Spencer Neff
Twitter: @NeffOnSports11

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend.

1. In what was one of the scariest wrecks I have seen, Denny Hamlin was clipped by Kevin Harvick as the two ran third and fourth to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson at Daytona. Hamlin’s spin triggered a melee after the finish that wrecked several cars and sent Austin Dillon barrel rolling into the catch fence, landing upside down and then run into by Brad Keselowski.

Despite several race cars with heavy damage (including an engine ripped away from the car of Dillon), all drivers involved walked away. NBC reported that three spectators are being treated in the grandstands with minor injuries, so good thoughts are being sent their way.

A big round of applause to all the safety workers and the rival crew members who checked on the well-being of Austin Dillon in the wake of the. Unfortunately, these big wrecks are a byproduct of the exciting racing fans clamor for, but it is nice to see the sport still has safety as a paramount concern and people are looking out for their competitors’ safety.

2. Huge props go to NBC as well, who returned to NASCAR after a nine-year absence. NBC’s coverage during the race was solid, looking forward to seeing what they will bring to the table throughout the rest of the season.

3. Blocking became a huge topic of discussion after Saturday night’s Xfinity race at Daytona, after Brian Scott triggered a multi-car crash in the late stages of the race. Although I do not think that rules against blocking would be good for competition, I think that drivers do need to exercise some better judgement when doing so. Asking these drivers to be less aggressive is not in their nature, there are some risks that are not justified and need to be limited if and when possible.

4. Overseas, Lewis Hamilton took the pole and dominated to win his home British Grand Prix at Silverstone, breaking teammate Nico Rosberg’s streak of three straight wins in Europe and extending his points lead to 17. Unless Rosberg can string together a few more wins, Hamilton is already well on his way to a second straight and third career championship.

5. In NHRA, history was made in Norwalk when Karen Stoffer and Angelle Sampey met in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final. It marked just the third time in history and first since the two met in Reading 13 years ago, that two women faced off in the final of a professional class. This time, Stoffer prevailed after Sampey red lighted.

Other winners included Top Fuel’s Doug Kalitta, Funny Car’s Jack Beckman and Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson. With the average points lead among the four pro classes at 39 points, the action is beginning to heat up with the Countdown set to begin in just over two months at Charlotte.

Have a great week and see you soon.