2017 NASCAR Sprint Cup Headlines

By Richard Tix

A new season means new changes. Which are the biggest changes worth following this NASCAR season? Let's break down some of the biggest headlines as we get this 2017 season started!




2017 Points System

• It seems like every year one of the biggest headlines of the season has something to deal with changes in the points system. Well, 2017 is no different and folks will once again have to learn a new way of looking at things. The plus side? It's a new way for teams to have to attack each race and the season long schedule which should mix up the standings a bit. My biggest question, will the changes help give drivers who had great regular season's gain an advantage in the playoffs? My initial thought's are the new system will help, but time will tell.

Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Carl Edwards all missing in action

• Wait, a season without Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, AND Carl Edwards? Let's not even mention the closer we get to the 500 the more real it becomes that we will also be without Greg Biffle. How are we going to cope without some of the biggest stars of NASCAR in the last 15-20 years? Well, new drivers will enter into the limelight but it will be weird seeing new drivers in the seats of the No. 24, 14, and 19 for 2017.

Daniel Suarez vs Erik Jones in Rookie of the Year

• With Carl Edwards stepping away, JGR brought in Daniel Suarez and his tied partnership with Arris to run in the No. 19. That means two JGR drivers will go head to head for rookie of the year in 2017. Yes, Erik is running on a one year deal with Furniture Row, but don't forget he is still a JGR driver and the No. 77 and 78 are practically 5th and 6th JGR cars. The lower levels keep pumping in more and more talent to the Cup level every year and the latest additions should be fun to watch develop.

Can Jimmie Johnson be Mr. Eight Time?

• Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty hardcore fan's turn away and move onto the next topic on the list. JJ tied both Dale and Petty last season with seven Championships, that is know, but can he now make history and stand alone at eight? If he does, it will be big not only because it's number eight, but because he accomplished it under so many different formats.

SHR's move to Ford

• It was a shock to many when news broke that a team partially owned by Tony Stewart would be leaving Chevy. Heck, I am still a bit shocked and the season is about to start. But, you know what they say, money talks and so does being the focus of a manufacturer. It's now Team Penske and SHR under the Ford camp (yes, I haven't forgotten RFR, etc). The question, how smooth will the move to Ford go early in the season?

Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 for SHR

• Bowyer will move into the No. 14 seat that was left by Tony Stewart at the conclusion of 2016. We knew all this information last season, but what we don't know is if Bowyer will again make any kind of impact on a weekly basis? He brings his big personality along with a big win less streak to SHR to try and turn his career back around in 2017.

New Toyota Camry

• Toyota introduced its 2018 Camry earlier this offseason and at the same time revieled the TRD Camry that will be used in 2017. JGR and Toyota have been on top of there game the past few years so it will be interesting to watch if the new Camry has any affect on their performance. Best bet is we won't notice a thing, but it's always important to watch when any kind of change happens with the best team the previous season.

The return of Dale Earnhardt Jr

• Junior is back and that only means good things for the sport. The hope here is that his health is good to go all season. I've mentioned before that concussions are nothing to mess with and the hope is they do not spring back up in 2017. His return makes sure Jr Nation is fully fixed on the sport again and it's never a bad thing to have one of the faces of your sport actually on the track.

2015 NASCAR Behind the Wall Hot Laps: All Star Race

Rowdy Return, Soph. Slump, and 1.5 Mile Domination

By Richard Tix

Hot Laps will be a weekly article on news in the world of NASCAR. I will write these articles any weeks where I have a thought or opinion on NASCAR news that is worth sharing. So, this could be an every week thing, or just every few weeks. Its an opinion piece, so it is open to discussion and debate and would love to here your thoughts.

Previous Hot Lap: Week 11

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The Rowdy Return


This week Kyle Busch announced his come back to a Cup car. This coming after he had spent the whole NASCAR Cup season on the sidelines due to his XFINITY wreck at Daytona to start 2015.

Kyle Busch has a ton of followers but at the same time a ton of fans that do not care for him, but most can agree they are happy to see him back. Guys like Kyle are great for the sport and as with any sport, we must have guys or teams that are Love/Hate. It fuels a sport and fuels discussion and when a guy like Kyle with talent like Kyle is out everyone gets eager to get him back.

