Chase has been disaster for Gibbs teams

Associated Press photoTony Stewart gets off course during Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway.Two things are crystal clear to me after today’s race at Kansas Speedway, after by some miracle I managed to stay awake until the end.First, after seeing Carl Edwards wreck his car on purpose in an attempt to win the race with a move he said he learned from video games, I’m convinced there is very little he

Enough with the cookie cutters: We don’t need a second race at Kansas City

Kansas Speedway is pushing hard to get another date at their track on future NASCAR schedules. This is the same track that is owned by the International Speedway Corporation, a “separate” entity from NASCAR, which coincidentally is also run by the France family. (Let’s see … they own tracks, and they also decide who gets races. Nothing fishy there. No sir, not at all.)Though I know this will do

Analyzing Dale Jr.’s radio chatter misses the point … problems much deeper at #88 team

Associated Press photoDale Earnhardt Jr. talks to crew chief Tony Eury Jr. during a test session Tuesday at Lowe‘s Motor SpeedwayIn the minds of many, this was supposed to be his year … the year he finally followed in his father’s big footsteps.Joining the powerhouse that is Hendrick Motorsports was supposed to be the key that NASCAR's favorite son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., needed to unlock his true

Keselowski a true talent, will leave his mark in Cup series

Mark my words. This kid is a winner.I’m talking about Brad Keselowski the 24-year-old from Rochester Hills who grew up in a family that has long been one of the great mom-and-pop operations in NASCAR.Brad (pictured at right in an Associated Press photo after winning at Nashville) grew up in that atmosphere, learning from his father Bob Keselowski, a Truck Series race winner, and uncle Ron

Biffle wins exciting 3-way battle as Kyle Busch’s title hopes go Kaboom! at Dover

Associated Press photoCarl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth battle for the lead near the end of Sunday’s race at Dover. Biffle came out on top for his second straight winNow that’s what I call a race.All the naysayers who have claimed that the COT has ruined NASCAR don’t have much to say today after one of the most exciting races of the year went all the way down the wire at Dover.Dover’s

Jeff Gordon will return to form at Dover; Part-timer Martin will take the win

There’s one thing Jeff Gordon has always done well in his Cup career -- and that is win.But 2008, to be kind, has been a difficult year for the four-time champion.He and his crew chief, Steve LeTarte, have had serious trouble figuring out the COT, and the 2008 numbers for the winningest driver of the past 15 years are not kind.He has zero wins and his average finish is 15th. For most drivers,

A look at the Chase ... through Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon'

I’ve been a fan of the group Pink Floyd for longer than I’ve followed NASCAR. As a tribute to Pink Floyd’s keyboardist Richard Wright (pictured with Pink Floyd in this Associated Press photo from 1967, at far right), who lost his life to cancer yesterday at age 65, I‘m going to offer a glimpse of what you can expect from the Chase, and what drivers need to do to win it, via the song titles from

Broken part makes Kyle Busch just another Chase contender

Associated Press photoKyle Busch spins out Sunday during the Sylvania 300 in New HampshireIf sports teaches us anything, it’s that no matter how mighty and successful somebody is, they’re always on the brink of failure.Think about the New England Patriots heading into the Super Bowl last year. Nobody thought they’d lose … but they sure did. And this year, the Patriots have fallen on even harder

New Hampshire Truck Series race turns into fight night

For those of you who missed the Truck Series race today, you missed not only a race, but a post-race rumble. After some on-track bumping left Todd Bodine in the fence courtesy of David Starr (who dumped quite a few trucks during the race), Bodine gave him a little shove after the race, and then the crews of the two teams went at it on pit road at a level I haven’t seen in a while in NASCAR.Bodine

Logano’s career will go the route of Jeff Gordon, not Casey Atwood

The meteoric rise of Joey Logano to the Cup series, delayed one week by the weather, should get under way at New Hampshire on Sunday.Logano will be driving the #96 car, so don’t expect him to finish in the top 10 like he did in his Nationwide debut. That car, even with a great driver, isn’t going to do much better than a top-20, barring a fuel mileage finish.But as the Chase begins, many eyes

Stewart shows he's a sore loser by throwing his team under the bus

There are certain things you don’t do in sports … period. One of those things is be a bad loser and insult your teammates after a tough loss. On the contrary, you work together to fix whatever cost you the win and hopefully come out on top next time.Apparently Tony Stewart didn’t get that memo.After a tough battle with Jimmie Johnson, Stewart had to settle for second place at Richmond this

Stewart has win within his sights, but Johnson shuts the door

There’s a reason Richmond is among the favorite tracks of both NASCAR drivers and fans. The three-quarter-mile track is designed to create exciting racing around the track all night (or day if a hurricane shows up) long whenever the Cup guys pay a visit.Let’s just contrast today’s race with last week, when Jimmie Johnson pretty much led every lap and there was no competition for the lead

Dale Jr. needs to get his mojo back at Richmond, before Chase starts

Paging Dale Earnhardt Jr.Please report to the Richmond garage with the championship form you were showing a few months ago.After starting the season strong with consistently good finishes that culminated with his fuel mileage win at Michigan in June, Jr.’s season has been the definition of mediocre -- a word not often associated with Hendrick Motorsports and one that does not indicate that a

Franchitti returning to Ganassi in 2009 ... in Indycar

Another one bites the dust.It looks like the massive open-wheel influx into NASCAR spurred by Juan Pablo Montoya has officially crashed and burned. Dario Franchitti had a tough year, to be kind, driving for Chip Ganassi (and the often-forgotten Felix Sabates) in the #40 Cup ride until lack of funds caused that team to shut down. Since then, he’s done well in a few Nationwide races, but didn’t