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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Week 10 Preview: Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway

Aaron's 499


By Richard Tix

Richmond International Speedway gave NASCAR fans some fireworks! Literally we got to see some fire a few times with right front tires going down all night. Fans also got to see a little smoke when Brad Keselowski got upset after the race and may have let his emotions get the best of him (I will still argue that driver should let it out, right or wrong).

Also on Saturday fans got a UFC bout (no not the Jon "Bones" Jones fight) but the one between Ambrose and Mears.

Now NASCAR heads to Talladega for the first time in 2014. Dega is not the kind of track drivers look to get back at others at, so we should see some cool down in that aspect, but plate racing still brings out the best (or worst) in people. New tempers may fire and guys may find tough luck. Dega also brings a sense of excitment because this is a track where the little guy always seems to have a shot.

So, will a small team steal a win and create a story line for the remaining regular season? This Sunday we will find out. Want to go back in time? Check out last years Preview and Review, also check out the old Tweets of the Week from Dega week.



The Good, Middle, and Bad
(This is just a review of each drivers recent past performance, generally about 5-10 past races)

The Good:
  • Clint Bowyer- His last three have been a little up and down, but before that he Bowyer had 5 straight top 10's, with two wins and a runner up finish. To go with that, he has the best average finish of any driver who has run the last 10 races here (11.9).
  • Brad Keselowski- Its only fitting that BK makes this list, after all his first career Cup win was at Dega. I will note, last year BK did not have good finishes here, but none of 2013 went BK's way. He and Clint Bowyer are the only two drivers to have 6 top 10's in the last 10 races here, two of which are wins.
  • David Ragan- Yes, Ragan had the improbable win last year at Talladega during the Spring, but no that is not the only reason he is on this list. He also has a run of 4 straight top 10's, two of which are top 5's. In his last 10 starts he has 5 top 10's, not bad for a little guy.
  • Extra Credit- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
The Middle:
  • Aric Almirola- Really, this spot belongs to just about every Cup driver. Dega is so unpredictable it is tough just looking at finishing position. But NBTW will go with Aric this week with career finishes of 20th, 12th, 19th, 10th, and 22nd. Last time here, during the Chase, Aric ended up starting the race 1st. 
  • Extra Credit: Almost everyone fits in this category
The Bad (or this week, the bad luck category)
  • Paul Menard- One way or another, Paul Menard just cant seem to finish in the top ten by the end of a Talladega race. In his last ten starts he has one top 10. I will say this for every driver, this is just the nature of the beast so finding yourself on the bad list this week isn't near as bad as most.
  • Denny Hamlin- His last two finishes at Dega have not been pretty. The first time around he finished 34th and the second time he had engine issues and finished 38th. DH will look to bounce back from his bad luck this week. Only 3 top 10's in his last 10 starts here.
  • Marcus Ambrose- One top 10 in his last 10, and that was 10 races ago (4th). Since then he has only two finishes inside the top 15 and only 3 inside the top 20 (last 9 races). Bad luck or whatever, its hard to say he will be near the top 10 when the checkered flag falls.


Talladega Weekend Information:

Juan Pablo Montoya Returns to NASCAR

JPM Returns to NASCAR in 2014


By Richard Tix

Juan Pablo returns! It feels like yesterday, well it practically was, when Juan Pablo Montoya was racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Last year Gannassi and JPM cut ties leaving Juan out of a NASCAR Cup ride. Instead of trying to catch on with a smaller Cup team Juan moved onto the Verizon Indycar Series with Team Penske.

Montoya moved back to open wheel after 7 season's in NASCAR. JPM had 2 career wins and 24 top 5 finishes in that time frame but never could win the Brickyard after finishing second once. Well, in 2014, Juan will get another shot. Today it was officially announced that he would be driving the #12 Team Penske car at the Brickyard and the June Michigan International Speedway race (Quicken Loans 400). 

Juan Pablo Montoya will look to do something no other driver has done, and that is win at IMS in Indycar and NASCAR. Not only will he be trying for a win, but Roger Penske is also using this as a strategic move to also get a win at IMS. "It has been a good start to the season with Team Penske in the Verizon IndyCar Series and it will be fun to get back behind the wheel of the Cup car," Montoya said in a team release. "It's hard to believe, but Roger Penske has never won the Brickyard 400. I think that Brad, Joey and I will give Roger and Team Penske a great opportunity to check that off the list and we should be strong at Michigan as well."

