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NASCAR Mailbox: Will Kyle Busch Payback Christopher Bell?

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Going By The Numbers: NASCAR’s Sub Story – Do They Win When Filling In?

Apr 2, 2013
The back injury Denny Hamlin sustained at Auto Club Speedway after a last-lap, last-corner tangle with Joey Logano is not necessarily anything new to NASCAR, but an injury that flips a driver’s season upside down with multiple races missed? That’s a bit rarer these days. Think about it; aside from Hamlin’s accident a week ago and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s concussion, one that caused him to sit out two races in 2012, how many debilitating injuries, to the point of having to miss a race or more in the seat, can you remember in the Sprint Cup Series over the past, say, five years?
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Who’s Hot / Who’s Not To Start 2013: NASCAR’s Nationwide & Truck Series

Apr 2, 2013
The Easter weekend gives drivers an opportunity to climb out of the car and spend time with their family and friends. Because of the momentary pause, Sprint Cup competition – the primary focus of Who’s Hot and Who’s Not – will also get a break. While this blessing is nice for drivers and teams who have struggled in stock car racing’s premier series, it moves the spotlight onto those involved in NASCAR’s more developmental divisions. With that in mind, let’s take a look at who has performed well in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series this season, along with who might need more off time after encountering slow starts…
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Five Points to Ponder: Anger Management, NASCAR Ads And Martinsville Mayhem

Apr 2, 2013
*ONE: The Shortest, The Oldest And Still The Best* In NASCAR’s inaugural season of 1949, the sixth race of an eight-race season was held at Martinsville Speedway. Some 64 years later, the sixth race of the season will still be held at Martinsville Speedway. It’s a tribute to a glittering gem of a race track, the only one to have been on every single NASCAR schedule. That’s remarkable stuff, however you want to look at it. Sure, other ovals like Daytona, Talladega, Darlington and Bristol might get the more lurid headlines, the splashier stories and better nicknames, but the truth is no venue has illuminated the stock car circuit quite like the li’l ol’ paperclip.
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Couch Potato Tuesday: Rating The Top 3 Active NASCAR TV Analysts

Apr 2, 2013
Hello, race fans. Hope you enjoyed Easter Weekend. For me, it was relatively boring. Ended up spending much of my Easter watching Indianapolis 500s from the 1990s on YouTube. Well, this week in Couch Potato Tuesday, you won’t be bored here; we’re going to broach new ground. Most of the hundreds of critiques that I’ve written for Frontstretch involve me watching race telecasts and breaking them down, piece by piece. Even though I am not wholly negative in my critiques of broadcasts, I have definitely earned a reputation from some as a “Negative Nancy.”
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April Fool’s Joke Three Days Early: Martin To Drive No. 11 Only At Martinsville

Apr 1, 2013
Late Thursday, JGR officially announced Mark Martin would drive the No. 11 for the next few weeks while regular driver Denny Hamlin continues to recover from an L1 compression fracture to his lower back. Turns out someone was a bit premature in pulling the trigger. Upon hearing the news of Martin’s signing to drive the …

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April Fool’s Turned Tragic: Alan Kulwicki’s Death, 20 Years Later

Apr 1, 2013
Though it was not all that long ago in the grand scheme of things, the Winston Cup circuit was very different back in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Back then, almost all the star drivers were still Southern-born and bred, most of them having started their careers racing late models on one of those storied old bullrings south of the Mason-Dixon line. A driver who showed promise might hope one day to land a ride with one of the “Good ol’ boy” teams, like Junior Johnson’s, Bud Moore’s, or Richard Childress’. Certainly, if that driver ever expected to have a chance at running for the championship, it was thought he needed to land a ride with an established team.
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April Fool’s Folly: The One Where Everybody Loses

Apr 1, 2013
As you read this article, half the world is popping up with internet stories that may or may not be true. Your best friend may be pulling a prank, as we speak, moving your car across the street and then waiting for your frantic call, thinking it was stolen (yes, that’s happened to someone I know). All across the country, this day is a time for creating fools. But Joe Gibbs Racing doesn’t need that type of aggravation today: all across the wires, too many of their people appear as one. The company still reels this Monday, adjusting to life without Denny Hamlin and a series of whoops! announcements from one of the sport’s professional companies that makes you think whether Chuckles the Clown mistakenly jumped in as head of PR.
The Joke’s On Them This April Fool’s: Time For Money To Match These Mouths

The Joke’s On Them This April Fool’s: Time For Money To Match These Mouths

Apr 1, 2013
We’ve heard this song before. The verses might be a little different, but the refrain is the same. I’ll set it up for you: NASCAR has left one of its historical tracks (we’ll say Track A) and it has been empty for a period of time. Now, someone has come in to revive the track, they’ve brought racing back and NASCAR has watched and listened. We’re here once again with that story, except it’s gotten farther than any previous one. The track in question, Rockingham, has even been thrown a bone, receiving a Camping World Truck Series race last season. That means now is the time where fans can decide its fate, the moment they’ve essentially asked for. If they don’t show up in substantial numbers, supporting it NASCAR will be able to point to the lack of success and use it as evidence that they were correct in leaving the track behind for the riches of bigger television markets.
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April Fool’s First Mistake: Waking Up To No NASCAR Race Recap

Apr 1, 2013
Let’s be honest. Holidays are great. Most holidays mean time off work, time with family, and the best part – at least for me – good food! However, for those of us who devote much of our time to racing, it also means there is a slight void. The afternoons we usually devote to watching side-by-side competition are now wide open. This past weekend was especially empty seeing as almost no major racing series was on track for our enjoyment. There’s just … nothing. It’s especially troubling for the select few, like myself, who don’t have many (ahem … any) interest in sports outside of this one. To me, the “Final Four” is the last four tire pit stop of the day and the only “Shockers” I know of are when Paul Menard gets back to Victory Lane. Also, a “Bracket” reminds me of the days when I had braces and I’d really rather not think about that. I still can’t look at rubber bands the same way…
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Pace Laps: No April Foolin’ Here… Just The News

Apr 1, 2013
*Sprint Cup: Clarifying The Hamlin Substitution Mess* How crazy has it been to put a replacement driver in the Fex Ex Toyota? Full-time regular Denny Hamlin tweeted on Friday, “This just in.. I’ll give away the Driver’s Seat to the #11 car at ‘Dega to one of my followers.” All joking aside, it has been difficult to follow, a story that’s been evolving since the first hint of a long-term injury last Monday morning. So for those who haven’t been on it, 24/7 here’s where the situation stands now for each driver involved.
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Turn Back the Clock: 1999 Goody’s Body Pain 500

Mar 31, 2013
Hello, race fans, and welcome back to Turning Back the Clock, where I look back at classic races from the track that the Sprint Cup Series will be racing at each week. This week, the Sprint Cup Series is at Martinsville Speedway, the infamous little “paper clip” shaped .526 mile oval and the lone remaining …

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Mark Martin Tabbed As Sub For Denny Hamlin

Mar 29, 2013
Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Thursday evening that Mark Martin will pilot the Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota while he recovers from an L1 Compression Fracture suffered at Auto Club Speedway last weekend. Martin had originally been scheduled to pilot the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 Toyota for four of the next six races; …

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