Talking in Circles: Recent Episodes
Talking in Circles
The most Honest, upfront & knowledgable show about NASCAR racing on the internet. Talking about all the hot topics, latest races and news.
A couple of bombs in the silly season. Austin Cindric to drive the No. 2 car next season. Harrison Burton to drive the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car. I give my thoughts on that and the potential destination for Brad Keselowski as well.
Martin Truex Jr won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington for his third win of the season. Is Truex the early championship favorite? How good is James Small? We'll discuss.
Justin Allgaier & Sheldon Creed won the other events at Darlington & we'll discuss those.
We will also look ahead to next year and talk about the Gen7 car. What do we like, what don't we like & how will it race? Plus, we'll talk about our favorite Dover races
Kyle Busch swept the weekend at Kansas Speedway, winning both the NASCAR Cup Series & NASCAR Truck Series events at the facility. It was Busch's 58th career NASCAR Cup Series win & his 61st NASCAR Truck Series victory. We'll discuss both of those events & discuss who had good nights & who had tough nights.
Plus we'll discuss the caution fiasco on Sunday & take a look at the NASCAR All-Star race format from Texas Motor Speedway. That'll be fun!
AND fantasy - FINALLY someone has gained points on the leader! We'll discuss that!
Brad Keselowski passed Matt DiBenedetto late in the race to win the GEICO 500 at Talladega. We'll discuss that and talk about who had a good day and who didn't.
Plus, Jeb Burton took the victory in the NASCAR Xfinity race. What does it mean for him & Kaulig Racing? We'll discuss.
It was Alex Bowman going to victory lane in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway!
We'll talk about it! Plus JHN won the truck race
Martin Truex Jr won the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway. Truex held off Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin for the victory. We'll talk about the day and what the win means for Truex and his team.
Plus, the feel good story of the night - Josh Berry won the NASCAR Xfinity Series event from Martinsville for his first career win. We'll discuss Berry's victory and what it means for his career.
We'll also review our picks and make our picks for Richmond.
Joey Logano held off a hard charging Ricky Stenhouse Jr to go to pull off the victory in the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol. Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman rounded out the top 5.
It was the first dirt race in over 50 years and we are breaking it down. What did we like? What didn't we like? Plus we'll talk about the points and who helped themselves and who didn't.
We'll also look back at our fantasy racing and see if Spencer's lead has shrunk or if he has expanded his lead.
Martin Truex Jr dominated the Camping World Truck Series event at Bristol Dirt Race & a few drivers had some issues with each other. We'll discuss it all & preview the next event from Martinsville.
Ryan Blaney won the Folds of Honor QuikTrips 500 in a shocking fashion! 5th career victory for Blaney and the biggest one yet
Kyle Busch won the truck race but did so with a bit of controversy. We'll discuss that and review the truck race.
JR Motorsports made news in the Xfinity race with Justin Allgaier going to victory lane. Noah Gragson made noise with his pit road incident and NASCAR's decision to not penalize him and deeming the incident unintentional. We'll talk about it.
Martin Truex Jr took the checkered flag for the 28th time in his career. He dominated the last part of the race and held it together for victory. It marks the 5th different winner in the first five races of the year.
Austin Cindric won the xfinity race and we are talking about that event as well
It was a triple-header weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in which we saw action from the Trucks, Xfinity and Cup Series. We're breaking it all down including Kyle Larson's win! What does this mean for Hendrick Motorsports and what does this mean for Larson?
Plus we'll look at some drivers who had good days and others who struggled bad.
We'll also discuss A.J. Allmendinger & John Hunter Nemechek victories in the Xfinity and Truck races!
And, we'll look ahead to Phoenix.
William Bryon took the checkered flag in Sunday's Dixie Vodka 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory. We'll discuss what this means & if this is just the beginning for Hendrick Motorsports' resurgance.
Plus, Chris Buescher surprised all and won Stage 1. Is this a sign of pariety in NASCAR or just a fluke?
We will also talk to Jeremy Clements Racing Crew Chief Mark Setzer. Jeremy Clements is off to a solid start and we'll pick his brain on a number of things.
Plus, we'll review our fantasy picks and look ahead to Las Vegas!
What to watch for on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway?
Clayton Caldwell has you covered with that and gives other storylines to watch at the 2021 Dixie Vodka 400.
Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon won the Duel 150s last night at Daytona International Speedway but the story of the races happened deep in the field.
In Duel 1, Ty Dillon missed the Daytona 500 as Ryan Preece beat him by a fender. In Duel 2 a couple of accidents determined who made the Daytona 500 and who didn't.
Clayton Caldwell gives his thoughts on the events and breaks them down in this edition of Clayton In the Car.
Daytona 500 qualifying is complete and we are breaking it all down.
David Ragan & Ryan Preece will race on Sunday by timing their way into the Daytona 500. We'll discuss their strategy and talk about the other open teams and what they can do during their Duels to make the Daytona 500.
Plus we'll preview the Duel races and discuss what we expect to see for the rest of speedweeks.
We'll also talk about the Busch Clash from last night and get the guys thoughts.
Kyle Busch went to victory lane after a wild finish in the 2021 Busch Clash on Tuesday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Kyle passed Chase Elliott in the final corner after Elliott was battling for the lead with Ryan Blaney and contact sent Blaney into the outside wall.
Clayton Caldwell takes a look at the finish and gives his thoughts on the night in general.
Speedweeks 2021 is here! We will discuss everything you need to know for 2021 NASCAR Racing & all the masters silly season news including - ThorSport Racing's news & Ty Dillon's ride for the Busch Clash!
LiveFast Racing Co-Owner Matt Tifft joins the show. We discuss his team's debut in the NASCAR Cup Series next month at Daytona International Speedway and talk about what the goals are for his team are over the next few years.
Plus, we'll discuss what the future looks like for NASCAR and how that effected his decision in starting his own team.
We will also look ahead to 2021 and discuss some of the silly season news that has hit the NASCAR world recently, including Austin Cindric's Daytona 500 ride and much more.
We'll also take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Two Daytona 500 champions will have a ride for the 2021 Daytona 500. 2010 Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. The car will be prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing. We'll discuss McMurray's ride and how we think he'll perform after running his last race in the 2019 Daytona 500.
Also, 1990 Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope will drive in his first Daytona 500 since 2004. Cope will drive the No. 15 Chevrolet for Rick Ware Racing. We'll discuss his entry and how we think he will do.
Plus, lots of talk about Cope - who will be the second oldest driver in Daytona 500 history - being approved for the Daytona 500. We'll discuss NASCAR's approval process - including them approving a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver with no oval track experience.
We'll talk about it all and take phone calls 917-889-8280!
First show of 2021!
Under 30 days until we get ready for Speedweeks 2021. We'll look ahead on the 2021 season and catch you up on some silly season news throughout the year.
We will discuss all things NASCAR. Come join us!
NASCAR is in an interesting predicament as they have completely made qualifying completely irrelevant.
What that has done to the competition is it's watered down the field, especially towards the backend of the field.
Clayton Caldwell discusses what that will do to the sport and the danger of not having any repercussions for teams who perform poorly.
Anthony Alfredo to drive the No.38 Ford in 2021?
Clayton Caldwell gives his opinion on what the decision and goes over the thought process and what both parties are thinking about with this move.
We finish our review of the 2020 season by giving our report cards for the Chevrolet teams.
Where did your team finish? What grade did they get? We'll discuss!
Plus, Kyle Busch Motorsports made some news today and we'll discuss what we expect from their 2021 season.
The silly season is still in full swing and the rumors are a-flying. We will talk to Starcom Racing's Team Manager Derrike Cope, about the organization's plans for the 2021 season.
The team ran a solo-car operation in 2020 with driver Quin Houff and all indications are that Houff will be back with the team in 2021.
We will discuss their expectations for 2021 and look ahead to the new car and talk about the what the long term goals are for the team as they enter their third year in full-time Cup Series competition.
Cope, a former NASCAR driver himself, made 427 career Cup Series starts, his last one coming in 2018. He won two races including the imfamous 1990 Daytona 500 when he passed Dale Earnhardt for the lead on the final lap, thanks to a blown tire.
There has been rumors about a past Daytona 500 champion running in the Daytona 500 in 2021 and many have tried to link Cope's name to that rumor. We'll ask him - Is he running the 2021 Daytona 500?
2-time Cup Series winner and current NASCAR broadcaster David Ragan joins the show this week to discuss several of the hot button issues surrounding the future of NASCAR.
The Gen7 car is scheduled for release in 2022 and while the car has been tested a few times, testing will really ramp up in the coming months. We'll talk to Ragan about his thoughts on the Gen7 car and what the pros and cons are for this new car.
Plus, NASCAR's schedule for 2021 was released and it featured several additional road courses events & Chicagoland and Kentucky have been removed from the scheudle. We'll get David's take on the new scheudle and what he likes going forward. We will also ask him about the pros and cons of one day shows that are featured heavily in the scheudle in 2021.
Also, From 2007-2011 David Ragan was a part of Roush Fenway Racing. Recently the organization has struggled and many fans of Ford and the organization wonder if they can get back to their glory days and wonder what the reasons for the struggles are.
We'll also discuss the latest silly season news at least one update is expected on Monday. We'll break that down as well.
The teams from Stewart Haas Racing, Team Penske, Roush Fenway Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Go Fas Racing will be graded for their 2020 performance.
We look back at the season and who got the highest grade and see where others rank in our grading system.
Plus, John Hunter Nemechek is going to KBM. We'll discuss it.
John Hunter Nemechek and Front Row Motorsports announcer this week that Nemechek will not return to the No. 38 car in 2021.
That has brought a lot of discussions as to who will drive the car next season.
Clayton Caldwell takes a look at the options and gives who thinks will get the ultimately get the ride.
2020 Season Review!
We will begin our 2020 report cards by reviewing the Toyota teams from the 2020 season. What grade will they get? Listen and find out!
Also, Jeb Burton has a new ride for the 2021 as he will take over the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. We'll discuss that and what it means to Burton's career.
Host Clayton Caldwell discusses the news from the NASCAR Xfinity Series from this past week. Three major news pieces came out and Caldwell gave his opinion on all three.
First it was announced that Daniel Hemric will drive the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021. Hemric spent the 2020 at JR Motorsports and the move puts Hemric in a prime opportunity to win a championship next season. How will he do and what is expected of Hemric in 2021?
Plus, Frontstretch.com is reporting that Riley Herbst is moving from the No. 18 Toyota to the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Herbst struggled in 2020 but the move gives him another opportunity to be competitive for next season. Clayton Caldwell talks about why Herbst got the ride and his expectations for 2021.
Also, Brett Moffitt will drive for Our Motorsports in 2021. Moffitt spent the last few seasons at GMS Racing in the Truck Series and moves to the Xfinity Series after running the majority of the season for the organization in 2020. How will Moffitt fare and what does Clayton Caldwell think of the move? He tells you!
Chase Elliott won the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. It was his five win of the year and the win gives him his first career NASCAR Cup Series title. We'll discuss what this title means for NASCAR, Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports as Elliott came out of nowhere to win the title.
We'll also look at the final races of Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth and discuss what we will remember most about all three drivers.
We'll also talk about the 2020 season as a whole and what stood out to us.
The NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series crowned their champions as well. Sheldon Creed won the truck series title and Austin Cindric was crowned champ in Xfinity.
We'll look at them all and discuss what their titles mean moving forward.
Chase Elliott took the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway and advanced to the final four at Phoenix after an impressive win.
Elliott joins Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski in the final four, knocking out Kevin Harvick. We'll discuss the entire race and what we think of Harvick being a top driver all year and missing the championship event.
Plus, we'll preview the season finale from Phoenix and predict who will win the championship.
Also, we'll discuss the XFINITY and Truck events and preview their championship races as well!
Kyle Busch took the checkered flag for Wednesday's (yes Wednesday's) race at Texas Motor Speedway after a 72 hour rain delay. Busch held off Martin Truex Jr and Christopher Bell for victory. It's Busch's first win of the season a small positive in what has been a tough 2020 season for the two-time champ.
We'll break down the entire weekend from Texas including the NASCAR Xfinity & Truck series events.
Plus Kyle Larson has a home for 2021! In a widely rumored move, it was made official on Wednesday that Kyle Larson will move to Hendrick Motorsports and drive the No. 5 Chevrolet for the organization. We'll discuss his expectations and why Hendrick felt they were the team to bring him back into NASCAR.
We'll also talk about Rudy Fugle taking over as William Byron's crew chief in 2021.
Also, we'll talk about the triple header weekend from Martinsville! The best racetrack on the circuit has three races this weekend. Can't wait!
Joey Logano took the checkered flag for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 from Kansas Speedway. It's Logano's 2nd win of the season and the win locks him into the championship race. We'll discuss the ups and downs from the Cup event and talk about the NASCAR Xfinity event & Chase Briscoe's victory.
Plus, there have been three news stories for the NASCAR silly season. First it was Kyle Larson's announced reinstatement effective January 1. Larson has been suspended from NASCAR since May. Rumors point to him driving the No. 5 (88) car next season. We'll discuss if this was the right move.
Also, Chase Briscoe has a new ride for 2021. He will move to the Cup Series and run for Rookie of the Year. Briscoe will drive the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford, replacing the retiring Clint Bowyer. We'll discuss the move and talk about his expectations for 2021.
Then there's the reports about Erik Jones' future. Reports are that Jones will drive Richard Petty's No. 43 Chevrolet next season. Jones' was a hotly contested free agent and is settles for a middle of the road ride. We'll talk about his expectations for 2021 and discuss what the future looks like for him.
Who do you think are the ten best drivers of the 2010s? There will be a lot of different opinions as far as who be on the list. Clayton Caldwell gives his take on the ten best drivers of that decade and why they line up where they do. Plus, he'll also give two honorable mentions for drivers who 'just missed the cut.'
What is your take on the list? Did Clayton Caldwell get it right? What ones do you disagree with?
Chase Elliott won his fourth road course race in a row on Sunday at Charlotte. It was a win that had some interesting moments including NASCAR racing in the rain! Elliott has the dominate car and went to victory lane. We'll break it all down and discuss the four drivers eliminated from championship contention heading to Kansas.
Plus, AJ Allmendinger won the rain filled NASCAR XFINITY Series race from the Charlotte Roval and discuss the whole race and give our thoughts on the event and whether or not NASCAR should have red flagged the race for good.
Plus, Matty D stays in the 21 for 21 & Clint Bowyer will retire! I'll get the guys thoughts on that!
Clint Bowyer announced on Thursday night that he will retire from full-time Cup Series competition after the 2020 season and move the Fox Sports broadcast booth. Clayton Caldwell discusses his career and who could potentially replace Bowyer in the No. 14 car next season.
Also Matt DiBenedetto resigned to stay with the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford for the 2021 season. It was a bit of a surprise to many since many rumors had Austin Cindric in the car next season. Cindric, meanwhile, will stay in the Xfinity Series and move to the No. 21 Ford in the Cup Series for the 2022 season.
Clayton Caldwell gives his thoughts on that and what it means for DiBendetto heading into the 2021 season.
Denny Hamlin's solid 2020 season continues as he took the checkered flag for the 7th time in 2020 in controversial fashion. Did Hamlin go below the yellow line and advance his position? Did NASCAR get the calls at the correct? We'll discuss.
Plus, Chris Buescher got his 8th place finish rescinded after NASCAR ruled he blocked Chase Elliott after ruling Elliott went below the yellow line. NASCAR has come out and said that the calls are easy to make, yet changed their minds on the Elliott call.
We'll talk about that and whether or not the yellow line rule needs to be changed or eliminated.
Plus, Justin Haley and Raphael Lassard took the checkered flags in those events. We'll discuss the playoff situations for each series and see who is in trouble for the next events.
The 2021 schedule has been released. There are several changes including, a dirt race at Bristol, 3 more road courses races, additional races at Atlanta and Darlington and Chicagoland and Kentucky falling off the schedule.
Clayton Caldwell will gives his thoughts on the schedule.
Kurt Busch won the Cup event on Sunday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was his 32nd career victory and it locks him into the third round of the playoffs.
We'll discuss that & who is in a tough spot heading to Talladega and the Roval.
Plus, it was a dominating victory for Chase Briscoe in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It was his 8th win of the year and he advances to the next round.
Plus, Austin Hill won the Truck event from Vegas. He advances to the next round and avoids the disaster of Talladega.
It was a busy Monday in the NASCAR world as two pieces of news shook the world.
Ross Chastain will drive Chip Ganassi's No. 42 car in 2021. We'll give our thoughts on that and whether or not that was the right move.
Also, there are reports circulating that NASCAR will move the all-star race to Texas Motor Speedway and move a points race to the Circuit of The America's in Texas. We'll discuss that potential change and whether or not that is a good move.
Plus, Kevin Harvick won the Cup race at Bristol, and four drivers were eliminated. Also a big weekend for Chase Briscoe and Sam Mayer, who won both the ARCA race & the Truck event. We'll break down the entire weekend and look ahead to Las Vegas.
A piece of the silly season puzzle has been solved as Ross Chastain will drive the No. 42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021.
Host Clayton Caldwell gives his thoughts on the move and whether or not CGR made the right call.
Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag at Richmond to put himself into the next round of the playoffs. It was a dominating victory.
We'll discuss that & Justin Allgaier's impressive weekend, winning both Xfinity Series races. We'll talk about those races and preview the race at Bristol.
Plus, Grant Enfinger impressed in the truck race on Thursday. We'll preview the playoffs and discuss who we think will win the championship.
Finally, Daniel Suarez and Gaunt Brothers Racing has announced that they will part ways at the end of 2020. What does that mean for the two's future? We'll discuss.
Kevin Harvick held off Austin Dillon to win the 2020 Cook Out Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway. It was a finish that happened because Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr got together in the closing stages leaving both drivers with some damage and ending any shot at victory. We'll discuss that event and who has put themselves in a tough spot entering Richmond.
Plus, Brandon Jones went to victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday after another late race battle took the leaders out of contention. This time it was Denny Hamlin & Ross Chastain. We'll discuss that finish and we look ahead to Richmond.
Plus a late race caution put Ben Rhodes at the front of the field and he was able to capitalize to win the truck race at Darlington.
We'll also talk about Auto Club Speedway being turned into a short track and Ty Majeski is out at Niece Motorsports. Trevor Bayne will drive the No. 45 this weekend. We'll give our thoughts.
Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin were the winners this past weekend at Dover on the Cup side of things with Chase Briscoe and Justin Allgaier winning the xfinity races & Zane Smith's second truck victory of the year on Friday. We'll break down all the action.
Plus controversy at Indy. Was it right to end the race under caution? We'll discuss that.
Also, Corey LaJoie our at Go Fas Racing. Where does he wind up? Plus we'll talk about who may drive the No. 32 Ford next year.
And Daytona is on the horizon again...this time it's the standard 2.5 mile track. We'll preview the final regular season race for the Cup guys and discuss what we expect to see!
Chase Elliott went to victory lane on Sunday to record his 8th career victory. He dominated the event but had to hold off Denny Hamlin on a late race restart.
Sheldon Creed won the truck race & Austin Cindric found victory lane again in the xfinity race. We'll break down those two events as well.
Plus rumor has it the Daytona road course may be here to stay. We'll get the guys thoughts on that.
Kevin Harvick won two races at Michgian this weekend both in pretty dominating fashion. We'll discuss everything you need to know from the weekend at Michigan.
Truck Series Dawson Cram joins the show to discuss his 14th place finish from Michigan & how he is helping the community off the track by the Helping Hands campaign.
Plus Erik Jones & Christopher Bell will have new rides for 2021. Bell will drive the No. 20 Toyota next season. Where will Jones go? We'll discuss what we think and if it was the right move for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Plus, we'll take your phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Brad Keselowski dominated the event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. It was his third win of the second and the 33rd of his career. We'll discuss what this means for him and his changes on being the champion in 2020.
Plus, a few drivers had big days on Sunday and some struggled. We're getting to the point in the season where teams outside of the playoff bubble have to start making headway. We'll discuss the entire event & look at the playoff picture.
Also, we'll discuss what we expect to see in the truck race on Friday at Michigan & the double header weekend in the Cup Series at Michigan. Plus, we'll also talk about the first of back to back road course events for the xfinity series, this weekend at Road America.
Denny Hamlin puller off the victory in Thursday night's race at Kansas Speedway. We'll discuss the entire event, including Ryan's Preece's big wreck & who struggled and who performed the way they needed to.
Plus, the NASCAR Xfinity race took place Saturday evening with Brandon Jones scoring the win after starting 7th on a late race restart. Austin Cindric finished 2nd and had a big day. Is he now considered a championship favorite?
Plus Matt Crafton and Austin Hill won the truck races on Friday night and Saturday. It was Crafton's first win in over three years and Hill's first win in 2020. We'll break it down as well.
Plus we'll discuss the rest of the news and notes from NASCAR!
Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney...all those names were the favorites heading into Texas. Austin Dillon was not. However, it was a day to remember for the 30-year-old North Carolina native pulling off an upset victory for his 3rd career win. His teammate Tyler Reddick finished 2nd in RCR's first 1-2 finish since 2011.
