It’s time for our weekly Friday morning tour around the racing world. From hot laps to the main event, here’s what’s on our mind this week.
Hot Laps: Nationals Entries
As of July 25, 95 cars were entered in the 360 Knoxville Nationals and 93 had signed up to compete in the 62nd Knoxville Nationals Aug. 9-12 at Knoxville Raceway.
Qualifying: Skills Competition
Maybe as part of its annual All-Star Race weekend, NASCAR should follow the lead of baseball, football and basketball and offer some type of skills competition.
Events could include helmet throw, back-handed slap, shooting the bird, the “I never touched him” explanation contest, burnouts and sunglasses modeling.
First Heat: Shocking Development
It’s not often when racing teams split up that we’re surprised, but it was stunning to find out that Hall of Famers Lance Dewease and Don Kreitz Jr. went their separate ways. It’s unlikely either will win the number of races they did together again.
Dewease and Kreitz won 71 features between 2016 and 2023.
Second Heat: Missing The Short Trackers
We understand television ratings and such, but the Superstar Racing Experience was a lot more interesting with Doug Coby, Luke Fenhaus and Scott Bloomquist than it is with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.
It was a big deal for short-track racers and fans of short-track racing.
Third Heat: Four Points
After six rounds of the 36th annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week, Justin Grant leads Brady Bacon by a mere four points.
Events at Bloomington Speedway and Tri-State Speedway remain. Grant has won three of the six features and Bacon, who leads the national standings in pursuit of his fifth USAC championship, is winless during Sprint Week.
Fourth Heat: Where’s The Youth?
Without a doubt, NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series competition is among the most exciting forms of motorsports and it features one of the most diverse and interesting casts of characters in all of motorsports.
But the Funny Car and Top Fuel classes are damn difficult for younger racers to participate. Three-time series champion Matt Hagan is the youngest driver in the top 10 in Funny Car points this season at age 40. Meanwhile, second-generation racer Austin Prock is the youngest Top Fuel racer ranked in the top 10 in his class. He’s 28.
Dash: Over The Air
Early Friday morning NASCAR dropped the first piece of its new television rights package, and it was a surprise to many.
The CW will be the home of all NASCAR Xfinity Series races beginning in 2025. The six-year deal marks the first time all events in the series will be available on over-the-air television. It also separates Xfinity Series races from Cup Series races, which have traditional aired on the same network.
B Main: Another Cycle
Kevin Harvick is retiring at the end of this season. Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch have both talked openly about their retirement plans and their days being numbered. Brad Keselowski is approximately the same age as those two.
Makes you wonder about the face of the NASCAR Cup Series moving forward. It survived the retirement of the Bobby and Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and so many others, but something about this feels different.
Do Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Ross Chastain have the same ability to carry the series as this group?
Drivers seem to cycle in and out of the series without it losing much steam, but with a new television agreement on the way, it’s certainly something to consider.
Feature: Trophy Hunting
A.J. Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing are taking a lot of abuse on social media from both NASCAR media members and fans who only follow or care about the NASCAR Cup Series.
Allmendinger and team have opted to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America on Saturday instead of practicing and qualifying his Cup Series car at Richmond Raceway. Allmendinger, who returned to the Cup Series full time this season, is 17 points below the cutline for the NASCAR Playoffs and critics believe he should be focused on that objective.
Allmendinger may very well make the playoffs either way, but he has no chance of winning the title. He does have a tremendous opportunity to win at Road America.
Why do we applaud drivers such as Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and William Byron for trophy hunting and crucify others?
Parting Shot: Say What?
After another SRX slamfest Thursday night at Virginia’s Pulaski County Motorsports Park, 68-year-old Ken Schrader, who ran the first three races in the series, criticized former Indy car racer Paul Tracy and gave the impression he may not run any more races with the series.
“I’m not running another race with him. I’m done,” Schrader said.
Schrader has probably run more short-track races than the rest of the SRX competitors combined.