Race Weekend Central

Going By the Numbers: Biffle Leads Train of Drivers Creeping Up Standings

These days, it’s incredibly easy to find out who’s among the hottest of the hot inNASCAR — and that’s not just because of our lovely Who’s Hot and Who’s Not feature every Tuesday. With the Internet (and its “Google machine“… thanks, Darrell Waltrip) at their fingertips, fans can log into various websites that’ll throw out stats for the …

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Going By the Numbers: Biffle Leads Train of Drivers Creeping Up Standings

These days, it’s incredibly easy to find out who’s among the hottest of the hot inNASCAR — and that’s not just because of our lovely Who’s Hot and Who’s Not feature every Tuesday. With the Internet (and its “Google machine“… thanks, Darrell Waltrip) at their fingertips, fans can log into various websites that’ll throw out stats for the …

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Going By the Numbers: Top-10 NASCAR Variety Hard To Come By In…

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While Chase Elliott has set the Nationwide Series on its ear the past few weeks, the rest of the season has been dominated by Sprint Cup interlopers.

A cursory glance at the current point standings in the NASCAR Nationwide Series entering the season’s eighth race reveals one thing: there’s not a whole lot of diversity at the front of the field when it comes to series regulars. Ever since NASCAR mandated that drivers could only declare for points in one of the three national series, the …

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Going By the Numbers: A Week Without Racing Can Bring Relief But Kill Momentum

Some say momentum doesn’t exist in sports. They’ll say it’s nothing more than a feeling, a faux sense of confidence that doesn’t actually propel a player — or in this case, a driver — to anything more than what they would have achieved on skill, luck or other circumstance alone. Whatever happens was going to …

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Going By the Numbers: A Rookie Winning at Darlington? You’re Funny

You’ve already heard plenty of people run down the extensive list of nicknames Darlington Raceway has made for itself over the years, so I’ll spare you. I will not, however, hold off on talking about how goddamn tough of a track this place can be. When one points at the hardest speedways to traverse in NASCAR, …

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Going By The Numbers: Turning Back Time To Find The Truth About Parity

Hold up. Is Brian France’s master plan for The Chase actually working? Five races into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, five different winners have tasted victory — filling out, most likely, five of the 16 allotted spaces in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The motivation this year has been clear: win at least …

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Going By the Numbers: Will Consistency Still Matter In NASCAR?

The 2010s haven’t been a subject of derision for Jeff Gordon and his fans, but the decade hasn’t exactly been kind to the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, either. Look: 17, 18, 18, 17. Those are the amounts of top-10 finishes Jeff Gordon has accrued each of the past four seasons. While respectable, those aren’t the …

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Going By The Numbers: Will Daytona 500 Success Make Or Break A Season?

This week, in Going By The Numbers we thought a special win deserved a special column. After his first victory in 55 races, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finds himself virtually “locked in” to the Chase. But does a win in the sport’s biggest race, here in February ensure NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver will contend all the …

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Going By the Numbers: Judging The 2014 Sprint Cup Rookie Class

In 2006, eight different drivers declared for Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, providing the sport with an exceedingly deep field of new drivers that could conceivably create a sort-of new guard within the circuit — an “out with the old, in with the new” mentality. In the eight years …

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One Chance At Success At Cup’s Once-Visited Tracks

Darlington Raceway is known for many things. It’s the supposed “Track Too Tough to Tame” and “The Lady in Black.” Its egg-shaped configuration is unique among Sprint Cup Series circuits, creating a driving experience tough to master for even the most talented competitors.

It’s also one of 10 racetracks on the Sprint Cup circuit that are visited just once during the season.

Going By the Numbers: Plate Racing’s Best At Finishing In One Piece

The last time NASCAR’s national series visited a restrictor plate superspeedway, this column focused on the kings of the restrictor plate in NASCAR, and the drivers who should be called the best versus those that are popularly considered to be such.

This time, with Talladega in our sights, we’ll focus again on drivers who tend to finish well while plate racing. While it may be about the wins in the long run, it’s also rewarding to simply make it to the end of a restrictor plate race these days. With the introduction of tandem racing, the subsequent return of the pack and the always looming “Big One,” each turn is treacherous, every closing lap more harrowing than the last. Once it’s crunch time, you tend to see racers really going for broke.