Ryan Blaney dominated the event, winning the first two stages. However, a late race caution caused by Quin Houff (we'll discuss that as well) put several leaders deep in the field, setting up the wild finish.
We'll discuss the entire event & talk about who needs a solid run in the next couple of weeks to lock themselves in the playoffs.
Austin Cindric won his third consecutive Xfinity race but he didn't cross the line first. Kyle Busch was disqualified for his car being too low, and Cindric was ruled the winner. We'll talk about that race as well.
Although Busch didn't win the Xfinity race, the truck race was dominated by Busch, although teammate Christian Eckes showed his strength as well with a very good run. The trucks have two races this weekend, so we'll look back at Texas & talk about what we expect to see at Kansas.
Plus - Iowa sold? & the random draw may be different in the playoffs? We'll talk about it all!
Chase Elliott took the checkered flag for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race. It's Elliott's first career win in the all-star race & Elliott took the last three stages.
The all-star open provided one of the most memorable moments of the night when Bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell got together causing Wallace to hit the wall. We'll discuss the open & what we thought of that moment.
Plus, we'd preview all three races from Texas.
On the morning of July 12, 1993 Davey Allison was on top of the world. By the end of the day, he would be clinging to life. He passed away the next morning and in doing so left a void that could never be filled.
Clayton Caldwell discusses the impact Davey Allison had on not only the NASCAR world but the world in general and what everyone missed out on.
It was a sad day 27 years ago and Clayton Caldwell reminisses about what might have been.
It was a trend of firsts at Kentucky Speedway this weekend.
Sheldon Creed took home the checkered flag in the Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway after rain shortened the event on Saturday.
Thursday and Friday saw the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the facility with Austin Cindric taking home his first two oval victories in that series.
The weekend was capped off with rookie Cole Custer going to victory lane in the Cup Series after an amazing run to the checkered flag saw his first Cup Series victory.
The weekend also featured some less than exciting racing to put it mildly and leaves many wondering what can be done to help the racing at Kentucky Speedway in the future.
Wednesday marks the first time since 1986 that the All-Star race will not be at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We'll preview that event, with what we expect to see & discuss who will transfer & win one million dollars at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick won again on Sunday, his 53rd career victory and the 4th of his 2020 season. Harvick held off Matt Kenseth to get the victory, in Kenseth's best run of the year.
The race had three major points, tire wear, a big pit road accident and lack of passing. We'll discuss who had a great weekend at Indy and who struggled.
Plus, another week and another impressive victory for Chase Briscoe in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Saturday. It as his fifth win of the year and came on a road course. We'll talk about the finish, who struggled and who ran well.
Also, the Choose Cone is a thing as NASCAR announced the rules for the All-Star race. We'll discuss what we think about that & the rules themselves.
Plus a triple-header weekend at Kentucky. We'll preview it all.
The silly season has been put on hold because of COVID-19 but that's doesn't mean nothing is going to happen.
On this edition of Clayton in the Car, I discuss all the news and notes you need to know for predicting the silly season. What could happen? Who goes where? Who is available and what I think will happen will all be discussed in this segment!
Pocono Raceway had a lot of racing on Sunday and Saturday and we talked about it all. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick to victory lane this weekend and we talked about all the racing.
Chase Briscoe won the NASCAR Xfinity race and was very impressive on Sunday. We'll discuss whether or not he is the favorite for the NASCAR Xfinity Series title. Plus, we'll talk about the deal with RSS Racing & Reaume Brothers Racing.
Also, Brandon Jones went to victory lane on Sunday in the truck series event. There are a few truck series drivers that are in rough shape after six races. We'll talk about which drivers could be in trouble and which drivers could make the playoffs.
Ryan Blaney won his fourth career race on Monday at Talladega Superspeedway. The victory locks Blaney into the playoffs and gives the team momentum moving forward.
We'll also talk about the wild finish at Talladega Superspeedway and who had solid days and who struggled.
We'll also discuss the pre-race ceremony and the situation that happened Saturday night at Talladega Superspeedway.
Plus we'll talk about the NASCAR Xfinity Series event from Talladega one that saw Justin Haley go to victory lane and the celebration with his Kaulig teammates.
917-889-8280 is the number to call to join the show!
Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag for Sunday's Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was his 40th career victory & the 3rd of the 2020 season.
We'll discuss the entire weekend from Homestead including Chase Briscoe & Harrison Burton's wins in xfinity, Dale Jr's performance on Saturday. Plus, Kyle Busch won the truck race on Saturday night but the good news is, he's got one race left before the limit is used up.
Also, we'll talk about NASCAR moving the all-star race to Bristol Motor Speedway & what it means for the future of that race.
We'll also preview the Cup and Xfinity races at Talladega.
It was a historic night at the Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday as they ran their first ever night race at the historic track. Martin Truex Jr battled back from a rough start and a penalty to pull away with the victory, his first of the 2020 season.
We will discuss the race, whether or not the new short track package helped the racing and who had a good night and who struggled.
Plus, we'll take a brief look back at the NASCAR Xfinity & Truck Series events from Atlanta and preview those events from Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend.
Brad Keselowski won the Cup race at Bristol on Sunday for his second win of the season. We'll discuss the closing stages & what the win means for Keselowski.
Plus, the Nashville Superspeedway is back in action for 2021.
We'll talk about it.
Plus - the new schedule announcement!
Brad Keselowski & Chase Elliott won three Cup races with Kyle Busch & Chase Elliott winning the xfinity and truck events.
We'll break it all down & discuss what we think we'll see at Bristol.
Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in Wednesday's 500k race at Darlington Raceway. Hamlin was in front when an accident involving Chase Elliott occurred and the rains came ended the event early. Hamlin got the victory.
The incident with Elliott caused a ton of controversy after contact with Kyle Busch sent him into the inside retaining wall. Elliott was second at the time of the incident. We'll discuss what we think happened during the incident & whether or not NASCAR handled the situation correctly.
Plus, we'll review the NASCAR Xfinity race from Thursday and discuss the week ahead from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick won the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday for his 50th career victory. It was the first race back after a 70+ day break from the COVID-19 pandemic.
We'll discuss it all and talk about what we expect to see from the future races during this period.
We'll also talk about who was fast and who struggled during the race and if we suspect to see any differences in Wednesday's race at Darlington.
NASCAR racing is back this weekend at Darlington Raceway. We will discuss everything you need to know about the event at Darlington & who we expect to be fast.
We'll also talk about the additional races that have been added to the NASCAR schedule. What do we expect to see from here on out as the trend seems to be tracks close to North Carolina.
What challenges will each racetrack present? We'll discuss it.
Plus, we'll take your phone calls - 917-889-8280
NASCAR will return to the track on May 17 at Darlington Raceway. We'll discuss all that has happened since our last race in March, including Kyle Larson's exit from Chip Ganassi Racing & Matt Kenseth's return to the track.
Plus, we'll talk about the schedule and the challenges the teams have in front of them moving forward!
We'll also take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Ernie Irvan may have had one of the most interesting careers in NASCAR history.
From starting out as an extremely aggressive driver to a near-death accident back to a Cup Series winner to career ending incident.
It's was a career that Hollywood couldn't script and we'll discuss it all.
Plus we'll discuss what he is currently doing and his son Jared's racing career.
Joey Logano won his 25th career race on Sunday, winning his second race of the year. Is Logano the early championship favorite? We'll discuss.
Plus a tough day for several contenders on Sunday and a solid day for others. We'll talk about who ran well and who struggled and we'll also discuss who needs to have a solid day at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
We'll also preview the weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway & discuss the bounty in place for this weekend and who is the favorite to take the money. We'll also talk about the Xfinity and Cup Series events.
Daytona Clash - Moves to the Daytona Road Course. They also shorten speedweeks.
We'll give our thoughts on that and what it means for the future of Speedweeks.
Will Brad Keselowski go to the No.48 carbine 2021? That's been a rumor the past couple of weeks. What will happen? Will he go back to Hendrick Motorsports. Clayton Caldwell discusses why he may consider that and he discusses the other silly season news that may possibly happen for2021.
Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Clayton discusses that and recaps who has been fast for the first two races of the season.
It was Chase Briscoe in victory lane in the XFINITY race at Las Vegas. He held off Austin Cindric for the victory. Clayton talks about that race and some of the incidents that happened during the event.
Ryan Newman is out for Las Vegas and possibly longer after his accident at the end of the Daytona 500. Who does Jack Roush hire as his replacement? Clayton Caldwell gives his take on that and why some of the names being tossed around don't make much sense.
The accident of Ryan Newman left a somber mood on the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Clayton Caldwell discusses what that moment was like and talks about the anniversary of the death of Dale Earnhardt
The Daytona 500 is here! We're breaking down the event & discussing all you need to know for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. We'll discuss what you need to know for tomorrow's Daytona 500. What kind of strategy will we see tomorrow and what will they look for?
We will also discuss the NASCAR XFINITY & Truck Series events from Daytona. Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe went to victory lane & we talk about the shock from qualifying in both of those series about who went home. Why was that the case? We'll talk about it.
The Daytona Duels are live tonight at 7:00! We preview the races & who we think will make the Daytona 500 and who will go home. We'll talk about what some of the strategy will be for the races.
Daytona 500 qualifying had a bit of a surprise on the pole on Sunday as Ricky Stenhouse Jr will lead the field to green for Sunday's event. It's the first pole for JTG/Daugherty Racing in the Daytona 500 & it gives the team a week of publicity. It was an impressive lap for the team in their first race with Stenhouse and crew chief Brian Pattie.
Clayton Caldwell discusses what the pole means & gives his thoughts on the qualifying session at Daytona. Who was good? Who was bad? He breaks it all down.
Also, the Busch Clash is complete and what an event that was. Clayton Caldwell gives his thoughts on it and if the Busch Clash has a future.
The entry list for the Daytona 500 has been released and there's a lot to discuss. Clayton Caldwell talks about how qualifying is conducted at Daytona & he discusses the 7 drivers who need to qualify for the Daytona 500 and how they can get into the field.
Speedweeks 2020 is now officially upon us! Clayton Caldwell discusses what you might see on the entry list come Wednesday and gives a review of all the off season moves.
Former Cuo driver John Andretti passed away today at the age of 56. Clayton Caldwell remembers John Andretti and his career where he won the final race for two legendary teams.
The 2020 season is coming and we're here to preview it all! Just a week away from ramping up for Speedweeks 2020 and we'll break down the Cup Series for you! Who will have a breakout season? Who will make the playoffs? Who will miss the playoffs? Who will win Rookie of the Year? What driver will get their first win in 2020?
We'll discuss all of that and more!
Plus, Daniel Suarez has officially been announced as the driver of the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota for the 2020 season. The team will run full-time with sponsorship from Coca-Cola and CommScope. What are his expectations for the season and can Gaunt Brothers take a step in the right direction for 2020?
Plus we'll take your phone calls - 917-889-8280! Let us know what you think for 2020!
What will Speedweeks look like in ten years? Clayton Caldwell discusses what he thinks the future holds for Speedweeks!
Shocking news came out this week about the Truck Series added two teams to the playoffs moving up the playoff drivers from 8 to 10 in that series.
Clayton Caldwell discusses why he was annoyed with the move and how NASCAR needs to understand that sometimes "less is more."
The big news of the day was the NASCAR XFINITY Series will run the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. We'll discuss what that means as the series now has 5 road course races on their schedule.
We'll also talk about the news from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series. As Front Row Motorsports has added a truck series team for the 2020 and driver Todd Gilliland. We'll discuss what this means for Gilliland & the organization and why the team has decided to make this move.
Plus, we'll take your phone calls - 917-889-8280!
The NASCAR XFINITY Series is in for an interesting year in 2020. Clayton Caldwell discusses the state of the series and what it looks.
There are several drivers who are in a win now mode and need to prove that they can be championship contenders on a regular basis.
There are new rules for pit stops in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Gander Outdoors and RV Truck Series in 2020. What does this mean and what will it mean for the future of NASCAR? We'll discuss that.
Plus, Team Penske made crew chief changes to their entire team for 2020. Why did they do this and what does it mean for the future of that organization?
Plus, what should we expect for 2020 as we are just a month away from the cars heading down the track and getting ready for 2020. We'll get one bold prediction from each of us
Perhaps the most surprising news of the off-season so was the news of Cole Pearn not returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2020. What does this mean for Martin Truex Jr and who could replace Pearn? We'll discuss it.
The big news of the week is the announcement of Hallie Deegan moving to Ford Development coming over from Toyota. What does this do for her career and was it the right move?
Front Row Motorsports Announces Driver lineup for 2020. John Hunter Nemechek will run for the Rookie of the Year Title & Michael McDowell will return to the No. 34 next season. What is this team's expectations?
Chase Briscoe returns to SHR for the 2020 season in the XFINITY Series. How will he do and is he the favorite to win the championship?
Ty Majeski will drive for Niece Motorsports in 2020. He'll drive the No. 45 truck. What are his expectations?
James Davison in the Daytona 500 - How will he do? What should his expectations be?
Bill Simpson Death - A pioneer through and through. How will he be remembered?
Penalties, new crew chiefs, new drivers in new rides, this offseason has had it all.
We'll talk about it and more tonight! We still have a few question marks for 2020, including the rides at Front Row Motorsports. Who goes where and what do we think of the moves so far?
Give us a call 917-889-8280!
Only one time in history has a seven time champion retired from NASCAR's premier division. In 2020, it will be the second time as Jimmie Johnson announced today that he will retire at the end of next season. What does that mean for NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports and Jimmie Johnson? We'll discuss it.
Plus, NASCAR crowned three champions this weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway. We'll discuss all three champions & talk about each race and the difference it was for each of the championship drivers.
We'll also take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in Sunday's Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway. It was his 35th career victory and the win locks him into the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We'll discuss the entire weekend from Phoenix & whether or not this package needs to change on short tracks moving forward.
Hamlin's win means 3 JGR cars are locked into the playoffs, which is an impressive feat. Does Kevin Harvick have anything for the JGR trio at Homestead?
Also the big three have been the story in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Justin Allgaier's win at Phoenix gives him momentum. Can he somehow pull off a miracle or is it Bell's, Reddick's and Custer's championship to lose?
Plus, The truck series will be in the championship race at Homestead too as Stewart Friesen took the checkered flag at ISM Raceway on Friday night. Can he win the championship in the truck series?
Matt Tifft and Front Row Motorsports have mutually agreed to part ways for 2020. What does this mean for Tifft's future and the future of the No. 36 Ford?
Plus we'll take phone calls 917-889-8280!
It hasn't been the best year for Kevin Harvick but so far the goal has been accomplished. They find themselves racing for the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the third consecutive year. We'll discuss what this win means to them and who they may be racing with at Homestead for the title.
Several title contenders had trouble at Texas including Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. They now find themselves outside the cutoff for the playoffs. What do they need to do at Phoenix to make the playoffs & who will run well? We'll discuss it.
Plus the NASCAR XFINITY race was completed Saturday at Texas with Christopher Bell finding victory lane in a pretty dominating performance. What does this mean for Bell and who will race with him at Homstead?
Also we'll preview this weekend's truck race from Phoenix & discuss Luke Lambert's new job for 2020. Will he do well with Chris Buescher at Roush Fenway Racing?
We'll also take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Martin Truex Jr earned his first Grandfather Clock on Sunday afternoon after a dominating performance Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. We'll discuss what this win means for him in his run at a second championship and we'll look at the playoffs picture. Who burried themselves in a hole on Sunday? We'll discuss that.
Plus, Matt Tifft missed Sunday's race with what was later determined to be a seziure. Tifft will be out of the car for the remainder of the 2019 season with John Hunter Nemechek making his first three starts in the Cup Series. We'll discuss what this means for John Hunter and for Front Row Motorsports' future.
Also, the Gander Outdoor Truck Series had an interesting finish on Saturday afternoon that saw Todd Gilliland win his first truck race and steal headlines for his comments after crossing victory lane. We'll discuss what that means for Gilliland and his future.
We'll also take phone calls and discuss the other news floating around the NASCAR World.
Denny Hamlin was victorious in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. It was his 35th career win and the 5th of his 2019 season. Where does this put Hamlin as far as the championship is concerned? Is he now the favorite? We'll discuss it.
Plus, Brad Keselowski is eliminated from playoff contention after a rough weekend that saw the Rochester Hills, Michigan native struggle all day and fail to make the next round. We'll discuss what this means for him and the other drivers who failed to advance to the next round in playoffs.
We'll also talk about the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Kansas that saw Brandon Jones go to victory lane for the first time in his NASCAR XFINITY Series career. We'll talk about who ran well and who struggled and discuss the playoff sitaution for that series.
Also, we'll discuss the news and notes from the NASCAR world and preview this weekend's events at Martinsville Speedway. Who will be fast? Who will struggle? We'll discuss it.
We'll also take phone calls 917-889-8280! Hit us up!
Ryan Blaney's third victory of his career may have been the most important up to this point. He put himself in a hole at Dover but rebounded with a victory at Talladega to advance to the round of 8. It was a huge victory for the High Point, NC native and we'll talk about it.
Plus, several drivers find themselves in a tough situation heading into this weekend's race at Kansas including last year's race winner Chase Elliott. Does he have magic in him and who else had a tough day at Talladega? We'll discuss that.
Also, Ricky Stenhouse Jr has a new home for 2020. He will drive the No. 37 Chevrolet for JTG-Daugherty Racing. What does this mean for his career and what are the expectations for Stenhouse in his new ride? We'll talk about it.
We'll also discuss the ending to the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series event at Talladega and if NASCAR got the call right. We'll also talk about the point situation as that series heads to Martinsville in a couple of weeks.
It was Kyle Larson’s day in Dover on Sunday taking the checkered flag for the first time in over two years. We’ll talk about the weekend that was at Dover and if this win can help Larson make a run at the championship.
Also, we’ll preview this weekend’s potentially wild action from Talladega and discuss the latest news and notes from around the NASCAR world.
Chase Elliott won the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was his third win of the year and the win helped him advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Four drivers were eliminated from championship contention on Sunday. we’ll talk about what went wrong and preview the round of 8 starting this weekend at Dover.
Plus, NASCAR announced new rules for the 2020 season aiming at cutting costs. What will this mean for the future of NASCAR? We’ll discuss it.
Plus we’ll take phone calls: 917-889-8280!
Ricky Stenhouse Jr is a free agent. That’s the shocking news of the week. Rumors filtered out to Talking in Circles on Monday that Stenhouse was out and Buescher was talking to RFR officials. On Wednesday it was official.
We’ll talk about what this means for Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Racing and what is next for JTG Daugherty Racing who was extremely disappointed by the news. Who could drive that car in 2020? We’ll discuss it.
Plus, it’s official. Christopher Bell will run for the Rookie of the Year title next season. Bell will drive the No. 95 Toyota for Leavine Family Racing. What are his expectations for 2020?
Plus, no pit stops? NASCAR is discussing eliminating pit stops in the lower divisions of NASCAR. What would that mean? We’ll talk about it.
The opening round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is here as they run at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It's a triple-header weekend with the truck series featuring an elimination race. We'll talk about the entire weekend at Vegas.
Also, Matt DiBenedetto has a ride for 2020. It's the No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers. Paul Menard will retire at the end of the season. We'll talk about what that might mean for the team, DiBenedetto and discuss Menard's career.
Plus we'll preview the playoffs and throw all 16 teams into three categories. Favorties, Contenders & Longshots. Where will your favorite driver fall? We'll discuss it.
Also, we'll take phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Kevin Harvick did it again. He won his third race of the season and his second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was a wild race that saw a crazy amount of accidents for several big named drivers including Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson.
The accident for Johnson meant that he missed the playoffs for the first time in his career. We'll talk about what went wrong for the No. 48 team this year and what is their goal for the rest of the year. Also, Daniel Suarez is now 0-3 in his career as playoffs are concerned. Does that mean they need a new driver in the No. 41 car next season? Plus, Suarez's comments at the end were a bit alarming. Should he have taken some responsbility for the team's struggles? We'll discuss that.
Plus the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Kyle Busch pulling into victory. We'll break down that race as well.
We'll also take your phone calls. 917-889-8280!
Erik Jones won his second career race and the first of his 2019 season. It was a big win for the Byron, Michigan native and it puts him in the conversation for a big playoff.
Speaking of playoffs, there are two spots left for four drivers in the Cup Series. Who will make it and who will miss and how did Sunday night’s race impact the playoffs.
Plus Cole Custer won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Darlington. We’ll break that down as well.
Also, throwback weekend. There are whispers it may move on from Darlington. Is that the right move and we’ll explain why that’s a possibility.
Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was the 35th win of his career and the 4th for him in 2019.
The story of the night, though, belonged to Matt DiBenedetto, who led late in the event before being caught and passed by Hamlin with under ten laps to go. DiBenedetto’s progress was haulted after contact with Ryan Newman, who was fighting to stay on the lead lap in the 11th position. We’ll discuss whether or not Newman was wrong for what he did or if that’s just racing.
Plus, we’ll talk about the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series event’s from Bristol.
Do you have an opinion on anything you saw at Bristol? Give us a call - 917-889-8280!
It's Bristol week this week and we will do a quick preview of the triple-header weekend from Bristol Motor Speedway. The Gander Outdoor Truck Series begins their playoffs and the Cup and XFINITY Series teams are trying for their last few chances at winning a race before their playoffs begin.
