Hot 20 over the past 10 – NBC is hot, ESPN at Indianapolis likely not
Dear NBC:
Thanks. When I heard the news that you will be taking over the second half of the NASCAR season, beginning in 2015, I was thankful for what could be. We can only hope it is not a continuation of what I suspect will be coming our way this Sunday.
NASCAR broadcasts, the good ones, are a narrative, one featuring not only the one in front or the one who may be challenging, but an entertaining, informative, and interesting story encompassing the various nuances of the event. Baseball and NASCAR may appear different, but their storylines often develop at a relaxing pace. You have the duel between batter and pitcher, that may last just seconds or go on and on before resolution. In NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson might jump a restart to end the drama, or he could lead lap after lap before a challenger finally emerges. Ball games may go inning after inning before we have a highlight, or there could be a stellar fielding play, a great hit, a pick off, a series of strikeouts, or a stolen base. Even so, none of that might change the scoreboard. Same with the leaderboard in NASCAR, where no change might be seen for a multitude of laps, though there could be a great pit stop, a wreck, a blown engine, or a duel back in the pack that could provide some excitement.
In short, the broadcast team is made up of story tellers. They keep us entertained even if the action alone is not all that entertaining. They provide insight, anecdotes, and tid-bits of information to add color to what we see before us. You do not need to be a Hall of Famer to do this. In fact, few who are can do this with much proficiency. I do not know if Vin Scully ever played baseball in his life, but his Dodger broadcasts have the master’s hand. TNT, which I also understand will be without their six race summer run come 2015, already boast such a crew in Kyle, Wally, and Adam. NBC could not do much better than to hire that trio to lead their team. As for ESPN/ABC, which loses its right to cover the second half of the season in 24 months, please allow the majority of that crew to silently go into the night. Andy, maybe, and I have always had a soft spot for Allan, but in a different role. However, please hire folks based on their ability as broadcasters, as story tellers, not solely on how well they once drove, called the shots from the pit box, or even if they tinker with ownership. As to why I might mention that, I invite you to watch the action from Indianapolis on Sunday and tell me if that is what NBC envisions for its broadcasts. I recommend keeping the mute button handy.
Your pal,
Ron
PS – Did you notice that Jimmie Johnson is not only first in the standings but once again the hottest driver of the past ten events? Odds are he will remain so after Indianapolis, where he has won four of the past seven years. He won there last year. Heck, he might still be the guy to beat in 2015.
| Name | Points | POS. | LW | Rank | W | T5 | T10 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 353 | 1 | 3 | (1) | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Kevin Harvick | 351 | 2 | 2 | (4) | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Clint Bowyer | 350 | 3 | 1 | (2) | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Carl Edwards | 323 | 4 | 4 | (3) | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Tony Stewart | 311 | 5 | 6 | (13) | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Kurt Busch | 300 | 6 | 5 | (14) | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Kyle Busch | 298 | 7 | 14 | (7) | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Matt Kenseth | 297 | 8 | 7 | (6) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Martin Truex, Jr. | 290 | 9 | 9 | (12) | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Jeff Gordon | 286 | 10 | 10 | (11) | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 281 | 11 | 11 | (5) | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Jeff Burton | 280 | 12 | 13 | (17) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Greg Biffle | 273 | 13 | 17 | (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jamie McMurray | 262 | 14 | 18 | (15) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Joey Logano | 259 | 15 | 8 | (20) | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Ryan Newman | 258 | 16 | 12 | (19) | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 252 | 17 | 15 | (21) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Keselowski | 245 | 18 | 24 | (9) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Marcos Ambrose | 245 | 19 | 20 | (22) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Aric Almirola | 244 | 20 | 19 | (16) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Kasey Kahne | 226 | 22 | 23 | (10) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Paul Menard | 216 | 26 | 22 | (18) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Austin Dillon wins the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway
Austin Dillon won the Inaugural Mudsummer Classic for his fifth victory in 53 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Joey Coulter and Brendan Gaughan rounded out the top five.
