Big Name Drivers Influence NASCAR Rules Package Change for Kentucky

Photo - Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Photo – Tom Pennington/Getty Images

It’s no secret that up to this point of the season, NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have been unhappy with the current rules package for their cars. The new aerodynamics package for the 2015 has produced sub par racing for several drivers and they have no fear in expressing to NASCAR their desire for change.

The first evidence of the unhappiness from the drivers began when we learned of the newly formed, ‘Driver’s Council’ as reported in early June. Drivers include but are not limited to, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin.

The new package NASCAR announced this week, will début at Kentucky Speedway, and it’s a reasonable to surmise, that new packaged stemmed from concerns expressed by the ‘Driver’s Council.’ Continue reading

The Dillon Dilemma for Richard Childress Racing

Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, and Ty Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, walk on the grid prior to the NASCAR XFINITY Series Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 2, 2015 Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, and Ty Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, walk on the grid before the NASCAR XFINITY Series Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 2, 2015 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

From Donnie and Bobby Allison, to Kurt and Kyle Busch, and several in between, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has become accustom to seeing brothers compete and compete well. The Dillon brothers are yet another brother duo now competing across NASCAR’s top-three national series.

Coming off  an 18th-place finish at Pocono this past weekend and again stepping into a Sprint Cup Series car Sunday at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, questions are already swirling around what Ty Dillon’s plans will be for the 2016 season.

Compared to his older brother Austin, who is already part of Richard Childress Racing’s three car stable in the Sprint Cup Series, it has been a wonder trying to figure where Ty will fit into the organization within the next couple of years. Continue reading

Roush Fenway Racing: What’s the Answer?

 

Photo - Ford Racing

Photo – Ford Racing

For years Jack Roush and Roush-Fenway Racing were a team that was a heavy favorite in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Roush won its first championship in 2003 with Matt Kenseth and then added another championship in 2004 with Kurt Busch. They were a powerhouse team from 2000-2009 that was able to field five competitive race cars and the only team in the Sprint Cup Series to do so.

Since 2013 Roush Fenway racing has achieved only five wins between three different race teams. Four of those wins came from former Sprint Cup Series runner-up Carl Edwards who has moved to Joe Gibbs Racing to start the 2015 season. The other victory came from 2005 runner-up Gregg Biffle at Jack Roush’s home track, Michigan, in 2013.

Quite frankly since the end of the 2012 season the team has looked awful and Sunday’s Autism Speaks at Dover was indicative of just that point. Involved in an incident was Trevor Bayne while Ricky Stenhouse Jr had problems with his car from the drop of the green flag and Greg Biffle found himself caught up in a scuffle and finished a team high of 17th-place. Continue reading

History of All-Star Race

Photo - Getty Images

Photo – Getty Images

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star race will again head to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for what is the 31st running of the event. The All-Star race is at Charlotte every year, except the 1986 running which was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The annual All-Star race is an event that gives fans a quality race with a fan vote and has become a fan-favorite year in and year out.

Throughout the years we have seen multiples formats as NASCAR strives to make the race more compelling for fans. Those formats include. Continue reading

Sprint Cup Series Fantasy Picks and Preview at Kansas

Zachs-SCS-Preview-Fantasy-Picks

Here is my preview and fantasy picks for the Sprint Cup Series’ SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 9th.

Contenders

Joey Logano – Very fast race car and is again on the pole, needs to keep his speed and be able to keep up with the track throughout the race though, which has been his achilles heel all season. 

Jimmie Johnson – Has been relatively streaky so far this yeas but you really can’t count him out, especially on a mile and half race track. With wins at Atlanta and Texas already I think he will be a serious contender tonight.  Continue reading