We will also talk to Elisa Allison Sporule, former wife of Clifford Allison. Clifford passed away 27 years ago on Tuesday while practicing for the 1992 Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway. He left behind Elisa and his three kids. We will discuss Clifford's life and career to learn more about one of the members of the famed Alabama Gang.
We'll also take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
It was a wild day for Kevin Harvick that saw him pit for a blown tire under green but end up in victory lane, winning the Consumer's Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It's Harvick's 47th career victory and his second in 2019. Harvick had a fast racecar but was helped out by a having a good fuel situation and speeding to victory.
Denny Hamlin finished second while followed by Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr and Daniel Suarez.
Fuel really impacted the finish of this race and it paid off for some drivers, while it hurt others. We'll break down the entire event form start to finish and discuss who needs a solid run at Bristol next weekend.
Plus, Austin Cindric made it two in a row on Saturday, winning at Mid-Ohio. He beat Christopher Bell for victory. We'll discuss the event and what it means for Cindric moving forward.
Also, Austin Hill took the checkered flag in the truck series regular season finale at Michigan. We'll tell you who missed the playoffs and what that could mean for the future of some of those teams.
Plus we'll take your phone calls, 917-889-8280!
Pocono’s double header is an interesting topic of conversation. How is it gonna work and what do the fans of Pocono think?
Plus we are going to preview the weekend’s races at Mid-Ohio and Michigan.
Chase Elliott won his fifth career race on Sunday dominating the Go Bowling at the Glen on Sunday. It was a wild day at the Glen that saw Kyle Busch have not one but two incidents with two different drivers, first William Byron and the Bubba Wallace. Busch ended up finishing in the 11th position.
Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Blaney also got into an altercation as well. Johnson spun and hit the tire barriers relegating him to a 19th place finish on Sunday. Johnson is now tied for 16th with Ryan Newman who had a miserable weekend at the road course. Johnson confronted Blaney on pit road and discussed the situation with him.
Also, Matt DiBenedetto had another solid day for the No. 95 team. What does this mean for his future with that team? We'll discuss.
We'll also discuss the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Watkins Glen & The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series event from Eldora Speedway in which Stewart Friesen took the victory for the first time in his career.
Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in Sunday's Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday. It's Hamlin's 34th career victory and the 3rd of his 2019 season. Hamlin held off teammate Erik Jones for the victory.
The race featured some interesting finishes including a great run by Daniel Hemric, who was the story of the day. We'll break down the entire event & discuss the points situation heading into the Watkins Glen.
We'll also discuss the double-header weekend at Pocono in 2020 as the details were released. What do we like, what don't we like and what would we change for 2020 at the tricky-triangle.
Also, Jimmie Johnson & Hendrick Motorsports made the news of the day. Kevin Meendering is out after just 21 races. Did they make the right decision and who is to blame for the 48 team struggles?
Plus, we'll take your phone calls - 917-889-8280!
It was Kevin Harvick’s day as he took the checleared flag in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He held off a hard charging Denny Hamlin for victory in a race that had a lot of action.
A couple of drivers on the cusp of making the playoffs had tough days and we’ll discuss what they need to do to make it in.
Plus, it was another win for the big three in the NASCAR XFINITY Series as Christopher Bell went to victory lane. There were some fireworks as Paul Menard took out Harrison Burton. We’ll discuss that and the life and career of crew chief Nick Harrison, who passed away in his sleep Sunday.
We’ll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Tonight we are previewing this weekend’s events from New Hampshire Motor Speedway & discussing the news and notes from the week. Plus, we’ll give our predictions on who will win the races this weekend and talk about New Hampshire and should this race be in the playoffs.
Taking phone calls 917-889-8280!
Kurt Busch took the checkered flag in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night. It was Kurt's 31st career victory and perhaps his most memorable as he battled with his brother Kyle for victory before coming out on top. We'll break down the entire night of racing from Kentucky & give our opinions on who had a good night and who really struggled.
Plus, we'll discuss both the NASCAR XFINITY & NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series events from Kentucky that saw Cole Custer & Tyler Ankrum go to victory lane.
For Custer, it was his fifth win of the season as his season continues to impress. For Ankrum, it was his first career Truck Series victory and the first victory for DGR/CROSLEY Racing. David Gilliland's team made it harder for his son Todd to make the playoffs and basically puts him in a win or go home scenario for the playoffs.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
It was a crazy win for Justin Haley at Daytona. What does this win mean to him and what is the future going to be like for Justin Haley? We’ll discuss that.
Plus, some interesting things have come out of Spire Motorsports’ victory at Daytona including the idea that the team may run hard to make the owner point playoffs. What does it mean if they do or if they don’t. What would happen if teams do it in the future?
Also, we’ll preview the races at Kentucky Speedway and who we think will win and also talk about who needs a solid weekend.
Taking phone calls as well 917-889-8280!
A surprise name celebrated in victory lane on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Justin Haley and Spire Motorsports took the victory in a race filled with rain and carnage. We’ll take a look at the race and the point standings after one of the most unpredictable races on the Cup schedule.
Also, Ross Chastain took the checkered flag for the NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Daytona International Speedway. It’s Chastain’s second career win and the first for Kaulig Racing.
We’ll talk about the weekend that was and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280
The silly season rumors are starting hot and heavy and we're ready to discuss them tonight on Talking in Circles.
Christopher Bell will remain at Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2020 season, signing a one-year extension. What does this mean and what car will he drive? We'll discuss that.
Plus, rumors are flying about Cole Custer's future. Will he be in the Cup Series next season? Custer's dad works for Stewart Haas Racing so naturally there will be a tie in with that organization. What will happen? We'll give our predictions.
Also, Jeffrey Earnhardt looks to be out of a ride. Xtreme Concepts Racing has withdrawn their entry from Daytona and Earnhardt tweeted he will not be racing this weekend. Is this a cause for concern or just a small blip on the radar?
Finally, NASCAR has made some changes to the stage lengths at Daytona. How will this effect the racing? Will we see more green flag pit stops? We'll preview the double-header weekend from the World Center of Racing and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280! Let us hear your thoughts!
It was a special day for Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday as all four cars finished in the top ten including Alex Bowman’s first career victory. Bowman passed and held off Kyle Larson in the closing stages of the event for victory.
Hendrick had fast racecars and that’s the story. Can they sustain this or is this just one good week. Plus, SHR continued to struggle.
Also, Cole Custer & Brett Moffitt visited victory lane this weekend and we’ll review that and more tonight!
It's a triple-header weekend this weekend in at Chicagoland Speedway. We'll preview all three series tonight and discuss all the news and notes from the weekend that was.
Plus, rumors abound as the 2020 silly season is still a few weeks away from being really hot. Where will Christopher Bell go for 2020? How about the rumor that a chartered team will no close down at the end of the year?
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Martin Truex Jr took the checkered flag in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday. It was an impressive win for the No. 19 bunch and led 59 of the races 90 laps. Where does this put Truex in the talk for the championship? We'll discuss it.
Plus, it was a very solid day for a lot of the Toyota's in today's field. Matt DiBenedetto had a career day and Denny Hamlin went from 26th to 5th on the final run. What does this car for the manufactuer if anything? We'll break down the entire finishing order and discuss the points situation heading into Chicagoland.
Also, Ross Chastain took the checkered flag in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series event on Saturday night at Gateway. It was his second career truck series win and the win puts him in good shape to make the playoffs. We'll look at his chances and discuss the entire event from Gateway.
Well. It was an interesting day from Iowa Speedway today as Ross Chastain went to victory lane in the Gander Outdoor Truck Series event only to become the first driver ever to be disqualified under NASCAR’s new system. What does it mean for Chastain? Brett Moffitt was credited with the win.
Also, controversy arose when Austin Hill and Johnny Sauter got together on track. Hill hit Sauter, sending Sauter into the outside wall, virtually ending his day. Sauter then retaliated and went after Hill on track, slamming his truck into Hill’s. Hill continued but Sauter was parked for his actions by NASCAR. Questions remain as to whether or not Sauter will be suspended for his actions. We’ll give our thoughts on the deal.
Plus, a nice win by Christopher Bell on Sunday night gave him another XFINITY Series win. We’ll review the race and the point standings from the race.
Plus, we’ll take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Joey Logano’s 23rd Cup victory was a dominate one on a race where he led the majority of the laps en route to a huge victory for the 22 team. We’ll break down the entire Monday affair from Michigan and discuss some puzzling decisions by a few crew chiefs.
Plus - the package we saw at Michigan got mixed reviews and some fans were on the complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Some fans were thrilled, others hated it and there was really no inbetween! We’ll give our thoughts.
Also, Alex Bowman will lose a key sponsor next year as Nationwide announces they will not return for the 2020 season. What does this mean for Bowman’s future and the No. 88 team? We’ll talk about it.
If you would like to join the show, give us a call at 917-889-8280! Q
Kyle Busch took the checkered flag at the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. It was his 55th career victory. It was a rough race that saw very little passing. Will we see some rule changes at Pocono when we go there in July? NASCAR has acknowledged they're thinking about it.
Also, Ross Chastain has decided to run for points in the truck series instead of the NASCAR XFINITY Series. It means hes got a big challenge in front of him. We'll discuss if he can win the championship and if he made the correct career move.
Plus there are three races this weekend, the truck race at Texas and the XFINITY and Cup Series are at Michigan. We'll discuss the races and who may have a decent shot at winning this weekend.
Also, we'll take phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Martin Truex Jr took the checkered flag in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. It was an impressive win after he bounced his car off the wall early in the race. The race saw an unusually high number of yellow flags. We’ll discuss why that was.
Plus Chris Buescher finished an impressive sixth and he’s off to a nice start. Can he still make the playoffs or is he too far back? We’ll examine the playoff picture in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Also, we’ll preview this weekend’s events from Pocono Raceway. Who will be fast and what kind of racing will we see?
Plus, we’ll take phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Tony Stewart, Joe Gibbs, Buddy Baker, Waddell Wilson & Bobby Labonte are now members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame!
We’ll give our thoughts on the selection & discuss who was left off that should have made it!
Plus, we’ll talk about NASCAR buying Internationals Speedway Corporation and what that potentially means for the sport.
And we’ll preview this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 & w take your phone calls - 917-889-8280!
The 103rd Indianapolis 500 will run on Sunday and we have a special edition of Talking In Circles to discuss it.
Who will win the race? What kind of racing can we expect? All that and more tonight.
Want to discuss the Indy 500? Give us a call 917-889-8280
On today’s show we discuss Kyle Larson won his first race in awhile on Saturday night, taking the checkers in the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. Larson transfered in from the Open and went on to lead the final laps and take the victory.
We’ll also talk about what we thought of the new package ran at Charlotte and who was impressive and who disappointed.
We'll also talk about qualifying from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We’ll discuss the fact that Fernando Alonso missed the historic event and the other stories that surround the Indianapolis 500. We'll also talk about what a pole means for this race.
We’ll also take phone calls 917-889-8280!
Tonight on Talking in Circles we are previewing the NASCAR All-Star Race. We’ll discuss what we think of the event and the rumors about possibly moving the race to another racetrack.
Plus, we’ll give our thoughts on what we think of the all-star race and whether or not it should move from Charlotte.
We’ll talk about rumors at RPM.
The Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway is complete and Brad Keselowski was in victory lane. Keselowski held off Alex Bowman in the closing stages to earn the victory.
We’ll break down the entire event & discuss what we thought of the racing at Kansas Speedway.
Plus, Friday night’s event was a special one because Ross Chastain won the race. Chastain gave Niece Motorsports their first ever victory. It was a nice race for the team but another heartbreaker for Stewart Friesen.
We’ll break down that race as well and discuss the whole weekend from Kansas.
Martin Truex Jr won the Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday. It was his second win of the season. He defeated runner-up Alex Bowman by over 9 seconds.
It was an interesting day that saw Toyota struggle for most of the event but track position and clean air were key factors in the victory.
It was good day for several drivers who needed a good run. We’ll discuss those drivers and how important it was.
We’ll also look at the points after Dover and talk about the NASCAR XFINITY & Truck Series events from Dover.
Plus, we’ll take your phone call. 917-889-8280.
Single car qualifying is back and thank goodness! The group qualifying format was broken and we go back to normal! We’ll discuss the change and what we think about it.
Plus it’s been 25 years since Ayrton Senna died in a crash. Our Philip Mathew gives his thoughts on the accident and the legacy Senna left behind.
Plus, we’ll discuss the new Gen 7 car and the business behind it.
And we’ll take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
The GEICO 500 is over and Chase Elliott recorded his fourth victory on Sunday afternoon and the first of the season for Chevrolet.
We’ll discuss the race and what we thought of NASCAR’s new super speedway package! Plus we’ll give our attaboys and disappointments.
Also, Tyler Reddick won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Talladega, giving him his first career win at Richard Childress Racing. We’ll discuss what this means for him and who had a solid day.
We will also take your phone calls - 917-889-8280.
It’s been an interesting season so far in 2019 and we’ll break down each team and organization and give them grades through the first nine races this season.
We’ll also preview this weekend’s events from Talladega Superspeedway. What will the new package do to the racing and will we see some tandem racing?
Plus, we’ll take your phone calls. 917-889-828
Martin Truex Jr won the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday. It was his first win at Joe Gibbs Racing and the first short track victory of his career. Does this change his legacy at all? We'll discuss it.
Plus, another rough night for Hendrick Motorsports on Saturday. What can be done to right this ship if anything?
Also, Kyle Larson is now 19th in points. It's been a really rough year. Can he rebound and make the playoffs?
We'll also talk about Ryan Newman's run at Richmond and discuss the NASCAR XFINITY Series event.
Plus we'll also give our opinion on the format that will be featured in the NASCAR All-Star Race format.
Give us a call 917-889-8280!
This weekend both the NASCAR XFINITY and Cup Series are racing at Richmond Raceway. Who will run good and who will be in victory lane this weekend? We’ll discuss it!
Plus, Bubba Wallace talked about how his team’s lack of sponsorship. The big picture is that the business model is broken, but how do we fix it? We’ll give our thoughts.
Plus we’ll take your calls at 917-889-8280!
Kyle Busch took the victory in the Food City 500 on Sunday. It’s Busch’s 54th career victory and the third of his 2019 season.
Busch held off his brother for the win in a race dominated by Team Penske but had some interesting circumstances towards the end of the event that prevented them from winning.
A few drivers had good days, others struggled mightily including Kevin Harvick who had to start at the rear and do a pass through penalty for failing inspection too many times. We’ll discuss that.
And we’ll take your phone calls -917-889-8280
This weekend marks one of the most fun weekends in NASCAR as both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series will race at Bristol Motor Speedway. We’ll talk about who will be fast and who may win both races this weekend.
Plus, the 2020 schedule for both the trucks and xfinity series was announced today and there were some changes. We’ll discuss those changes and what we expect to see down the road in those series.
Also, short tracks used to be a big deal in the Cup Series. We’ll talk about who the best short trackers currently are & who the best was all time.
Plus we’ll take your phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Denny Hamlin took the victory in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s Hamlin’s second victory of the season and the 33rd of his career.
Hamlin held off Clint Bowyer to win the race. The race featured a lot of the big names drivers having issues and it made an interesting finish.
Plus, we’ll review the XFINITY and Truck Series events from this past weekend.
Call 917-889-8280 to join the show.
Rocky Ryan has been a spotter in NASCAR for over two decades. Rocky has also been a radio professional for the last few years having worked on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. This week, he joins Talking In Circles for a new weekly spot where we will preview each week’s races and talk about the news of the week.
This weekend we will preview the race from Texas Motor Speedway as well as discussing the qualifying procedure in the Cup Series. What other solutions are there?
Join us!
The 2020 NASCAR schedule has been released and there are several changes, including new playoff races, new cutoff races & a new season finale.
Plus for the first time since 1959, Daytona’s second date will not be scheduled for July 4th weekend. It’s an iconic date that should have never been moved.
Indianapolis is moved to July 4th weekend. We’ll give our thoughts.
A double header weekend at Pocono is also added plus we’ll talk about the new qualifying rules for this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.
It was Brad Keselowski's day at Martinsville Speedway this afternoon, dominating the STP 500. It's Keselowski's 29th career victory and the second of his season. He held off Chase Elliott & Kyle Busch to get the victory.
Elliott was the banner driver for Hendrick Motorsports today, a team that usually dominates at Martinsville. Another struggling day for the organization in general though.
Stewart Haas Racing had all four cars finish in the top ten today, a decent day for the organization but Kevin Harvick did not lead at all and never really contended for the lead.
Plus, it was a good day for the Dillon boys at Martinsville Speedway and they deserve some credit.
We'll also break down the Gander Outdoor Truck Series race from Martinsville, in which Kyle Busch went to victory lane for the 54th time.
This weekend is the STP 500 from Martinsville Speedway. It’s the paper clip! We dive into the weekend’s events and discuss everything we expect to see heading into Martinsville!
Plus we’ll talk about the first five races of the season & what has changed since since Daytona.
Plus we’ll talk about our picks for the races and who will be strong all weekend!
917-889-8280 is the number to call! Join us!
Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Califonia. It's Busch's 53rd career victory in the Cup Series and the 200th of his NASCAR career. We'll talk about that and discuss who is the favorite for the championship after five races of the season.
We'll also discuss the other aspects of the race including Hendrick Motorsports disappearing act & whether or not Stewart Haas Racing will find the speed they have lost from a year ago.
Plus, we'll talk about Friday's debacle from qualifying & discuss the NASCAR XFINITY Series race from Saturday in which Cole Custer earned his third career victory in that series.
We'll also take you phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Six new people have been named as eligible for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We’ll discuss our thoughts on who should get in and who they’re missing from the list.
Plus we’ll preview this weekend’s races from the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Who will win? And what kind of racing will we see this weekend!
Plus we’ll take your phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Kyle Busch won his 52nd career NASCAR Cup Series event at ISM Raceway. We'll break down the entire event and discuss who impressed us and who struggled during the 312 mile event.
We'll also discuss the NASCAR XFINITY Series event at ISM Raceway & Kyle Busch's victory there. That one didnt' come so easy for him as he had to deal with teammate Christopher Bell until an incident took Bell out of the running. We'll break down that event as well.
Plus, what do we expect to see this weekend at Auto Club Speedway? It should be an extremely interesting event with the new rule package that is in store for 2019.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
This weekend’s races at ISM Raceway will be interesting as we see the new short track package in the Cup Series in 2019. How will it change the racing? Did the short track package need to change? We’ll discuss it.
Also, we’ll talk about the future of NASCAR. What do we want to see with the cars in 10 years? How about the four car team limit? Should that be lifted? Also, what about the XFINITY and Truck Series? What should we do with those series? Should they stay status quo?
Plus we’ll take your phone calls. 917-889-8280!
Joey Logano took the victory in the Pennzoil 400 beating teammate Brad Keselowski in route to victory.
Today's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was the first race with the new package and we'll give our thoughts on what we thought of the package and the race and how different it was.
We'll also discuss who had a good day and who had a bad day and talk about what this package may do at Phoenix.
We'll also review the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series event & the NASCAR XFINITY Series event from this past week and discuss what the championship picture looks like through three races.
We'll also take your phone calls. 917-889-8280!
NASCAR moves to the west coast this week as all three series head to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. We'll give our thoughts about what we'll see at Las Vegas.
Plus who is NASCAR's next big superstar? We'll give our thoughts.
We'll also dive into the changes we'd like to see on the NASCAR schedule. What tracks would we like to see added and what is the ideal amount of races for each type of track? We'll discuss that.
Plus much more.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Brad Keselowski took the victory in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It’s Keselowski’s 28th career victory and Keselowski wins the first race with NASCAR’s new rule package.
Martin Truex Jr finished 2nd, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 5.
We’ll give our thoughts on the race and the new rule package and take some phone calls at 917-889-8280
Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in the 61st Daytona 500 on Sunday. It was the second 500 of his career and it came after a wreck filled final 10 laps that saw the race extend into overtime. Hamlin was able to hold off teammate Kyle Busch for the victory. We'll discuss the 500 and give our thoughts of the race on Sunday.
The race was clouded in controversy after Joey Logano confronted Michael McDowell on pit road after the race. Logano felt McDowell could have done more to help his fellow Ford companion and McDowell felt that he should do whatever it takes to win the race. We'll discuss which side we are on and if Logano had a right to be upset.
Also, Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola had an interesting restart that resulted in a couple of cars ending up three wide. NASCAR allowed the restart to stay and claimed that it was a clean restart. We'll give our thoughts on the confusion and discuss whether or not NASCAR got the call right.
Plus we'll dive into a little more detail about the rest of speedweeks and preview this weekend's racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. We'll take phone calls from listeners - 917-889-8280!
The 61st Daytona 500 is here and we are ready to dive into the event and preview what we think will happen during the race and who we think will be fast on a Sunday.
Plus, it was a wild Friday night at Daytona with a lackluster Saturday 300 mile race, with Michael Annett and Austin Hill going to victory lane. Will we see another first time winner on Sunday?
Plus we’ll take your phone calls. 917-889-8280! Give us your thoughts!
