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Special feature

NASCAR Mailbag - Answering your questions

Motorsport.com's NASCAR team answers another round of questions from fans nationwide.

Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing Toyota and Ryan Blaney, Wood Brothers Racing Ford

Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing Toyota and Ryan Blaney, Wood Brothers Racing Ford

Russell LaBounty / NKP / Motorsport Images

Monster Energy logo
Qualifying from pit lane
Goodyear tires
Goodyear tires
Qualifying session
Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing
Danica Patrick, Andretti Autosport
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Roush Fenway Racing Ford detail
Trevor Bayne, Roush Fenway Racing Ford, Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing Ford
NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell
Green Checkered flag at the end of a segment
Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford, Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford and Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford, Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford and Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford
Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford, Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Thank you to everyone who sent questions in and please keep your questions coming throughout the season. We’ll post our responses each week in the NASCAR section of Motorsport.com.

Here are this week’s submissions and answers from our NASCAR experts Jim Utter and Lee Spencer.

1. Since cars are required to start a race with the same tires on which they qualified, is it ever a disadvantage to make it to the second (third) qualifying stage and putting more laps on the tires? Certainly, a better starting position is an advantage at a place like Bristol, but not so much at Talladega.

- Don; Tennessee

Don,

In general, a top-12 starting position is going to offset any disadvantage of running all three rounds of knockout qualifying, especially considering teams generally complete only one flying lap in the second and third rounds. Remember, at Daytona and Talladega, there are only two rounds of qualifying and only the top 12 advance to the second round. In addition, new tires have far less benefit on superspeedways then they do at places like Atlanta, Dover or Martinsville. Jim Utter

2. Is there any chance Danica Patrick will ever be back in an IndyCar or even the Indy 500? 

In her most recent interview on the topic, Danica Patrick said she would "never say never" to a return to IndyCar, but was not planning on one. She said she enjoyed "great success and great memories" in the Indy 500 but that she is completely focused on her NASCAR career. Jim Utter

3. It seems to me that RFR regression became (began?)  with the investment by Private Equity money. (1) Is that true and (2) Are the investor's financial demands (debt payments or dividends) causing the performance issues?

- Bill; Hartford, Connecticut

Bill,

I believe that NASCAR is a very cyclical sport. While I don’t have intimate knowledge as to whether the Fenway Group has much input beyond marketing, I would say that Jack Roush’s teams thrived under an earlier management group and when it was the alpha dog in the Ford Performance food chain. When Roush was at the pinnacle of NASCAR, the organization had top talent on its roster. That hasn’t been the case since Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards left. When Roush suffered setbacks and couldn’t keep up with Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing, etc., the lows were not as pronounced because the caliber of drivers could hide the deficiencies. That isn’t the case with the current list of drivers. Lee Spencer

4. Would you write a small article to try to explain the NASCAR rules concerning stage racing, how points are awarded and taken away?  What is an encumbered finish?  Thanks for the opportunity.

- Danny; Indiana

Danny,

Here is a recap of stage rules:

Each race is broken down into three stages. Drivers running in the Top 10 at the end of each stage receive points toward their race total on a 10-to-1 scale. In addition, the winner of each of the first two stages receives a playoff point, which can be carried into the playoffs if that driver qualifies.

An encumbered finish would come from a very serious violation found in post-race inspection. If a race finish is determined to be encumbered, that finish cannot be used for advancement in the playoffs. The result still stands - the driver is not disqualified - but the win or finish would not count toward competing for the series championship. Jim Utter

5. Do you think Team Penske will win the championship this year (and which one), and Why does it seem like Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are hated so much? 

- Jack

Jack,

Team Penske has a great opportunity to win the title with either of its drivers. Logano has made it to the final four in two of the last three seasons. He would have been battling for the championship in 2015 had Matt Kenseth not punted him at Martinsville. Brad Keselowski is off to a tremendous start in 2017. He’s the only driver to win twice in the first seven races of the season. As for the Penske popularity contest, I’ve been around long enough to remember the ABE’s — Anybody But Earnhardt. Despite as beloved as the late Dale Earnhardt was by the majority of the fan base, there were always those that resented his success. I believe when you have a couple of drivers as young and successful as Keselowski and Logano, the boo-birds will follow. Lee Spencer

6. With Clint Bowyer off to a good start at SHR and showcasing his skills, what's the word on the sponsor(s) for him and the 14 for 2018? I've been seeing Haas on his car a lot to start the season and wondered about what might be down the pipeline.

- Nick

Nick,

Stewart-Haas Racing definitely has some work to do on the sponsorship front. Although Gene Haas hired Kurt Busch regardless of sponsorship in 2014, the driver eventually brokered a deal to bring Monster on board. I can’t imagine that a driver as popular as Bowyer will suffer a sponsor drought for long. Then again, winning generally attracts benefactors. Lee Spencer

Do you have a question?

Fans remember to submit your questions each week to NASCARmailbag@motorsport.com. Responses will be reported generally once a week during the NASCAR season (Usually between Tuesday and Thursdays) Please submit your questions to the above email address.

You can also reach Jim Utter, Lee Spencer, Nick DeGroot and Tim Southers on Twitter at @jim_utter,  @candicespencer, @ndegroot89 and @TimSouthers, respectively. Use the hashtags #AskJim, #AskLee, #AskNick or #AskTim when submitting a question through Twitter.

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