Juan Pablo will be running the #12 Penske Ford sponsored by SKF at MIS, but the sponsor for IMS will be named at a later date. Team Penske will have Greg Erwin as JPM Crew Cheif of the #12 this season. The rumors came out Tuesday 4/29 that Montoya would be returning to NASCAR and it got Twitter going. But it wasn't until today that it became official.

What I think is interesting is that Team Penske did not say he will be driving at either road course this season in NASCAR. I thought it would be a smart move to bring back the open wheel driver to Sonoma or Watkins Glenn but as of now he will just be running at IMS and MIS.

The #12 Ford will also be running May at Kansas and Oct at Talladega. For those races Ryan Blaney will be attempting to qualify with Erwin also the CC. It will be interesting to see JPM back in NASCAR especially since he might have a shot at IMS. I still believe Team Penske should look at fielding the #12 car at both road courses during the season with JPM driving, but hey my name isn't Roger Penske.


More on Juan Pablo:

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

2014 Talladega Superspeedway Entry List

NASCAR Driver Entry List for Talladega


By Richard Tix

NASCAR heads to the "Big One," Talladega Superspeedway after an exciting night in Richmond. A few notable drivers still do not have a win in 2014, starting with Jimmie Johnson. Also on this list is Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne (just to name a few). Will one of them stay away from all the mayhem on Sunday and come away a winner? Well a good start is to be on this list:




More from Dega:

2014 Talladega Schedule (Race One)


By Richard Tix

**All Times are Eastern**


Thursday May 1, 2014

  • 3-4 pm- Nationwide Practice
  • 4:30-6 pm- Nationwide Final Practice
Friday May 2, 2014
  • 2-2:50 pm- Sprint Cup Practice- Fox Sports 1
  • 3:30-4:25 pm- Final Sprint Cup Practice- Fox Sports 1
  • 6:40 pm- Nationwide Qualifying- Fox Sports 1
Saturday May 3, 2014
  • 1:20 pm- Sprint Cup Qualifying- Fox
  • 3 pm- Nationwide Race: Aaron's 312 (117 laps, 311.2 miles)- ESPN
Sunday May 4, 2014
  • 1 pm- Sprint Cup Race: Aaron's 499 (188 laps, 500.08 miles)- Fox


Monday, April 28, 2014

This Week in NASCAR: 4/28

News and Notes from the World of NASCAR



By Richard Tix

This Week in NASCAR will be a weekly article sharing quick links and other random notes from around the web and Twitter

Well NASCAR came back from a bye week with a bang at Richmond International Raceway. NASCAR Behind the Wall is here to make sure you don't miss some of the best articles on the web.


Articles:

Allgaier being Mr. Mom

From RCR

Jimmie Johnson back at it again.


Cole Whitt and his new Bow
Brantley Gilbert and Kevin Harvick in Charlotte for news on the All-Star Race


2011



More Articles:

Social Media Review: Richmond 4/26

A Look at the NASCAR Social Media World


By Richard Tix

The Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday night at Richmond International Speedway got pretty heated, so I decided to do a NASCAR Behind the Wall article on some interesting tid bits on Social Media you may have missed after all the craziness went down. Have at it.



Someone wasn't too happy after the race.

Im sure the signed RGIII football paled into comparison of winning at RIR

Classic quote after the race turned classic tweet

From the #99 team, got hit with a lug nut.


Crazy moment when Reed's car was on fire. Was a Kasey Kahne team member who helped out btw.

Honestly what was Twitter like before Jr!?




More on NASCAR Behind the Wall:


Pit Road Week 9: Richmond

Weekly Review and Power Rankings


Week 9


By Richard Tix

My reaction from Saturday night? That. Was. Fun. Saturday night at Richmond was short track racing at its best. How do I know this? Well for one, the racing was great down the stretch, but you can truly know when you see all the emotion after the race.

Whether its Marcus Ambrose throwing hay makers or Brad Keselowski letting his emotions go, the short track racing on Saturday got everyone fired up. On that note, I do want to share one opinion. I maybe a fan of Brad Keselowski, but I do not always agree with him. But one thing gets me when it comes to NASCAR fans, and that is the issue of letting emotion out, or how others put it, "whining."


