Race Weekend Central

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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Talking NASCAR TV: ORP Good, IMS Bad as ESPN Jumps Back Into Double-Duty

I know that the beginning of this week’s title sounds like something out of the 2001 movie Zoolander, starring Ben Stiller (Martial Arts good; Prime Minister bad), but it essentially drives home my point in this critique. Indianapolis is likely the biggest race weekend for NASCAR in the second half of the season. As a …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Nationwide Shines but SPEED Fails to Recognize Start & Park Presence

Hello, race fans. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I certainly did. I had fun, not just critiquing races but relaxing, sleeping in and hanging out with a group of employees at the local YMCA. Going into this weekend, I had planned on only covering the Truck and Nationwide series races. However, I had not …

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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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Talking NASCAR TV: Lack of on-Track Action Hurts All Broadcasts at Chicagoland

Hello, race fans. Chicagoland Speedway brought us some more rain on Friday (July 10), but thankfully, it did not cancel any sessions. Instead, the racing Friday and Saturday night suffered from a different problem: it was rather spread out and kind of boring. In fact, there hadn’t been so much as a spinout all weekend …

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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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Talking NASCAR TV: Jerry Punch Mails in the Nationwide Race While TNT Shines

Welcome, race fans. For nearly 50 years, the Fourth of July weekend at Daytona has marked the ceremonial, and in the case of this season, the physical halfway point. The Truck Series took the week off, so it was the Cup and Nationwide series competing at the World Center of Racing this weekend. The Cup …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Tony Stewart‘s pit crew: Smoke came down pit road seven times at Daytona and on each and every occasion, his pit crew’s speed and efficiency saw him drive across the exit line in position Numero Uno. Sure, he had the favored first pit box thanks to a rain-out …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon

Mother Nature interfered in yet another race this season, causing some drivers who don’t normally run in the top 15 to come home with quality finishes in Loudon, N.H. Joey Logano was perhaps the happiest of all to see the raindrops, becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Cup race at just 19 years …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Loudon Telecasts Marked by Bill Weber’s Departure in the Booth

Greetings, race fans. This past weekend, all three of NASCAR’s major series were in action. The Truck Series was in Millington, Tenn. at the Memphis Motorsports Park for the MemphisTravel.com 200 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Meanwhile, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series were both in Loudon, N.H. for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 and …

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Joey Logano’s Pit Strategy Pays Off Big Time at Loudon, Wins 2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301

In NASCAR, anything can happen during races. On lap 180, Joey Logano blew out a left-rear tire in turn 3. He had to make multiple pit stops under the caution (during one stop, the crew had to remove part of the tire that had wrapped itself around the left rear hub) and lost a lap. …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

The twists and turns of Sonoma, Calif. resulted in several twists to our rankings. One twist that got even tighter once again was Tony Stewart’s death grip on the top spot in our Power Rankings. This week’s winner was one of the three big movers up this week in the rankings, actually moving into the …

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