Xfinity Archives - Page 439 Of 470

Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol

November 15, 2020March 22, 2009 By Bryan Davis Keith

Just as my beloved Wake Forest Demon Deacons got reminded of this truth the hard way in getting routed by Cleveland State, the weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway gave Kyle Busch a refresher that racing is a team sport, as well. Because even though Busch drove like a “wild thing” all day long and led 156 laps, in the end his pit crew had a tire escape their pit box during the race’s final cycle of stops. The resulting penalty left Busch mired deep in traffic with less than 30 laps to go and unable to challenge for his second win of the year. Instead, it was the teamwork of Kevin Harvick Incorporated that shone through. Kevin Harvick, whose oft-berated No. 33 pit crew got him out first during the critical money stops, drove away from the field on the final restart after crew chief Ernie Cope opted not to add fuel to the car; in the end, his lead proved too much for Carl Edwards to overcome.

Nuts for Nationwide: 5 Fearless Forecasts for Thunder Valley

November 14, 2020March 19, 2009 By Bryan Davis Keith

The Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas saw four of the five full-time Nationwide Series rookie candidate score top-10 finishes. That won’t happen this weekend, but don’t look for this rookie class to end up a blended mess like so many before it have at this treacherous short track. Brendan Gaughan, who’s currently fourth in series points, averaged a top-15 finish in five Truck Series starts at Bristol, including a runner-up performance in August of 2007. And Justin Allgaier is coming off of an ARCA campaign that saw him score top-five finishes in all seven of the series’ short-track events, including three wins.

Did You Notice? No ’09 Rivalries, Fun with TV Ratings & Statistical Surprises in Sprint Cup

November 14, 2020March 17, 2009 By Tom Bowles

Did You Notice? The only thing Lowe’s Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith would commit to last week – alluding to changes for this year’s All-Star Race – is that the distance would stay exactly the same (100 laps). To me, that’s already a bad “change” to make, no matter how you break that distance down… you’re putting the cars out on the track way too long for an event that’s advertised as “action-packed” from the minute they drop the green flag.

Mirror Driving: Grading NASCAR In 2009, Why Kvapil’s Cryin’ & Pushing for a Pension Fund

November 14, 2020March 17, 2009 By Frontstretch Staff

Four races in, how would you grade the 2009 Cup season to date? And what, if anything, can be done to make things better?

Bowles-Eye View: 5 Middle-Tier Drivers Making Waves

November 14, 2020March 12, 2009 By Tom Bowles

Matt’s stuck at home with a nasty case of the flu this week, so I’ve been pressed into service as a last-minute replacement for his column. Usually, I try my best to match his sarcasm when I sub in (although in reality, no one can even come close). But this week, in terms of Mouthing Off… I’ve pretty much already done it on a variety of subjects in my weekly version of Did You Notice? on Wednesday. So, I thought that instead of spewing more venom at the NASCAR powers that be this week, I’m going to play around with the term “Mouthing Off” in a different way.

It’s Not a Sport, It’s a Business: The Start & Park Phenomenon Threatening NASCAR’s Future

December 24, 2020March 10, 2009 By Bryan Davis Keith

Beneath the surface, all was not as healthy as it seemed. While Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards were there to win the race per usual, the reasons some cars and drivers showed up were far different than what you’d want to believe as a race fan. These teams – nestled within the middle and back of NASCAR’s starting fields – were there not to compete, but to turn a healthy profit, all while padding the sport’s bottom line in the process. For these organizations – which have comprised up to 20% of the Truck Series field in some races – their version of competition is to slowly take a qualifying lap around the racetrack, making the starting lineup in the back of the pack – only to pull the car off the speedway in the first few laps of the race, what’s known in racing circles as the dreaded “start-and-park.” In doing so, they bring an undamaged car in the garage area, make off with tens of thousands of dollars in purse money, and ensure the sport collects its most important lifeline of all… cold, hard cash.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta

November 13, 2020March 8, 2009 By Amy Henderson

It’s no small feat to finish in the top 10 in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. But to do it less than 24 hours after being rushed to the hospital for a painful kidney stone is even tougher. Yet that’s exactly what Martin Truex Jr. did. Unsure late Saturday if he’d be able to race at all, Truex did pass the stone (an extremely painful process by all counts) and took the green flag. He also battled battery issues during the race but managed a solid 10th-place finish.

Mirror Driving: NASCAR’s Red-Flag Fiasco, Gordon’s Great Start &Which Small Teams Can Survive?

November 12, 2020March 3, 2009 By Frontstretch Staff

NASCAR had an up and down weekend in Las Vegas. There were three red flags during the Nationwide race, but none in the Sprint Cup Series event the following day despite several late crashes. Should NASCAR have thrown the red when Paul Menard pounded the wall with 17 laps to go, or was keeping the cars under caution the right thing to do?

Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2009 Las Vegas Race Recap

November 12, 2020March 2, 2009 By Matt McLaughlin

On lap 269, Kyle Busch nudged aside Clint Bowyer to take the lead. Busch, who had won the pole for the race, was forced to start out back after blowing an engine in practice – so the accomplishment is much more impressive than it will appear in the record books.

10 Points to Ponder: 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas

November 12, 2020March 2, 2009 By Bryan Davis Keith

Daytona was just a minor hiccup: the No. 18 team is back with a vengeance in 2009. Las Vegas native Kyle Busch won the pole this weekend, only to have to start at the back after an engine change. Nonetheless, Busch methodically made his way back to the front to score his first career win at his hometown track, a win that he likened to being as big to him as the Daytona 500.