So this week Kyle will be back in the #18 at Charlotte for the All Star Race. It seems like it is a great spot for him to come back as many of his fans will be there to support him. Also, it is a non points race so it gives him and the team a chance to "test" out how ready he may or not be.

So, Kyle may or may not be a huge factor this weekend but it will give him and his team a good measuring stick as to where he may or may not be on his road back in the seat. It will be nice to see him back in the #18 and hopefully things go well. Good luck Kyle.


The Rowdy Chase


After talking about his comeback lets move on to bigger concerns in NASCAR about Kyle Busch. NASCAR announced that if Kyle wins this season and he gets into the top 30 that they will grant a waiver into the Chase.

This coming after earlier this season NASCAR also granted a waiver for Kurt Busch when he was suspended for a few races for off the track issues. At some point, when does NASCAR stop handing out waivers?

My biggest issue here is that it was 11 races to start the season. My view is, most fans of NASCAR want outsiders to view racing as a sport (it is), but in sport injuries always effect a team or individuals chances at a Championship. Injuries are rough luck, they suck, and they are unexpected, but they happen in sports and it can make or break a season.

So, if you want the world or sports to take NASCAR seriously then this injury must effect Kyle whether it is "fair" or not. He was out 11 races, or 30.5% of the season. He had to sit out 42.3% if the regular season and yet NASCAR will give him a shot at the Chase.

When a NFL team has to play without Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers for 7 games of the season will the NFL just say, its ok if you win 50% of your games you get a playoff spot? No. The NFL has a bunch of issues, but issues with granting waivers to teams for playoff spots for a star player getting injured is baffling. That is what NASCAR has on its hands.

I truly feel bad for Kyle Busch. The injury wasn't his fault and there is nothing he could do about it. But, that is sports. What his focus should be is to get better and ramp up for next season to make a title run.

NASCAR has stumbled over rules and gray area and it is constantly turning fans off. If NASCAR wants to not only keep fans but also bring them in then they need to start thinking about how outsiders see the sport. I for one, can not see this being a good image for outside fans on the "sport" of NASCAR.


1.5 Mile domination


NASCAR has made stops at four 1.5 mile tracks in 2015 (Atlanta, Vegas, Texas, and Kansas). So far NASCAR has only seen two different drivers win at these four 1.5 mile tracks. Those drivers would be Jimmie Johnson (3) and Kevin Harvick (1).

The "cookie cutter" 1.5 mile tracks have been all about the #48 and #4. Even in the three races Johnson won, Harvick finished 2nd in all three. This domination begs the question, can anyone stop these two on NASCAR's most abundant tracks?

During the last 10 race Chase, half of the tracks are 1.5 mile stops. This seems to set up Harvick and Johnson as clear cut favorites if no one closes the gaps on this style track. One of those 5 1.5 mile tracks is the series finale at Miami Homestead to decide who is the 2015 Sprint Cup Champion.

So, who might be close? Brad Keselowski has finishes of 9th, 7th, 5th, and 7th. Joey Logano has finishes of 4th, 10th, 4th, and 5th. Martin Truex Jr has finishes of 6th, 2nd, 9th, and 9th. Dale Earnhardt Jr has finishes of 3rd, 4th, 3rd, and 3rd. So, if JJ and Harvick are the favorites what two out of the bunch can make it to the end with them?

Last year Penske was strong all season so they might be favorites for the Ford lovers, but Dale Earnhardt Jr has a huge following and you can't ignore three 3rd place finishes in four 1.5's. Truex might be the odd guy out, but only because he hasn't won in 2015 yet, but we all watched Ryan Newman do the impossible and make it to Miami without one.

Right now, I would play my title favorites by the favorites on 1.5 mile tracks, which means Harvick, Johnson, Earnhardt, Logano, Keselowski, and Truex are all front runners. It may not be the only thing you need to do to win a Championship, but 1.5 mile dominance will play a large role in it.


Sophomore Slump?


Is the Sophomore Slump a real thing in NASCAR? If you ask Kyle Larson he will most likely attribute it to something else, but maybe superstition and sayings are a real thing. Through 11 races Larson has 3 top 10's and 0 top 5's. He is currently 22nd in points and things just seem to not be going his way like they did in his 2014 season.