“It’s amazing,” Dillon said in victory lane. “I love this dirt racing. It’s so much fun. I want to thank Tony Stewart and NASCAR for coming here and my grandpa and American Ethenol for the opportunity. This is real racing right here – that’s all I have to say. Thanks to everybody back at RCR and ECR Engines.”
Heat Races:
Kenny Schrader led the field to the first heat and led all 8 laps for the victory. He will start in the pole in the feature race. Jared Landers started on the pole in the second heat and was getting a ton of pressure from Darrell Wallace Jr. Wallace Jr tried to get the middle to work but could not and spun with 3 laps to go and the caution came out. The green came back out and Matt Crafton went to the very bottom of the track and battled Landers for the win in the heat. Landers got him with a lap to go and took the win. Timothy Peters led the field to the green flag on heat 3 and pulled away from the field to win the heat. Larson beat Jason Bowles for the spot to be locked in for the feature in a great back and forth battle. The 4th heat was won by Kenny “Herminator” Wallace when he led the field to the green and was in the top spot for all 8 laps. The 5th and final heat race was won by Jeb Burton with Newman finishing second and clinching his spot in the feature. There was a last chance race where 10 drivers completed and only 5 of them made the feature race. Before the green flag, The truck did a 4 wide salute like the sprint cars and other do at dirt tracks.
Main Feature
Schrader led the 30 trucks to the green flag at the PACKED Eldora speedway. Peters, who had barely any experience with dirt at all, was battling with Dave Blaney and Schrader for the lead on lap 13 but could not get it done. He used a slide job on Schrader on lap 14 and took the lead while Schrader fell to 3rd. Larson got to 13th to 5th in about 20 laps and took the lead on lap 38 and never looked back. He lapped 10 cars until the first segment ended or else he would have lapped the whole field!
Larson led the field to segment 2 and they were 4 wide behind him! Larson pulled away from the field but got caught up to lap traffic and Dillon caught up to him. He got caught up with the #77 and Dillon got past him. Larson said not so fast my friend and tried to get the lead back but the caution waved for debris on lap 92. They went back to green on lap 97 and Newman went three wide to take 2nd. Larson was gaining on him and over took the #34 truck on lap 102. Larson was about to take the lead over Dillon but the caution came out for the end of the second segment.
We went back to green with 40 laps to go in segment 3. Dillon led easily to the green flag while Blaney and Larson battled Blaney for second but then the caution came out for the #6 of Landers getting together with the #3 of Ty Dillon and the #98 of Johnny Sauter.
We went back to racing with 5 laps to go but that did not last long as the caution waved with 2 to go for debris coming from the truck of Larson. They tried it again and Dillon pulled away while Larson barely got passed Newman for second.
Matt Crafton leads the point standings by 48 points over Jeb Burton.
Lap by Lap: Mud Summer Classic won by Austin Dillon
Austin Dillon would get by Kyle Larson while in lap traffic to take the win in the Mud Summer Classic at Eldora Speedway.
