Race Weekend Central

Bowles-Eye View: Weird, Wacky, Wild… & Perhaps NASCAR’s Latest Mistake

Weird. Just, weird. I spent the latter part of Sunday night trying to come up with better words to describe the most recent 400-mile race at Kansas Speedway; however, no amount of journalistic prose could excuse the feelings that – well, something strange just happened to the Nextel Cup Series this weekend. Something I fear …

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10 Points to Ponder… After the 2007 Lifelock 400 at Kansas

1. Goody’s, anyone? – Somehow, I think all the NASCAR bigwigs were ready to share a round of Goody’s headache powder by the end of today’s Lifelock 400. Officials were called upon to make numerous critical and highly controversial calls this weekend, culminating in the Cup race itself. Should the starting time have been moved …

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Nextel Cup Rookie Report: No Place Like Kansas for David Ragan

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: David Ragan (18th), Juan Pablo Montoya (21st), Paul Menard (23rd), David Reutimann (25th) Unofficial Finishing Positions: Ragan (16th), Menard (27th), Montoya (28th), Reutimann (31st) Rookie of the Race: Ragan. In a race that offered multiple wrecks, wicked weather, hot tempers and an unusual finish, simply surviving the Lifelock 400 must have …

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Bubble Breakdown: Blaney Keeps Blood Pressure High for Petty, Schrader in Top 35 After Killer Kansas Performance

When it comes to the Top 35 nowadays, it’s really become more about separating the “3” out of that number than anything else. For the past month, the battle has stood amongst three teams within Petty Enterprises (No. 45), Wood Brothers/JTG Racing (No. 21) and Bill Davis Racing (No. 22). Whatever the driver behind the …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: NASCAR Once Again Consistently Inconsistent

NASCAR handed down some penalties this week. Yeah, that’s nothing new, but this week’s bear a closer look. One, on the surface, seemed consistent in every way with what they have done this year until you take a closer look. The others, or more accurately the lack thereof, should also be raising a few eyebrows. …

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World’s Oldest Living NASCAR Driver Shares Memories with Delightful Wit & Down-Home Wisdom

Western New York state resident and former NASCAR driver Lloyd Moore is the last of the ’49ers. Not the gold-rush ’49ers – at age 95, Moore is about 100 years too young for that. Nevertheless, Moore is a pioneer of sorts. He raced cars in the Strictly Stock series – predecessor of modern-day NASCAR – in …

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Fanning the Flames: New Schedule, Same Ol’ NASCAR

I always look forward to the date when NASCAR releases its schedule for the upcoming season. What will they do this time that makes no sense whatsoever to us lay folks? Well, that day came yesterday when the 2008 Sprint Cup schedule was made public – and not surprisingly, things didn’t make sense. Needless to …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Lifelock 400 at Kansas Edition

Jeff Gordon – Gordon won the first two Cup races at Kansas and finished fifth in his third start at the track. He hasn’t had a top five here since then, though, and last year suffered a mechanical DNF. Tony Stewart – Stewart won this race last year, coasting to the finish line out of …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: 2007 Lifelock 400 at Kansas Edition

Week three of the Chase finds the traveling road show in the Heartland of America at Kansas Speedway, the newest of the “cookie-cutter” tracks that have come to dominate the schedule in recent years. The first of five intermediate events on the rest of this year’s schedule, the race should give fantasy team owners a …

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Voice of Vito: 2007 the Worst NASCAR Season Ever

I may be in the minority here (my heritage notwithstanding), but for many reasons, to me this season has been one of the worst in recent memory for NASCAR. Perhaps ever. To look back on it that way is quite disappointing – especially since 2007 started out with so much promise. There was the addition …

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