SM Staff

This week our staff takes a look at some of the hot topics in the world of NASCAR. We discuss Jeff Gordon’s current status as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart’s chances for another championship in his final season.

Our Champion said goodbye on Sunday. He gave us one final lap for the fans and friends that know him best and cherish him unconditionally. Thank you, Rocket. From everyone in Indiana, that has watched your career with pride and joy. From all of us that your words and actions touched, we can never say thank you enough.

Five predictions going forward: 1) Tony Stewart wins the Brickyard 400 to solidify his spot in the Chase and add to his final season. 2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not make the Chase and because of that, he might not run for an extended period of time.

This week our staff takes a look at some of the hot topics in the world of NASCAR. We look back at New Hampshire, glance ahead to Indianapolis and rate the season to date. Our staff also tackles the question of penalties and when/if those penalties should affect the outcome of a race. We are joined by guest contributor, Katelyn Kinnett, co-founder of NASCARFemale.com.

I was working the afternoon shift on WVAM in Altoona, Pennsylvania when the news crossed the wire that Davey Allison was in a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway. By the time I woke up the next morning, Davey was gone. That damn helicopter.

Let it be known that I hate restrictor plate racing. Between the XFINITY and Cup races, it was pile up after pile up. If you're a fan, you might as well save the money, go to the County Fair and go see the demolition derby.

Ever wondered what your favorite NASCAR drivers do on their downtime? Well, I cannot speak for all NASCAR stars, but Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace have an unusual way of having fun.

In the middle of what should have been an amazing weekend for Tony Stewart, Smoke has shown that he is had enough and Homestead can't get here soon enough for him. Coming off his solid run in Michigan, Stewart was running in the top-five in practice at Sonoma when he came up on slower cars heading into turn 11 and it set off the fireworks.

After a couple of seasons under this current Chase format for the Sprint Cup Series, it's hard not to call it a success.

The Father’s Day off week allows us all to reflect on nearly the first half of the season. Like Harry Nilsson wrote in his country parody song, “Joy,” things have been good and things have been bad, but on the whole they are pretty good.