Let The Engines Roar: by Anthony Baker

The real season as many call it begins this weekend as NASCAR takes to the Las Vegas motor speedway. This is the first of many tracks on the circuit that don’t run the racing packages that we saw at Daytona and Atlanta, so there is more chance to spread out and the drivers are in more control.     Drivers now have more of a opportunity to control their own destiny this weekend as now that the tapered spacers, (a part used to restrict horsepower and create pack racing), is taken off, we should see a more traditional race approach from drivers. The skill set is placed more into the drivers hands than the draft so it will be interesting to see how the points shake up this weekend.       Starting off the season with two drafting tracks has led to some heavy hitters running at the bottom half of the standings coming into this weekend like Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, two drivers who made the playoffs last year but currently run 31st and 34th in points. The t...

        We saw it happen at the Daytona 500 and now NASCAR wants to do something about it. So far throughout the week there have been several drivers who have voiced their displeasure with the fuel saving methods on Monday. While we saw an interesting race, there were times when we saw that the drivers were going slower than usual while all still in a pack. There were times that the big pack was around 4 seconds off pace, traveling around the hi banked speedway at 175 mph. Drivers were getting told as early as lap 1 to save fuel and from drivers to industry members and team members, a lot of people didn’t like it.      NASCAR has responded. On Tuesday morning Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competition for NASCAR, spoke on the matter. Sawyer wants drivers to push it to the limit from start to finish. He acknowledged that the fuel saving strategy was on a trend of getting more aggressive, and said that NASCAR will take “a deeper dive into this pa...

      It’s Daytona speedweek and we have drama waiting to happen in every series that returns this weekend. It’s time for The Real season to kick off and it looks like it’s going to kick off with a bang before the racing even starts.      Every series that is scheduled to race this weekend has a higher entry list, than the number of spots available for the actual race. I will go over the implications of each qualifying session in order from Wednesday to Saturday. Today I talk about the next two days of on track qualifying .        Wednesday kicks off NASCAR Cup Series qualifying which sets the front row, 1st and 2nd position, for the Daytona 500. The rest of the positions determine the starting order for the duel races. The duel races are two 150 mile races that help set the grid for the Daytona 500. The duel lineups are again set by single car qualifying speeds with odd numbers starting in duel 1, and even numbers starting in duel 2. We...

 The dust has settled and hopefully the tempers have calmed as the Clash is now a few days old. We now have about a week and a half until qualifying for the Daytona 500 to think about, “What’s next for the Clash?”       If you were to ask me, I would honestly say either rotate as a stadium series, or take it to a short track in Florida and upgrade it. My third suggestion would be host it in a market that already has a date and can host a February race….but use more marketing and work with cities in market for transportation.      From my eyes, I clearly see a consensus that people would prefer a new venue and it’s luster has worn off. While the racing in my opinion has improved, I do believe that NASCAR should test a different market next year or try a short track in Florida.     A new market would continue into the goal of trying to expand NASCAR, however the amount of tracks and locations is limited to when the Clash is run, which is F...

 If you have been watching the weather report for the Clash at the LA Colosseum, then you would see that the weather wasn’t looking the best. However recent weather reports suggested the storm would prove to be too dangerous for recreational travel and it is with my opinion that NASCAR didn’t want to wait for the possibility of two days (Monday isn’t looking good either and the cars are outside and not in a garage safe from elements).      The plan entering today was free admission which is still there but with limited fan services. All seating is general admission. The heat races and LCQ are cancelled and the field will be set by practice speeds. On track activity for the Clash begins at 5:35EST. The Clash will run at 8 EST. The Nascar Mexico series race will follow the clash. 

     One of the most talked about events on the NASCAR calendar is finally here. The race that finally opens up the 2024 schedule after another long offseason. It’s time for the Clash at the Colosseum. A race around a created quarter mile bull ring at LA Memorial Colosseum. This is a non points race that annually kicks off the NASCAR season, right before the Daytona 500 that is.      The race originally ran at Daytona, but after years of the rather short race around the high banks turning into a test session that then changed into a crash fest at the end, along with attendance issues and attempts to revamp the event at Daytona, Nascar decided to take the event out west to not only revamp but get into a new fan market. So far I think the idea has worked as it has delivered a much needed spark and boost to the event the last two years. This weekend is year 3 at the Colosseum and now instead of just the clash, the Nascar Mexico Series will be there as well. ...