By Jared Turner With the entire country abuzz about President Donald Trump’s Sunday morning Twitter comments criticizing professional athletes who choose to take a knee rather than stand during the national anthem, all NASCAR team members stood at attention — in their customary fashion — during Sunday’s Star-Spangled Banner at New Hampshire. Meanwhile, two prominent team owners and NASCAR Hall of Famers — seven-time driving champion Richard Petty and six-time champion owner Richard Childress — were asked to weigh in on how they would react if a member of their respective race teams refused to stand during the national anthem. Petty said…

By Jared Turner After spending a good chunk of Sunday’s race at New Hampshire in his similar front-running form, Martin Truex Jr. endured a major setback when his car suffered damage from his involvement in the multi-car crash triggered by Kevin Harvick’s spin at the end of Stage 2. But following some repairs on pit road, Truex recovered to finish fifth — a downright impressive result, all things considered. Of course, considering how strong Truex and his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyotas have been all year, Sunday’s rally was perhaps to be expected. “We had a fast racecar that was definitely…

By Jared Turner With two playoff races in the books, four drivers have clinched berths in the Round of 12. None of the four who’ve punched tickets to the next round is a surprise. Of the four, three of them — Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch — have been hands-down the season’s most dominant drivers. The other, Brad Keselowski, is a former Monster Energy Series champion who boasts considerable playoff experience and is aligned with one of the sport’s top organizations in Team Penske. While the names at the top of the playoff standings aren’t the least bit surprising,…