2025 Season
2025 Iowa Race Report
The 2025 Iowa Race Reports includes bitten fingernails due to fuel concerns, a Brad Keselowski surge, and a rash of cautions that threw a bunch of strategies out the window. […]
Keselowski, Brad
Blaney, Ryan
More Practice Could Help Improve the Next Gen Car
When I started writing about NASCAR in 2007, drivers usually practiced Friday morning in preparation for that afternoon’s qualifying. Two Saturday practices gave them time to dial in their car for Sunday’s race. […]
Byron, William
2023 Nashville Race Report: Lead Changes
The 2023 Nashville Race Report: Lead Changes features three-wide restarts, (mostly) respectful racing up front, and one smashed watermelon. Caution/Lead-O-Gram As usual, we start with the caution- and lead-o-gram for the 2023 Nashville race. This […]
Bristol Motor Speedway
How Power Steering Affects Lap Times
Brad Keselowski lost his power steering early in Stage 3 of the fall Bristol race. I wondered if we could quantify how much power steering affects lap times. Turns out we can. Below is a […]
Aerodynamics
Brad Keselowski: The Smartest Driver in NASCAR
Brad Keselowski may not have an engineering degree or years and years of experience, but I’m ready to nominate him as the Smartest Driver in NASCAR. He is a man with a plan and it’s […]
Busch, Kurt
NASCAR 2018: The Year in Charts and Graphs
This is the time of the year when everyone takes one final look back at the last year before turning to think about the new one. So, in this last blog of the year, I thought I’d summarize the season in charts and graphs. […]
Busch, Kurt
Winning vs. Consistency: The Delicate Balance of the NASCAR Playoffs
The NASCAR playoffs determine the season’s champion. Is the champion the guy who wins the most races? Or the guy who runs up front the most?
There’s no scientific way to answer this question, but there is data. NASCAR has modified their playoffs to try to create a suitable balance between winning and consistency. Have they succeeded?
Aerodynamics
NASCAR: Did Toyota’s New Car Give them the Advantage in 2017?
Advantage Toyota? NASCAR’s perennial challenge is keeping manufacturers’ cars even so that no one has an unfair advantage. There is no denying that Toyota had a great 2017. Some people would say that’s because Martin […]
Drivers
Retirements, Replacements and Rookies
Retirement He didn’t use the word ‘retirement’, but the sad news last week was that Matt Kenseth won’t have a Cup ride in 2018. It’s partly his choice. He could have done a Kasey Kahne […]
Aerodynamics
Changing Manufacturers: More than just Decals?
I’d Rather Fight Than Switch If you remember what commercial that was from, then congrats. You are — like me — old. It used to be that an owner was loyal to his manufacturer to […]