This after an impressive rookies season that many thought (including myself) he would build upon. So, am I writing Kyle off so early in the season? Not at all. I will stand strong next to my statement he will win a race or two this season, but we can not just shut the door on how rough his 2015 season has been so far.

Last year through 11 races he climbed up to 12th in the standings with 5 top 10's and 2 top 5's which included a runner up finish at Fontana. His 2014 average finish of 15.09 (through 11 races) is down to 18.64.

On the bright side, Larson finished 2014 with top 10 finishes at Charlotte and Dover in the Fall and those two tracks are next up. So, it will be interesting to watch how he handles the next handful of races (including Pocono) where he also ran well in 2014. If he is going to snap out of it, it might be in the next stretch so stay the course Larson fans.

2015 NASCAR Behind the Wall Hot Laps: Week 11

The World of Racing

By Richard Tix

Hot Laps will be a weekly article on news in the world of NASCAR. I will write these articles any weeks where I have a thought or opinion on NASCAR news that is worth sharing. So, this could be an every week thing, or just every few weeks. Its an opinion piece, so it is open to discussion and debate and would love to here your thoughts.

Previous Hot Lap Articles

• Week 6
• Week 5
• Week 4

GoDaddy Leaves Danica


A few days before Talladega news broke that GoDaddy would be ending it's sponsorship with SHR and Danica Patrick following the 2015 season. It was known that GoDaddy's contact was up after 2015 but no one knew what would come of it.

It is also known that Patrick's contract with SHR is up at the end of the season as well. Both sides (Danica and SHR) have stated that they would like to be back together for 2016. However, nothing real has come of it yet.

GoDaddy did say they were just done sponsoring her in NASCAR and she may still be a spokesman for the company going forward.

To me it just seems like GoDaddy believes they have hit there plateau as far as hitting a new market in NASCAR goes. At some point it is no longer beneficial to put so much money forth especially in NASCAR when you can not physically see the gains.

The move puts even more spotlight on Danica's 2016 situation. I have no doubt that Patrick can find other sponsor's moving forward. She is still a huge spotlight in the sport and a very marketable individual. The first question is, who will step up?

My bigger question is, if they don't find a sponsor by the end of 2015 will SHR bring her back? Will Danica be in a different ride come 2016? I do believe if Danica want's to stay in NASCAR that someone will have a ride for her. Worst case scenario is a smaller team will profit from gaining her sponsors, but I feel someone else would open up.

At this point, I still lean towards SHR bringing Danica back, but it will be something to keep an eye on. The whole SHR contract may revolve around what kind to interest she gets from potential sponsors.


The Talladega Train


This past week NASCAR headed to Talladega for it's second stop at a superspeedway in 2015. Last year NASCAR had four stops between Daytona and Talladega and at each stop they ran the same car package. This year NASCAR changed the aero package for the cars, but they did not touch the superspeedway package.

I bring that up because it is a key point in the discussion of why it was't NASCAR's fault that the race ended in single file.

Let's start back at the statement that it doesn't look like tandem drafting will ever be brought back, so lets take that out the window. Last year NASCAR had some pretty good racing at Daytona and Dega and most fans wouldn't complain about the action they got. In fact, some fans even praised the new package (new in 2014).

Pack racing isn't the same thing we get week to week and it sure isn't tandem racing, but it is a racing style that takes time and strategy of knowing when to go. Some bad luck is involved and every race teams get involved in wrecks that they have no part in, but that is part of racing. It is four races in a year that don't play by the same rules.

It gives little teams a shot at being noticed and even from time to time a chance to win. A win from one of these teams could change a season or a whole career. These four stops are a unique stop on the season kind of like road courses are.

Yet, NASCAR can never win with fans.

This week it was because the end of the race was mostly just single file. So, fans made uneducated statements blaming it on the same car package that they once enjoyed last season with dramatic finishes (such as the Chase race Keselowski won).

I thing fans are starting to forget not every finish is a dramatic one with last lap passes and Green-White-Checkered finishes. Let's say NASCAR would have thrown a fantum caution with 5 laps to go for debris that would have created a G-W-C. The cars would have been bunched up and the single file finish would have changed. But, under that thought fans would have then been outraged that it was like the WWE and everything was fixed. See, a lose lose.