William Byron and Alex Bowman are on the front row for the Daytona 500. Hendrick Motorsports took the first four spots in qualifying and sit on the pole for the fifth consecutive year.
Plus, Tyler Reddick and Casey Mears have locked themselves into the 500 via their qualifying speeds. Mears and Reddick can still race their way into event. 4 other drivers will try and race their way in in Thursday’s Gander Outdoors 150s.
Also, Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag in the Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona. It was a wild finish that saw Paul Menard and Johnson make contact and take out about 17 cars before the rain came. We’ll discuss the finish and the move.
Plus we’ll take your phone calls — 917-889-8280!
If I were to ask you who has the most starts in the Daytona 500, who would you say? Few would say Dave Marcis, but that is in fact, the answer
Dave Marcis was a NASCAR competitor for almost four decades. During his career Marcis ran in 32 consecutive Daytona 500s, a NASCAR record. He also holds the record for most Daytona 500 starts of all-time, with 33 starts in the big race. Marcis’ run is something we may never see again in NASCAR and Clayton Caldwell discusses the reasons for Marcis’ longevity and why his record may never be broken.
Sometimes the race to make the race is better than the actual race itself. On the 2019 Daytona 500 entry list there are 42 cars entered, which means two cars will go home. There is a possibility we could see two additional teams added to the list to make four cars going home and 44 entered all together.
Clayton Caldwell dives into the Daytona 500 entry list and what it takes to make the Daytona 500. Some fans can be confused by the procedure on how to make the race because it's changed quite a bit over the years. Clayton breaks down the rules and talks about each non-chartered "open" teams and their changes at making the 61st Great American Race.
Got any questions you want answered? Ask Clayton - Email: Cgcaldwell89@gmail.com Twitter: @CGCaldwell89
NASCAR announced rule and procedure changes for the 2019 season and we're going to talk about it.
The sanctioning body will no longer penalize cars after a teardown at the NASCAR R&D Center but instead will do post-race inspection at the track and penalize cars who fail post-race inspection, including taking the win away. A disqualified winner will be put into last place and the second place car will be declared the winner, if they past inspection. It's a monumental change and we're gonna talk about it.
Also we discuss the news that NASCAR is keeping their qualifying format of group qualifying despite the draft being a major factor. There were rumors throughtout the off-season that NASCAR might change the format back to single car runs but Scott Miller said they're in show business. It makes for an interesting qualifying format but not the most fair format. We'll discusss that as well.
And we'll preview this weekend's Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona & Daytona 500 Qualifying. 917-889-8280 is the number to join the show!
In the first episode ever of Clayton in the Car- Clayton talks about Christopher Bell's future.
Christopher Bell is one of NASCAR's best young prospects. There is no doubt he has a long future in the NASCAR Cup Series. But where will that future be? Will he continue his career at Joe Gibbs Racing or will he go elsewhere?
Clayton Caldwell dives into the factors in determining Christopher Bell's future and where his NASCAR career could end up.
The 2019 season is right around the corner and tonight on Talking in Circles we are previewing the season. The drivers are ready, the teams are ready and so are we on Talking in Circles.
We'll break down each organization, one by one and talk about their outlook for the 2019 season. Plus we'll discuss which moves were best, which move left us a little concerned.
How about the Jimmie Johnson's new crew chief? How about Martin Truex Jr moving to Joe Gibbs Racing? How about Daniel Hemric and Ryan Preece's rookie seasons? We'll talk about it all.
Plus we'll look at the racing package for the 2019 season. The rules for the Daytona 500 will be the same but what will we see after that? Will it be the great equalizer? Did NASCAR go in the right direction? Will we see a major difference?
We'll give our thoughts. Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
After a major turnover in 2018 Hendrick Motorsports comes into the 2019 season with little turnover but still there are some changes to help the team improve on a season that saw only one team from the organization go to victory lane. What will their 2019 season look like? We'll predict it.
Richard Childress Racing comes into the 2019 season with a new driver as Daniel Hemric will run for Rookie of the Year. What are his expectation for this season and can this team rebound on what was a pitiful 2018 performance.
Chip Ganassi Racing w/Felix Sabates enters 2019 with a new driver as well, as Kurt Busch replaces Jamie McMurray in the No. 1 Chevrolet. Kyle Larson returns to the team, but what are they expected to do? We'll talk about that.
We will also break down the teams from JTG Daughtery Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Germain Racing, StarCom Racing & TriStar Motorsports.
It's a fun show tonight as we get you ready for the 2019 season leading up to the Daytona 500!
Johnny Sauter is out at GMS Racing. The news comes as a surprise to many including us here at Talking in Circles. Sauter mentioned defending Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt as his replacement. We'll discuss what could have been the motivation behind this move and what is next for Sauter.
Plus, truck series owner D.J. Copp will join the show to discuss his 2019 plans & the finances of the truck series. Who will be the driver of the No. 83 Chevrolet next season & what are his long term goals for the team.
We'll also discuss all the silly season news and what is still in the air as we get ready for Daytona next month.
917-889-8280 is the number to join the show!
Joey Logano won the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday to earn his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. Logano out ran Martin Truex Jr on a late race restart and to get the victory. Truex was second with Kevin Harvick finishing third and Kyle Busch came home fourth. Brad Keselowski finished in the fifth position.
We'll break down all the events from the Ford EcoBoost 400 and talk about what this win does for Logano and his team. It was also the final race for Furniture Row Racing. We'll talk about what that means.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
It wasn't his most dominant win of his career but it got the job done. Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in Sunday's Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday. It's Busch's 51st career victory and his 8th of the 2018 season. He held off a hard charging Brad Keselowski for victory.
It was a race that featured a lot of attrition including a major wreck late in the event involving playoff drivers Kurt Busch & Chase Elliott. The accident almost sealed the deal for Kevin Harvick, who had one of the fastest cars early in the going until spinning after a flat tire. After the incident, Harvick salvaged a decent day out of it but the car had lost its speed. He finished 7th but did advance into the championship four along with Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.
Christopher Bell took the victory in Saturday's NASCAR XFINITY Series race at ISM Raceway. Bell needed to win after back to back tough breaks at Kansas and Texas. He proved that he is the man to beat this year with a stellar drive through the field to win his 7th race this season. Bell held off Daniel Hemric for victory. Hemric and Bell advanced to the championship four along with Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer. We'll talk about who we think will be the 2018 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion.
We'll do the same with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Brett Moffitt took the win in Friday night's event, his fifth of the season. Moffitt joins Johnny Sauter, Justin Haley & Noah Gregson as the championship four in the truck series.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kevin Harvick took the victory for Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. He dominated the race winning both stages and heading to victory lane. However, when NASCAR took the car back to the R&D Center, they found an illegal modification to the rear spolier on the No. 4 car.
On Wednesday NASCAR announced the penalty to the team - Crew chief Rodney Childers and car chief Cheddar Smith will be suspended for the next two Cup Series races and Childers will be find $75k. Harvick was also docked 40 points putting him just three points ahead of the cut line as NASCAR heads to an elimination race at ISM Raceway.
What does this penalty mean for Harvick and his team? How will this effect their championship run? Did NASCAR get it right? What does this mean for NASCAR? We'll talk about it.
Plus, Martin Truex Jr and Cole Pearn have a new home for the 2019 season. It was officially announced this afternoon that the duo will join Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2019 season, driving the No. 19 Toyota for the team. This means that Daniel Suarez is out of a ride. We'll discuss Truex's expectations for the 2019 season and what is next for this team and for Suarez.
Plus we'll preview this weekend's events from ISM Raceway in Phoenix and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Joey Logano took the victory in Sunday's First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Logano had a long battle with Martin Truex Jr and Truex got around Logano late only for Joey to use his bumper and move Truex out of the way coming out of turn four. There were arguements on both sides and we'll give our takes on the finish.
Logano's win locks him into the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race was a tough one for Clint Bowyer who spun late and finished in the 21st position.
Plus, Johnny Sauter dominated the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway guaranteeing him into the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We'll discuss the truck series event and what we can expect to see at Texas Motor Speedway.
Also, Hendrick Motorsports announced a two-year deal for a sponsorship deal with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Chevrolet. Ally Finanical will do all 36 races for the next two years. We'll talk about the deal and what it means for Johnson.
It was also announced Tyler Reddick will be moving from JR Motorsports to Richard Childress Racing next season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. This opens up a ride for JRM and we'll talk about the possibilities for that ride.
We'll also preview this weekend from Texas Motor Speedway as we start to close out the 2018 season.
Chase Elliott took the victory in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. It was his third career victory and his third of the 2018 season. Elliott held off Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson to go to victory.
Kevin Harvick, who led 76 laps, was the fastest car at the end of the event but sped on pit road under green flag conditions, giving Elliott the lead. Busch tried to chase Elliott (no pun intended) down but could not do it. We're gonna break down the whole event for you and talk about who had a good day and who really struggled.
Kyle Larson finished third but it wasn't enough for him to advance to the next round of the playoffs as he, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman were eliminated after Sunday's race. We'll discuss the whole championship situation and if the favorites have changed for the championship.
Also, John Hunter Nemechek celebrated his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory at Kansas Speedway in pretty dominating fashion. It was a wild event Kansas Lottery 300 for the XFINITY Series and we'll discuss it all.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Aric Almriola scored his second career victory in Sunday's 1000bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Almriola and his teammates dominated the event, as SHR cars led 155 of the races 193 laps. The only doubt at victory came near the end when two SHR cars ran out of fuel, resulting in Almriola's second career victory.
Gas also reeked havoc on Brad Keselowski as he ran out coming to the green on the final restart. Keselowski finished in the 27th position - a really big hit to his championship hopes.
Plus Kurt Busch, who ran out of gas on the front stretch coming to the checkered flag was critical of NASCAR's decision to keep the race green after an accident on the final lap. Chase Elliott and Matt DiBenedetto (among others) wrecked and NASCAR kept the race green to ensure a good finish for the fans. Did they get it right? We'll talk about it.
Plus, Timothy Peters won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega on Saturday. It was his 11th career victory in the series. Peters has no races left of his schedule this season and it could very well be his final victory in the series. We'll talk about it.
Also, Ryan Reed and Lily Diabetes are leaving Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season. Reed, who currently sits 12th in the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings. He is in his fifth full season with the organization and will no longer be around. What does this mean for RFR's future in the series? We'll give our takes.
All that and much much more tonight on Talking in Circles! Stay tuned!
The longest tenured crew chief and driver tandam is no more after the 2018 season. Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus will split up as Knaus will move to the No. 24 Chevrolet with driver William Byron & Kevin Meendering will become just Johnson's third crew chief of his career. We'll discuss the move & what it means for the team in the future.
Also, Matt DiBenedetto has been the named the driver of the No. 95 Toyota in the 2019 season. DiBenedetto will take over the ride after Kasey Kahne's retirement announcement. The team will have an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and use their TRD Engines.
Plus Chase Elliott won this weekend at Dover. It was the second win of Elliott's career & it advances him to the round of 8 in the playoffs. What does this mean for Chase Elliott's championships hopes? We'll talk about it.
Plus a bad day for Clint Bowyer & other playoff contenders. We'll discuss their championship hopes as Talladega looms in the future.
Ryan Blaney took home the trophy in Sunday's Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It's Blaney's second career victory and his first for Team Penske. The victory pushes Blaney to round 2 of the playoffs. Blaney took the victory after an incident on the final lap between Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. Blaney was running in the third spot when the two got together and passed both to win.
Johnson missed round two of the playoffs after a three way tie determined the 12th and final playoff spot. He was running second at the time of the incident and he would have transfered if he finished right there. Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin & Erik Jones also missed round 2.
We'll discuss the playoffs & who will make round 3 of the playoffs.
Plus Chase Briscoe won the NASCAR XFNITY Series race Roval Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It's Briscoe's first career victory driving for Stewart Haas Racing. We'll discuss his victory and what can we expect from Briscoe in the future.
Also - Silly season was hot and heavy this weekend at Charlotte as two teams announced their plans for the 2019 season. Ryan Preece will drive the No. 47 Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing & Daniel Hemric will drive the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. We'll talk about all of that and the rest of the silly season news.
And we'll take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway. It was Busch's 50th career victory in his career. The victory advances Busch into the second round of the playoffs and it means that he will escape what should be a wild weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Plus, it was another tough weekend for Denny Hamlin at his hometown track. The Virginia native now finds himself in the bottom four and in almost a win-or-go-home situation for the Bank of America Roval 400k at Charlotte. We'll discuss who else needs a solid run at Charlotte.
Also, Ryan Newman has a new home for the 2019 season. Roush Fenway Racing and Newman made the announcement this past weekend at Richmond. What does this mean for Newman? What does this mean for Roush Fenway? We'll discuss it all and the rest of the silly season rumors that have seemed to pick up some steam here in recent weeks.
Brad Keselowski won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It's his third consecutive win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Does this put Brad in the championship talk?
Plus, several playoffs drivers had problems during Sunday's race. We'll discuss those issues and who is in the biggest trouble of them all heading into this weekend's race at Richmond Raceway.
Plus the NASCAR XFINITY Series set their field of 12 for the playoffs, we'll discuss that and who is the favorite for the championship.
Also, Ryan Newman made headlines this week, announcing he and Richard Childress Racing are parting ways after the 2018 season. Where does this leave Newman in 2019? Plus we'll speculate on other silly season happenings.
Phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Make it two in a row for Brad Keselowski. He took the checkered flag for Monday's Big Machine Vodka 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 8 days after winning the Southern 500 at Darlington. The victory puts Keselowski in good shape as the playoffs come and gives the team some momentum. Is he now in the championship conversation?
How about the XFINITY race? A race that saw Justin Allgaier go to victory lane. Allgaier has quickly become the favorite for the championship in the XFINITY Series, or has he? We'll also talk about the package and whether or not it works at Indianapolis.
Then we'll discuss the 16 drivers in the playoffs and who has a chance at the championship. We'll also discuss the teams that just missed and who is the biggest surprise.
Plus Jamie McMurray is out of ride - The Associated Press reported that McMurray will be out as a driver at Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the year but has been offered a role in the organization past this season and a ride in next year's Daytona 500. That gives some merit to the report that Kurt Busch will be moving to the organization in 2019.
We'll discuss it all tonight on Talking in Circles!
Furniture Row Racing has shut down! - That's the surprisng news of the week this week. The team that helped propel Martin Truex Jr to the championship in 2017 will close its doors following the 2018 season due to lack of funding. We'll talk about what is next for the team, Truex and his crew chief Cole Pearn and what this means for the sport of NASCAR.
Also, the Southern 500 - We'll review the race and discuss what the difference was to put Brad Keselowski to victory lane beating Kyle Larson and his teammate Joey Logano. That playoffs are right around the corner. We'll discuss if this weekend's race has changed the scope at all and take one last look at the regular season points.
Plus, Kevin Harvick and Ross Chastain got into each other in the final stage of Saturday night's NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Darlington Raceway. Who was right? We'll talk about it.
Also - phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Justin Allgaier took the checkered flag in Saturday's Johnsonville 180 at Road America. It was an impressive victory for Allgaier who recieved some praise on Twitter from his car owner. We'll discuss that praise and whether or not he deserves to be in the Cup Series.
Plus, the XFINITY Series is now just two races away from the playoffs. We'll look at that and see who has the upper hand heading into Darlington.
It was a wild finish in Sunday's Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Justin Haley was running third when teammates Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland made contact, spinning each other out and costing each other the race.
Who was right? Who was wrong and should a teammate be raced differently in the closing stages of the race.
Haley will move on to the round of six and will not have to deal with the chaos that is Talladega as an elimination race. Which other drivers did themselves a favor at Mosport and which ones struggled.
Also, the silly season is hot and heavy. All kinds of rumors have been flying around. We'll play truth or fiction and try and predict who will be in what ride next season.
Kurt Busch held off Kyle Larson in the closing stages of the Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. It was his 30th career victory and the first of the 2018 season for Busch. It was his crew chief's Billy Scott's first career victory as well.
We're breaking down the entire event from Bristol, which featured a couple of incidents with Kyle Busch. He spun on lap 2 and collected several drivers. He also made contact with Martin Truex Jr, ending his day and then blew a left rear tire which he spun out, ending up in the 20th position. We'll discuss his busy night as well.
There were also a few nice runs on the day including Trevor Bayne who recorded his best finish of the season Saturday and a couple of drivers and teams that struggle. Brad Keselowski, most notable.
We'll also chat about the NASCAR XFINITY and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events & discuss Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler's retirement announcements from earlier in the week.
It's a jammed packed Talking in Circles, coming at you!
Kevin Harvick won both stages and took the victory in Sunday's Cosumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It's Harvick's 44th career victory & his 7th win of the 2018 season. Harvick has now lunged into the playoff points lead with just three races to go until the playoffs.
Several drivers had good days while others struggled. We'll break down the whole weekend from Michigan and the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Plus, the NASCAR silly season has ramped up these last two weeks. This weekend it was reported that Kurt Busch will join Chip Ganassi Racing replacing Jamie McMurray in the No. 1 car. Busch denied the reports and said he's been talking to several teams. We'll break it all down and try and figure out what is going on with the silly season.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280! Give us a call!!
NASCAR CEO Brian France was arrested and jailed Sunday night after being charged with Driving Under the Influence and being in possession of a control substance. It's been reported that France's was over two times the legal limit. We'll discuss the situation and what's next for the sport.
Plus we'll discuss the Go Bowling at the Glen and how this weekend could have been a positive step in the right direction. We'll talk about Chase Elliott's first victory and the epic conclusion to the race at Watkins Glen.
Plus we'll take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
We're talking about the Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway. Kyle Busch took the victory, earning his 49th career victory, tying Tony Stewart on the all-time list. He held off teammate Daniel Suarez and Alex Bowman for victory.
Kevin Harvick had a fast racecar but started from the rear of the field and had contact with teammate Aric Almirola that prevented him from going to victory lane. We'll talk about that and break down the entire event from the 400 miler at Pocono Raceway.
Also, 13 cars failed qualifying Saturday night at Pocono, resulting in teams in a mixed starting lineup. This weekend at Watkins Glen inspection will be moved to Sunday morning before the race. We'll discuss that!
Plus, Christopher Bell beat Justin Allgaier at Iowa and it was the Kyle Busch show in the truck series. We'll touch on that as well.
And we lost a NASCAR legend as writer Tom Higgins passed away Tuesday morning. We'll do the show in honor of him tonight!
Then, the silly season is starting up. A bunch of comments came out today from Joe Gibbs Racing and Christopher Bell. What will be the solution? Also, Kasey Kahne discussed his future with Frontstretch.com. What will happen with Kahne? Do we see him hanging around in the Cup Series for 2019? We'll give our early predictions for the silly season.
Your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Kevin Harvick took the victory in Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. We'll discuss the move Harvick made to pass Kyle Busch for victory and whether or not Busch owes Harvick payback later in the season.
Plus Chase Elliott showed some muscle and had his best race in a long time. Is this a sign of things to come for Elliott & Hendrick Motorsports or just a blip on the radar.
Also, Ricky Stenhouse Jr had a tough day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and cost him and his team a lot of valuable points. Will Stenhouse make the playoffs? We'll discuss it.
Also Christopher Bell took the victory during Saturday's XFINITY Series event. We'll talk about that and who impressed there.
Finally we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Chase Briscoe took home the checkered flag at the Eldora Dirt Derby on Wednesday night edging out teammate Grant Enfinger. It was a fun day in Eldora and some big name drivers struggled including points leader Johnny Sauter. We'll discuss it all, breaking down the Dirt Derby.
Plus, 5-Hour Energy announced Tuesday that the company is leaving NASCAR and the defending champion Martin Truex Jr and Furniture Row Racing team. The company has been in NASCAR for over a decade and with Furniture Row Racing since 2017. We'll discuss what this means for the sport, Truex and FRR.
Also, Blake Jones will make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Jones has a handful of major stock car racing expereince and has been approved for a Cup ride. It's a far cry from how it used to be.
We'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Martin Truex Jr won his 19th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway. Truex won both stages and took the checkered flag in route to victory. It was a dominating performance and a statement race for the No. 78 team and Furniture Row Racing.
Plus, Alex Bowman blew a left front tire and crashed hard on lap 111. Bowman finished 39th in a 39 car field. Paul Menard and Ricky Stenhouse Jr closed the gap on Bowman for the final spot in NASCAR's playoffs. We'll talk about the impact that had and review the entire Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.
Also, Hendrick Motorsports announced they've reached a two year agreement with Chad Knaus to return as crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet. Knaus and Johnson have been together since the start of the 2002 season, compiling 83 wins and seven championships together. We'll talk about what this means for all the parties involved.
In addition we'll discuss the rumor about Leavine Family Racing moving to another manufactuer. The Sports Business Journal confirmed the rumor. We'll talk about what this might mean and who could possibly drive the No. 95 car next season.
Also, a quick preview of the Eldora Dirt Derby on Wednesday. Taking phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Erik Jones took home the victory in Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. It was Jones' first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. The win locks him into the playoffs and gives the second year driver a chance at the championship.
The race featured several big crashes with Ricky Stenhouse Jr garnering most of the blame for those accidents. We'll discuss whether the blame is justified and what we thought of the accidents.
