Photo Courtsey Of Usatoday

With NASCAR and almost every other racing series having this past weekend off because of Easter, I figured this week I would break the column into two parts. First, I’ll speak about the racing I’ll be covering this weekend in Maine. Then I will talk about where NASCAR is headed this weekend, and why it’s a giant unknown.

As we all know, outside activities in New England die down between the months of November and April(ish) and so does the racing season, unless of course you race snowmobiles, then your season thrives during the winter months! As for every other form of racing on asphalt and dirt, the off-season kicks up during the winter.

As the weather now warms up and the gross white stuff goes away, all the race track owners come out of hibernation and prep the track for the upcoming season.

This weekend, I will be headed to Wiscasset Speedway located in Maine. I will be broadcasting a US Legend Cars race, the first race on the 2019 NELCAR Legend Car Tour schedule. I will be broadcasting 20 races across New Hampshire and Maine this summer, and I am honestly super excited! It will be the first race I will film in over three years, and so far all the drivers (who remember me) are excited to have me back! This season brings new opportunity for myself and my production company, DP Production Group, as I will return to the sport I love with more knowledge in broadcasting then I had the last time I filmed a green flag drop.

In the last three years, I have covered hundreds of sporting events across New England, honing my craft you could say. Now, I will be able to return to the racetrack and provide coverage like those drivers never seen before.

The weather in Maine is expected to be great for raceday, and if you are interested, you can catch all the action through our social media platforms (@dppg_updates on Instagram and Twitter, and ‘DP Production Group’ on Facebook and YouTube).

Now, onto part two!

Sweet Home Alabama! The NASCAR storm heads down south this weekend to the big bad Talladega Superspeedway. Unlike its sister track, Daytona International Speedway in Florida, it is a 2.66 mile tri-oval with 33-degree banking in the corners (Daytona is 2.5 miles and has 31 degrees in the corners).

What makes it so big and bad you ask? How about the fact that the drivers don’t slow down at all when turning. Think about that, driving 200 miles per hour the distance of a football field in a second on the straightway and then you continue to drive at the same speed while turning. Oh, and to top it all off, you are driving inches apart, three wide, bumper to bumper with your competitors. A whole field worth of cars (40 to be exact) driving within a couple seconds of each other. So at any moment, a driver could lose control and the whole field can be taken out in what is called the “Big One.”

Both Daytona and Talladega are known as wildcard races, meaning anyone can win the race. Eleven different first-time winners have won at Talladega, so what are the odds of another first time winner you ask? No telling honestly, we could look at the Vegas odds, but even those sometimes aren’t completely helpful.

At the end of the day, Talladega is a huge crapshoot. And until the checkered flag flies, nobody really knows what is going to happen.

See you all in a couple weeks!