Race Weekend Central

Holding a Pretty Wheel: Breaking NASCAR’s Rules Just Ain’t What It Used To Be

Just when you thought it was safe to go out of the house, NASCAR goes and does it again. The “it” in question is the decision to make an arbitrary call with no regard to the rulebook or precedent set in previous years or weeks. Within a seven-day stretch, NASCAR made a strong statement about …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Jeff Gordon Won AGAIN?! & Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Going to Be Any Good? It was 10 Years Ago…

The world tilted when Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Incorporated and headed for the sun when he announced he was going to Hendrick.

Holding a Pretty Wheel: Kyle Busch & the 5 Amazing Mentors – A Tale of Speed & Impertinence

Since his outburst about teamwork, or the lack thereof, at Daytona earlier this month, Kyle Busch has been under a microscope that is already on high power as he searches for a new ride for 2008 and beyond. He’s been called a whiner, immature and spoiled. His comments were looked at as childish and jealous. …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Dragged a Jeff Gordon Beanie Around Lately? A Reality Check

You know the guy (heck, maybe you ARE the guy). He parades around the track with the little Jeff Gordon doll in the noose dragging behind, just hoping someone will kick it around. He (or she) boos Tony Stewart vehemently during driver intros. He calls Jimmie Johnson all kinds of unprintable things that have nothing …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Your Only Job is Fairness – An Open Letter to NASCAR

Dear Brian, Mike, John and the rest of the people in position to make up NASCAR’s rules as you go along: I know your jobs aren’t easy. I probably wouldn’t want any of them. I’m a school teacher, though, so I know a thing or two about being fair. Fairness isn’t about convenience. It isn’t …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: WARNING! Invisible Debris is Hazardous to NASCAR’s Health!

There is a danger lurking in the shadows at your local NASCAR track. It’s more dangerous than a flipping, burning racecar. It’s more insidious than a soaked tire. It’s scarier than Jimmy Spencer in a Speedo. It’s… Invisible Debris! Yes, race fans, Invisible Debris is everywhere! It could be lurking in turn 1, ready to …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: A Plateful of Trouble at Daytona

It could have been ugly. We got lucky; but it could have been tragic. The 2007 Daytona 500 was marred with crashes. There was no Big One, just a bunch of Little Ones, but a couple of those looked deceptively bad. Bottom line… there was nothing about those crashes in that race that made it …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: NASCAR on the Right Track With Penalties

Penalties, penalties everywhere at Daytona. NASCAR handed down a total of five of them on Tuesday and Wednesday, the most severe coming late Wednesday afternoon when the sanctioning body announced a penalty against the team of driver Michael Waltrip following a strange substance in the intake manifold in both pre- and post-qualifying inspection. NASCAR confiscated …

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