Joseph Shelton

Of all the arguments made in favor of the XFINITY Series being a members-only division or at least diminishing the participation of Cup drivers, this stretch of Dash 4 Cash events (Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover) has shown some of the best racing of the 2018 XFINITY season, all of which have been run by series regulars.

NASCAR needs more crossover stars. It's a time-honored tradition in the sport to bring in drivers from across the pond (mostly on NASCAR's dime) and put them in our cars not only to perform but to draw in the fans. This is usually met with success more on the fan side of things, although former F1 drivers Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya did find a bit of success in NASCAR.

James Bickford, the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Rookie of the Year is scheduled to make a limited run of eight races in 2018 in the Pacific Coast Challenge Series, a Northern California touring series for Super Late Models.

Wednesday morning INDYCAR announced a new television package that will start in 2019, with every race being broadcast on NBC or NBC Sports. The multiyear deal, which gives NBC Sports Group exclusive broadcasting rights, will broadcast eight races on NBC, with the remainder airing on NBC Sports.

After financial difficulties almost sidelined Michael Self's career only a few short years ago, his Daytona win is undoubtedly a sweet vindication in his racing comeback. Self, 27, took his second career ARCA win in the wild season-opening Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona.

The nature of the Daytona 500 is for everyone to shine at some point during the race. This year, that was especially true of the new class of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup drivers, a group of twenty-somethings who have become the status quo in the sport.

Stating the obvious, Daytona Speedweeks is the biggest time of year for NASCAR. It's every driver's, crew member's, media member's, and die-hard fan's birthday, Christmas, and July 4th all rolled into a couple of weeks of speed. It's huge, it's prestigious, man...it's Daytona. What more needs to be said other than that it is a big deal?

It's easy to be negative about everything in NASCAR. If that statement is ever doubted, just take a look at the stands on any given race day. It's become so difficult to have a sellout race that some tracks like Atlanta and Charlotte are removing entire seating sections, and Loudon has even lost a race date.

One of the great things about motorsports is the competition. The regular, race-to-race battle for the win is something that draws the fans in, be it a battle between drivers, sponsors, or manufacturers.

Justin Allgaier's Crew Chief Jason Burdett has been fined $10,000 and suspended for the NASCAR XFINITY Series finale at Homestead following an L1-infraction issued after Saturday's post-race inspection at Phoenix Raceway.