Lap 1 Schrader leads Landers
Lap 4 Schrader leads Landers, K Wallace, Peters, D Blaney
Lap 11 Schrader leads Peters D Blaney Landers K Wallace
Lap 14 J Burton passes K Wallace
Lap 15 Peters makes the slide job to get the lead from Schrader; K Wallace gets back by Burton
Lap 16 D Blaney passes Schrader for second; Larson gets by K Wallace for fifth
Lap 18 Peters leads D Blaney Schrader Landers Larson
Lap 19 Larson does the slidejob on Landers for fourth
Lap 20 Peters leads D Blaney Schrader Larson Landers
Lap 21 Larson passes Schrader for third
Lap 24 Dave Blaney has closed the gap between himself and Peters…..Larson, Landers, Schrader
Lap 33 Peters leads D Blaney Larson Landers Newman A Dillon
Lap 35 Larson passes D Blaney for second as they and Peters are trapped behind the lap truck of Scott Bloomquist
Lap 36 Larson tries to grab the lead from Peters, but isn’t able to
Lap 37 Larson looks underneath Peters for the lead down the front stretch though Peters is able to hold on to the lead
Lap 38 Larson passes Peters on the outside as Peters was looking for a way to lap Norm Benning
Lap 41 Larson leads Peters D Blaney Landers Newman A Dillon
Lap 50 Larson leads D Blaney Peters Landers Newman
Lap 51 A Dillon passes Newman for fifth
Caution lap 54 for debris. A Dillon knocks a piece off of Bloomquist’s truck trying to get by him. Gresham gets the lucky dog. Caution runs to end of the first segment and teams hit pit road for tires
Restart lap 61 Larson leads ahead of D Blaney
Lap 64 Larson leads Blaney A Dillon Newman Peters Gaughan. The 84 is off the pace and smoking.
Lap 87 Larson leads A Dillon D Blaney Newman Peters. A Dillon got by D Blaney when he got hung up trying to get by the lapped truck of Newberry.
Lap 89 Larson gets stuck in lap traffic behind German Quiroga, A Dillon grabs the lead
Lap 80 As Larson tries to grab the lead back from A Dillon, debris caution flies. Gresham gets the free pass.
Restart lap 97 A Dillon grabs the lead ahead of Larson…..Newman grabs second bumping Larson back to third
Lap 99 A Dillon leads Newman Larson D Blaney Gaughan
Lap 100 Larson and Newman side-by-side for second. Larson gets by Newman off of turn two.
Lap 105 Larson has caught A Dillon for the lead
Caution lap 111 end of segment 2
Restart start of segment 3
39 laps to go A Dillon leads ahead of Larson and D Blaney. Blaney bounced off the wall after contact with Larson
Caution 38 to go Landers spins, collecting Ty Dillon, Dakoda Armstrong, Jeb Burton and Johnny Sauter
Restart 26 laps to go A Dillon leads ahead of Newman as Larson falls back due to missing a gear on the restart
23 laps to go A Dillon leads Newman Larson Peters Schrader Coulter
16 to go Coulter passes Schrader for fifth
15 to go Dave Blaney passes Schrader for sixth
11 laps to go caution for debris
Restart 66 to go Austin Dillon gets away as Larson and R Newman are side-by-side for second
4 to go Larson clears Newman for second as Newman battles with Coulter for third. Coulter grabs third from Newman
Caution 3 to go debris on the front stretch out of turn four
Green-White-Checkered
Dillon pulls ahead again as Newman and Larson are side-by-side for second
White flag – Larson grabs second from Newman
Austin Dillon wins! Larson. Newman. Coulter. Gaughan. Peters, Wallace Jr.,
Ken Schrader wins pole for Mid Summer Classic at Eldora
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is going back to it’s roots by returning to the dirt on a Wednesday night. Though NASCAR history was also made when Ken Schrader scored the pole for the Mid Summer Classic, becoming the oldest NASCAR pole sitter at the age of 58.
Dirt racer Jared Landers qualified second in his first truck start, followed by Timothy Peters, Kenny Wallace and Jeb Burton.
Usually NASCAR would line the trucks up for the main event based on the qualifying results. However, things were changed. NASCAR went with a dirt track format with five heat races that took three locked in drivers and one non-locked in driver per race, followed by a last chance qualifier that took the top five.
As a result, Ken Schrader would start on pole in the first heat and led all eight laps to take the victory. He’ll start pole come tonight’s A-Main.
Jared Landers would start on pole in the second heat and lead seven of the eight laps after being challenged by series regulars Darrell Wallace Jr. and Matt Crafton. Darrell Wallace Jr. pressured Landers for the lead, though spun with three laps to go; Wallace Jr. would get back to fourth. After the restart for Wallace’s spin, it was Crafton was pressuring Landers and using the very bottom of the track, however he would come up short and finish second.