Every season I hear fans constantly say they want drivers to be more vocal, let there individual self out and there voices and opinions be heard. We want to hear them be human and not NASCAR robots. Yet, when a guy like BK lets his emotion and passion go literally just minutes after a race people get on him and attack him for whining. He was racing for the win, maybe his point wasn't the right point, but he was letting it go, getting it out there. I mean, this is the same emotion that built NASCAR to what it is today!

Dale Earnhardt let people know what was on his mind because he was passionate about racing, and I hate to say this, but he was not always right and a lot of time it was just because of how great a competitor he was. He wanted to win and you could tell that by what he said after the race whether he was right or wrong.

So why are there some fans out there who ask for more out of drivers until a driver says something they don't like? You can not always have your cake and eat it too. I m not a Busch brother fan, but I do not chastise them for speaking there mind, especially after the race (where I get into it is if you throw your team or someone under a bus). I don't mind when Denny attacks NASCAR's ideas.

I like it. I definitely do not turn around and call them whiners and complain just because I do not like them. If NASCAR is to truly move on and try and get back to its glory days, then fans also need to decide what they want. Do you want emotion and passion, or just more NASCAR robots? Programs to do and say what NASCAR officials want them to say.

To end this rant, I am not saying you can't disagree with BK (or anyone in the past or future) and dislike him, but telling him to shut up or calling him a whiner or baby because he shows fans how much he loves his sport is crazy in my mind. If you do want to chastise him, then don't be the fan who cries that drivers don't let out enough emotion or talk enough after a race about what happened on the last couple of laps.

Moving on, did anyone see Marcus Ambrose's punch on Casey Mears coming? Wow, I didn't think Ambrose could connect like that. A side note, this was a fight between 18th and 19th, so you know the racing was intense.

But, enough of all this non race winner talk, the real winner this weekend was Joey Logano who became the second driver to win multiple races this year and actually lock himself into the Chase. JoLo has easily had his best start to a season in only his second year at Penkse. Moving to Penske seems to be the best move he, and Penske, has made. The way it is looking Logano could possibly be a Championship contender this season. No one is happier with the way this season has started more than Roger Penske.

So lets move onto this weeks Power Rankings. Is you missed it here is the full race result (If you did miss it just search for a video of the last restart, because it was some amazing racing). Also, Check out the Richmond Preview.


Pit Road: Power Rankings Week 9 (Week 8)

  1. Jeff Gordon (LW-1)- I am keeping Gordon a top the rankings for another week. Once again he was one of the cars to beat, and was right there in the end, but for the second time this season he finished 2nd to Joey Logano.
  2. Matt Kenseth (LW-2)- Kenseth looked to be in a great position at the end of the race, but on the last restart it looked liek BK had him, or maybe Gordon had him? Either way, Kenseth was trying to block both drivers and lost position eventually. Still a great run.
  3. Joey Logano (LW-9)- Huge jump for JoLo this week, but think about this, in 3 races he has 2 wins. His issue in the middle of these wins was a front hub so there is only so much he can do.
  4. Kyle Busch (LW-3)- Harsh, a drop for KB after finishing 3rd? Unfortunately someone had to slide for the red hot Logano. In no way is this Kyles fault, in fact they made a brilliant move at the end of the race to go with 4 tires. He rocketed through the field, and with a few more laps, he most likely would have ended up winning at Richmond.
  5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-4)- 7th place finish on Saturday by Jr, led a few laps, and still sits 5th in points, not a bad day for Dale. Also, nothing special so he wont be moving around in the rankings too much this week, but a solid finish keeps his momentum moving in the right direction.
  6. Carl Edwards (LW-5)- Carl was quiet but finished in the top 10 on Saturday (9th). Interesting to note, Carl doesn't really have a bad finish all year and that is why he is third in points.
  7. Kevin Harvick (LW-8)- Harvick had a pretty good car on Saturday (he won the Nationwide race on Friday, holding off rookie Chase Elliott) but he couldn't bring it home at the end of the race. He finished just outside the top 10 (11th).
  8. Brad Keselowski (LW-12)- BK finally broke out of his slump by leading 114 laps (second to Gordons 173) and looking like a real contender in the closing laps. Bk just couldn't get around Kenseth and finished 4th.
  9. Ryan Newman (LW-NR)- Newman has finished every race (except the 500, 22nd) in the top 20. He has not been amazing nor has he been bad and that was the case again Saturday at RIR where he finished 8th. Overall it was a very solid night for the 31 team and they should get a top 5 sooner rather than later.
  10. Jimmie Johnson (LW-6)- JJ finished 32nd on Saturday after his night was thrown out when he had to pit over concern about his right front. He started to worry right around the window where teams were having tire problems. I know 32nd is better than 42nd but I wonder if they should have chanced it a few more laps hoping someone else went down first?
  11. Greg Biffle (LW-11)- The Biff has been quiet all season but he has found himself in 11th in points. The #16 team will need to find some more speed if they want to contend for a win but, at least they're hanging around.
  12. Kyle Larson (LW-10)- His day started out on the pole and then looking the opposite way after Clint Bowyer spun him around. Larson stayed calm and worked his way back up to the top 10, ending his night in 16th. 
Dropped Out: Tony Stewart
Just Missed: Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger (great run by the #47 team to get a top 10, almost top 5).
Honorable mention: Martin Truex Jr and Jamie McMurray



