Race Weekend Central

Who’s Going to Win It All? Our 2008 NASCAR Chase Predictions

The fifth edition of NASCAR’s Chase has three clear favorites: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. But in a system where 12 drivers are separated by just 80 points, anyone could come out on top in a playoff race that seldom goes according to plan. With so many drivers and so much at stake, how …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond

The regular season has come to an end, and like it or not, the fifth year of the Chase is upon us. There are 12 drivers now eligible to win the Cup Series title, unlike the two or three who’d be in contention under the old points system. But even though the list has expanded, …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana

California is a wide-open track with plenty of room to run. The drivers had to struggle with the sun as it was going down and ultimately struggled with making their cars handle as the track cooled off. The end result was Jimmie Johnson won the race and moved up two spots in the rankings this …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Sharpie 500 at Bristol

Bristol’s new variable banking has given drivers the option to pass without having to wreck a guy on the racetrack. But as Carl Edwards showed us Saturday night, the bump and run can still be the only option if the car in front is just good enough to keep you behind. Ensuring that move remains …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 3M Performance 400 at Michigan

Four wide-open grooves of racing at Michigan gave the drivers a lot of options Sunday – giving the faster cars a great chance to work their way forward. But for Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne, the only racing line they were able to handle was the one that led straight to the garage. Both saw …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Centurion Boats at the Glen

Turning right and left didn’t just cause a litany of Cup veterans some angst – it also gave our writers some sleepless nights in how to figure in a road-course finish into their own Top 15 Power Rankings formula. But when all was said and done, there was a surprising amount of movement; and in …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono

After the second weekend of testing out the Pythagorean theory at Pocono, the shape of the Chase came a little more into focus. The top drivers in points (“A” students) are solidifying their positions for September and beyond while aggressively going for the win – and the 10-point bonus that goes with it. Meanwhile, positions …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Brickyard 400

And the winner of the first annual Indianapolis Heat Race is… Jimmie Johnson! OK, so maybe it was the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, but the way in which the race was controlled by NASCAR – with competition cautions held every 10 laps – they might as well have renamed it the Allstate 25. With …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland

The Chicagoland race was held at night for the first time in its eight-year history, but the cool temperatures didn’t stop the heated action on the racetrack during the final few laps of the event. Kyle Busch‘s stunning pass of Jimmie Johnson was one for the ages, and his seventh win of the season was …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

Daytona International Speedway once again played havoc with drivers over the Fourth of July weekend. As the action heated up late in the race, some couldn’t find help getting to the front, some couldn’t get out of their own way, and some simply couldn’t stomach 400 miles around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Greg Biffle was one …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon

The LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon was billed as a race that went “the extra mile,” but it’s actually all the miles that didn’t happen which led to a major jumble in both the race – and our Power Rankings. With rain wreaking havoc on the final running order, you had Kurt Busch, Michael …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

Sonoma and the wine country of northern California threw more twists and turns at the Cup drivers this weekend than a corkscrew on the hillside – with one glaring exception, of course. It was Kyle Busch who reestablished himself firmly atop the rankings this week, coming off his series high fifth victory of the season. …

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