Category: NASCAR Blogs

*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day. Tire wear makes racing better, right? Richard: The answer to this question is absolutely. More tire wear results in pit strategy becoming more of a factor. In Kansas we saw teams short pit, almost like they do in Formula 1, trying to hit pit road a couple of laps before the driver just ahead in hopes of getting back out on track and making up ground…

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*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day. Is Rick Hendrick the greatest NASCAR team owner of all time? Richard: In his post-race media availability at Darlington on Sunday night, Southern 500 winner Kyle Larson stated that, “Rick has stamped himself as the greatest owner of all time.” That statement came as the result of a media member pointing out that Hendrick Motorsports is on the brink of reaching 300 NASCAR Cup Series wins….

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*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day. What driver will make a deeper run in the NASCAR Playoffs than anyone is expecting? Richard: I’m not sure that a former champion who has as much experience as he does fits the question or not but I am going to say that Brad Keselowski makes it at least into the ‘Round of 8’. Even though it hasn’t been the No. 6 Ford doing the winning,…

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The quick and easy answer for the question posed in the headline of this piece is yes. So-called racing purists may argue that the Daytona International Speedway is known for massive crashes, unpredictable drafting that can push whoever happens to be fortunate enough to be in the lane with momentum to the front of the pack, and team/manufacturer groupings that cause those in each group to be obligated to follow the group-think strategy. Much of what happens to a particular driver is out of that driver’s control. Based on that explanation, a track that has so many variables outside one’s…

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*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day. What has happened to the road courses? Richard: When the Next Gen came along it looked promising in the beginning. Racing on the much-scorned intermediate tracks seemed to improve. And if that proved to be a long-term fix, it would be great news for NASCAR. After all, the road courses and short tracks would take car of themselves, right? Well, that is not proving to be…

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*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day. Indy RC vs Indy oval? Richard: It seems like the races held on the Indianapolis Road Course have been a bit hit or miss. The 2023 version had the feel-good story of Michael McDowell and his lesser financed Front Row Motorsports team winning to lock themselves into the NASCAR Playoffs, but in reality, the racing was pretty good though not necessarily great. Overall, it was a…

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Bubba Wallace entered last weekend’s ‘Verizon 200 at the Brickyard’ NASCAR Cup Series race in relatively good shape as far as making the NASCAR Playoffs is concerned. The 23XI Racing driver was 15th in the standings a full 36 points ahead of Michael McDowell(16th) and 38 markers above the cutline. However, that race held on the road course at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway proved to be a worst case scenario for the Mobile, Alabama native. Neither Wallace nor McDowell had a victory to their credit entering that event but due to the fact that, unlike last season, there had…

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If Chase Elliott were to be placed in a do or die type scenario to save his NASCAR Cup Series life in terms of making it into the NASCAR Playoffs or not, Watkins Glen International would almost certainly be the track any fan of the popular driver would want for that race. And this weekend, that is pretty much the scenario at hand. After missing six races due to an injury suffered as the result of a snowboarding accident and one event due to suspension, Elliott currently ranks 19th in the Cup Series standings 80 points behind Bubba Wallace, who…

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Noah Gragson has never been one to shy away from controversy, and on Saturday morning, his own actions have once again placed him in the eye of a storm. It was revealed that the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet’s own team, Legacy Motor Club, had suspended him for actions that, as the press release announcing the suspension said, “do not represent the values of our team”. The organization stated at that time the rookie pilot would be replaced for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway by NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry. NASCAR then took the team’s…

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