Back to blaming NASCAR. Obviously it can't be NASCAR's fault if they didn't throw a fantum caution and because they didn't change the aero package from something fans enjoyed in 2014, can it?

Of course not, but why would fans ever take it out on the drivers? The teams? The spotters? Or just the fact that no one had a shot at making a move?

NASCAR changed the rules to make winning a bigger draw for teams, I mean it locks you into the Chase, yet is can never guarantee an exciting finish. In the end, Sunday had to do with drivers not sticking themselves out there for the win. Guys like JJ, Hamlin, Harvick, and Busch all have a win and could have stepped out. Why not? I mean they are locked in so why not gamble? Add to that a part time driver like Blaney had nothing to lose.

But, no one went. Guys like BK and Smoke were hung out to dry earlier because they tried starting a line. So, NASCAR dropped the ball? No, NASCAR had everything in place for drivers to go for the win.

Teams and spotters could have been working together like you hear many times with 20 laps, 10 laps, 5 laps to go. Will you go with my guy is he drops down? Nothing.

So, don't put this on NASCAR. NASCAR can only hold the race event, give them a competitive package, and even go to the lengths of trying to make a win mean more to get these teams to go for it in the closing laps.

This time it's not on NASCAR, but might be on your favorite driver and there team.....

2015 NASCAR Behind the Wall Hot Laps: Week 6

Cautions and the Evil of Social Media

By Richard Tix

Hot Laps will be a weekly article on news in the world of NASCAR. I will write these articles any weeks where I have a thought or opinion on NASCAR news that is worth sharing. So, this could be an every week thing, or just every few weeks. Its an opinion piece, so it is open to discussion and debate and would love to here your thoughts.


Social Media's Monster in the Corner of the Room


I touched base a bit on this topic in my Pit Road Week 5 Article, but thought it was bigger then just a race review article. We are now in the day of technology, for better or worse. Lately I have seen the worst side come out and it happens all too much.

Sports stars and Celebrities have come to grips with the fact that social media and social media attention is now a part of there lives if they so sign up for it. They know what comes with the territory and normally they take it in stride.

However, there are two sides to social media and interaction. Many "fans" forget that even though they now have free rain to try and contact a driver at any moment over a social media platform that the they're still human. Within the technology and the screen sitting in front of these "fans" they lose sense of being a good person and individual.

Name calling starts coming which leads to even more vulgar statements. Pictures and memes start to circle around like a note in Kindergarten making fun of the kid with glasses. Sometimes it even goes as far as other family members or significant others getting pulled into the classless name calling.

All because people can sit behind a screen and never be seen? They can act like the tough guy because nothing will come of it? They can steal some attention because not only might that driver see it but they can maybe stir up the fan base as well. It really comes down to a sad reality that some people can stoop so low as to immature name calling and vulgarize statements. The worst thing might be is many of these "fans" teach there own children not to do this stuff to fellow friends or classmates, yet sit on there personal device to attach a driver they don't even know other then what they openly share with us.

You can have your opinion on a driver or NASCAR personality, you can dislike them, hate them, bring up reason's you think they're not good at there job, all of those are opinions. But what is with the second grade level name calling? Memes? You are degrading yourself even if these people on social media never meet you. Have a little pride in how you hold yourself accountable in day to day interactions with people you have physical and personal relationships with or those in the cyber world, because in the end we are all people.


To Debris or not Debris?


After the Auto Club 400 the Debris issue came to NASCAR's forefront. It has always been there, but now its a hot topic again. That's because on Sunday NASCAR threw a handful of debris cautions and fans got upset because of NASCAR's lack of clarity.

It also heated up because they came late in the race and may have altered the finish.

So, when does NASCAR throw a debris caution and when will they not? Everyone blames NASCAR when they do not see a shot of the debris on the track. Most of the time the anger comes more from the fans of drivers effected. So, it varies every time how upset a fan gets.

Just like NASCAR and throwing the yellow. Every debris caution is different as well as every late race spin or wreck. I think if fans were in NASCAR's shoes they would have just as hard of a time pulling or not pulling the trigger on ANY late race caution.

In the end, its a judgement call by officials that is made in a matter of seconds when they actually pull the trigger. It is not just a NASCAR thing either. Every Sport comes down to judgement at some point by an officiating crew even when that sport uses instant replay. At some point some finish will come down to judgement and going by the book. Sometimes even the book is hard to read which lead to fans saying there is no clarity or consistency. Just see the SMU game in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, fan judgement v officials judgement v rules.