Timothy Peters would lead all the laps in the third heat.
In the fourth heat, Kenny Wallace led the field to green and like those before, led all of the laps.
The last chance qualifier saw Brennan Newberry pick up the win. However, behind Newberry, the excitement was on in a battle for fifth between Norm Benning, Jimmy Weller III and Clay Greenfield. The three of them bumped and banged for the second half of the event with Benning bouncing off the wall coming to the line grabbing the final spot.
“I’ve been looking forward to this race since the day they announced it!” Benning said.
Known as the underdog story, Benning is a series regular, however is not known for running upfront as he typically runs near the back of the pack with his unsponsored No. 57 truck.
Crunching The Numbers: Indianapolis
After taking their final break of the season last weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Brickyard 400 to begin the 17 race stretch run to finish off the season. The Nationwide Series will also be joining their Sprint Cup brethren at Indianapolis, while the Camping World Truck Series heads to Eldora on Wednesday night for the first NASCAR sanctioned dirt track race in several years.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com
Twenty years ago, the Sprint Cup Series had their first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in the 19 races since the inaugural race in 1994, the Brickyard 400 has become one of the crown jewels of the sport. The list of drivers that have won this race is a who’s who of Sprint Cup champions and current and future Hall of Famers. Only four times has a driver won the race and not gone on to win the title. Look for whoever comes out on top on Sunday to be a strong championship contender.
| Driver | Races | Win | Top 5 | Top 10 | Pole | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| Tony Stewart | 14 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 227 | 16.7 | 8.2 |
| Jeff Gordon | 19 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 477 | 12.4 | 8.8 |
| Kevin Harvick | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 92 | 15.6 | 10.2 |
| Kyle Busch | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 42 | 21.1 | 11.8 |
| Greg Biffle | 10 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 15.3 | 12.1 |
| Clint Bowyer | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 20.4 | 12.3 |
| Brad Keselowski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 12.7 | 12.3 |
| Mark Martin | 19 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 67 | 12.2 | 12.8 |
| Carl Edwards | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 22.0 | 13.2 |
| Jamie McMurray | 10 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 15.4 | 14.0 |
Who To Watch: With the race at Indianapolis, it’s no surprise that an Indiana native tops the list with the best statistics. Tony Stewart, who hails from Columbus, IN, has amassed some impressive numbers at the track with two wins, six top fives, 10 top tens, one pole, 227 laps led, and an average finish of 8.2 in 14 races.
Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon falls in just behind Stewart with four wins, 11 top fives, 15 top tens, three poles, 477 laps led, and an average finish of 8.8 in 19 starts.
Others to keep an eye on include: Kevin Harvick, 2003 Brickyard 400 winner, who also has four top fives, seven top tens, one pole, 92 laps led, and an average finish of 10.2 in 12 starts; Kyle Busch, with two top fives, six top tens, 42 laps led, and an average finish of 11.8 in eight starts; and Greg Biffle, with three top fives, six top tens, 53 laps led, and an average finish of 12.1 in 10 starts.
Defending race winner, Jimmie Johnson, didn’t make the top ten statistically at Indianapolis, but has four wins at the track, along with four top fives, five top tens, one pole and has led 229 laps in 11 starts.
One last thing to keep in mind for Sunday’s 20th running of the Brickyard 400 is the dominance that Chevrolet has had at the track. Chevrolet has won the last 10 and 14 of the 19 races at Indianapolis. Can Chevrolet win yet another Brickyard 400 or will one of the other two manufacturers finally find their way to Victory Lane?
NASCAR Nationwide Series – Indiana 250
After running at the short track across town in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Raceway Park for years, the Nationwide Series made the move to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a companion weekend with the Sprint Cup Series starting last year and will have their second running at the 2.5 mile speedway this weekend.