Finally, NASCAR Behind the Wall went two races, or about 55 votes without someone getting it right. Well Matt Aleza (also, with ThisSportz) predicted Saturdays winner! I didn't get many votes this week, so I will be trying to ask a few extra times on my twitter account. Keep em coming in!

As always, thanks for checking the blog out. Come back for more daily as I will have the Talladega TV/Race Schedule, Entry list, Preview, and a special Dega article this week!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Week 9 Preview: Richmond

Richmond International Raceway

Toyota Owners 400


By Richard Tix

Heading into Richmond NASCAR comes off its first bye week of the season. I hope everyone is making it through this rough time, but at least we had a weekend were we could relax, some of us celebrating Easter, some just spending time with family, and others just getting some Spring yard work done (what I heard through Twitter NASCAR fans were doing this past week).

No matter how you spent the NASCAR bye week we can all say we are ready for racing to be back! This week NASCAR heads to Richmond and after 8 races Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth are all win less. Maybe this is the week one gets off the streak? Lets take a look at who has run well in the last few years at Richmond in the Good, Middle, and Bad.

Check out last years Preview and Review of the first Richmond International Raceway stop on NASCAR's schedule.


The Good, Middle, and Bad
(This is just a review of each drivers recent past performance, generally about 5-10 past races)

The Good
  • Kyle Busch- Any RIR list should include Rowdy, no matter if you are looking at past results, fantasy value, or future potential. In 18 races he has finished top 10 13 times, with 12 top 5,s and 4 wins. All 4 of those wins have come in his last 10 races. Do note, his last 3 starts are finishes of 19, 24, and 16th. But fear not, he should get back on top.
  • Carl Edwards- In his last 10 races at RIR he has 7 top 10's, 4 top 5's and a win last year in the last race before the Chase. His career average finish of 9.7 is 3rd best of current drivers.
  • Denny Hamlin- DH has 9 top 10's in his 15 career starts at RIR. 7 of those were top 5's and 2 were wins. DH is in the same category at Rowdy, he is very good here but his last 2 finishes have left something to be desired (21st and 18th).
  • Extra Credit: Kevin Harvick
The Middle
  • Ryan Newman- Newman has 6 top 10's in his last 10 starts at RIR but only two of them have resulted in top 5's and none of them turned into wins. The other four finishes are 11th, 15th, 15th, and 20th. So he hasn't been bad here lately, but he hasn't been spot on either.
  • Extra Credit: Tony Stewart
The Bad:
  • Danica Patrick- True, Danica only has one season under her belt and two total races at RIR, but both came with almost the same result. Her two finishes here are 29th and 30th place. If she keeps her car clean she could end up top 25 otherwise look for another 30th place finish.
  • Paul Menard- In the last 10 races at RIR Menard has one top 10 with an average finish of 23.6. So, he hasn't been very good here, but there is a bright side with him. That top 10, was actually a top 5 and it was his last time at RIR. Also, his average finish in his last 4 here is 13.5 (he has two 13th place finishes and a 23rd to go with that 5th place finish last time here).
  • Brian Vickers- I don't expect BV to actually run poor this time around at RIR, but simple fact is, in his last 10 starts he has run poor here. In fact, his last 3 finishes have been 24th, 35th, and 33rd. I think the last two on the bad list do have a shot this season as decent finishes, but this section is about past history. If you want more from the fantasy side, head on over to ThisSportz. They have you covered every week on Fantasy advice and another view of the Power Rankings. 
Track Stats:
  • Richard Petty once won 7 RIR races in a row, 9 of 10, and 12 of 17. All were from 1967 to 1975.
  • Last year Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards won from the 17th and 26th positions. 
  • Toyota has won 7 of the last 10 races at RIR but didn't win once in the two trips last year.
  • Michael Waltrip has 45 career starts at RIR and no wins or top 5's. He does have two career top 10's though.
  • In 42 tries, Jeff Gordon has 6 total career Poles at RIR. He also has 2 wins, 16 top 5's and 26 to 10's. 
  • With 18 career starts at RIR, Kyle Busch has the best active career average finish at 7.2. He also has 13 career top 10's, 12 of which are top 5's.


