Race Weekend Central

Happiness Is… Indifference Darian Grubb & The Glen

At Watkins Glen International In Watkins Glen, Ny On August 11, 2013.

Martin Truex, Jr.‘s No. 56 team went from full-time to part-time status in the blink of an eye.

Well, Pocono was fun.  Or something. At one point it seemed more like bumper cars at 200 mph than actual racing.  Then again, who ever expected the Big One to happen at the triangle, a track long considered one of the most boring?  The overall culmination felt like a disjointed mess of a race, which …

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IndyCar Breakdown: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

2014 Indycar Midohio Scott Dixon Woohoo

In a Nutshell: The race began with a bang as drivers eager for the green flag got a bit excited as they hit the gas.  The wreck brought about a rare caution for IndyCar at Mid-Ohio.  Scott Dixon cruised home for the win, his fifth at the track in the last eight races.  Polesitter Sebastien …

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Pace Laps: Pocono Oddity, Iowa Adventures, Ohio Excellence, and More

Cup: Strange Results from Pocono It’s not a surprise that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won at Pocono.  He raced with the leaders all race long and his crew chief, Steve Letarte, made a brilliant strategy call that put him in the best position to win. But what about the rest of the field? Kyle Busch completed …

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Happiness Is… A Storybook Career, Sigh of Relief & Those Open Wheelers

2014 Indianapolis Cup Jeff Gordon Woohoo Ii Cia

Jeff Gordon celebrates after winning the 2014 Brickyard 400. (Credit: CIA)

Sigh of relief. Everyone can thank Jeff Gordon for putting a stop the Ford juggernaut.  The win streak, of four in a row, was getting out of hand and some other manufacturer needed to be represented in victory lane. There’s a couple interesting things about the string that Ford had just put together, with the …

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Happiness Is… Hot Head Stevens, Statistics & Making an Entrance

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Darrell Wallace Jr. passes under the checkered flag to claim the Mudsummer Classic Credit: Mike Neff

More weeknight racing, please. Other Frontstretchers have asserted that nighttime races aren’t as good as the daytime events.  That’s fine, and Sunday afternoons have their place, but maybe not every week, and Wednesday’s truck race showed how likeable mid-week racing can be. As NASCAR continues to stick its head in the sand about making any …

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Happiness Is…Ford, Foreign Countries and Getting Paid

2014 Loudon I Cup Joey Logano Spin Cia

Joey Logano and Morgan Shepherd spin at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Credit: CIA)

It’s time to hammer down on NASCAR’s superficial Topic of the Week, sponsored by Prune Candy.  For this week’s edition, it’s the Joey Logano – Morgan Shepherd incident.  Heard enough about it?  Read enough about it?  Any fan of the sport should be able to check the Yes box on that one. Much of the …

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Pace Laps: NASCAR Innovation, IndyCar Iowa, and More

2014 Loudon I Cup Joey Logano Spin Cia

Joey Logano and Morgan Shepherd spin at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Credit: CIA)

Did you miss an event during this busy week in racing? How about a late-night press release, an important sponsorship rumor, or a juicy piece of news? If you did, you’ve come to the right place! Each Monday, The Frontstretch will break down the racing, series by series, to bring you the biggest stories that …

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Happiness Is… Silly Season, Tweaks & Juan Pablo Montoya

2014 Daytona Ii Cup Pack Racing Ii Cia

(Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photo, Inc.)

The Coke Zero 400 is but a distant memory and it is barely a week old.  That race often sits as the wonderful spectacle that marks a sense of the midpoint of the season while marrying itself to the country’s holiday party, particularly with its old name, the Firecracker 400. Yet this one fell flat. …

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Pace Laps: First-Time Winners, Long-Time Winners and Ferrari’s Forgettable Race

2014 Daytona Ii Cup Ricky Stenhouse Jr Jimmie Johnson Davod Ragan Racing Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Did you miss an event during this busy week in racing? How about a late-night press release, an important sponsorship rumor, or a juicy piece of news? If you did, you’ve come to the right place! Each Monday, The Frontstretch will break down the racing, series by series, to bring you the biggest stories that …

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Happiness Is… Vacation, Luck & Making Friends

2014 Sonoma Cup Jeff Gordon Smiling Cia

Credit: CIA Editorial Photography

Ahhh.  It’s time for a pause.  One of those moments of reflection or something like that.  People who practice yoga might consider it a time to get centered.  Those who are taking a different path to enlightenment might feel it’s time to grab a beer and change the channel.  Duly noted. One of the things …

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