The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues to be overshadowed by penalties—loss of points, suspensions and fines—as we head to Richmond International Raceway for Saturday night’s Toyota Owner’s 400 (7:30 PM ET, Fox). This time its Matt Kenseth caught in the crosshairs, facing a 50-point penalty. Kenseth is mad and I agree with him.
It’s been quite a week for Brad Keselowski. The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion got the spoils of victory with his visit to the White House. As bad luck would have it, the visit fell on Tuesday, with the nation and the sports community mourning the events of Boston. One day later Keselowski got nailed by NASCAR, with a 25-point penalty, due to allegations of illegal part usage in last week’s race. Yes, it’s been wild week for a driver who has mostly lived a charmed life since his arrival on the circuit.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series took last weekend off to celebrate Easter, but honoring the Resurrection and having two weeks to chill out, hasn’t cooled the heels of some of the tempers that are flaring. Joey Logano is rising in the points standing and making his share of enemies along the way. First it was Tony Stewart. Then it was Denny Hamlin, who suffered a serious back injury after a collision with Logano, will miss at least three weeks and from Hamlin’s public statements, there’s no peace accord anywhere in the immediate future.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series goes west, with Sunday’s running of the Auto Club 400 (3 PM ET, Fox) in the Los Angeles suburb of Fontana. Paul Menard isn’t a driver you’re going to hear a lot about, but the 32-year-old is making a slow and steady ascent, both in his career and within this young season, as he arrives at the Auto Club Speedway.