Race Reports
Dover Race Report
Last weekend at Dover provides a great example of how two races at the same track and within twenty-four hours of each other, can turn out very different. Dover Lead-O-Gram I like the Lead-O-Gram because […]
The Building Speed Blog
Practice
Which Drivers Improve their Finishing Positions in Doubleheaders?
How has eliminating practices affected finishing positions in NASCAR races? Unfortunately, we can’t create a parallel, COVID-free universe as a control system to answer the question. However, COVID has forced NASCAR to run four weekends […]
Qualifying
Why NASCAR Quarantine Qualifying Had To Change
My return to the unique problems posed by quarantine qualifying is in part because Clint Bowyer tweeted that the pseudo-random draw was really messing him up and it wasn’t fair. I wanted to know if […]
Race Reports
Loudon Lead Changes
In reviewing the stats from Sunday’s race, the things that stood out to me all had to do with lead changes. Here’s the New Hampshire Motor Speedway race report. Lead-O-Gram The lead-o-gram show the dominance […]
Safety
Is Stockcar Racing the Safest Form of Motorsports?
None of NASCAR’s three national series have had a driver die in an on-track incident since the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. And that’s despite some pretty spectacular accidents. We all wondered if we […]
Race Reports
Texas Race Report
A close finish, an underdog winner and tempers that matched the temperature. Here’s your Texas Race Report. I know it’s technically not spring, but it’s the first Texas race of the year. Since most of […]
Qualifying
Does NASCAR Need Qualifying?
I’ve made the argument that NASCAR needs at least a little practice. But what about qualifying? Does it have a place in post-pandemic NASCAR? The Problem Racing with the coronavirus forced NASCAR to cancel everything […]
Graph of the Day
Indy Proved It: NASCAR Needs Practices
The coronavirus forced NASCAR to eliminate qualifying and practices. Some people think that should become a permanent change. Indianapolis showed why it shouldn’t. I mean, who expected The Big One to happen on Pit Road? […]
Graph of the Day
What To Expect from Indy
Each track has its own characteristics. What can we expect this weekend for the Cup Race at Indy? More Damage Than We’ve Seen The thing that stood out to me on the first pass through […]
Lead
Ballast: Tungsten vs. Lead
NASCAR penalized a couple of teams recently for dropping tungsten ballast on the racetrack. Let’s revisit why those chunks of tungsten are there in the first place. Ballast is weight added to a racecar to […]