Plus, Kyle Larson took the victory in Friday's Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway but under loads of controversy. Justin Haley crossed the line in first but had the win taken away from him after NASCAR determined that he advanced his position below the yellow line. Did NASCAR get it right? Should the yellow line rule still exist? We'll discuss all of that.
Also, playoffs talk is beginning to pick up. Who will make it after a crazy weekend shook up the points. We'll discuss it all and more on Talking in Circles.
Sunday's running of the Overton's 400 from Chicagoland Speedway ended in a thrilling finish between Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson as the two tangled a couple of times on the final lap which resulted in Kyle Busch's 48th career victory and the 5th of his 2018 season.
Larson caught Busch in turn two and tried to slide job him but instead hit Busch and put him in the wall. Busch corralled his car and by turn three was able to get into Larson and spin him out and passed him for victory.
It was a thrilling finish and an overall good race at Chicagoland. Stage 2 ended with controversy as well, when Kevin Harvick passed Kurt Busch on the final lap, sending Busch into a radio tirade for the ages. We'll discuss the unwritten rules between teammates and if Harvick was in the wrong.
Plus, we'll discuss who had a good day and who struggled and discuss this week's action from the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Calls 917-889-8280!
We've had the first crew chief change of the 2018 season - Travis Mack is out after just 14 races at Leavine Family Racing as crew chief of Kasey Kahne's No. 95 Chevrolet. Mack will be replaced by interim crew chief Jon Leonard. We'll talk about the move, why it was made and who could potentially become the crew chief of the team.
Plus, the schedules for the 2019 NASCAR XFINITY and Gander Outdoor Truck Series were released this week with minimal changes. We'll talk about why we didn't have the changes that the fans are asking for.
Plus, Justin Allgaier and Brett Moffitt took the victory in this weekend's races at Iowa Speedway. We'll break down the races and talk about who ran good and who struggled.
That and much more on Talking in Circles! Calls 917-889-8280!
Sunday's rain shortened Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway resulted in Clint Bowyer winning his 10 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event. Bowyer passed Kevin Harvick in the closing stages of the event and held him off as the caution came out for rain. When NASCAR lost the track, they called the race after 133 laps.
Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Paul Menard. Kyle Larson, who was looking for four wins in a row at Michigan, spun on lap 87. Larson finished in the 28th position.
It was a race dominated by the Ford drivers, particularly the cars from Stewart Haas Racing but Team Penske ran very well as well.
Also, three of the four Joe Gibbs Racing cars started at the rear of the field for issues with the splitters of their cars. We'll discuss that and if there may be any future penalties.
Plus, the NASCAR XFINITY Series used the new package this week at Michigan International Speedway. We'll discuss that and the feedback we heard this week. Is this the direction NASCAR should go?
And we'll take phone calls from the listeners at 917-889-8280!
It was interesting day at Pocono Raceway after Martin Truex Jr took the victory in Sunday's Pocono 400. Truex had one of the fastest racecars on Sunday and proved it in the closing stages of the event holding off some big drivers for victory.
Kyle Larson finished a strong second with Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top 5. Pole sitter Ryan Blaney finished 6th with Aric Almirola, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott rounding out the top 10.
Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman crashed together on lap 146 ruining both drivers' days.
We'll break down the entire weekend from Pocono including the XFINITY Series race on Saturday that resulted in Kyle Busch's 92nd career victory, but also resulting in his car being too high in post-race inspection.
We'll talk about that and more! 917-889-8280 joins the show!
Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night. It was Busch's 47th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. The win also means that Busch has now won at every racetrack on the circuit. How impressive is that?
Busch had the fastest car all day and no one could really run with the No. 18 car. We'll break down who had a good night and what we thought of the action on the 1.5 mile track.
We'll also preview the Pocono 400 from Pocono Raceway and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
NASCAR announced the five newest members of its Hall of Fame on Wednesday. Jeff Gordon, Roger Penske, Jack Roush, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki will enter the Hall of Fame in 2018. We'll give our thoughts on the class and who should be in the next class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Plus Rob Kauffman made headlines this week with a tweet about the charter system of NASCAR. We'll talk about the positives and negatives about the charter system and if there's anything they can do to improve the business model.
Plus we'll preview the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Who will win and who needs a good run?
Phone calls - 917-889-8280!
Kevin Harvick took the victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race. We'll talk about it and recap Harvick's night and discuss the Monster Energy Open.
The race also had a new rule package and fans were very pleased with the package and the restrictor plates. We'll give our opinions on it whether or not this is the answer for the 1.5 mile tracks. Will it work?
Plus we'll discuss the rule change of NASCAR giving teams the option to start the race on their qualifying tires. IS that a good change? What will that mean going forward?
Taking phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Several news outlets reported this week that NASCAR is for sale. What does that mean? How big of a deal is it? Who will buy it? What will change if someone buys it? We'll discuss the details about what would happen if this is indeed true.
Plus, several penalties we announced after this weekend at Dover including Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez and Justin Allgaier's team members have been penalized. How will this effect them in the future?
Then there was news that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will change brands from Camping World to Gander Outdoors in the 2019 season. What does that mean?
Also, we'll preview the KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway.
We'll take your phone calls 917-889-8280!!
Kevin Harvick won the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. It's Harvick's 41st career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory and his 4th of the 2018 season. Harvick dominated the event, leading 201 of the races 400 laps and winning the race by over 7 seconds.
Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez finished second and third. It was Suarez's best finish of his career. Martin Truex Jr and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 5.
Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Larson complete the top ten. Kyle Busch finished in the 35th position after a drive shaft broke on his Toyota.
We'll discuss all the racing from the weekend and more on Talking in Circles!
Former NASCAR Scene writer Steve Waid joins the show to discuss the life and career of NASCAR driver James Hylton.
Hylton and his son, James Jr passed away last week in an automobile accident on the way home from the ARCA race in Talladega, Alabama.
Waid had a long career of covering the sport and remembers when Hylton was a regular competitor on the Cup Series circuit. We'll dive into the life of the independent drivers of the 1970s and talk about the kind of person James Hylton was on and off the track.
It's an exciting interview and we look forward to you listening!
We're previewing the GEICO 500 from Talladega Superspeedway. Joey Logano took the victory for his first win of the 2018 season and the 19th of his career. Logano held off Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott and others in route to the victory.
Plus there were two major accidents that happened. One was caused when Jimmie Johnson lost control of his No. 48 Chevrolet, trigging a multi-car wreck and the other when Erik Jones spun and crashed. We'll talk about the package the Superspeedway event and who ran good and who struggled.
Also, we'll talk about the life and career of James Harvey Hylton, one of NASCAR's oldest independent drivers. Hylton and his team were traveling home from the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway when they had an accident on the way home. Driver of the vehicle, Terry Strange survived but Hylton and son James Jr passed away. It was a tragic situation and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the Hylton family.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Matt Kenseth will return to Roush Fenway Racing and drive the organizations No. 6 Ford, beginning at Kansas Speedway on May 12th. The team also announced that Kenseth will drive the car at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The team also announced a sponsor and some details about how the deal came about. We'll discuss all of that and the future of the No. 6 Ford at Roush Fenway Racing.
Plus, as Talladega is on the horizon we'll discuss the next driver to get their first win? Is it Chase Elliott? Erik Jones or Ty Dillon? Maybe it's Bubba Wallace - he finished 2nd in the Daytona 500. We'll talk about what we think.
Also, what is the greatest finish in Talladega history? Is it Brad Keselowski's first win? How about Ron Bouchard's victory in 1981? What about Brian Vickers' first win in 2006? We'll talk about Talladega's greatest moments.
And we'll take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Matt Kenseth is back at Roush Fenway Racing! He'll be racing the No. 6 car at Kansas Speedway and will be the primary driver of the No. 6 Ford for the 2018 season.
Kyle Busch took the victory in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday. It was his 3rd consecutive victory and the 46th of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. It wasn't a dominate performance, but it go the job done.
Plus we'll talk about who had a good day, who struggled and who needs to pick it up.
Also, Christopher Bell held off teammate Noah Gragson for his second career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory. It was a great race as JGR swept the weekend.
We'll take some phone calls at 917-889-8280! Join the show!
Kyle Busch took the victory in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday. It's Busch's 45th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and his second straight victory.
Busch passed Kyle Larson in the closing stages to secure the victory. Jimmie Johnson finished third with Ricky Stenhouse Jr coming home fourth and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 5. The race was arguably the best race of the 2018 season and featured a lot of passing.
Johnson, Stenhouse, Bowman, David Ragan (12th) and Landon Cassill (20th) had season best finishes. We'll talk about the race and if it was the best race of the 2018 season. Plus, we'll discuss a couple of accidents that took out some of NASCAR's biggest stars.
Plus Ford announced that the manufactruer will change its model for the Cup Series in 2019. They will move from Fusion to Mustang for the 2019. What does that mean for Ford and how will this impact the performance of the Ford teams?
Also, Bristol Motor Speedway announced that the track will move its Wednesday night Truck Series event to Thursday night. Is this that big of a difference?
AND - Timothy Peters will make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut for Ricky Benton Racing at Talladega Superspeedway next week. Peters has made 239 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and 10 career XFINITY Series starts. We'll discuss the expectations for Peters and discuss the excitment of his Cup debut.
Then, we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
NASCAR just announced the new format for the All-Star race. The race will feature restrictor plates for the first time. We'll discuss what we think of the new rules for the race and the format of the event.
Also, Chase Elliott's crew chief Alan Gustafson has been suspended for two races and fined $50,000 for a problem with the window brace of the No. 9 Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway. The team also lost 20 driver and owner points. Hendrick Motorsports announced they will not appeal the penalty and that Kenny Francis will be the crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet for Bristol and Richmond. We'll discuss what that means for the No. 9 team and if a window brace really makes a big difference.
Plus, Monster Energy and NASCAR announced they will extend their partnership through the 2019 season but the sport said that it is 'highly unlikely' that their deal will extend past the 2019 season. NASCAR also announced that they will have a different sponsorship format in 2020. We'll discuss that.
Plus, we'll preview the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and take your phone calls at 917-887-8280!
It was a race filled with carnage but Kyle Busch took the checkered flag for the 44th time in his career in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick had a wild day and finished in the second spot with Jamie McMurray, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top 5.
The story of the day was the attrition in a race that featured a lot of tire issues. Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman all had tire issues that ended their days. Also a major wreck that started when Aric Almirola and Denny Hamlin got together, taking out 6 cars.
Plus, it was a race filled with pit road issues, whether it was a driver speeding or loose wheels or slow pit stops.
We'll discuss it all and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
FoxSports broke down their 50 greatest NASCAR drivers and we'll give our opinions on what we think of their list. Who was left out, who is too high and who is too low?
Live calls at 917-889-8280!
It was Clint Bowyer's day today at Martinsville Speedway. The Emporia, Kansas native took the checkered flag in Monday's STP 500! It's Bowyer's first victory since October 2012 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bowyer led 215 of the races 500 laps in route to victory. It locks Bowyer into the playoffs and makes is the fourth win for Stewart Hass Racing in six races this season (half a lap from winning the Daytona 500 as well.)
Kyle Busch finished in the 2nd spot, followed by Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr and Kevin Harvick. We'll talk about who had a good day, who struggled and who needs to rebound after a rough first six races.
Plus, John Hunter Nemechek won the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Monday afternoon. It was Nemechek's first win at the paperclip and the sixth win of his career. Kyle Benjamin showed his talents today with a second place run and Brett Moffitt, Grant Enfinger and Noah Gragson rounded out the top five. We'll give our opinions on who ran well and who struggled, plus look at the truck series point standings.
Also, we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
It was a dominating performance for Martin Truex Jr and his Furniture Row Racing team today at Auto Club Speedway. Truex won his first race of the 2018 season and the 16th of his career, taking the pole and winning both stages in the event as well. It was an old fashioned whooping. Truex held off Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano for victory.
Kevin Harvick's chances at a fourth consecutive victory were dashed after an accident on lap 39. Harvick made contact with Kyle Larson battling for hte third position and the contact led to Harvick losing control of his Ford Fusion and tagging the outside wall. He would continue but finish in the 35th position.
We'll also discuss the other happenings during the Auto Club 400 and including how 13 cars did not pass pre-qualifying inspection, leading to NASCAR changes the rules in the middle of the week. Was that the right call and is there anything NASCAR can do to prevent this in the future? Or is it on the teams?
Plus we'll touch on the NASCAR XFINITY Series Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway in which Joey Logano dominated, taking the victory in the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske. The NASCAR XFINITY Series has two weeks off before its next event at Texas Motor Speedway in April and we'll talk about what we think of the series through the first five races so far this season.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Longtime Hendrick Motorsport sponsor Lowe's announced they are ending their relationship with the organization and NASCAR at the end of the 2018 season. The company has been a full-time partner on the No. 48 car of Jimmie Johnson since 2002. Together the partnership has won 83 races and 7 championships.
On tonight's show we'll dicuss the reasons why we think the company has decided to end its relationship and what is the will be the reprecussions from this. We'll give you our opinions on whether or not there's more to it than it appears.
Also, Chase Elliott's No. 9 team was penalized following Sunday's race at Phoenix. Elliott and his team were found to be violation of the rear-end housing. Elliott lost 25 driver and owner points, his crew chief Alan Gustafson was fined $50k and his car chief was suspended for two races. The violation was found at NASCAR's R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina earlier this week.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kevin Harvick won his third consecutive race on Sunday at ISM Raceway. It was the 40th win of his career and the 9th of his career at ISM Raceway. Harvick held off some threats from Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott in route to victory. Harvick had the best car once again today and the question is, can he go to four in a row?
We'll give our opinion on who was fast and who could see improvement? A bad day for Kyle Larson! Who saw that coming after sitting on the outside pole? We'll also talk NASCAR XFINITY Series racing from ISM Raceway in which Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR XFINITY Series event.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kevin Harvick won his 39th race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday in dominating fashion. In post-race tear down it was revealed that Harvick's car had a rear window brace in which it was visable that his window would bend under high speed.
Harvick lost his seven playoff points, crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000 and car chief Robert Smith was suspended for the next two events. What does this mean for Harvick?
Plus NASCAR announced it's five new members on the Hall of Fame ballott for 2019. Harry Gant, Jeff Gordon, Kirk Shelmerdine, John Holman & Ralph Moody. We'll discuss their careers and what they meant to the sport.
Also, we'll preview this weekend's Ticket Guardian's 500 at ISM Raceway. Who should be fast? Who is the one to watch?
Then we'll give you what we've learned through the first three races of the season.
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Tonight on Talking in Circles, we're going to review the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was Kevin Harvick going to victory lane for the 38th time in his career. Harvick has a line figured out at Atlanta and had to come from the back today to win the race after an airgun malfunction.
We'll break down the entire event including the haves and have nots.
Plus we'll talk about Saturday's double header from Atlanta Motor Speedway as it was Harvick in victory lane on Saturday for the XFINITY race and Brett Moffitt captializing on a mistake on pit road by Kyle Busch to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Austin Dillon won the 60th annual Daytona 500 in controversial fashion. Where do you stand? We'll give our takes.
Plus we'll also discuss Denny Hamlin & Bubba Wallace's contact at the end of the Daytona 500 and the controversy that follows them.
We'll also dicuss who ran well and who struggled in the 500 and preview the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
And we'll talk about the other races from Speedweeks 2018. Who impressed us and who didn't?
Finally, we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Pole Qualifying occurred on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway with Alex Bowman, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports took the pole for the 60th running of the Great American Race. Bowman will start on the pole with Denny Hamlin on the outside front row.
We'll break down qualifying for the premier event & we'll discuss the new rules of the no ride height rule and how that has changed the game.
Plus Brad Keselowski won the Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona this Sunday in pretty dominant fashion. What does that mean for the Daytona 500? We'll talk about it.
Also, Michael Self won the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway in a race that felt like it was never going to end. We'll discuss the end under green flag rule in the ARCA Series and what would happen if NASCAR adapted that rule.
Plus we'll take your calls 917-889-8280!
Tonight at 9pm on Talking in Circles: We're previewing Speedweeks 2018!
We've got ARCA Series driver Gus Dean joining the show at 9:15pm and former NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Stephen Leicht on the show as well talking about his 2018 season with newly formed JP Motorsports.
Also we'll discuss Corey LaJoie's new ride & Todd Parrott joining Premium Motorsports.
Plus we'll preview this week's Advanced Auto Parts Clash & talk about what we might see in Daytona 500 Qualifying.
We'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
This week it was announced that Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive the No. 00 Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018. Earnhardt will drive the car full-time for Starcom Racing and will be locked into all 36 races.
We'll discuss the expectations for that ride and whether or not NASCAR needed an Earnhardt in the Daytona 500.
Plus we'll speak with ARCA Racing Series driver Max Tullman. Tullman will drive the No. 78 Chevrolet for Mason Mitchell Motorsports at the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway. It'll be Tullman's first career start and we'll chat about the challenges he faces racing on the highbanks for the first time and discuss his expectation for the race.
Plus we are just 18 days away from the Daytona 500. We'll talk about what other news we could be seeing coming out and whether or not BK Racing will show up for the historic event.
Also, we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We're breaking down the 2018 season. Who will make the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in 2018? We'll have our predictions.
We'll also predict who will win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship in the 2018 season. Will the Camaro be the great equalizer for Chevrolet? Can the Fords compete with their racecar?
Plus which new driver/team combination will have the most success this season? Which driver/team combination will not continue in 2019?
We'll break it all down and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Danica Patrick has a ride for the Daytona 500. It's with Premium Motorsports? We'll discuss her chances to win the 60th Daytona 500 in her final start.
Plus Kyle Busch made headlines today by saying NASCAR is 'stupid' to promote young drivers. Is he accurate on that?
Also, ThorSport Racing has annoucned they will move to Ford for 2018. What will that do for the team and are they a contender to win the championship?
NASCAR Hall of Fame Talk
Plus much more silly season news & your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
It was a crazy week in NASCAR's silly season as the news just gets sillier by the day.
First it was the Woods Brothers and Go Fas Racing announcing a deal that locks the Wood Brothers Racing team into every race in the 2018 season. However, the charter is still technically owned by Go Fas Racing, figure that one out.
Then, on top of it, Go Fas Racing announced a partnership with Circle Sport Racing and Joe Falk. The team will utilize the charter from Circle Sport Racing. They also announced Joey Gase will run a second team part time in the Cup Series in addition to his duties as a full-time NASCAR XFINITY Series driver.
The Gilliland's were in the news today as both Todd and David had some big announcements today. Todd will run a full-time Camping World Truck Series effort in Kyle Busch's No. 4 truck in 2018. However, Todd doesn't turn 18 until May 15, preventing him from running on the bigger tracks until then.
His father David will drive the No. 4 truck at Daytona in addition, he will attempt to make his 8th Daytona 500 driving for Ricky Benton Racing. It's the team's first venture into the Cup Series after running several years in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Also, racing legend Dan Gurney passed away this week at the age of 86. We'll reflect on his life and career.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Tonight we speak to 2017 ARCA Racing Series champion Austin Theriault. We'll discuss his career season in 2017 and speak about what is on the horizon in 2018! We'll also dive into the start of his career and how the Fort Kent, Maine driver made his way to North Carolina becoming the ARCA champion.
Plus Ryan Truex has a new ride for 2018. In a surprising move, Truex will drive the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet this season, replacing Blake Koch. We'll talk about his expectations and what's next for Blake Koch.
Also, Go Green Racing announced plans to put Joey Gase in the No. 35 car in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2018. Sponsorship will come from Sparks Energy. We'll discuss his expectations and what this means for his career.
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
It's our first show of 2018 and we're discussing charters and the latest news in NASCAR.
Roush Fenway Racing has sold one of its charters to Team Penske for the 2018 season. Team Penske needed a charter for their third team in 2018 and driver Ryan Blaney. The team is now locked in to every race this season and gives the team additional income. Roush Fenway still owns its charters for the No. 6 and No. 17 Fords.
Plus, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates named Doug Douchardt Chief Operating Officer. Douchardt had previously worked for Chevrolet and most recently at Hendrick Motorsports as the Executive Vice President and General Manager.
Plus Brian France has been rumored to buy the Carolina Panthers. What would that mean to NASCAR and how true is it?
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Tonight on Talking in Circles we'll chat with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Justin Fontaine about the 2018 season and preview his Rookie of the Year Campaign.
Plus we'll discuss the life and career of 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup champion crew chief Barry Dodson, who passed away this morning at the age of 64. Dodson won the championship while working with Blue Max Racing and driver Rusty Wallace.
Also, Front Row Motorsports announced their drivers in 2018 to no surprise and we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
On this episode of Talking in Circles we're talking to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, Austin Wayne Self. We'll discuss his 2017 season and preview the 2018 season. His team just announced an alliance with GMS Racing.
We're also talking about John Hunter Nemechek's new ride & Jeffrey Earnhardt's misfortune's after a fall-out between Circle Sport Racing and The Motorsports Group.
