It might not have been the All-Star Race we were expecting, but …

When it was announced a few weeks ago that the NASCAR All-Star Race would be held on a Wednesday night at the Bristol Motor Speedway the anticipation level for the event rose dramatically. After having had a somewhat controversial and spirited ending to the points-paying race on that same high-banked track earlier in the season, the belief of many was that a $1 million-to-win exhibition event would produce untold numbers of run-ins combined with angered drivers who would give ill-tempered post-race interviews. However, none of that really materialized in a major way. Aside from an incident in the All-Star Open…

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Is All-Star money worth making a season-long enemy?

One thing drivers have to ask themselves going into the NASCAR All-Star Race on Wednesday night at the Bristol Motor Speedway is which they would rather have- the big money paid out for winning the All-Star Race or the risk of making an enemy that might cost a points-paying race win or even a championship at a later date. Sure, $1 million is a great prize but as a driver, what is the real goal for you and your team? If a team’s real goal is to simply win races and make money while letting the chips fall where they…

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Rich’s Ramblings: People are that upset about the numbers? And other All-Star topics

From time to time I plan to drop in a brief recording to offer a few thoughts. I plan to make most of these on the way to or from a race track on some topic that may be of interest but not necessarily for a written story. In this edition of Rich’s Ramblings I talk about a few topics related to the NASCAR All-Star Race. In particular, I can’t help but wonder why people get so upset about things that don’t really matter. I give my thoughts on the choose cone that will be used in the All-Star Race…

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Cole Custer just booted someone out of the NASCAR Playoffs, and that’s a good thing

It’s one thing when a driver already near the top of the NASCAR Cup Series standings wins his first race of the season to definitely lock himself into the NASCAR Playoffs but it’s quite another thing for a driver who entered a race 25th in the standings to assure himself of an invitation to the championship-deciding stretch run with a victory. On Sunday afternoon in the Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway, rookie racer Cole Custer did exactly that when he made a four-wide pass as the cars took the white flag then beat the competition back to the…

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Is Kyle Busch too good for his own good?

Easily one of the biggest surprises of the current NASCAR Cup Series season is the fact that Kyle Busch has struggled. The two-time and defending series champion has not only failed to win a single race so far this year but he has not even garnered a single playoff point to be used when the sixteen eligible drivers begin their quest for the 2020 crown. That is to say that one of the sport’s most prolific winners has not even won a stage during this coronavirus plagued campaign. To say that the younger of the two racing Busch brothers has…

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Why are Harvick and Hamlin so much better than their teammates?

There can be little doubt that two drivers on the NASCAR Cup Series have been ahead of everyone else in 2020. And the dominance of those two has been particularly evident since returning from the layoff brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin have each won four races so far this season, including the most recent three events on the Cup Series schedule and four of the last five. And since the sport’s return to action, those drivers have captured the checkered flag seven times out of the twelve races held. The duo have led a…

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A lot going on in all directions at Indy; Let’s see how this goes

If you like racing then this Independence Day weekend should be just your thing as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway plays host to multiple firsts in the world of motorsports. It will indeed be a busy time for the first racing event at the historic track since Roger Penske assumed ownership of the hallowed property. Among the firsts to be taking place will be that IMS will, for the first time, be hosting the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series on this mid-summer holiday weekend. NASCAR has traditionally raced at the Daytona International Speedway around this time of year…

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When will there be a right time to bring Kyle Larson back?

During the racing shutdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic Kyle Larson made the foolish mistake of using a highly inappropriate racial slur while participating in an iRacing event. The language was heard over a public social media channel by numerous people. Almost immediately, the driver fell from grace and ultimately lost his NASCAR Cup Series ride with Chip Ganassi Racing as sponsors quickly disavowed themselves from the quickly disgraced driver leaving his team with no other option but to release him. NASCAR also stepped in and issued an indefinite suspension that would require the 27-year-old star to enroll in…

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Can Bubba Wallace be NASCAR’s version of Tiger Woods?

Purely on a whim, I ventured to the 1990 PGA Championship golf tournament held at the Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama. As an avid amateur hacker at the time, I was intrigued by the opportunity of getting to watch the world’s greatest players take on a very challenging course in an attempt to capture one of the sport’s major championships. Looking back on that now, one thing that seems more than a little odd is that I had made virtually no preparations for my trip yet was able to easily secure a hotel room not far…

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Bubba Pollard, Corey Heim score CARS Tour wins at Hickory

Hickory, N.C. (June 13, 2020) – A lack of fans in attendance failed to take anything away from two intense Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour races that saw Corey Heim obtain his first victory in a Late Model, while Bubba Pollard outdueled Matt Craig to obtain the win in the SLM feature. Pollard initially struggled to gain track position at the beginning of the race, but he admitted that he got his car right where he needed it to be for him to make a charge at Craig during the closing stages. “I kind of fell back there on low…

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