So, in my opinion sometimes you have to roll with it. Now, I am one that still will argue when i think a call is wrong, but after awhile I have to move on because it isn't worth fighting something that came down to human judgement. So, have at it when discussing the ruling on Sunday, but don't blame NASCAR for every problem every time something happens, sometimes you can do nothing about human judgement except roll with it.

Side Note on the Last Caution (due to Biffle): This was completely different than the Daytona incident. At Daytona Larson was in the wall and the medical crew wasn't sure if he needed attention. It was a hard hit and they had to act right away. With Biffle it wasn't a hard hit and he eventually drove off the track before the cars got back or near him.

In fact, the whole field made it past where he spun and had no incident. Maybe you can try and fight the fact that there could have been some debris left over from Biffle, but they had no incident and with one pass by there wasn't a big concern. The other debris caution in question was with around 15 laps to go (I believe) and would have time to cut a tire AND have time for that tire to wear down. But, I do see some peoples argument that Biffles' car could have sprayed debris. The only thing we know there is nothing came of it and all the drivers made it back safe.


Martin Turex Jr. The Long Road Back


This one will be short and sweet, but I thought it was only right to continue to spotlight Martin Truex Jr and his return back to success. Ever since 2013 at Richmond life has been rough for he and his family, personally and professionally.

Well, he has started 2015 completely opposite as 2014. This year he has started with 5 straight top 10's. In 2014 he only had five total top 10's. He has also lead more laps in 2015 then he did the entire 2014 season and is currently 3rd in the points. The top 10 streak is bound to end at some point but it is great to watch while it continues.

Even when it ends, Truex and Furniture Row have shown they have bounced back and are ready to contend to make the Chase. Even more then that though, they have shown the fight that they could pull off a win or two and maybe even make a big run during the Chase.

It will be a fun run to watch all season! Good luck to Martin and the #78 team.

2015 NASCAR Behind the Wall Hot Laps: Week 5

Qualifying Backwards and a Star Returns to the Track

By Richard Tix

Hot Laps will be a weekly article on news in the world of NASCAR. I will write these articles any weeks where I have a thought or opinion on NASCAR news that is worth sharing. So, this could be an every week thing, or just every few weeks. Its an opinion piece, so it is open to discussion and debate and would love to here your thoughts.

You know the deal by now, its week 5 and we have some NASCAR topics hanging around to be discussed! So lets get right into them and take a peak at what I think on each issue. As always, your opinions are welcome because, well, it is an opinion piece and everyone has one!


The Return of Kurt Busch


The biggest news of last week was that Kurt Busch was reinstated by NASCAR to drive in the Sprint Cup. After a legal battle with his ex-girlfriend Kurt was finally free to get back to racing. Last week I touch a bit on his return in Hot Laps: Week 4. Well, that seemed like where the story was going to cool down and end for awhile, but Kurt had different ideas.

On Sunday Kurt Busch not only returned but had a huge impact in the race. He ran the race in the same set up as Harvick and was a front runner most of the day. Kurt didn't have enough to pucsh Kevin for the win, but it was an encouraging sign for he and the #41 team. No one really expected him to be back in mid season form so fast but after his showing in practice and during the race it sure seems like Kurt is ready to go.

It will be interesting to watch him the rest of the way in 2015 after he had such a tough 2014 season on and off the track.


NASCAR Qualifying Backwards


This week NASCAR finally announced a change in qualifying. No, we are still doing group qualifying (I know some of you are hoping for that change, which by the way I don't get why?) No, the change is that we will finally start to pull out of spots on pit road instead of backing out.

To me, backing out of the pit stalls was always puzzling. It just causes more confusion and more opportunity for something to go wrong. I mean, in racing there is almost zero times in a race you will back up, so why is it part of qualifying anyways?

It will be nice to see this change this week at Auto Club and at least start to help NASCAR resemble racing instead of trying to park on Black Friday at Walmart. My only concern is why has it taken NASCAR so long?


What has NASCAR done with Tony Stewart?


