Race Weekend Central

5 Points to Ponder: Coming Home, 5 More Years & A Shifting Fanbase

2015 Bristol I Cup Aj Allmendinger Helmet Credit Amy Henderson

(Photo: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch)

Truex’s win is just around the corner It wasn’t to be for Martin Truex Jr. on Saturday night under the lights at Kansas Speedway, but if his performance tells us anything it is that his win is just around the corner. And what a celebration it will be when it finally does come. Truex has …

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5 Points to Ponder: Wild-Card Weekend, Mr. Consistency & Busch’s Waiver

2015 Bristol I Cup David Ragan Car Credit Amy Henderson

Photo Credit: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch

Wild Card Weekend Three words perhaps best sum up this weekend’s 500-mile race at Talladega Superspeedway: Anyone can win. The waning laps of the four restrictor-plate races are often among the most exciting of the season, as the snarling pack of drivers jockey for glory and the checkered flag on the high banks of the …

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5 Points To Ponder: Winning, Channel Hopping & Steve Byrnes

Duck Commander 500

(Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images)

ONE: Get well soon, Steve Byrnes Easily the best piece of NASCAR-related news I read in the last week or so was the report that the upcoming Bristol Motor Speedway race has been renamed to the Food City 500 In Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up To Cancer. When I say easily, let me …

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5 Points to Ponder: A Week Off, Super Subs & Quarter Centuries

2015 Martinsville I Cup Credit Matt Kenseth Racing Amy Henderson

Photo Credit: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch

The First Off-Week After six weeks of intense competition from the wide-open high banks of Daytona through the cramped confines of Martinsville Speedway, the oldest (and in my humble opinion best) track on the circuit, the first of just a handful of off weekends in 2015 is upon us. So you should expect a plethora …

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5 Points to Ponder: Winning, Sinking & the Best Track in NASCAR?

2015 Daytona I Unlimited Kasey Kahne Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

Photo Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner Last season 13 drivers carried a win into the Chase with the three final places of the 16-driver field being filled by the three highest points finishers: Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman. So despite all the talk last year of checkers or wreckers and win or bust, places in …

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Five Points to Ponder: Double Centuries, Points Mean Prizes & NASCAR Fantasy

2014 Texas Ii Cup Brad Keselowski Sharpie Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photography)

200 and Counting for Brad Keselowski Brad Keselowski finished his 200th Cup race with a seventh-place finish and nine laps led on Sunday in Las Vegas. The eight-year veteran has picked up 16 victories in his double century of appearances, along with 50 top-5s, 81 top-10s, 3,110 laps led and that all-important maiden championship in …

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Five Points to Ponder: The Sheriff Returns in Sin City, Regans/Ragans and Casey Mears

2014 Richmond Ii Cup Brian Vickers Car Cia

SAFER Barriers The number one topic coming out of Atlanta this past weekend ,other than good old fashioned Jimmie Johnson dominance which should frighten his competitors, was Jeff Gordon once again making hard contact with a concrete wall unprotected by a SAFER barrier. Gordon was clearly incensed post wreck as he gesticulated to the spot …

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Five Points to Ponder: Down to Business, Busch-less Racing and a Back-to-back Champ?

Kevin Harvick raises the Sprint Cup trophy after winning the 2014 title at Homestead Miami Speedway

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Down to Business: There are very few events in sport I enjoy more than the Great American race. Daytona 500 Sunday is truly a date to be celebrated on the sporting calendar, as 43 drivers go full tilt for five hundred miles for the iconic Harley J. Earl trophy and NASCAR immortality. Having the biggest …

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5 Points To Ponder: Sprint Replacement Can’t Be Taken Lightly

2014 Phoenix Ii Cup Kevin Harvick Car Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photography)

Editor’s Note: Danny Peters’ column, a Frontstretch staple returns this week and will run in its usual Tuesday slot all season. Usually titled Five Points to Ponder, this week’s season-opening one is a special edition, in a special format taking a look at the departure of title sponsor Sprint. From cigarettes to cell phones. What’s next …

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Five Points to Ponder: A First-Time Champ, Homestead & Like Father, Like Son

2014 Atlanta Nns Chase Elliott Cockpit Cia

ONE: A FIRST-TIME CHAMP Many folks who completed Chase brackets would have had Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano making the final four, while few would have pegged Denny Hamlin or Ryan Newman as being still in contention for the big silver trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That in essence highlights both the beauty and the vagaries of …

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