Race Weekend Central

Bubble Breakdown: Part-Time Schedule Yielding Big-Time Results for Furniture Row Racing

Rain washed out qualifying for Daytona last Friday, meaning the field was set by owner points. This was not good news for our bubble drivers, as the teams outside the Top 35 not only had to start at the rear of the field – they also had to do so in their qualifying setup, as …

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Bubble Breakdown: Despite Early Off-Road Adventure, AJ Allmendinger Posts Top-10 Finish

Had you watched qualifying on Friday, you may have been asking yourself, “why did Scott Speed have to qualify on time while John Andretti had a guaranteed spot? NASCAR’s website has Speed in the 35th spot in points and Andretti in 36th.” The answer is simple; you were looking at the wrong standings. The Top-35 …

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Bubble Breakdown: Michigan Fuel Mileage Plays Into the Hands of a Trio of Bubble Teams

Fuel mileage was again the name of the game for the second week in a row this past Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. As some of the top-15 teams dried up late and faded, three of our bubble teams were able to surge ahead as they went into conservation mode soon enough to stretch their …

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Bubble Breakdown: Michael Waltrip Bounces Back With Strong 17th to Solidify Spot in Top 35

If you make the long and winding drive down Long Pond Drive you’ll come upon the speedway in the woods known as Pocono Raceway. In 2008, this track was nothing short of disaster for the bubble teams and 2009 wasn’t much kinder to them. It started Friday when qualifying was rained out, meaning that the …

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Bubble Breakdown: 2-Tire Pit Stop Has Sam Hornish Jr. Driving Away From Top 35

News from the bubble this week primarily dealt with Robby Gordon’s rear end and whether NASCAR’s method of handing out penalties is fair or not. Gordon was docked 50 owner and driver points and crew chief Kirk Almquist was fined $50,000 this week after post-race inspection at Lowe’s found their rear axle housing exceeded the …

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Bubble Breakdown: Rain Plays Into the Hands of Robby Gordon While Scott Riggs Rains on Baldwin’s Parade

Well the 24 Hours of Charlotte finally came to an end late Monday afternoon and the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 was dominated by Kyle Busch and the weather. The race never went green on Sunday and suffered rain delays again on Monday before finally being called and producing a surprise winner. So to …

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Bubble Breakdown: Jeremy Mayfield Dealt Death Blow While Non-Top 35 Teams Struggle

As I am sure you’ve heard by now, some big news came from one of our bubble teams just prior to the Southern 500 this past Saturday night. However, I am not about to open my column talking any more than I have to about a run of the mill driver who manages to get …

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Bubble Breakdown: Part-Timer Wins at Talladega While Top-30 Teams Turn in Top 15s

Talladega Superspeedway was the setting this week for the running of the Aaron’s 499. Bubble teams kicked up a little pre-race news as Sam Hornish Jr. posted a career-best qualifying run, starting fourth before suddenly getting sick with the flu – forcing the team to fly in Travis Kvapil as a standby driver in case …

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Bubble Breakdown: Sam Hornish Jr. Rips Off 1st Top 10 of 2009, Solidifies Locked-In Spot

Bad news has hit one of our bubble teams since the last race at Texas. After several patchwork sponsorship deals to keep the team afloat through March, the No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Aric Almirola has been shut down due to a lack of funding. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing plans to bring everyone back once sponsorship …

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Bubble Breakdown: Paul Menard Showing Signs of Life While Joey Logano Remains Lifeless

Optimism ran rampant amongst several bubble drivers this weekend as Paul Menard, Sam Hornish Jr. and Joey Logano all posted top-12 qualifying runs. But qualifying pays no points and Texas is a big, fast, nasty track that some of the best drivers have yet to master. So, as the race began questions loomed for those with …

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