Plus Stewart Haas Racing has announced they have signed Kurt Busch to a one-year deal to return to the organization. We'll discuss what that means for both parties and what that means for NASCAR.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
This week is the 50th annual Snowball Derby will run this week and we're speaking with Matt Weaver from Autoweek and Short Track Scene about the annual event. Who are the favorites? What does this event mean to the short track community and what makes this event different than any other. Plus we'll talk about the NASCAR stars in the event and much more from Pensacola, Florida.
Then we'll give our yearly team reviews. Who had a good year? Who ran poorly and who surprised us.
Also, BK Racing has found themselves in more finanical issues and it involves their charter with Front Row Motorsports.
We also lost an icon on Monday night when legendary car owner and veteran Bud Moore passed away at the age of 92. We'll talk about his legacy in the sport and how we'll remember him.
Plus we'll take some phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We're breaking down Ford Championship Weekend from Homestead-Miami as NASCAR crowned three champions this weekend. We'll discuss all three races and the season as a whole.
Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth ran their last races on Sunday at Homestead. We'll talk about their careers and what it means for NASCAR.
Danica Patrick gave us her plans for the 2018 season, running the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 before retiring from racing. We'll talk about Patrick and her career and who could be NASCAR's next female driver.
Also, Brad Keselowski made some interesting comments about Ford and Toyota after Sunday's race. Do his comments hold water?
NASCAR made news today with announcing rule changes for 2018 including a five man pit crew.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Aric Almirola was announced as the driver of the No. 10 Stewart Haas Racing Ford in 2018. We'll give our thoughts and talk about other silly season news throughout the season.
Plus Germain Racing announced several changes to their team in 2018 including that crew chief Bootie Barker will not return. Barker has been with the organization since 2010. The team also announced changes to their engineering department.
Also, Tony Stewart made some headlines this afternoon about running some NASCAR XFINITY Series races in 2018. How real is he? How competitive would he be?
We'll also preview this weekend's Can-Am 500k at Phoenix International Raceway. Who will win and advance to the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway?
Then we'll take phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kevin Harvick won the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick chased down and passed Martin Truex Jr for the victory. It was Harvick's second victory of the season & 37th of his career. The win puts Harvick into the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway. What does this mean for Homestead? Is Harvick now a favorite for the championship?
Plus we saw Jimmie Johnson have some trouble today. Are his championship hopes done? How about Chase Elliott?
Matt Kenseth announced this week that he will not be back in the Cup Series for 2018. What is his legacy in the sport? What does this mean for NASCAR?
Also, we'll discuss the NASCAR XFINITY Series & NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Texas Motor Speedway this week. Johnny Sauter advanced to Homestead and Erik Jones took the checkers in the XFINITY Series.
Then we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Reports are that Aric Almirola will be the driver of the No. 10 Ford at Stewart Haas Racing next season. He will replace Danica Patrick. We'll discuss what that means for SHR, Almriola and what does Danica Patrick's Future look like?
Plus Darian Grubb will stay on as the crew chief of the No. 5/24 Chevrolet and rookie driver William Byron in 2018. What does this mean for Hendrick Motorsports? Is this a big surprise?
Also, we got some news out of the XFINITY Series about the rule changes, expanding the package used at Indianapolis this year to Pocono and Michigan.
Then we'll preview the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Who will win? Who might surprise us.
And, as always, we'll take your phone callsa at 917-889-8280!
Kyle Busch took the victory in the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. It's Busch's 43rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. Busch took the victory but the controversy occurred when contact between Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott sent the leader Elliott into the outside wall. The accident resulted in Elliott finishing in the 27th posiiton. Hamlin, meanwhile, finished 7th.
Elliott and Hamlin had a little extra curricular activity at the end of the event. Elliott and Hamlin slammed into each other on the track and got into eachother's faces. It was old school short track racing with some attitude and certainly created a buzz.
Was Hamlin wrong? Was it just short track racing? Should he have apologized? We'll talk about it all.
Elliott now finds himself 29 points out of the championship four with just two races to go until Homestead. Are his championship hopes shot?
Plus we'll discuss the Camping World Truck Series race from Martinsville where Noah Gragson won his first career NCWTS event. And we'll take phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Bubba Wallace has been named driver of the No. 43 Ford for the 2018 season. Richard Petty Motorsports made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon. Wallace will become the first African-American driver to run full-time in the Cup Series since 1971. We'll discuss that and his expectations for 2018. Did RPM make the right move?
Plus Travis Mack was named crew chief for Kasey Kahne's No. 95 Chevrolet for 2018. Mack recently was the car chief on Dale Earnhardt Jr's No. 88 Chevrolet. It means that Kahne will have an alliance with HMS.
Also Andy Petree joins Richard Childress Racing as an advisor. What does that mean for RCR and what can Andy Petree do to help the organization?
We'll preview Martinsville, Clayton's favorite race weekend of the year and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Martin Truex Jr won his 14th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event. It was his 7th win of the season on Sunday as he continues his mastersy at the 1.5 mile tracks. When will this stop?
Plus a major accident on lap 199 took out a lot of championship contenders including Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and others. Kenseth and his team ended up getting disqualified. Fair?
Plus why was Truex penalized early in the race for going below the line before the start-finish line but Kevin Harvick, who followed him wasn't.
Also four drivers, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Kyle Larson will not advance to the round of 8. We'll talk about that and who is the favorite to win the championship.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Brad Keselowski won Sunday's Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. It was his 24th career victory and the third of his 2017 season. He avoided all the chaos and went to victory lane advancing into Round 3 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Plus we'll talk about Parker Kligerman's win at Talladega in the truck series and dicuss their round two at Martinsville in 2 weeks.
We'll talk about who needs a solid day at Kansas to stay in the championship hunt as we head into the final race of round 2 at Kansas Speedway.
Also, Todd Parrott is out at Leavine Family Racing. Veteran crew chief will be replaced by Jon Leonard for the remainder of the year.
Also, several other interesting topics including a standardize pit gun coming in 2018?
Phone calls as well at 917-889-8280!
Landon Cassill is out at Front Row Motorsports after 2017. The veteran driver confirmed on Monday that he will not return to the organization and said that they are making major changes for 2018. We'll speculate on what those changes could be.
Plus we found out that Brennan Poole will not return to the XFINITY Series with Chip Ganassi Racing next season. Rumors point towards the young driver moving the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with Richard Childress Racing. We'll talk about that and what his expectations will be.
Plus we'll preview this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway and who will be standing in victory lane on Sunday.
We'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Martin Truex Jr won Sunday's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was his 13th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and the sixth of his 2017 season. Truex showed up late in the going to take the lead and hold off the field to take the victory.
Chase Elliott ended up second for the second straight race but the best car of the day was Kevin Harvick as SHR had shown speed all weekend, a step in the right direction for the team.
We'll also talk about the curious no-call penalty that Jimmie Johnson and the Hendrick Motorsports team recieved this weekend after they missed a lugnut and stopped outside his box. The team then put the lugnut on outside the box and continued. It cost Johnson a lot of positions but he restarted in a decent spot not at the rear of the field. We'll talk about it.
Plus we'll preview Talladega and discuss which playoff drivers had a rough day at Charlotte.
Phone calls at 917-889-8280!
2018 NASCAR HOF Inductee Robert Yates passed away Monday night at the age of 74. We'll talk about his legacy and life in NASCAR.
Plus we'll discuss the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series rule package. What do we like? What don't we like?
Also, Denny Hamlin gave us some insight on the business of NASCAR. We'll discuss some of the details of that article and what can be done with about the sport.
We'll preview the Bank of America 500 from Charlotte Motor Speedway and talk about Round 2 of the NASCAR playoffs.
Taking phone calls 917-887-8280!
Kyle Busch passed Chase Elliott in the closing stages of the Apache Warrior 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday. Elliott was passed with two to go as Busch won his 42nd career race.
It was a positive day for several teams yesterday including Hendrick Motorsports who had three cars finish in the top-10 at Dover. Is this a sign of things to come? Can they compete with the Toyota's for the championship?
How about Ford? Usually a good track for Roush Fenway and the Ford teams they really struggled this weekend at Dover. Team Penske was nowhere in sight, no was Stewart Haas or Roush Fenway Racing. Can they rebound and make a play at the championship?
Plus Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman exchanged words at the end of the event. Newman was trying hard to stay on the lead lap and try and drive himself into the playoffs. However, he took Chase Elliott's line away which assisted Kyle Busch and helped him pass Elliott for the victory. Who was in the right? Who was in the wrong?
Plus the playoffs move to Round 2 which means four drivers were elminiated after Dover. Any surprises?
Plus Ryan Blaney & Ben Rhodes won the XFINITY and Truck Series events this weekend. We'll talk about those races.
Also taking phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Tonight on Talking in Circles we break down the world in NASCAR.
Go Fas Racing leased their charter to the Wood Brothers this season and it could be a big deal for Go Fas Racing. We'll explain.
Also, StarCom Racing announced their formation this weekend but then proceeded to withdraw their entry from Dover. What can we expect from this team and when do we expect to see them on the track.
Plus there was an interesting article about Brad Keselowski's comments about Toyota. Chad Knaus chimed in as well and gave his opinion. Is one manufactuer dominating a bad thing? and is this different than the dominance we've seen in the past?
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kyle Busch won Sunday's ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was his third win of the 2017 season and the 41st of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. Busch held off Kyle Larson to win it.
Martin Truex Jr dominated the first part of the event but an accident on lap 151 put a made for a big change in the playoffs, knocking out contenders Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch and causing significant damage to Truex's car. Truex battled back and finished in the 5th spot.
We'll take a look at the playoffs after the second race of the first round. Next week we'll head to Dover International Speedway for the Apache Warrior 400 and the cutoff race for Round 1. Who needs to win, who needs a good run and who can surprise some people at Dover.
Also, we'll discuss Christopher Bell & Tyler Reddick's wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series and break down their first playoff races.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kasey Kahne is in a new ride for the 2018 season after it was announced that he will join Leavine Family Racing in 2018, replacing Michael McDowell in the No. 95 Chevrolet. McDowell sits 25th in the standings and is having the best year of his career. We'll discuss the move and talk about McDowell's options for 2018.
Plus, Kasey Kahne will have a new crew chief for the final nine races of the season. Darian Grubb moves from a competition role to become the crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet. He replaces Keith Rodden. No word on Rodden's future although the team said he will stay with the organization through the end of the year. We'll discuss this move and why they didn't make it earlier.
Also, we'll discect the penalty Chase Elliott recieved after this weekend's race at Chicagoland Speedway. Was it stiff enough? Was it too stiff?
And we'll take your phone calls 917-889-8280!
Martin Truex Jr won his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series race and advanced to the second round of the playoffs with the victory. It was an impressive win for the Furniture Row Racing team. We'll discuss their victory and talk about our notable finishers from Sunday's race.
Also Brad Keselowski made headlines prior to the event for his suggestion about Toyota being ahead of the competition. Was there any merit behind Keselowski's comments?
Sad news yesterday when modified ace Ted Christopher passed away Saturday night in a plane crash. We'll talk about his impact and the legacy he left in the sport.
Also, Camping World Truck Series & XFINITY Series will begin their playoffs. We'll talk about that.
Finally, we'll take you phone calls at 917-889-8280!
The 2017 silly season just got a little sillier.
We expected a new driver in the 10 car this season, that was confirmed. However, the surprise came when Smithfield announced they were leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season. Then Richard Petty claimed Smithfield had a handshake deal, which the company harshly denined and led to a war of words.
We'll discuss all that plus Danica Patrick's future, legacy. Plus we'll discuss the future of the 10 car at Stewart Haas Racing and Matt Kenseth's future. Plus much more on the silly season.
Then we'll preview the playoffs and give our final four drivers who will make the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Taking phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kyle Larson won Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway. It's his 5th career Cup Series victory and the 4th of the season. Larson gained the lead on a late race restart after a very questionable caution flag by NASCAR. Martin Truex Jr voiced his frustration about the caution. Was it the right call?
Also a really wild incident with an ambulance rolling down pit road. Cars had to avoid it and caused damage to several cars. A big mistake by Race Director David Hoots. We'll talk about how bad that makes the sport look.
Plus news out of Motorsport.com this morning about Richard Petty Motorsports. Smithfield, their sponsor for the last several seasons looks like they are out at the end of the year. Rumor is that the sponsor will end up at Stewart Haas Racing and leaves RPM in a big bind for the 2018 season. What does this mean for NASCAR, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola and Richard Petty Motorsports? We'll discuss that.
Phone calls also accepted at 917-889-8280!
Denny Hamlin won the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday in what is his 31st career NASCAR Cup Series victory. However, Wednesday NASCAR announced that the win was encumbered after his No. 11 car failed post-race inspection in NASCAR's R&D center. We'll break down the entire weekend from Darlington and preview the regular season finale from Richmond.
What does this do for Hamlin's win? Should he have the win stripped from him and his team? What about the penalty? Is it enough? We'll discuss it.
Plus Austin Cindric won the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park but it came with some controversy after Cindric made contact with Kaz Grala on the final lap. Was Cindric in the wrong? Or is it just a kid trying to better his career?
Also, Subway announced that they will negate the final race of their sponsorship with driver Daniel Suarez after Suarez handed out Dunkin Donuts breakfast to race fans earlier this year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Is Subway wrong? Is this whole sponsorship deal just going too far?
Plus we'll take phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We're live tonight talking with Truck Series owner DJ Copp about the state of the Truck Series and how future changes may impact his raceteam.
Plus we'll discuss the rumor about Kasey Kahne going to Leavine Family Racing and the No. 95 team. How real is it? Does it have legs and what does that mean for Michael McDowell?
Plus a new number at Hendrick Motorsports next season. William Byron will drive the No. 24 car with Chase Elliott moving to No. 9. Big deal? We'll talk about it.
We're breaking down the Johnsonville 180 from Road America. Jeremy Clements won his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series race in his 256th start, breaking the series record. Clements Racing is a family owned operation and has competed in the series for several seasons. It's nice to see him win his first race.
We'll also discuss the news about Richard Petty Motorsports. Their shop is now up for lease and the team confirmed they are moving away from the building they are currently in. What do we see as their future?
Plus we'll talk silly season and look at the 2017 season. Who has been a surprise and who has been a disappointment?
Taking phone calls 917-889-8280!
Kyle Busch won his 40th career NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was his second win of the season and his sixth career win at Bristol. Busch also went to victory lane in the XFINITY & Truck Series events at the facility this week, making it a clean sweep.
Busch now has 180 wins in all three series. Where does that put him in history & how many will he get all together.
Plus we'll talk about the Truck Series after Brad Keselowski announced he was shutting his team down at the end of the season. What does that mean for the Truck Series and what does that mean for Ford?
Plus we'll talk silly season and take phone calls at 917-889-8280!
On this episode of Talking in Circles we're talking about the new and younger Hendrick Motorsports. William Byron was announced as the driver of the No. 5 car for 2018 on Wednesday. What are his expectations and why did this happen so quickly?
Plus earlier in the week we discovered that Kasey Kahne was out at Hendrick at the end of 2017. What are his options for 2018 and beyond? We'll discuss it.
Two other NASCAR veterans are currently without a contract for 2018. We'll talk about their options.
Also, NASCAR announced this evening that the XFINITY Series will run composite bodies in the 2017 season at Richmond, Dover and Phoenix. They will make it optional for 2018 and it sounds like mandatory in 2019. We'll dive into that.
Plus, Watkins Glen wants an earlier race & your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Martin Truex Jr won the I Love New York 355 at the Glen on Sunday. It's the fourth win of the 2017 season and the 11th of his career. Truex once again had one of the fastest cars, we'll discuss that and who needs to pick it up as the season moves along.
Also, we'll breakdown the entire weekend from the Glen and discuss whether or not a spending cap in NASCAR is a good idea or not. Can it work? What would that do to the sport and who would benefit from it?
Plus we'll take a look at the playoffs. Who is in, who is out and who needs to win to get in.
Taking phone calls as well 917-889-8280!
Tonight on Talking in Circles we discuss Kurt Busch's situation for the 2018 season. Should he be worried that his option was not picked up for next season and what other options does SHR have in the No. 41? Plus we'll discuss Busch's options if he doesn't return to the organization.
Plus NASCAR announced new limits for Cup Drivers in the NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series. Is this a good thing for NASCAR? Is it enough? We'll break that down for you.
Also, NASCAR announced Wednesday a new overtime line procedure for the 2017 using the start-finish as the new overtime line. Does that make sense? What are the pros & cons?
Plus we'll talk to Dustin Albino from Frontstretch.com to discuss his article on BK Racing's situation with Gray Gaulding and other drivers. It's a rough business & we'll discuss that and more with Albino.
Lastly, we'll take some phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We'll break down the Overton's 400 from Pocono Raceway on tonight's show. Kyle Busch took the victory, the 39th of his career. He passed Denny Hamlin in the closing stage to win the race.
We'll break down what this win means for the playoffs and whether or not Kyle Busch and JGR are back. We now have 13 winners this season.
Plus another dismal day for HMS. Can they figure it out?
Also, we'll break down the XFINITY Race at Iowa- Ryan Preece wins his first ever NASCAR race and Christopher Bell does it again in the truck series.
We take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We're breaking down the Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kasey Kahne is in the Chase. How will that shake up things and what does it mean for his future?
Plus we'll discuss the restrictor plate racing at Indianapolis. Was it what we expected and can it work for Cup in 2018? Plus we'll talk about what, if anything, can be fixed to make it better.
Then we'll talk about the news of the day: Ryan Blaney moves to Team Penske & Paul Menard moves to Wood Brothers Racing. We'll break it down and discuss how it effects the rest of the silly season & what it means for RCR in 2018.
Also, we'll take some phone calls at 917-889-8280! Call in and join the fun!
It's been speculated for months about who the replacement for Dale Earnhardt Jr was going to be after NASCAR's most popular driver announced his retirement from the sport at the end of the 2017 season. Thursday afternoon that question was answered when Hendrick Motorsports announced that Alex Bowman will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in the 2018 season. Bowman, who filled in for an ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2018, has been sitting on the sidelines for the majority of the season. We'll discuss his expectations and whats next for the 88 team. Plus, we'll talk about other silly season news and notes including where Matt Kenseth will drive in 2018.
Also, the 5th annual Eldora Dirt Derby was Wednesday night and featured a surprise winner when Matt Crafton locked himself into the playoffs. Crafton outran Stewart Friesen in the closing stages to win. We'll break down the entire night from Eldora and talk about the notables from the race. \
Plus we'll preview this weekend's events from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The NASCAR XFINITY Series will run restrictor plates this weekend, with anticipation of the Cup guys running plates in 2018. We'll talk about who will be fast and who needs a big weekend this weekend as the playoffs get closer and closer.
Also, are you surprised it's Alex Bowman in the No. 88? Got thoughts on Eldora? Call 917-889-8280 to join the show!!
Denny Hamlin won the Overton's 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. It was JGR's first win of the year and Hamlin's 30th of his career. Hamlin held off Kyle Larson to win. We'll recap that and give our attaboys and disappointments of the race.
Plus start times have become a major topic of discussion the since last night's race, which started at 3pm. We'll talk about that and whether or not they're good for NASCAR.
Also, Brett Dewer has become president of NASCAR. Mike Helton is scaling back his work load. We'll talk about that and what Mike Helton's legacy is going to be as president.
Eldora preview
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Kentucky- Martin Truex Jr dominated the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. A wreck by Brad Keselowski led to some interesting comments about the Gen6 car and Dale Jr chimed in on Tuesday.
Also we'll talk about Erik Jones' 2018 plans and what is on deck for Matt Kenseth.
Plus we'll talk about Chad Johnston, he got suspended for three races, fined $75k and the team got a 35 point penalty after an illegal part was found in his car at the NASCAR R&D Center.
Plus we'll preview New Hampshire and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!!
As always the 2017 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway had its share of storilines and drivers who really ran well. There were also the drivers that struggled. We'll break it all down including Dale Jr's last race at Daytona.
Plus the NASCAR XFINITY Series ran their Firecracker 250 over a two-day period because of rain. William Bryon was victorious for the second consecutive week. Has Byron proven enough to show he is ready to take over a Cup ride?
Plus we saw some interesting winner interviews this week from NBC. What do we think of them and the entire coverage?
We'll take phone calls as well 917-889-8280!
Who is going to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in 2018?
Who is going to drive the No. 10 car in 2018?
Who is going to drive the No. 77 Toyota in 2018?
Where will Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick, Erik Jones & others end up in 2018? We'll discuss it all on Talking in Circles.
Plus we'll talk about the future of NASCAR. What will NASCAR look like in 5 years? Will we see different racetracks? Will the chartering system still be in effect? We'll discuss all that and more.
We're going to breakdown the Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway in California. Kevin Harvick earned his way into the playoffs with his first victory of the 2017 season. Harvick was fast and beat teammate Clint Bowyer to get into the playoffs and start his run for the championship.
We'll talk about what drivers had a good day, which drivers struggled and what drivers had an extremely good day. Plus we'll break down what we thought of the racing at Sonoma.
The NASCAR XFINITY & NASCAR Camping World Truck Series had a double-header weekend at Iowa Speedway this weekend that resulted in some fun racing both Friday and Saturday night. A wild deal at the end of the XFINITY Series race saw a lot of unusual names at the top of the leader board but ended up with one of NASCAR's most promising young phenoms in victory lane.
