Race Weekend Central

Holding A Pretty Wheel: Daytona Optimism is What NASCAR Needs

NASCAR is in Daytona this week, at a track where the racing is intense and close. One of the attractions of Daytona International Speedway is that we believe anyone can win. The track is the great equalizer because of the restrictor plates that reduce the airflow to the engines of the racecars, reducing horsepower to …

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The Frontstretch Five: Things That Would Make Fans Happy at Daytona

2014 Daytona Duels Cup Trevor Bayne Justin Allgaier Kurt Busch Landon Cassill Cia 430

(Photo: CIA Stock Photography)

Welcome to the Frontstretch Five, a brand-new column for 2014! Each week, Amy Henderson takes a look at the racing, the drivers, and the storylines that drive NASCAR and produces a list of five people, places, things, and ideas that define the current state of our sport. In the latest edition, has five things that …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky

2014 Kentucky Cup Brad Keselowski Trophy Cia

Credit - CIA Stock Photography

Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday’s race? Amy Henderson has you covered each week with the answers to six race-day questions, covering all five Ws and even the H… the Big Six. Who… gets my shoutout of the race? After a tire issue, getting caught on pit road when …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

2014 Sonoma Cup Clint Bowyer Car Cia

Credit - CIA Stock Photography

Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday’s race? Amy Henderson has you covered with each week with the answers to six race-day questions, covering all five Ws and even the H… the Big Six. Who… gets my shoutout of the race?  With a 21.5 average finish, no top 10s previously …

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NASCAR Underdogs Had Their Chances

2014 Pocono I Cup Marcos Ambrose Pointing Cia

Amrbose out of contention? Only need only to point to Martinsville and Bristol where a win could happen - or at the very least, net enough points to squeak into the Top 16.

“Wild card.” Fans heard that term, leading up to Sonoma, more than “wine country,” “road course,” or “Boris Said.” It’s a modern reality of the Chase format, designed to give “underdogs their day” at the select few races left where they can actually go out and compete for the win. No longer will a David …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan

2014 Michigan I Cup Jimmie Johnson Woohoo Cia

Credit - CIA Stock Photography

 Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday’s race? Amy Henderson has you covered each week with the answers to six race-day questions, covering all five Ws and even the H… the Big Six. Who… gets my shoutout of the race? It would be easy to give this week’s pat on …

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Who’s Hot / Who’s Not in NASCAR Sprint Cup: Pocono-Michigan Edition

In many ways, the Sprint Cup Series’ venture to the Pocono Mountains was a microcosm of the season to date.  There was a singular figure who led many a lap, multi-time champions finding ways to struggle, and frontrunners succumbing because of the not-so-alive half the alliance between man and machine.  The end result was very …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Sprint Showdown at Charlotte

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about racing at Charlotte after dark this week. “As late as it gets in the night, at this track,” he said, “The groove narrows up. It gets faster and faster on the bottom and there’s no time to be gained in trying to step up the race track or run the high line like you might during the afternoon. So, it’s a really fascinating race track in the middle of the day. But, as it gets darker and darker and cooler and cooler, the groove really shortens up. So you need to be in that top three, I think, to have a shot at it.”

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond

Kyle Larson continued to show that he’s not only a threat for Rookie of the Year honors, but also for winning. Larson got the top starting spot by virtue of his practice speed after qualifying was rained out, part of showing speed and prowess all weekend long. Unfortunately for Larson, he got tagged by Bowyer on the first lap of the race which dropped him to the rear of the field. Larson was able to recover somewhat to finish 16th, still good for Rookie of the Race honors, but clearly lacked the confidence and speed to get back to the front after that moment.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 STP 500 at Martinsville

During a week when the sport was mourning a loss in its Royal Family, the family race team shone through. Richard Petty Motorsports honored their boss’s wife Lynda, who passed away last week, in the best way a racer can: by putting together a great performance on track. Marcos Ambrose led 22 laps en route to a top-five run Sunday, his best result ever at Martinsville. Meanwhile, driving an STP-sponsored car that harkened back to the days of Richard Petty behind the wheel, Aric Almirola drove from a 20th-place start to finish eighth. Somewhere, the Queen, “Mrs. Lynda,” is smiling.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2014 Daytona 500

He didn’t quite have what it took to get by Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the trifecta, but Denny Hamlin was stellar throughout Speedweeks, winning the Sprint Unlimited and his Budweiser Duel before coming home second in the 500. Hamlin, who also finished 2013 with a win at Homestead, is trying to bounce back from a back injury suffered in a crash at Auto Club Speedway last season. Hamlin made the decision not to have surgery on his back after fracturing a vertebra in the incident, and many questioned his decision as he struggled for most of the season following a return to the seat.