Tom Higgins: "It just overwhelmed my dad and me," Mark Martin said, recalling his first Daytona 500 at age 14. "When we went back home, dad started building a race car for me."

Tom Higgins: Since it opened in 1961, Atlanta Motor Speedway's second race of the season has been run in June, July, August, October and November. And now September.

Jenna Fryer: A day after winning at Bristol driver Kyle Busch was in Nashville for a late model race sponsored by his foundation and helping honor the late guitar icon Les Paul.

Tom Sorensen: NASCAR has been disappearing all season, as attendance will attest. There might be no cure for the car of tomorrow, but there is hope for stock car racing.

Tom Higgins: Humpy Wheeler was presenting a three-ring circus as part of the prerace show in October 1995.

Tom Higgins: Ricky Rudd’s race car spun off the fourth turn at Daytona International Speedway, slid into a grassy area and then began flipping violently.

How actually tough was Dale Earnhardt? Most notably in memory for many of those who followed his career closely are two examples.

Posting live content and commentary from a good race weekend without the contributions of our colleague and friend David Poole doesn't feel at all right. It's no doubt the same on the reading end.

David Poole: It's all but impossible to take your eyes off of a pack of 35 or 40 cars running inches apart at around 190 mph.