More NASCAR Articles:

2014 Richmond Int Raceway Entry List

NASCAR Driver Entry List for RIR


By Richard Tix

After a bye week NASCAR heads to Richmond International Raceway for the first time since last year's Clint Bowyer Chase incident. This will be the first of two races at RIR. Here is the Driver Entry List for the weekend, pulled from Jayski.com. If you have never checked out that site, you are missing out as they have tons of information.




More RIR Articles:


Monday, April 21, 2014

This Week in NASCAR: 4/21

News and Notes from the World of NASCAR


By Richard Tix

This Week in NASCAR will be a weekly article sharing quick links and other random notes from around the web and Twitter

The NASCAR bye week is over, but we still have 5 days until Richmond (depending on when you read this). So, to keep you content until then, check out some articles from around the web and some photos and tweets from Twitter world, all involving NASCAR.


Articles:

Random:



Harvick made it to Saturday Nights UFC Fights

Aric Almirola and Family

The Mears Gang, this time he and his family.


Looks like Michael Waltrip spent time with family and on the course


And then this happened. Kahne + Moped= Classic Picture

Aric drives downtown Nashville in the #43

Jimmie Johnson Spends some times on his backyard trails.


Willie, Danica, and Clint all together for a new Peak Commercial





More from NASCAR Behind the Wall:

Thursday, April 17, 2014

2014 NASCAR Quarter Season Review

An Early Look at the 2014 NASCAR Season


By Richard Tix

Alright, you don't have to correct me on my math, technically after Richmond, or the 9th race, NASCAR will be a quarter of the way done with its 36 race season. So yes, I am a week early, but NASCAR has a bye week for the Easter Holiday so it seemed like a better time to dig into this early season review.

The season started off with 7 straight different winners, which was still 3 winners off from tying the NASCAR record of 10 straight to start a year. Then in race 8 Kevin Harvick won his second race of the year and virtually locked himself into the Chase. Lets take a look at some of the early season headlines (Here are my preseason headlines, which come find there way onto this list again as well).


Early Season Headlines

  • NASCAR's New Aero Package
    • After 8 races in 2014 I have decided this was the most under rated headline going into the season. NASCAR made changes to the aero package and they have seemed to really help out the competition on the track. Lost of great passing and hard racing has been brought out by the new package and has gave fans some great finishes (add in some late times cautions, some questionable).

  • Good Year
    • Is it the tire? Is it the team/driver? Is it the aggressive set ups? Every season it seems we see a race that has a big "tire" issue which brings everyone out to call out the tire maker. Well early in 2014 we had it again. My take: It is a little bit on every single one of these categories.  My thought is and always will be that racing is about pushing your equipment to its absolute edge. Find that edge and use it to your advantage to win. 

  • The 3 is back
    • This was a heavy topic to start the season, but so far after 8 races it hasn't seemed to be as big of an issue as it once was. Is it just that the fans who do not agree with it haven't had much to yell about while Dillon learns the ropes and finishes top 15, or has it just become a non factor?