So far in 2015 there is no question that Tony Stewart is the series biggest disappointment. That's hard to say when one of NASCAR's biggest stars in the last 15 years is struggling so mightily. Not only that, but he had a rough 2014 season as well. So what gives?

My biggest fear is that he never recovers and makes it back to the top where he made a mainstay. I am a fan of NASCAR first, my drivers second, so I hate seeing the biggest stars so far down. I believe the sport is better when these guys are thriving.

On that note, I am just not sure when or how Smoke will recover? Much of this all started when he first got hurt and he never got to get into the full swing of the car changes. On top of that NASCAR changes its car packages year after year and Tony has been missing a huge amount of seat time at those very moments.

So, while other drivers are learning the new cars, Tony has sat on the sidelines watching. It just seems to me he is so far behind that catching up is as tough as it comes. Add to all of that the way the new package runs is something that gets under Smokes skin. Early in the season we have heard him over and over swear about the new package and how he hates how close it is to the XFINITY cars.

I tend try to never doubt Tony because we have seen over the years he is one of the best drivers in Cup, but the longer the struggles go on and the more frustrated he gets that harder it is to see him back on top.

Note: The positive is, he ran well on Sunday before wrecking the first time. He was looking at a top 15 finish, for him lately would be a good start in the right direction.

2015 NASCAR Behind the Wall Hot Laps: Week 4

By Richard Tix

Hot Laps will be a weekly article on news in the world of NASCAR. I will write these articles any weeks where I have a thought or opinion on NASCAR news that is worth sharing. So, this could be an every week thing, or just every few weeks. Its an opinion piece, so it is open to discussion and debate and would love to here your thoughts.

You know the deal, its NASCAR Hot Laps. Better known as NASCAR Hot Issues. Also known as NASCAR Hot News. Sometimes referred to as NASCAR Hot Topics. No matter how you see it, its all of the above. So lets get into this weeks addition of "Hot Laps."


NASCAR on FOX. Commercials on FOX


NASCAR is a sport, but also a business. FOX is also a business and in the end what matters most to them is the almighty dollar. Now, NASCAR and Fox both need the fans to get that dollar, so in a sense they still do care about the fans.

I normally try and refrain from to much anger over commercials during sporting event because they go hand in hand. My typical philosophy is if you don't want to see them go to the sporting event itself. I know that is not always a choice for many viewers (trust me in the world of NASCAR and living in Minnesota I understand the struggle), but it still holds true if you are watching it on TV you have to expect commercials.

**Narwhal's, Narwhals, Swimming in the ocean....**

Ok, sorry for that commercial, back to the article

But, lets get past the part I understand about sports and commercials, because Sunday was enough to push me over the edge and complain about the coverage.

The past two weeks Fox has started the race out by going to commercial early (lap 9-11) and going side by side. Both weeks we have had a lap 25 competition caution as well. So, first up, why can Fox not wait for the built in commercial break at lap 25? Even if they have one, why is the first commercial break of the day side by side? I would rather save that side by side for the end of the race.

Which brings me to my biggest annoyance of Sunday. With 15 laps left in the race and it still under green Fox went to commercial break and not even a side by side. We all know at the end of the race we get more and more cautions which leads to more and more commercials, "commercials bread commercials" I guess. So, with all of that being said how does Fox go to commercial and not at the very least side by side at the most crucial point in a race? It really was un-explainable and unacceptable on Fox's part.

I get it, we have to live with commercials, including the annoying Narwhal commercial (which we didn't see much on Sunday), but the coverage to start 2015 has been horrendous and Fox doesn't have a lot of excuses. Move the side by side early in the race to the end so we don't miss the end action, please.


Hot AND Cold Start for Jeff Gordon


After an exciting 2014 season for Jeff Gordon and crew that was mostly on a high note, 2015 has been an up and down roller coaster that hasn't ended. This weekend in Las Vegas continued on that note when Gordon won the Pole for the Kobalt Tools 400. Then on Saturday Danica Patrick got loose in practice and Gordon ran intro her.

So, Gordon took his back up car and started in the rear of the field. Throughout the day Gordon worked his way slowly and methodically to the front finally reaching the top 10 at one point. Just when he thought the worst was over his teammate Jimmie Johnson got into the wall and Jeb Burton checked up. At that moment Gordon was looking to pass Jeb, but got caught in the back of his car because of JJ's date with he wall.

