What a race we had today! It had everything you could possibly want. There was beating and banging, flared tempers, dramatic events, wild strategy, three wide racing (at Martinsville!), no wing, double file restarts, a race that didn’t end under caution and Jimmie Johnson wasn’t in victory lane (though this was a negative for some [...]
Archive for the ‘NASCAR at the Track’ Category
Don’t Change A Thing Martinsville…Except Your Date
March 30th, 2010 
Journo Behind Closed Doors: The Pre-Race Meeting
February 25th, 2010 T.C. In order to be successful on race day, crew members must all be on the same page. Knowing what to expect for the upcoming 500 miles (or laps… or kilometers) can mean the difference between winning or finishing second. Teams have gotten so big now, and have so many moving parts, that it’s vital for everyone to [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, Over The Wall 
Tags: Crew Chief, crew members, Jake Elder, pit crew, pre-race meeting 
4 Comments »NASCAR Perception and the Media
November 9th, 2009 Journo Following Talladega and comments by NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston on his blog, there has been a lot of discussion of the coverage of NASCAR races; more importantly how that coverage is shaping the audience’s perception of what they’re seeing. All I can say is, it’s about time. Earlier this year I took up the topic [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, NASCAR News, Racing Observations, The Business of NASCAR Tags: Bob Jenkins, Brian France, Eli Gold, ESPN, Fox, Ken Squier, Mike Joy, MLB, NASCAR, NASCAR perception, NFL, perception, Ramsey Poston, ratings, talladega, TNT, tv, TV contract, TV coverage, tv ratings 27 Comments »It’s Always Good To Come Home
October 18th, 2009 T.C. In other sports, home games happen just as often as away games. But racing is different. We spend almost the entire season at away games. The sport as a whole only gets two home weekends a year; the 600 weekend in May and the October night race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Both offer a welcome respite from the usual grind of [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, Over The Wall, Racing Observations Tags: Bruton Smith, charlotte, coke 600, Concord, Home, Humpy Wheeler, Lowes Motor Speedway, May, Memorial Day, October 2 Comments »Montoya Making Strides
July 5th, 2009 Journo I have to say when Juan Pablo Montoya entered NASCAR in 2006 I was a skeptic. I recognized the talent and credentials he brought with him: a Formula 3000 championship, a CART championship, a Indy 500 win, seven F1 wins and 11 CART/IRL wins. But I knew the transition to NASCAR would not be an [...]
The NASCAR Week That Was: April 19-25
April 26th, 2009 Journo Crew chief swaps (or the rumor of them) led the news this week. Richard Childress Racing swapped crews and crew chiefs from the No. 07 and No. 29 in an attempt to improve performance. Hendrick Motorsports was also rumored this week to be contemplating a shift; Hendrick officials denied such a plan was in place. [...]
Track Security: “Let Me See Your Pass”
April 14th, 2009 T.C. If you’ve ever worked in the sport or have had the opportunity to get a pit pass for a race, you’ve no doubt encountered the overzealous track security guard. You know, they are the guys (and gals) positioned at various points throughout the track who have been tasked to make sure people have the proper [...]
Team Radio Traffic Should Be Beyond Reproach
April 6th, 2009 T.C. So Kurt Busch got mad about his racecar at Martinsville and called Roger Penske “dude” on the radio. Who cares? Sometimes that kind of stuff happens on the radio. And you know what? It’s perfectly, 100% okay that it does. By allowing the fans, media, and others to listen to the radio traffic during the race, [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, NASCAR News, Over The Wall, Racing Observations Tags: communication, Crew Chief, Driver, Kurt Busch, NASCAR, radio, Roger Penske, scanner, team radio 20 Comments »California Doesn’t Deserve A Cup Date
February 23rd, 2009 T.C. Since we are sort of in a “talking about tracks” mood (see Kentucky, Really?), I figured I’d continue the conversation with a little bit on the Auto Club Speedway. Let me start off by apologizing to everyone who actually spends money and takes the time to attend races at this track. Thanks for showing up, but [...]
I’m In A Daytona State of Mind
February 12th, 2009 T.C. We finally made it to the opening weekend of the 2009 NASCAR season. As I write this, all we’ve got left to do is qualify the Nationwide cars, and then we can get into some real racing! Since this is sort of my last off-season post, I just wanted to share some thoughts on a few [...]
