Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono

NASCAR went back to the tricky triangle in the Pocono mountains just six weeks after its last race there; and at first glance, it looked like not all that much had changed. Just like in June, Tony Stewart crashed in practice and started at the rear of the field in a backup car. Once again, …

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Happy Hour: Give Goodyear Credit for Turning It Around

As everyone remembers, last year’s Indianapolis race was such an unmitigated debacle that for once, NASCAR dropped their guard and apologized for the show. The Internet was afire with finger-pointing, some at NASCAR, some at Goodyear… but all of them were attached to fans furious at the low the sport had sunk to. It was …

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Mirror Driving: Inverting the Field, Road Racing at Indy & Gauging Roush’s Future

Welcome to Mirror Driving. Every week, your favorite columnists sit down and give their opinion about the latest NASCAR news and rumors. Love us or hate us, make a comment below and tell us how you feel about what we’ve said! This Week’s Participants: Beth Lunkenheimer (Tuesdays/Running Your Mouth & Various/Frontstretch Truck Series Reporter) Mike Neff (Wednesdays/Power …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Brickyard 400

Racing at the Brickyard is not always the most exciting, but the history and tradition of the place always seem to shine through when people start to have doubts. Most of our Power Rankings leaders used the big stage of Indianapolis to come up with strong finishes; but for those who fell short, their problems …

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Happy Hour: Jeremy Mayfield Drama Exposes NASCAR’s Credibility Problem

It has been interesting to read the articles and comments devoted to the Jeremy Mayfield mess. The surprise is the amount of fans in Mayfield’s corner. Some are lashing out at the institution of NASCAR as if it were a driver who had just wrecked their hero; others are presenting reasonable and thoughtful scenarios where …

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Happy Hour: Another Speedway Race, Another Chink in NASCAR’s Armor

Never in my years of being a follower of the sport have I witnessed the state of near-panic that NASCAR is in right now. They’re changing rules that had been in place for half a century, opening the press doors to people they once considered irrelevant, installing suggestion boxes for drivers and practically begging fans …

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Mirror Driving: Double-File Disaster?, Ford’s Floundering Season & Gibbs Dominance in Nationwide

With Ford’s announcement that it has not cut NASCAR funding while every other manufacturer has, should more teams be jumping on the Blue Oval bandwagon?

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland

Total chaos on the double-file restarts. Jeff Burton visibly mad. And Mark Martin actually experiencing good luck! Chicago had more than its share of strange moments late in the race, ones that resulted in quite a shakeup in the rankings. Despite finishing fourth, Tony Stewart’s impenetrable hold on the top spot actually slipped; but who …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

The tight packs and unpredictable nuances of Daytona’s draft moved several competitors around our Power Rankings this weekend. While one driver took a large hit thanks to an early wreck, another actually moved up in the standings… even though he was caught in a late-race melee and finished outside the top 10. That, in a …

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Happy Hour: NASCAR Consistency Still Rules Over Wins, Especially in 2009

Despite that most general managers in the NFL know never to let the fans or media pick their quarterback (which can be a flawed tenet if the fans are smarter), NASCAR has responded in many ways to fans’ and media behest to place more emphasis on winning. It hasn’t been as pronounced of late as …

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