SM Staff

Well Skagit is in the books. It was exciting. It was thrilling. In the end for one young man it was magical down right fairy tale if you want to be real honest about it. It is a rare thing that a local driver can come to the greatest show on dirt and beat the greatest drivers in the world. Very Very rare.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) NRA American Warrior 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Stenhouse passed Kevin Harvick with one lap and half to go to win his fourth race this season and his first race at Atlanta.

Michael Waltrip Racing has never placed one their cars in the Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship, they've never had a driver finish in the top 10 in points. But after Sunday night’s race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, the AdvoCare 500, MWR could check one of those off their list by having both of their full-time drivers locked into the 2012 playoffs.

David Gilliland will being driving his No.38 Ford Fusion at Atlanta this Labor Day during the Advocare 500 with special attention to a local business and the US Military, both having ties to local towns just outside of Raleigh, NC.

Atlanta is one of those tracks where I really respect the drivers for hanging it all out there and really being on the edge of disaster at all times. Its aging surface lacks grip giving drivers with a background in dirt racing a competitive advantage over the field. It reminds me of the days of watching the DIRT modified's circle 'D-Shaped Dirt Demon' at my hometown track, the 3/8th-mile in Brewerton, NY.

Once Kerry Madsen crossed the finish line with the checkered flag waving behind him, it was safe to breathe. Up to that point, not so much. Five drivers had a bid for the victory end in contact or mechanical failure during World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series action on Friday evening at Skagit Speedway, which wraps up the Outlaws schedule in Washington on Saturday. Opening Ceremonies are slated for 7 p.m.

Things have been quiet around these parts lately. Some by choice, a little by outside factors which took away time normally devoted to breaking down the latest NASCAR news. But, I haven’t been completely cut off from the racing world. The races were watched, dissected and discussed. And it was during that quiet time, removed from the journalism side, that viewing racing from a different perspective brought forth many thoughts.

In my next interview, I had the honor of speaking with Brian Keselowski. Brian is the older brother of fellow NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski. He is a past winner in the ARCA Racing Series and is a competitor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driving the no. 92 Chevrolet Impala for K-Automotive Motorsports. Here is my interview with Brian.

Call it whatever you want but the Bristol Motor Speedway has a new surface with different racing we’ve never seen before at Bristol. Some people are referring to the new surface as a return to the “old Bristol” which featured one lane racing on the bottom and beating and banging.

With their intro songs, as well as the voices of their children singing the national anthem ringing in the drivers’ ears, here is what was surprising and not surprising from 52nd Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at the new, old Bristol.