs in each of those years. However, there appeared to be somewhat of a ceiling on his performance as he raced for Wood Brothers Racing until 2017 and then for high-powered Team Penske. While, yes, the High Point, North Carolina native and son of top Sprint Car driver Dave Blaney had a four-year winning streak in America’s highest…