Plus talk about the transitiion between FOX and NBCSN and we'll take some phone calls!
Get ready for an exciting show of Talking in Circle
Michigan Review. Winner: Kyle Larson. He wins his third career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race holding off and talk about debris cautions.
We'll discuss the big XFINITY series penalty at Michigan.Emcumbered win for Denny Hamlin is it enough?
Road ringers in Cup- Alon Day, Boris Said, Billy Johnson- Which one runs best?
SIlly Season news- Can we stop saying Brad Keselowski is leaving Penske please? goodness Gracious! Plus much more.
Taking your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
10:00-10:03- Open
10:03- 10:20- BK Racing moves/ Stewart Friesen’s truck team temporarily shuts down. http://www.espn.com/jayski/trucks/2017/story/_/id/19625877/halmar-friesen-racing-taking-two-week-hiatus-truck-competition
10:20-10:30- Playoff Points- How important will the be.
10:30-10:45- NASCAR Pinty Series chat with Alex Gallacher
10:45-11:00pm- Danica yells at fans, Is it a driver’s responsibility to sign autographs?
Closing- Sunday- We’ll be recapping this weekend’s events from Gateway and Michigan.
NASCAR announced 5 new members to the Hall of Fame on Wednesday and included a wide range of people.
Robert Yates, Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ken Squier & Ron Hornaday were nominated to the Hall of Fame on Wednesday. We'll talk about who is next and who got snubbed this year.
Also Red Horse Racing shut its doors this week after 12 years in competition. The move means Timothy Peters and Brett Moffitt are without a ride heading into Dover in two weeks. We'll discuss what happened and what can be done to fix this issue.
Slugger Labbe out at RCR. What happened & who is next?
Also, Regan Smith is back in the 43. Looks like he'll be there for the future.
Phone calls- 917-889-8280!
All-Star Race Review- Kyle Busch wins it. Bowyer, Blaney & Suarez race their way in. Chase Elliott gets the fan vote.
The All-Star race was a dud. We'll discuss what changes need to be made and if Charlotte is still the best option for the race.
Also there was a report that the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule will be released sometime this week and there are significant changes. We'll discuss what we like & what we don't like as the schedule release gets closer.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Ricky Stenhouse Jr won Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. It was Stenhouse's first career win and Roush Fenway's first win since 2014. We'll break down the race and talk about whether or not Stenhouse can be a factor in the Chase.
Dale Earnhardt Jr finished in the 22nd position on Sunday and now sits 25th in the point standings. Is it too early to panic? Should Dale Earnhardt Jr fans be worried about his championship hopes?
Plus it sounds like the fanatics tent will be the thing of the past. Is that a good thing? Is NASCAR trying to improve the fan experience at racetracks? Is this the right move? Will it matter?
Also it sounds like the NASCAR schedule is on hold because Indianapolis Motor Speedway wants to change a date and there's talk about a road course. What will save Indianapolis?
Also, we'll preview Kanasas and we'll take your phone calls, 917-889-8280!
Joey Logano won his 18th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond International Speedway on Sunday, locking him into the Chase for the 5th straight season.
Logano beat teammate Brad Keselowski for the victory. We'll break down everything from Richmond and give our attaboys and disappointments.
Plus Denny Hamlin and Humphy Wheeler made interesting comments following Sunday's lackluster crowd at the Toyota Owners 400. We'll break down their comments and discuss what we think can be done to help NASCAR and racing at Richmond.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
More Dale Jr talk- We discuss who we think will be in the racecar and talk more about his retirement. Why did he decide to come to this decision? What will be his legacy? Does he deserve to be a member of the Hall of Fame?
Plus, Jimmie Johnson won his 82nd career NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday marking the 11th time in his career Johnson has won back to back races. Is Hendrick Motorsports back or is it just the 48 team being unreal again.
We'll give our attaboys and disapointments from the weekend.
Plus we'll talk about Richmond. Who will be fast? Who do we pick to win?
Dale Earnhardt Jr announced his retirement today effective at the end of the 2017 season. Hosts Clayton Caldwell and Will Talmedge discuss the legacy of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
We'll discuss it all. Why did he ultimately decide to NASCAR? What's next for Dale Jr? Who drives the No. 88 Chevrolet? We'll cover it all. Does Dale Earnhardt Jr end up in the Hall of Fame? How will the effect NASCAR.
We'll take phone calls at 917-889-8280!
On this episode of Talking in Circles we'll talk about the possible retirement of Danica Patrick. She made interesting comments to the Associated Press this week about what her future might hold. We'll discuss what we think her future might be and if she does retire, who might take over the No. 10 car.
Plus Matt Kenseth has a new sponsor this week. It was announced that Circle K will be the sponsor on Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota for 6 races this year. Good sign. We'll discuss it.
Plus we'll give our mid-season team performance chart. We'll talk about each car in each organization and rank them on a 5 point scale: Great, Good, Okay, Bad, Shoulda Stayed Home. What teams fit under what category on the chart? we'll discuss that.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Hosts Clayton Caldwell & John Harlow breakdown the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 from Texas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson won his 81st career race and the first of his 2017 season. One groove racetrack. We'll discuss what we thought of the new package at Texas.
Plus we'll talk about the inspection process. Should there be more of a punishment for teams not getting through qualifying?
Also NASCAR announced a new format for the All-Star race, 1992 style. Plus they have a new twist, giving teams an option of softer tires. Should be cool to watch. Will softer tires be a thing in 2018?
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Brad Keselowski won his 23rd career NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. It was the first win for Team Penske at the paperclip since 2004. Keselowski outran Kyle Busch in the closing stages to take the victory.
We'll discuss the weekend at Martinsville and talk about the winners & losers from this weekend's past race.
Also an interesting article came out about International Speedway Corporation where attendance continue to fall. What can they do to get attendance back?
Also we'll discuss the tv ratings for this weekend's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville and the tv ratings fromt this weekend's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Martinsville Speedway. Trucks were up, Cup was down. Why?
Also we'll preview the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. New configuration and new pavement. What will that do to the racing and do we expect a lot of carnage this weekend?
Plus NASCAR legend Sam Ard passed away this week. We'll discuss his life and career.
Plys we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Kyle Larson won the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. It's his second career victory. He dominated the race and has had a strong season up to this point.
Also we'll discuss the fact that Dave Rogers has taken an imediate leave of absence from Joe Gibbs Racing and has been replaced by Scott Graves, who won the championship last season with Daniel Suarez in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Is there more to it?
Plus one reporter gave their opinion on what is wrong with NASCAR. We'll discuss that.
Then we'll talk about our surprises and disappointments through the first five races of the season. Who needs to pick it up and who needs to stay strong.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
The big news tonight after Phoenix were two severe penalties handed down to two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams. Brad Keselowski's team recieved penalties following the Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The team failed post-race Laser inspection. Crew Chief Paul Wolfe has been suspended by NASCAR, fined and the team has been docked 35 points. Kevin Harvick's team was taken back to NASCAR's R&D center and failed that and crew chief Rodney Childers has been suspended, fined and docked 10 points.
Also, NASCAR announced no penalty to Austin Dillon after his antics in the NASCAR XFINITY race on Saturday. Dillon took his car and hit Cole Custer under caution. Was NASCAR right? We'll talk about it.
We'll recap the race from Phoenix, Ryan Newman won his 18th career NASCAR Cup Series race and gave Richard Childress Racing their first win since 2014. We'll discuss Phoenix and who needs to pick it up as 2017 moves forward to Auto Club Speedway.
Also, NASCAR has officially announced that the NASCAR XFINITY Series will run restrictor plates at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017. If all goes well it could move to the Cup Series in 2018 and they could run plates at Pocono and Michigan. We'll give our thoughts.
We'll also take phone calls from the fans at 917-889-8280!
We'll begin with Qualifying for the Camping World 500 from the Phoenix International Raceway. Joey Logano takes the pole with Ryan Blaney on the outside of the front row. We'll discuss what we think we'll see at Phoenix and who surprised us in qualifying.
Plus we'll break down last weekend's race from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including the scuffle between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. Who was right, who was wrong and is there anything that should have been handled differently?
Plus did NASCAR do the right thing by not penalizing anyone? Is Have at It Boys, back?
Roger Penske made interesting comments about the costs of being a car owner in NASCAR. We'll take a look at his comments and discuss whether or not we like his ideas and what other things NASCAR can do to cut costs?
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We will breakdown the Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski wins but Kevin Harvick was the dominat car of the day. We'll talk about who ran well, who struggled and what we thought of the racing at Atlanta with the new format.
Also, the news of the day Las Vegas Motor Speedway will have two dates on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule, replacing New Hampshire Motor Speedway's date in the playoffs. Is this right? Are there too many cookie cutter tracks on the schedule?
Plus several crew chiefs and teams walked away from Atlanta with penalties. Which ones hurt the worst? How will they effect the 2017 season? We'll break them down.
Plus five more names were added to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominees list. We'll discuss that, who we liked, who we didn't and if there were any surprises left off the list.
We'll also take phone calls. 917-889-8280! Jam packed edition of Talking in Circles.
Kevin Harvick took the pole for Sunday's Hope for Heroes QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. We'll discuss qualifying and preview Sunday's race.
Also there is a report that Las Vegas Motor Speedway may get a second race at their track in 2018. Speedway Motorsports Incorporated (SMI) will have to take a date away from one of its other tracks. We'll discuss which tracks are vulnerable and which tracks are safe.
There's been a recent trend of qualfying on the same day as a race, about three or four tracks have announced their plans to do that during the 2017 season. What does this mean? Is it something that will help NASCAR?
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
The 2017 Daytona 500 was a memorable one that ended when Kurt Busch won his first Daytona 500. It was filled with wild cautions and fuel mileage. Clayton Caldwell and John Harlow will talk about why the high attrition, why the crazy amount of wrecks all weekend, and whether or not the stage racing had anything to do with it. They'll talk about the wild Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series races and what led to those races being as crazy as they were.
On this episode of Talking in Circles we discuss The Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona and Daytona 500 Qualifying. Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr will be on the front row for the 59th Daytona 500. Elliott Sadler and Brendan Gaughan timed their way into the event. We'll discuss that and preview the Can-Am Duels at Daytona and the 59th Annual Daytona 500.
Also we'll discuss the lack of attendance at the Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona. A lot of people pointed to the lack of star power in the race, we'll discuss if there's a deeper issue effect the race and Daytona in general. What needs to change?
Plus the Wall Street Journal published an article Tuesday stating that there's a problem within the leadership of NASCAR. We'll give our thoughts on what they say and what the future holds.
Also we'll take a closer look at the inventory open on the racecars of Cup teams and whether that's a bigger issue.
And much more as we get ready for the 59th Daytona 500!
On this episode of Talking in Circles we will talk with 1990 Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope about his past races, his 1990 Daytona 500 victory & his recently announced plans for 2017.
Also we will give our team previews for the 2017 season previewing the teams from Chip Ganassi Racing, Stewart Haas Racing and Furniture Row Racing.
We'll also discuss what we think we'll see from the Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona and preview Daytona 500 qualifying.
Plus we'll take listerner phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Prior to Daytona we are previewing each organization for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. On this episode we'll preview the teams from Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Roush Fenway Racing. Will the 2017 champion come from one of these two teams? We'll give you our opinions tonight.
We'll also discuss the Chartering system. Is it working?
Also Watkins Glen.
Plus we discuss the other happenings from the offseason and we will take listeners phone calls at 917-889-8180!
We discuss the scary possibility of Danica's final year in NASCAR. How possibly is this and what does she need to do to sell sponsorship on the 10 car next year?
Also the No. 83 team at BK Racing has been saying they will be an open team- WHA? We discuss where that charter might go and is this the beginning of the end for Ron Devine's race team?
Then we will have the begining of our 2017 preview. We discuss the four teams at Hendrick Motorsports and the Team Penske drivers. Where do we see them ending up at the end of 2017?
Also ThorSport Racing announced their driver lineup for 2017. What do we think? Are they a better team than they were in 2016?
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
On this episode of Talking in Circles we have a converstaion with 2000 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Jeff Green. We'll discuss his championship, him being raised in a family of racers and his plans for the 2017 NASCAR season.
Also we'll discuss several bits of news and information we found out this week including Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding racing for BK Racing in 2017. Also we'll discuss Jeffrey Earnhardt's possible ride for 2017 and we'll get Zach Roethlisberger's thoughts on the new rules for the 2017 season.
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Tonight on a Special Edition of Talking in Circles, hosts Clayton Caldwell and John Harlow break down the new format changes brought to NASCAR in 2017. It's been one of the most controverisal and debated topics NASCAR has seen in quite awhile and NASCAR will announce the changes on Monday.
The hosts give their opinions, good or bad on the changes and what else they would like to see moving forward. Also they'll discuss some other news topics.
If you want to chime in call 917-889-8280 to join the conversation!
On this episode of Talking in Circles we talk about the possibility of road course racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Plus we'll discuss Daniel Suarez in the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona. Is it right for him to be there?
Also, we break down the new rules for NASCAR. The Cup Series teams now have to qualify on the tire they race with. Is this a big change? How will this effect qualifying and what does it mean moving forward?
And we'll talk about three new entries into the Daytona 500- Elliott Sadler will drive for Tommy Baldwin Racing, Brendan Gaughan will drive for Beard Motorsports and D.J. Kennington will attempt the race with Gaunt Brothers Racing, a new team. We'll discuss those rides and if they have a shot at making the big dance.
Ryan Truex will run the full NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule for Hattori Racing. We'll talk about their expectations for 2017.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
On this episode of Talking in Circles we break down the sudden and shocking news of Carl Edwards' retirement. Why? Was the timing right and will we see Edwards running races in the future.
Edwards will be replaced by 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Champion Daniel Suarez. Suarez will run for Rookie of The Year. We'll talk about Suarez and his expectation for the season.
Also Joe Gibbs Racing- What does this retirement mean for them?
Best & Worst of 2016 episode
On this episode of Talking in Circles we will break down the best and the worst of the 2016 season.
Who was the best driver of the 2016 season? Who was the worst driver of the 2016 season?
What was the best race of the 2016 season? What was the worst race of the 2016 season?
Who was the best team of the 2016 season? Who was the worst team of the 2016 season?
Who was the best organization of the 2016 season? Who was the worst organization of the 2016 season?
Who was the best surprise of the 2016 season? Who was the biggest disappointment of the 2016 season?
That and much more. We'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Host Clayton Caldwell and SpeedwayMedia.com's John Harlow will break down several topics on this episode of Talking in Circles.
Last weekend Front Row Motorsports announced their plans for the 2017 season. Landon Cassill will return to the team, driving the No. 34 car and former driver David Ragan will be back with the team driving their No. 38 car. We'll discuss those drivers and how they will do for 2017.
Also NASCAR announced the new name for their premier series. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the new name and in doing so they unvailed a new logo. We'll discuss our thoughts on the name and logo.
Also Joey Gase announced Tuesday that he will make his first career Daytona 500 start, driving the No. 23 car for BK Racing. Gase has run in the XFINITY Series for Jimmy Means Motorsports the past few seasons.
Then the hosts will give their opinions on the possibility of timed races and bringing the caution clock to the Cup Series. How possible is it? Can it be done in time? What would the fans reaction be?
Plus they'll take fan phone calls at 917-889-8280!
On this episode of Talking in Circles we discuss NASCAR's deal with Monster Energy- Is it a good deal? 2 yrs 20 million per year and how will that impact the NASCAR scene?
Also we have Alex Gallacher from LastwordonMotorsports.com coming on the show to discuss his latest article on the NASCAR schedule. Do we need a shake up? Is it possible for them to do this and what tracks would be considered?
Also we will discuss the interests of mid-week racing. Is that something NASCAR can and should explore on? What tracks would be good for mid-week racing?
Plus we'll take you phone calls at 917-889-8280.
On Thursday it was announced that Monster Energy will be the new title sponsor of NASCAR's premier series. They will have exclusivity and there are other little details that we'll look at. Also we'll discuss the matchup between Monster and NASCAR. Is this ideal? Is this better than other sponsors that were being discussed?
Also HScott Motorsports announced they sold their charter to Premium Motorsports and Premium Motorsports sold their charter to the No. 77 car and Furniture Row Racing. Erik Jones and his team will be locked into the show and it's a savvy deal from Premium Motorsports. We'll explain.
And rumblings have surfaced that Dodge is talking to NASCAR about a possible return. The manufactuer left the sport following the 2012 season. Dodge has said that the interest is mutual. We'll also discuss possible teams and combinations for them and when we think we'll see them in the sport if they come in.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Ty Dillon has a Cup ride for 2017 and beyond. Dillon will drive the No. 13 Chevrolet for Germain Racing meaning that Casey Mears is out of a ride. Dillon won 1 XFINITY race in 3 years with RCR and moves to Cup. RCR announced there will be a stronger alliance between the two moving forward and that Germain will use an RCR pit crew. We'll give our takes on how Dillon will do in 2017 and what happens to Casey Mears.
Also, it was speculated that Roush Fenway Racing may be leasing their charter. Tuesday it was confirmed. Roush annoucned that they were leasing their charter to JTG Daugherty Racing and that Chris Buescher would move to the organization as well. Buescher ran for ROTY in 2016 for Front Row Motorsports and now will drive for a Chevrolet team. Roush couldn't find sponsor for the No. 16 Ford and found a way to keep its charter but not run a car in 2017. We'll discuss that whole situation plus a new crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr and some internal changes at Roush Fenway a well.
NASCAR announced Wednesday that The Clash at Daytona is back. 20 Drivers are eligible. 2016 Pole winners, Past Shootout winners, Past Daytona 500 pole sitter and 2016 Chase drivers. Two 25 lap segments. We'll discuss that.
Also we will look ahead to the 2017 season. Michael McDowell & Landon Cassill have laid out their plans for us for 2017. Also 2017 is a key season for a lot of drivers. We'll discuss who needs a big 2017 and what drivers are in a good opportunity.
Plus there are rumors throughout the garage area about where charters may go. We'll discuss that as well as taking your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Jimmie Johnson won his 80th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday and in doing so won his 7th career NASCAR Cup Series championship, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most of all-time. We'll talk about the race and discuss Johnson's legacy. Is he one of the best ever?
Also we'll do a brief recap of the XFINITY and Truck Series championships as Daniel Suarez became the 1st non-American driver to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series title. We'll also discuss the controversy following the NASCAR XFINITY Series race. Should Cole Whitt have stayed out on old tires?
Also we'll discuss the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series silly season. Who goes where? What big names will be without a ride for 2017 and discuss the charting system. Is it working in NASCAR? Does NASCAR need to change some things to help keep these teams in the sport? Do we like the 3 year/bottom 3 system. We'll discuss that.
Plus much more. Your phone calls are encouraged as well- 917-889-8280!
It was a wild finish to the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway that resulted in Joey Logano's 17th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Logano's win locked him into the Championship race and gives him a chance at the championship. Kyle Busch locked himself in on points after an incident late in the going between Matt Kenseth and Alex Bowman. Kenseth's accident eliminated him from championship contention.
We'll discuss all that. Plus Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Carl Edwards will race for the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. We'll give our predictions on who will win the championship.
Plus there were some questions about NASCAR's ruling on Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr passing the pace car. We'll give our thoughts on the rules.
Also, there's a rumor that NASCAR will use a restrictor plate at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for next season's NASCAR XFINITY Series race. If all goes well with that, we could see them implimented for the Cup race at Indy in 2018. We'll give our thoughts on whether that will work and what is NASCAR trying to do with Indianapolis?
Also there's a rumor about Monster Energy taking over as sponsorship of the Cup Series, replacing Sprint. Is that a good sponsor and do we think it will get done?
Plus we'll preview the NASCAR XFINITY and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and whether decide the champions in those series.
We'll also take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We will preview the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Carl Edwards won his 28th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in controversial fashion. The race stopped due to rain with 41 laps to go. We'll discuss what options NASCAR had with the rain and whether or not they should have run the race to completition.
Edwards joins Jimmie Johnson in the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With just one race to go until the championship race, we'll discuss who we think will advance from Phoenix.
Also, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year contender Brian Scott announced that he will retire at the end of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, shocking the NASCAR world. Scott drove the No. 44 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports in 2016 and brought sponsorship from family ran Albertsons and Shore Lodge. Scott sited the fact that he wants to spend more time with his family as the reason why he wanted to retire. We will give our opinions on who may replace Scott in the 44 and whether or we'll discuss the future of Richard Petty Motorsports.
We'll preview the Can Am 500k at Phoenix International Raceway. Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Joey Logano won the Hellmans 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. It was Logano's 16th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and the victory made Logano advance to the Round 3 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup along with 7 other drivers.
We will discuss the Chase and who will think will advance into the Championship Round as there are just 4 races to go in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. We will also discuss the dismal of Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr and Austin Dillon from the Chase and what they could have done differently to advance.
Also Joe Gibbs Racing drivers are creating headlines after admitting to 'sandbagging' at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Three of the four drivers hung around in the back end of the field collecting points and avoiding the wrecks. We'll discuss the strategy and whether or not that was morally right.