  • NASCAR's New Points System
    • The huge headline to start the season was NASCAR once again changing its points rules. Many fans took the change hard, but it doesn't seem to have stopped there enthusiasm for the sport. To start the year it looks like a possibility that teams who have already locked up a win can take some extra gambles. This change will continue to be a topic all year, especially when we get down to a few regular season races left, until then I don't think fans will truly see the excitement this change could make. I also think the media is missing the point in how much points will still play a part in the Chase race (why points still matter).

  • 7-Time?
    • So far, 2014 hasn't brought the Jimmie Johnson we have come to know. He and the 48 team haven't seemed as sharp as normal, yet he is 5th in points. That should be scary to his fellow competitors, because one thing we know about he and Chad, they wont stay down for long.

  • Penske's Early Dominance
    • 2014 started out with a bang for Team Penske (Ahead of the Learning Curve). Both drivers have already collected and early win in the season and were the first two to really take advantage of the new qualifying system. This young team could be a factor come Chase time, until then they will work out the kinks for when it matters.

  • Rain
    • How can we talk about some early season headlines without talking about the rain? So far this season it seems like where ever NASCAR goes so does the rain. Rain has caused delays, changed days of the race, and also finished a race. So this section is in dedication to the weather: please stay away the rest of the season, sincerely NBTW.

  • Kyle Larson
    • Kyle Larson, in 8 races, has already proved he is the real deal. He has four top 10's whcih came on two different back to back top 10 stretches. Austin Dillon has also provided some steady finishes early in the season. Side note: In the Nationwide series young Chase Elliott is also proving he is the next big thing and it may not be long before we see him in a Cup ride. (Rookie Report Week 1 and Week 5)


Biggest Surprise's and Disappointments (Drivers)

Surprises
  • Jeff Gordon
    • Lot's of talk was passed around going into 2014 that Jeff Gordon may retire at the end of 2014. Normally this talk doesn't come out until fans think he could be reaching a tipping point of being over the edge. Well after 8 races in the 2014 season your Points Leader is none other than Jeff Gordon. He is proving that you can not sleep on him.
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr
    • Same with Gordon, it isn't a surprise that Jr is doing well, but rather that Jr has been doing this well. He has had an up and down career and Jr Nation has stuck with him through it all. Well it paid off when he won the first race of the season, the Daytona 500. He hasn't let up either, as he had 5 top 10's, all top 5's, in the first 8 races.
  • Brian Vickers
    • I noted that I thought he could be a surprise this season, but I make a lot of calls that dont always work out.  He has come around and bounced back from his health issues early this year with 3 top tens, all in his last 5 starts. 
  • Joey Logano
    • Ever since getting to Penske I have been impressed by his turn around. At JGR he was just in a rut as a young kid that didn't look like he would get out of. Then some fresh air started to turn it around last year as he picked up his first Penske win in August at Michigan. So its not a huge surprise that he has started 2014 on a hot note, but he and his Penske teammate have been fast all year and both have wins.
Disappointments
  • Denny Hamlin
    • After winning the Sprint Unlimited and his Duel race at Daytona he made a huge "I'm Back" announcement. Well unlike Michael Jordon, Denny hasn't quite looked like he is back. He hasn't run terrible, but after the way he started the season I can't imagine Denny fans thinking his early season has been a success.
  • Kasey Kahne
    • Man has it been a rough start for Kahne in 2014 or what? He has finished 31st + three times in early 2014 and only has two top 10's. I like Kahne, but I have made the statement before, but he could be out a ride when Hendrick thinks another young guy is ready to take over his spot. He and Kyle Busch parted ways in the past as well, so it isn't that out there to think.
  • Martin Truex Jr
    • Truex isnt the wheel man that Kurt Busch is, but I really thought he would be able to keep some stability in the #78, but so far Martin has had nothing but bad luck. Like normal, FOX spotlighted Martin on Saturday because he made his way towards the top 10, and then he had a tire go down and ruin his day. He has had a hard luck year.

As always thanks for reading! Check out more of the blog in this NASCAR bye week! Coming up next week NASCAR Behind the Wall will once again have a race preview for Richmond as we finish up the real first quarter of the season. 

NASCAR Behind the Wall Links: