Race Weekend Central

Full Throttle: 50 Years at Charlotte Wasn’t Just for Fans & Drivers

CONCORD, N.C. – Fifty years of racing at Charlotte is something special for two men. Earl Springs and David Suddreth have both been working at Charlotte Motor Speedway for all 50 years of its existence. Springs has sold programs and Suddreth has been a security guard for all of the races that have taken place …

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Grading the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Pack: Part 2

NASCAR’s longest and most grueling race, the Coca-Cola 600, represents a significant milestone in the 2009 season. It’s not quite the halfway point to the Chase (that comes the following week after Dover), but once the checkers fly late Sunday evening we’re exactly one-third of the way through the 36-race schedule. With that in mind, …

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What’s Vexing Vito: Carl Long’s Suspension & Fines a Cover-Up for Mayfield Drug-Test Fiasco?

Do any of you remember that Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman movie Wag the Dog? The plot of the movie was that in order to cover up a sex scandal involving the President prior to an election, a Hollywood producer comes up with a plan to fabricate a fictional war on television, keeping the scandal …

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Fanning the Flames: Talking All-Stars, 600s & Lawnmowers

Totally unrelated to anything NASCAR (or racing in general), but if you’re in the market for a lawnmower, go with the Murray. My fiancé and I were victims of a flash flood a week ago and the lawn mower was submerged – completely submerged – for a good two hours. Five days later, after emptying …

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Thompson in Turn 5: The Jury Is Still out on Scott Speed, AJ Allmendinger Swap

When in the fall of last season it was announced by Red Bull Racing that it had relieved AJ Allmendinger of his duties behind the wheel of the Red Bull No. 84, the news was met with a considerable amount of skepticism within the NASCAR community. It made little sense to many to replace Allmendinger, …

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Voice of Vito: Big 3 Bankruptcies & New Government Mandates Spell Doom for NASCAR & Motorsports

There is no way to be polite about this. The United States auto industry is circling the drain. Two-thirds of the largest manufacturing entities on the planet will have filed for bankruptcy within two months of each other in the next few weeks. First Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 and now word has come down …

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Grading the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Pack: Part 1

NASCAR’s longest and most grueling race, the Coca-Cola 600, represents a significant milestone in the 2009 season. It’s not quite the halfway point to the Chase (that comes the following week after Dover), but once the checkers fly late Sunday evening, we’re exactly one-third of the way through the 36-race schedule. With that in mind, …

Read more