Also teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick had a fight on pit road. Apparently a miscommunication between Harvick and Busch on the final restart resulted in Busch hitting Harvick's car on the cool down lap. We'll discuss whether this is 'just racing' or whether or not NASCAR or Stewart Haas Racing should take action.
Also we'll discuss the racing at Talladega. There's been a lot of talk about a boring race at Talladega. What does NASCAR need to do to make the racing at plate tracks more exciting?
And NASCAR confiscated a part from Furniture Row Racing's No. 78 team on Friday before qualifying. The team had the incorrect bolt on the car. NASCAR said there would be no points penalty for the infraction? Is that the right call?
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
It was another impressive win for Kevin Harvick on Sunday as he won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Talladega Superspeedway. Harvick and Jimmie Johnson are just two of the 8 drivers who will advance to the round of 8. We'll talk about who is in good shape and who is in trouble heading into the Hellmans 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Also the NASCAR silly season is heating up and it looks like several things are in the works for 2017, including a team selling off, Casey Mears moving to another organization and Greg Biffle's future. We'll discuss that and what else has been burning on the stove the last few days.
All that and so much more as we bring you another great episode of Talking in Circles
Martin Truex Jr won the Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Raceway. It was his 4th win of the 2016 season and the 7th of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career IT's been a heck of season for Truex and he & 11 other drivers advance to the 2nd round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
We'll discuss the Chase and our surprises as to who is out of the Chase and who is still in the Chase.
Plus we'll preview the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Race 1 of the 2nd round of the Chase. Who are the favorites heading into the event and who needs to do some work.
Also we'll discuss the situation NASCAR is considering with the regular season champion. Should they reward the regular season champion? How should they do it and would it mean anything?
Also we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Martin Truex Jr won his 6th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday. It was his 3rd victory of the 2016 season and the win locks Truex into the Round of 12. Chase Elliott looked in route to his 1st career Cup win but a late race caution threw a wrench into that.
Martin Truex Jr and Jimmie Johnson's teams failed post-race laser inspection. The penalities were announced and NASCAR said they weren't significantly over the tolerances and no penalty was given. We'll discuss that.
Plus we talk about the upcoming race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
On this episode of Talking in Circles we'll review the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Who ran well, who didn't and what we thought of the racing. Denny Hamlin won his 29th career race and the 3rd of his 2016 season. We'll discuss the controversal finish and discuss the big story of the night was the incident between Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. We'll give our takes.
Plus the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has arrived. 16 drivers will run for the championship and it all starts this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. The first round of the Chase will consist of three races with four teams exiting from the Chase after Dover. We'll give our "Chase brackets" and discuss why we came to our conclusions.
Plus we'll talk about Chicagoland Speedway & who might be fast as we head to the first race of the Chase and we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
The weekend started with Elliott Sadler winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series race holding off a hard charging Denny Hamlin. Sadler nearly coughed it up in the closing stages but was able to win his 12th career event.
Then came Sunday's Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park which ended in controversy as John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer has a memorable finish that resulted in significant amount of contact and drag racing to the start-finish line. We will give our opinion on the finish and if NASCAR should have penalized either driver or both drivers for their actions.
That finish led to throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway and while the race was slow going it certainly had some entertaining features. Kevin Harvick dominated but a few bad pit stops cost him track position and cost him the victory. Martin Truex Jr was able to capitalize and win his 5th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and his 2nd of the 2016 season. Also, Tony Stewart made headlines, dumping Brian Scott under green flag conditions. We talk about the 2016 Bojangles Southern 500.
Plus we talk about Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson's penalty following the Southern 500 and how it will effect Newman and Larson going forward. Were the penalities too harsh? Should RCR appeal? Has NASCAR been consistant all season long with penalities?
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
This week will interview both Kevin Hinckle and Cassie Gannis about the Bobby Hamilton Jr situation. Both drivers were featured in an investigative piece on SpeedwayMedia.com this past week and decided this story needed a little bit more pubilicity. Both Gannis and Hinkle were promised things from Hamilton and the team didn't come through. We'll talk about it all with them.
After the interviews, we will talk about the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway and discuss Kyle Larson's 1st career victory. We''ll talk about his post-race celebration and whether or not NASCAR needs to look into it.
Also we will talk about the past weeks news and notes including the passing of Cliff Stewart, Betty Jane France and Charles Hardy.
Also we'll talk about Throwback Weekend in Darlington & Our favorite paint schemes. Plus we'll preview the Bojangles Southern 500.
All that plus your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We break down the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, run in the daytime. What did we think of the racing? Did the sticky stuff work? Should we use it at other tracks or every track?
It was Kevin Harvick's 33rd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. We discuss the race, strategy and talk about who had good days and bad days.
Also we will bring on Joseph Shelton from SpeedwayMedia.com to discuss his investigative piece on former NASCAR driver Bobby Hamilton Jr. Hamilton is accused of taking money from racers and not providing them with the races they paid for. It's something we see a lot in ARCA. We discuss the piece and what can be done to fix something like this.
It was announced this weekend that William Byron has inked a development deal with Hendrick Motorsports. We'll talk about that and what that could mean for HMS in the future.
Also we will preview this weekend's Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Alex Bowman is driving the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend after it was announced that Dale Earnhardt Jr would miss the next two weeks, Michigan and Darlington due to concussion like symptoms.
Plus we take phone calls at 917-889-8280!
This weekend the NASCAR XFINITY Series ran the Mid-Ohio Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Justin Marks winning his 1st career NASCAR XFINITY Series race. The race was run in the rain for the majority of the event, which caused a lot of conversation after the race. Many fans enjoyed watching the run in the rain. Some didn't. We'll give our opinions.
Plus, the death of Bryan Clauson has had a major impact on the racing community over the past week. Our own John Harlow wrote an article comemorating Clauson and we'll discuss his career, life and the dangers of racing as a whole.
Also one of the most exciting weekends of the year comes this weekend, a triple header weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. It starts Wednesday night at Bristol with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event and features the NASCAR XFINITY Series on Friday night and concludes with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Irwin Tools Race NIght on Saturday night.
Plus there was some interesting comments from Furniture Row Racing's Barney Visser this past week about Erik Jones and how he thinks the driver will only be at FRR for a season. What does that mean for Jones' future and the future of other JGR drivers as well.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
On this special edition of Talking in Circles we will interview Tommy Joe Martins. Martins is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver who has made 11 NASCAR XFINITY and 15 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts in his career.
He made a two part blog post about the problem with NASCAR, which caught our attention so we wanted to bring him on to Talking in Circles for a discussion about the state of the sport, what can be done to help the problem that has become money and many other things we would like to discuss.
On this episode of Talking in Circles we discuss the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen. Denny Hamlin won his 28th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and the 1st at Watkins Glen International. Hamlin was able to use some strategy and a fast race car to stay ahead of the field and get to victory lane. It's his 1st win since the Daytona 500 in February.
It was a race that was filled with strategy. A lap 14 caution for debris spiced things up a little bit and made the race become a race of strategy.
Pit road timing lines were a big issue as several big named drivers got nailed on speeding penalties.
Also there was a lot of action during the race and at the end that produced several accidents including Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Larson getting tangeled up at the end of the event, costing them good finishes.
We'll discuss the racing on the road course and give our attaboys and disapointments.
Also we'll touch on Erik Jones' new ride for 2017. What are his expectations? Any ideas on the crew chief for the No. 77 Toyota.
Our weekly Dale Jr update- Earnhardt will now miss both Michigan and Bristol. Jeff Gordon will continue to sub.
Also Truck Series driver Tommy Joe Martins. Martins has agreed to an interview on a Special Edition of Talking in Circles on Monday, August 8th at 1:00pm ET.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Chris Buescher won the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway during Monday's rain-shortened race. It's Buescher's 1st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. The win does not lock Buescher into the Chase as of yet, but he sits 31st in points with just 5 races to go until the Chase for the Sprint Cup. We'll discuss the entire race and talk about what this win means for Buescher, Front Row Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing and NASCAR.
We'll talk about the racing at Pocono Raceway and who was good, bad and who needs to step it up to make the Chase. Also Regan Smith finished in the 3rd spot, a great run for the Tommy Baldwin Racing entry.
Also Richard Childress Racing made crew chief changes over the past week. Justin Alexander was replaced by Danny Stockman as the crew chief of Paul Menard's No. 27 Chevrolet. Was this the right move and who may be on the hot seat moving forward? Plus RCR's other news of the weekend as well.
Also Kyle Larson's sponsor Target has announced they are leaving Chip Ganassi Racing's Verizon IndyCar team at the end of the 2016 season. Some fans are worried about Larson's future, so they be? Target's contract with Larson and CGR ends at the end of the 2017 season.
Also we'll give our weekly Dale Jr update, plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Matt Kenseth won his 39th career NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kenseth topped Tony Stewart, who finished 2nd. It was a calm race early but a chain of caution flags caused a lot of the front runners to fall out towards the end of the event in which Kenseth prevailed.
Kenseth's No. 20 team failed post-race Laser Inspection. The car will be taken back to NASCAR's R&D Center for further evaluation. We'll talk about the penalty Kenseth may recieve and whether or not it's stiff enough. Should NASCAR take the wins away from drivers?
Plus we'll give our weekly attaboys and disappointments from the weekend and discuss the racing at New Hampshire.
Also it was an alarming fact that New Hampshire Motor Speedway's crowd was significantly down over recent years. We'll discuss why we think that was and if that is concerning to the facility.
Also silly season is started to ramp up a bit. Rumors have Erik Jones moving to a 2nd car at Furniture Row Racing next season with 5-Hour Energy as sponsor. Also where does Ryan Newman end up? Not a lot of options out there for Newman, who is in the final year of his contract at RCR.
Jeff Gordon will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, if Dale Earnhardt Jr cannot race on Sunday at Indianapolis. Gordon, who announced his retirement from full-time competition starting in 2016, has not run a race all season. Should Hendrick Motorsports put Gordon in the car or should they give Alex Bowman, who ran very good at New Hampshire be given the opportunity?
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
Dale Earnhardt Jr is out at New Hampshire due to concussion like symptoms. Alex Bowman will take over the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend. We'll give our thoughts.
Brad Keselowski won the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Keselowski led 75 laps in route to his 21st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Keselowski beat out Carl Edwards by conserving his fuel and winning the race at Kentucky.
We'll talk about the finish and the racing at Kentucky and the conservative tire that Goodyear brought to Kentucky. Did that make for good racing?? What could have been better?
Plus we talk about the fall of Hendrick Motorsports and the news of who was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend to help their chances at making the Chase.
Elliott Sadler's sponsor One Main Financial is leaving at the end of the 2016 season. What does this mean for Sadler and what does this mean for JR Motorsports and NASCAR?
July 13th marked 23 years since Davey Allison's passing. What is the one thing we'll always remember about Davey?
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We discuss the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Brad Keselowski won 20th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and his 3rd of the 2016 season. Keselowski dominated the event leading 115 of the race's 161 laps. He beat out Kyle Busch and Trevor Bayne for the top spot.
Several accidents happened including a 19 car wreck which occurred on lap 91. We'll discuss what happened and what could have prevented it.
We'll talk about the racing at Daytona International Speedway. Was it a good race? What could be better?
We'll give out our weekly attaboys and disappointments and who should be worried after leaving Daytona.
Also Denny Hamlin's comments about the Sprint All-Star Race and Sprint Unlimited made headlines this week. We'll discuss what those were and what we think about them.
Another report about the replacement for Sprint came out this week and one reporter mentioned the possibility of 2 title sponsors. What would that do for NASCAR and would that be a good thing?
We'll also discuss the NASCAR XFINITY Series race and the controversial finish. Did NASCAR throw the yellow at the right time and should Almirola have been the winner?
Also the NASCAR XFINITY Series cars tested this weekend to try and limit tandam drafting for the 2017 season. Is this a step in the right direction for the sport? Will this help the XFINITY Series.
Plus we'll preview the triple-header weekend at Kentucky Speedway. It's a freshly paved facility and we'll discuss what that will do for the racing and for drivers.
Plus we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
We break down the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Tony Stewart won his 49th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and his first since June 2013. The win will lock Stewart into the Chase if he finishes in the top 30 in points by the time we reach Richmond in September.
How was the racing at Sonoma? Do we need more road courses? Do we need one in the Chase. Atta boys and disappointments. Did Hamlin give Stewart the race? Ridiculous?
Matt Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing announce an extension of the Dewalt sponsorship for the 2016 season. What does that mean for Kenseth & JGR?
TV Ratings for Sonoma were up from Michigan's 2.0 to 2.4. Coincidence?
Brian France talks about weekday races- He said they don't see that in the future. Should NASCAR do that? WOuld it help anything? All-Star location.
Who is the next driver who hasn't won to win?
Christopher Bell wins the Drivin' For Lineman 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park. It's Bell's 2nd career victory. Thoughts on the race? Fight between Townley & Gallagher. Townley gets a $15k fine and Gallagher gets a $12,500 fine. Does the penalty fit the crime?
Matt Tifft is out indefinately after needing surgery to remove a brain tumor. David Ragan will drive the No. 18 Toyota this weekend at Daytona.
Also we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Joey Logano won the Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. It was Logano's 15th career victory and the 1st of his 2016 season, locking him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was a pretty dominate performance for Logano.
The rule package at Michigan was debateable. We'll debate that and give our attaboys and disapointments.
Also we talk about the unfortunate fire at ThorSport Racing. Will the team continue and how will this effect the team?
Also we discuss the deal between Dale Earnhardt Jr and Chris Buescher and the discussion that has taken place from that accident.
Daniel Suarez became the 1st Mexican driver to win in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. What does that do for the series and is it a trend we're going to see in the series for years to come.
Also we discuss the future of NASCAR. A lot of young drivers were out there running great on Sunday. Will we see more and who?
All that and much more on Talking in Circles. Call in at 917-889-8280.
Kurt Busch won the Axalta We Paint Winners 400 at Pocono Raceway. It's Busch's 28th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Dale Jr finished 2nd, Keselowski was 3rd, Elliott was 4th and Logano was 5th.
We discuss the racing at Pocono Raceway on Monday and the drivers who had a big day and who didn't.
Plus Brad Keselowski made comments about Jeff Gordon towards at the end of the race about broadcasting. Were Keselowski's comments warrented?
Plus Ryan Sieg made comments about Ryan Reed after the XFINITY Series race on Saturday. Reed and Sieg had an incident on pit road? We discuss whether or not we have a problem with those comments.
We talk about the last 1st time winner at Michigan International Raceway. Who was it? What year?
Also Dale Earnhardt Jr made some interesting comments about his future to Frontstretch.com over the weekend. What does that mean for Jr Nation and how many years does he have left in the sport?
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
Martin Truex Jr dominated the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday for his 4th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Truex led 392 of the races 400 laps. A utterly dominate performance for the No. 78 team.
NASCAR announced Monday that they were 'going back to the drawing board for 1.5 mile tracks' after the race. It was a lackluster race but should NASCAR have overrated the way they have?
Also we'll touch on Alexander Rossi's win in the 100th Indianapolis 500. Was it a good race? What will this do for Rossi's season and other facts about the race.
Then we'll talk about potential rule changes at Michigan and Kentucky Speedway. Will these help?
Also it's that time of year. Half way through the regular season and some teams are struggling. We discuss which crew chiefs are on the hot seat.
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280!
On this epiosde fo Talking in Circles we break down the weekend that was the All-Star weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There was a a lot of controversy about the race and there was a lot of confusion during the event. We talk about that and whether or not we liked the format. We also talk about the rules package and what we'll expect to see for the 600 on Sunday. Joey Logano won his 1st career All-Star event, which locks him into the race for the next decade.
Also we discuss the Sprint Showdown and the epic finish we saw to that race and how all 3 drivers drove their way in and whether or not we liked that format. Plus we'll get into the debate about day racing vs night racing.
We also talk about Dollar General leaving NASCAR at the end of the 2016 season, including the $20 million deal with JGR and the No. 20 car. What does this mean for Joe Gibbs Racing and what does it mean for NASCAR, if anything?
Also 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees will be announced on Wednesday. We'll discuss the nominations and who we think deserves to be in and who will get in.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ran at the Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Matt Crafton was the winner, his 13th career race. We break down that race and give a rundown on the points for the event.
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280 to discuss anything from the weekend.
Matt Kenseth won his 1st race of the 2016 season at Dover this past weekend in a thrilling finish that masked a lackluster start to the race. Great battle between Larson and Kenseth and Chase Elliott towards the end of the event.
Thoughts on the new rules package at Dover?
After Dover there was some news about Harvick moving to HMS, now it's official. Harvick is staying at SHR and moving to Ford next season and beyond. A multi-year for them. Lot of Harvick fans are heartbroke about it.
MOre silly season rumors, our thoughts on what might happen for 2017 and beyond.
All-Star Preview- Format, pick winners.
And we'll take your phone calls at 917-889-8280
On this episode of Talking in Circles we discuss the GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas Speedway. Kyle Busch won his 37th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and his 3rd of 2016. It was a race dominated by Martin Truex Jr but Truex had issues and finished in the 14th position.
We break down the chase format, who can make it, who can't and what kind of shot Tony Stewart has to make the Chase.
Plus we break down the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and talk about the problem we are having with the series just 4 races in. Are there too many races in the Truck Series or not enough? Do they need to be spread out more?
Also we discuss the new format for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race and what we think of it. What other changes would we like to see to both the All-Star Race and the Sprint Showdown.
Preview Dover- Trucks, Busch Cup. 1st triple header weekend since Daytona.
We break down the GEICO 500 from Talladega Superspeedway. Carnage, carnage, carnage. Lots of wrecks. Is there a problem with plate racing? What can be fixed from Talladega? Attaboys and disappointments. Points- Is it too early to look at points?
Also we break down what happened at the end of the NASCAR XFINITY Series' Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Big wreck at the end- causing a big controversy as to whether or not NASCAR should have thrown the caution flag or not. We'll give our opinions. Elliott Sadler locked himself into the Chase with his victory, we'll discuss the points situation for that series as well.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series scheduled for the 2017 season will be released tomorrow according to reports. NBCSports.com is reporting that there will be a swap in dates between Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway in October, making the deciding race for the 2nd round at Kansas than Talladega- What does that mean? Is that good for the sport?
Plus NASCAR came out on Wednesday's edition of Tradin' Paint on Sirius XM Radio and said they have 8-10 sponsors in the mix to replace Sprint. An announcement for that is expected in September-October.
Plus we preview the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.
And we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
On this episode of Talking in Circles, we break down the weekend that was at Richmond International Raceway. Carl Edwards moved Kyle Busch out of the way on the final lap to win his 27th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Was that the correct move for Carl? Should Kyle invoke some revenge?
We'll give our Attaboys and surprises and talk about the points. Who is in danger of missing the Chase?
Also we'll discuss the news of the week: NASCAR has instituted a new lug nut rule starting this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. We'll give our thoughts on that and talk about how NASCAR can police this.
Plus Tony Stewart was fined $35k for comments about lug nuts, then NASCAR instutites the rule. Should NASCAR revoke the fine and how bad does the sport look. What made Stewart made those comments and why did the Driver's Council pay the fine?
Several media members have complained about Tony Stewart being eligable for the win at Talladega, even though he's gonna have a subsitute driver. We'll discuss our feelings on that.
Plus, it's going to be a wild weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. We'll preview the double-header weekend and take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
On this episode of Talking in Circles we break down the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Carl Edwards locked himself into the Chase and showed people that JGR is on a rail in the 2016 season. Matt DiBenedetto, Clint Bowyer, Trevor Bayne all had great runs- we discuss that.
We discuss that and the NASCAR XFINITY Fitzgereld Glider Kits 300 at Bristol, including the inagural race featuring Heat races. We'll discuss what we thought about the racing and what can be done with that. Erik Jones won the race and the money.
Also Ben Kennedy is out a ride in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as he and Red Horse Racing part ways. What does that mean for the rest of the 2016 for Kennedy and Red Horse Racing?
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
We discuss the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Was it a good race for the 1st night race of the season or did it need some work.
Also preview the Food City 500 at Bristol.
Also we talk about JGR's pit crew using only 4 lug nuts. Is that safe and are they shooting themselves in the foot?
Plus Kyle Busch became the 1st driver to sweep a weekend in back to back weeks since Harry Gant in 1991. What feat was more impressive?
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280.
We break down the STP 500. What did we think of the racing at Martinsville, who surprised us, who didn't and what can get better.
Plus we preview the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. A Saturday night race for Cup, Friday night for XFINITY. Practice 1 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is over and we'll discuss that as well.
Also, NASCAR has come out and said they are concerned about the tv ratings and believe it is star power as the reason why the ratings and interest are down on all levels. Is that a valid excuse and what can be done to correct that?
Also we talk about Kevin Harvick's tweet confirming he IS moving to Ford in 2017 with Stewart Haas Racing. STOP the MADNESS.
Plus we talk about Brian Vickers. He said he is unsure of his plans after Texas. What should the team do vs. What will the team do....
Cautions are down across the board in the Cup Series. Why?
Gray Gaulding has announced he has signed a development deal at Roush Fenway Racing and a new NASCAR XFINITY Series team will debut at Richmond with Caleb Holman and Chad Finchum driving for a team co-owned by former driver Eric McClure.
Plus we take your phone calls at 917-889-8280