If there was no Raymond Parks, there would be no NASCAR. Before Parks, all stock car drivers were disorganized with little consistency in who they were running for, or if they were running for themselves, wrecking their car and never being heard from again.
The racing action continues this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Texas Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series is off for the next few weeks but will return May 8 at Kansas.
Harvick finished eighth at Martinsville, ending his streak of eight consecutive results of second or better. He remains atop the Sprint Cup points standings, 24 ahead of Joey Logano.
It is common for this writer to say I love Martinsville Speedway. Some say it’s because my home is only 150 (give or take) miles from the speedway. Some try to get into my mind and say it’s because it was the first speedway I ever visited, but the truth of the matter is that little paper clip-shaped track is exactly how the whole phenomenon we now call NASCAR started.
Joey Logano turned in the fastest lap of the day Friday to win the Virginia Lottery Pole Day pole and claim the top starting spot for the STP 500 Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Last weekend, after a dominating win at the Phoenix International Raceway, Kevin Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers got up in front of the assembled media and said, “I know it didn’t seem this way, but we actually struggled a little bit.”
Harvick started on the pole at Phoenix and won as expected, rolling to his fourth consecutive win at Phoenix International Raceway. He sits high atop the Sprint Cup points standings, 22 ahead of Joey Logano.
"I like to gamble. I liked the call. I love being aggressive,” he stated after the race. “We were going to drive up there and pass that No. 4 (Kevin Harvick). So, we had to take a chance. Second, fifth, fourth, whatever; it really don’t matter if you don’t win.”
Kurt Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR on Feb. 20, will actively pursue reinstatement. He agreed to NASCAR’s terms and conditions last Friday to begin the process.
