FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s top drivers rock and drop going into race 12 at Charlotte
by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
The rise and fall in point standings during a 36 Sprint Cup race season and a 26 race Chase qualifying stint sometimes eludes week-to-week notice. One good or bad race result won’t define a season, but consistency is premium to securing a contender spot.
The next NASCAR Sprint Cup race event counts, race number 12, will be in Charlotte on May 27th after the All-Star race on May 19.
The Chase eligibility system allows the top 10 drivers in accumulated points and two more drivers from the top 20 with the most wins.
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by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
NASCAR’s next big race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, is on the 1.366-mile oval steeped in stock car tradition on southern turf. The 25 degree banking on an egg-shaped track has challenged NASCAR drivers since 1950 and was a vision accomplished by owner Harold Brasington after attending the 1948 Indianapolis 500.
Long known as the “Lady in Black” and “The Track Too Tough to Tame”,the historic track is now a Mother’s Day destination in Darlington, S.C. for many racing families.
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by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
NASCAR’s Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup race will produce high speeds on the 2.66-mile tri-oval track with 33 degree banking at Talladega Superspeedway this Sunday, May 6.
For those not able join the renowned infield parties at TSS in Talladega, Alabama before the drop of the green flag, expected action on NASCAR’s longest track can be viewed at 12 p.m. ET on FOX.
TSS and Daytona are NASCAR’s restrictor plate races where fuel intake is reduced to promote slower speeds. Given that the TSS track qualifying record is 212.809 mph and best race speed is 188.354 mph set prior to 1990, NASCAR was smart to restrict speed.
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By: Toby Christie – Follow on Twitter @Tobalical
I know I sound like a broken record — scratched cd for those younger readers, or even a corrupted MP3 file for even younger readers – but Dale Earnhardt Jr. proved again at Richmond that he is indeed knocking on the door of victory lane. It has now been a grueling 138 races since Earnhardt last tasted the spoils of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but after nine races this season he already has four top-three finishes including a second-place effort this past weekend in Richmond.
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By: Toby Christie – Follow on Twitter @Tobalical
Martin Truex Jr. nearly made it back to victory lane this past Sunday for the first time since the 2007 season (175 races ago). However after leading a race-high 173 laps, he was forced to settle for a second-place finish when Denny Hamlin edged ahead of his No. 56 NAPA Toyota with just 30 laps to go in the STP 400 in Kansas.
“I’d like to try it again,” Truex would exclaim when he exited his car Sunday, ”I mean, I drove as hard as I could.”
Truex has been on a roll as of late, and he is actually now up to second in the point standings after eight races in 2012, which is the highest he has ever ranked in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings in his seven-full seasons in NASCAR’s premier division. He will get his chance to try again at snapping his long-long-long winless drought this Saturday in Richmond.
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FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s top guns aim fast at the quick Richmond track
by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
Richmond International Raceway is the third shortest track on the NASCAR circuit, but speeds routinely exceed 100 mph and the bumping and banging action is well received by packed crowds usually greater than 90,000.
The .75-mile oval track with 14 degree banking is considered a short track, but the way 43 Sprint Cup cars roar around in the night air gives off an aura of a much faster track.
On April 28th fans without tickets for the Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers, can view the action at 7 p.m. ET on FOX.
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FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s point aces bring heart to the heartland in Kansas
by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
For fans that have never had a ride or driven a stock car at 170 mph or so, the experience is way faster than it looks on a racetrack or on TV. Add 42 other cars to any track and the racing is pure chaos on the edge, especially when contact doesn’t cause wrecking.
Getting to NASCAR’s top series in Sprint Cup takes talent and lot of training, but to do it at all—takes heart.
All 43 drivers who qualify bring heart to competition, but certainly no stronger than one brave extreme sports legend, Travis Pastrana, who will debut this year in NASCAR’s Nationwide series.
Pastrana is quick to describe just how difficult it is to race a stock car.
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FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s top guns won’t have rust as they blast into Texas
by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
NASCAR drivers only get three weekends off during the long 36-race season, complete with an additional Shootout and All-Star race. But 13 off days won’t cause moss to grow or rust to build in any racing sense.
Drivers may be rested by April 14, but they will also soon be tested by speed on one of NASCAR’s fastest intermediate racks, Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Samsung Mobile 500 on the 1.5-mile quad-oval with 24 degree banking will get the green flag on a Saturday night.
Fans without tickets or cowboy hats can view the return of stock car excitement at 7:00 P.m. ET on FOX.
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