Last year, Penske Racing swept the top two spots with Brad Keselowski taking the win and teammate Sam Hornish, Jr. finishing in second. Hornish regained the points lead after a second place finish in last weekend’s race at Chicago and the Indy 500 champion brings his momentum into a track that he is very familiar with.
Indianapolis also marks the last leg of the Nationwide Insurance “Dash 4 Cash” with Austin Dillon, Hornish, Elliott Sadler, and Brian Vickers eligible for the $100,000 bonus. Dillon will be going for his third “Dash 4 Cash” bonus after winning the bonus last weekend at Chicago and at New Hampshire.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – 1-800-CARCASH Mudsummer Classic Presented By CNBC Prime’s “The Profit” at Eldora
For the first time since 1970 at Raleigh, NC, NASCAR returns to dirt racing with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series making their inaugural trip to Eldora Speedway in Ohio for a Wednesday night feature on the half-mile dirt track. The race, which is a sellout, will not only feature points eligible Truck Series drivers, but will also have several dirt racing specialists going for the win. Those specialists include: Dave Blaney, Tracy Hines, Scott Bloomquist, Ken Schrader, Ryan Newman, Kenny Wallace, and former Truck Series champion, Austin Dillon, who will be facing off with his brother and championship contender, Ty Dillon.
Matt Crafton leads the Truck Series standings by 39 points heading into Eldora, but the points could face a big shakeup after what is sure to be a wild race on Wednesday night in Ohio.
Rob MacCachren looks to race to new heights in Stadium Super Truck Series
When Robby Gordon started putting together the Stadium Super Truck Series, there were drivers that wanted to be involved. One of those being 2011 Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee Rob MacCachren.
“I used to race in the old Mickey Thompson Series in the 80s,” MacCachren said. “When this started coming together with Robby Gordon and this series, I wanted to be a part of it. I loved racing in the stadiums. We traveled all over, even a trip to Montreal.
“Thankfully one of my sponsors Traxxas wanted to be in the series and here I am.”
Gordon also raced in the Mickey Thompson Series and has been working at bringing something out like it again. The series, known as Mickey Thompson Off-Road in the 1980s, was one of the biggest series for off-road racing. Though when Thompson and his wife were murdered in 1988, the series fell apart shortly after. Since then, there’s been a crave from dirt racers to bring something like that back and that’s how the new Stadium Super Truck Series came together.
MacCachren, an off-road racing veteran, has had a successful season thus far with the Stadium Super Trucks as he won their debut event in March and currently leads the points, 21 points ahead of Gordon.
MacCachren got started at the age of eight on dirt bikes and since then, has been winning races and championships. He has a five-time SCORE Baja 1000 winner and a five-time SCORE Baja 500 winner, among the list of accomplishments.
When I asked him about how enjoyable the trucks are to drive, MacCachren said, “They’re incredible. They’re about a 2000 pound truck, they’re tube chassis – all the trucks are the same, kind of a spec series. They’re a lot of fun. About 20 wheel travel front and rear, tires are about 35 inches tall.
“They have great suspension. They build these ramps and we fly as high as these fences and these fences are about 10 feet air. About 100 feet in length and we land and they’re good. I love coming to Toronto and racing around here and having a good time.”
When a fan has gotten out to a show, they see what MacCachren is talking about and feed off the excitement it brings, enjoying the show. Though it being 20 years since the Mickey Thompson Series, they have to first work at showing fans their product.
“A lot of people don’t know what the Mickey Thompson Series was,” MacCachren said. “Kind of why we’re doing stuff like this is to get this exposed to everyone. I think what I’d like to see is a 50/50 series where we race 50% with IndyCar and 50% racing in stadiums.”
If word spreads and fans keep getting interested, along with exciting performances like what MacCachren and the group did at the H0nda Indy Toronto, expect news to spread real quickly.
