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cup_points81613NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are done twisting on the road course at Watkins Glen International and head into the wide 2-mile oval with 18-degree banking at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 18.

by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com

MIS is often considered NASCAR’s fastest track because of wide turns and long straightaways.

Speed will mean more this week as only four races remain before the Chase contenders are determined. Some drivers have to win to get in. Others have to finish strong if they hope to cling to their lofty spot and be ready for 10-race playoffs.

Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team have a comfortable 75-point lead owing to consistent performance and that makes it tougher for other teams to advance. It seems Johnson with crew discover an extra cylinder or spare frontal lobes when needed.

Continue reading “FYI WIRZ: NASCAR Leaders Return To Fast Left Turns Going Into Michigan”

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289065Aug. 10, 2013

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.—Tony Stewart’s broken bones have sparked intense debate about the wisdom of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers indulging in extracurricular racing.

Stewart broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg during a Sprint Car accident Monday night in Iowa. After two surgeries, Stewart is recuperating in a North Carolina hospital and is sidelined indefinitely from his primary ride in Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 Chevrolet SS.

The accident almost certainly will cost Stewart a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and deprive him of the opportunity to battle for a fourth championship in the series. Conceivably, it could cost him the rest of the season.

Continue reading “Will Tony Stewart’s Accident Have A Chilling Effect On Outside Racing?”

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jimmie-johnson-nascar-sprint-cup-series-new-hampshire-july-2013For a while last week it looked like the Pocono wall that collected Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 golden ride may have placed a big dent in a mounting point lead.

by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com

Not so fast.

Johnson’s cape got soiled a bit in Pocono, but Chad Knaus and team dusted it off and the No. 48 gained two more points after a long comeback drive. They were ready to move on.

Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania and Watkins Glen International in Upstate New York are not distant in miles, but the triangle and the road course are like two different worlds.

Johnson and team have adapted well to road courses, but then they’ve adapted to almost everything in 2013 and continue to build a point buffer that won’t be overcome by other teams before the Chase begins.

Continue reading “FYI WIRZ: Pocono Wall Doesn’t Slow NASCAR Point Lead Going Into Watkins Glen”

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tony_stewart_crash_legAug. 6, 2013

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart broke both major bones in his lower leg in a Sprint Car accident Monday night and will miss Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, putting his prospects of qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in jeopardy.

VIDEO: TONY STEWART CRASHES, BREAKS RIGHT LEG

“Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, sustained a broken right tibia and fibula in a Sprint Car crash Monday night at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa,” said a statement released by Stewart-Haas Racing, which Stewart co-owns.

Continue reading “Tony Stewart Breaks Leg In Sprint Car Accident, Will Miss Watkins Glen”

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288487July 29, 2013

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

It was a contrast worthy of Charles Dickens.

This historic week in NASCAR racing truly was a tale of two cities — or, more accurately, a tale of one city in the middle of Indiana and one whistle-stop town in the middle of nowhere.

It was a tale of Indianapolis, the state capital, home to upscale hotels and restaurants of renown.

It was a tale of Rossburg, Ohio, where, if you want a place to sleep, you drive it there, and if you want food to eat, you bring it. Continue reading “Epic Week Of NASCAR Racing Was A Study In Contrast”