Race Weekend Central

10 Points to Ponder… After the 2007 Dickies 500 at Texas

1. Your Year – How many times did Rusty Wallace say at the end of today’s Dickies 500, “When it’s your year, it’s your year” in reference to Jimmie Johnson? The irony is that up until a few weeks ago, that phrase had been used almost exclusively to describe Jeff Gordon‘s 2007 season. The No. …

Read more

NASCAR Stuff We Can’t Make Up

In our newest feature, Senior Staff Writer Becca Gladden scours the NASCAR news front to bring you the week’s curious, offbeat, and just plain wacky news from the intriguing world of big-time stock car racing. Trust us, folks, these stories are all true – we just couldn’t make this stuff up! According to an article …

Read more

Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Texas Fall Race Edition

Jeff Gordon – Quick; Gordon hasn’t won at which two tracks currently on the Cup schedule? That’s right… Homestead and Texas. Gordon did finish second at TMS in 2002 and has top-10 finishes in six of his 13 Cup starts here; however, his average finish in Fort Worth remains a paltry 16th. Jimmie Johnson – …

Read more

Mirror Driving: Carl Edwards vs. The Media, Junior Flees Media Circus, And Dissecting The Memphis Massacre

After what’s happened with Carl Edwards over the past week or so, is it fair for people to withhold their opinions until they feel the timing is right?

Did You Notice? Hornish Missed Again? Thoughts From the 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta… And Beyond

Did You Notice? The degree to which Roger Penske is trying to force Sam Hornish Jr. into a Cup Series ride for next season? After his sixth DNQ at Atlanta, the team was even talking about switching rides with Kurt Busch for ’08 so that Hornish could have the comfort of being locked into the …

Read more

Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in the Chase: 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Edition

Nothing too surprising happened during Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Granted, there were the out of the blue late-race wrecks and tires mysteriously flying off cars; but, after the past few years of hair-raising last-lap finishes, you come to expect wild things at Atlanta when it comes time for the checkered flag. No matter …

Read more

Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2007 Atlanta Fall Race Recap

The Key Moment: Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost a left-rear wheel off the No. 8 car moments after a green-white-checkered restart at Atlanta, sealing the win for race leader Jimmie Johnson. Honestly, he did – Johnson had gotten such a good jump that it was doubtful Carl Edwards would have caught him. In a Nutshell: Tepid processional racing …

Read more

Busch Series Breakdown: 2007 Sam’s Town 250 at Memphis

In a Nutshell – The Busch Series race at Memphis was more like a Friday night Demolition Derby than an event that originated from the number two stock car series in America. On a day when almost half of the race was run under the yellow flag, a total of 25 caution flags for 117 …

Read more

Bowles-Eye View: Carl Edwards Struggling to Busch Series Finish Line

More than likely, Carl Edwards will clinch his first-ever Busch Series championship this Saturday at Memphis. An eighth-place finish is all that’s needed to secure the trophy with three races left, no matter what second-place points man David Reutimann does on the racetrack. It’s a significant achievement for a man who’s never won a title …

Read more

Voices from the Heartland: Time Will Tell if Cousin Carl Lets Me Down

A couple of weeks ago, after my personal favorite Dale Jarrett announced he would be retiring from Cup competition following the spring Bristol race in 2008, I transitioned into fan mode and penned a column explaining just why DJ was my favorite all these years – thanking him for being an all-around classy guy. Also …

Read more