The damage was enough to wreck Gordon's day, but he stayed out and finished 18th. So, not only was the weekend up and down, but just the race in general was. Gordon has two poles on the year, but nothing to show in finishes.

The ironic thing about the season and where it could still go is that last year Gordon was in a spot where most of his fans were upset with the new Chase and wanted a points only Chase, in which Gordon would have won.

Well, its year two of the new Chase and points format and the system is finally on Gordon's side. That's because if it was a points only system he would be starting in a huge hole. But, Gordon's hole is not too far to climb out since now all he has to do is break his unlucky streak and find a win before the Chase. It seems very likely he will do just that at some point. His #24 Hendrick Chevy has been fast all year and so have the rest of his teammates.

So, Gordon fans, don't worry the season is not over.


Kurt Busch is Back


Just today (Wednesday the 11th) NASCAR lifted its suspension on Stewart-Haas Driver Kurt Busch. I have still not heard news on Chevy's relationship with Kurt and if they will allow him back in there cars.

Leaving that part behind it was good to see him get reinstated so fast after no charges would be filed against him from Delaware. I still hold to my opinion that NASCAR got it right as a sport and business stand point to originally suspend him.

With so many domestic abuse story's hitting the headlines in the sports world the "Big Media" would have had a field day if NASCAR let him race. Charges or none, Guilty or not, NASCAR had to sit him down until more came out with how bad it would have looked if this story came out another way (with Kurt being guilty).

Unfortunately public image plays a role in every sport, every business, and every real life matter. NASCAR had no choice in my opinion.

That being said, I am happy Kurt has been allowed to come back to NASCAR on short notice. I think that without being found guilty that NASCAR shouldn't hold him out. I do think that in some aspects Kurt should still have to go through the recovery program, but while being reinstated. I think he has had enough past issues that it would do nothing but help him out as an individual.

That last part of this case is the fact that NASCAR also said he is now Chase Eligible after missing three races. This is the opinion I am in the middle on and am not sure how I feel. NASCAR suspended him yet will let him be eligible for the Chase. At the same time he was found to be not guilty because they didn't have enough of a case, so he still missed a bunch of races and was in that predicament to start with. If they let him into the Chase, what constitutes not being eligible?

Even though I think NASCAR made the right move suspending him in the first place because they were in a tough spot, this move of making him Chase eligible almost looks like they think they made a mistake (even though they stood by there suspension last week). It will be interesting to see when NASCAR issues a statement on the matter what they say about his Chase eligibility.

2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Headlines

By Richard Tix

Last year the offseason was full of changes that got the NASCAR community in an uproar. From Austin Dillon coming into the Cup level in the #3 to NASCAR changing everything we knew about the Sprint Cup Chase, it seemed like it all changed.

This offseason NASCAR didn't make as many changes but that does not mean we don't have any news that made headlines before the season. So just like last season, NASCAR Behind the Wall is going to take a quick look at some of the biggest headlines going into the 2015 Daytona 500.

• Jeff Gordon Done Full-Time Racing After 2015
• Possibly the biggest headline of the 2015 offseason was Gordon announcing 2015 would be his last full-time season. It was even bigger news for myself because I grew up a NASCAR fan primarily in the 1990's, so Jeff Gordon is one of the last big time drivers of the early 90's around. He has impacted the sport in so many ways its hard to count, and that's before even talking about his on track accomplishments. It will be a fun and emotional season watching the Gordon in the #24.
• Chase: Year Number Two
• Last year NASCAR revamped its playoff system after ten years of the original Chase (a few minor tweaks along the way). In 2014 the way you get into the chase, how many get in, and the points in general changed. Well, in 2015 NASCAR heads into year two of the new Chase and will see exactly how year one effected fans. I for one am a fan of the new system and once again can not wait to see how it turns out.

