The news of late has been enough to make a clown cry. In fact, we just lost one of our most treasured entertainers, by his own hand. We have the tragedy involving Kevin Ward Jr. and Tony Stewart still on our minds. We have Martin Truex Jr.’s girlfriend facing health challenges.
As the NASCAR touring series rolls into the central part of the United States I can’t help but reflect on last weekend. First, I’m going to discuss NASCAR racing and not opine about incidents that happened away from NASCAR sanctioned tracks.
The references to the “hot head” Tony Stewart really burn me, as though his past demonstrations of temperament have any more to do with the events of last weekend than whether or not he takes a morning tinkle upon awakening or if his facial stubble is the result of a poor razor.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished 11th at Watkins Glen after an untimely late caution cost him any chance of winning. He passed Jeff Gordon to take over the lead in the Sprint Cup points standings, and now leads Gordon by four.
NASCAR’s great redemption story of recent memory came to a close with AJ Allmendinger’s first career Sprint Cup win at Watkins Glen on Sunday. With the close of that story comes the beginning of another; his quest to find consistency as a proven winner.
Things are not rosy at Roush Fenway Racing. Lately, they’ve lost their top driver to apparently Joe Gibbs Racing, and today they lost 3M as a primary sponsor on the No. 16 Ford of Greg Biffle. The performance has been putrid at best all year even though Carl Edwards has two wins, but Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. have not had the performance that a top team should have.
As the NASCAR community mourned the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr., which led to Tony Stewart’s decision not to participate at Watkins Glen, the racing did go on at one of the sport’s more challenging road courses.
Watkins Glen might have hosted the action on Sunday, but it was Saturday night at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park a hundred miles away that drew our attention.
As the events of the tragedy at at Canandaigua Motorsports Park unfolded late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, I was glued to twitter, searching for answers. I was hoping for the best but fearing the worst. When it became clear that a young sprint car driver named Kevin Ward Jr. had lost his life, I was at a loss for words.
The Racing to End Alzheimer's with Stephen Cameron Racing team saw a potential top 10 run spoiled by a mechanical problem with eight minutes remaining in Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge two-hour race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The ARCA Menards Series platform has a rare mid-season off weekend with no races scheduled for the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West.
The 2008 Daytona 500 champion from South Bend, Indiana, will make his first NASCAR national touring series start since 2023 in a one-race return with Kaulig Racing's 'Free Agent' RAM entry at North Wilkesboro Speedway.