• Do You Need A Win?
• While we are on the Chase, do you need a win to win a Cup title? Ryan Newman ruffled some feathers when he made the Finale in Miami without a win in 2014. That meant, he had a shot at a Sprint Cup Title without a single win on the season. Everyone focused on the fact that winning meant more in 2014, but I think people looked past you still don't have to win. Both statements are true. Winning does mean more because it automatically gets you in or moves you to the next round, but consistency is not dead and Newman proved that.
• NASCAR's New Rules
• NASCAR didn't change as much as they did in 2014, but that isn't saying nothing has changed. The big changes: No more testing other than team testing that either NASCAR or Goodyear has set up. A new Aero package that includes reduced horse power and less down force. Also, NASCAR now has rain tires for the two road course stops in the season. The biggest one to watch will be the new car package and what reduced HP will do to the racing. I thought they hit it big in the 2014 package and it seemed like we had some good racing again, but NASCAR will continue to tinker in 2015 and we may end up with some mixed results.

• ESPN is Gone and NBCSN is in.
• Some were happy to see ESPN's somewhat lackluster coverage gone from the NASCAR schedule in 2015. With that move NBC jumped in and took back over some coverage for the first time in awhile. I think the big issue some might be missing is that 13 of the races are on NBCSN (NBC Sports Network) and 5 of those are Chase races. The issue? I would put my money on many fans do not have NBCSN compared to the millions that had ESPN. My biggest issue is that 5 of the 10 Chase races are on this channel of NBC that many people wont get.
• Carl Edwards with Joe Gibbs Racing
• In the past two years we have watched Matt Kenseth move from RFR to JGR and win 7 races and Kevin Harvick move from RCR to SHR and win a Championship. This year the big mover is Edwards from RFR to JGR. Will we see a refreshed Carl? Will he compete for a title again? I think he bounces back in a big way.

• JGR Moves to a Four Car Team
• With the addition of Edwards JGR moves to a four car team in 2015. Questions always come up when teams that have been three car teams move to four. On top of that Toyota released the new 2015 Camry, so JGR has a lot to adjust to in 2015.
• Kyle Larson's Second Season
• 2014 ROY Kyle Larson enters his second Sprint Cup season. After an offseason of people saying he was coming up too soon, Larson proved everyone wrong. Year two might be even better and Larson will be looking for win number one all year.
• Chase Elliott's First Cup Race
• In 2015, 2014 Nationwide Champion and ROY will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut in the #25 for Hendrick Motorsports. However, the bigger news was that he will be taking over the #24 in 2016 for Jeff Gordon. NASCAR has a ton of young talent that will be making there debut's in the next few years which is exciting for any NASCAR fan. The new wave is here.

• Will JR Motorsports Join Cup Soon?
• This will continue to be a headline for a few years, but the idea seems to be out there. After a strong start to the 2014 Nationwide season I started to think about the possibility. Then Chase Elliott won the Nationwide Championship for JR Motorsports. So everything was pointing towards branching into Cup in the next few years. Now, news broke that JR Motorsports will be entering the Camping World Truck Series as well. If things keep going in the right direction with they move to Cup soon? Its something to keep an eye on in the coming seasons. 
• Jimmie Johnson Bounce Back?
• With four wins and 20 top 10's and we are talking about bouncing back? It's the JJ standard. In no way was 2014 a bad year for JJ, but he and the #48 team expect to be competing for titles, so in that sense it was a down year. 2015 should prove to give JJ plenty of fire to get back on top after a down season for JJ standards in 2014.

Added by the Readers:
A few extra headlines readers said they will be looking at in the 2015 season

• No More Side Skirts
• During NASCAR Media week they announced that the ever popular side skirt flaring would now be illegal in 2015. If caught, the team will have to come down pit road and serve a penalty. -Lori Sue on Google +
• Pit Stop Cameras
• NASCAR is doing away with some NASCAR track side/pit officials and in return will be adding camera posts to each track to monitor pit stops and to issue penalties. 45 HD cameras will be placed to watch each pit stall from different angles and a monitoring crew will look at the evidence sent to them to issue out penalties to teams. It gets ride of some potential dangers in regards to extra officials near the cars, but might bring in a new technological edge to how we know pit stops. -Jerome Teal on Google +
• Crew Chief Changes
• This offseason included a few CC changes on teams throughout NASCAR. Some included are Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr and a rotation within JGR (after adding Carl Edwards to the team). Each will be interesting to watch along the way. -Jerome Teal on Google +

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:

• Predicting a NASCAR Champion
• 2014 Chase Predictions
• Ranking the Greats (All-Time)
• Ranking the Greats (Modern Era)
• Ranking the Greats (Chase Era)