Race Weekend Central

Off the Wall With: Casey Mears

2015 Fontana Cup Casey Mears Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

We’re back for season two of Off the Wall With… and we’ve got five brand-new questions for your favorite racing personalities!  Next up: Casey Mears, driver of the No. 13 GEICO Chevy in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. What was your first race car and what number was it? Casey Mears: I first started racing …

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The Frontstretch Five: Feel Good Stories So Far In NASCAR 2016

2016 Phoenix I Cup Matt Dibenedetto David Ragan Nigel Knrade Nkp

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP)

Finishes like this one: … and this one: No, they won’t all be like that, but these finishes were pretty spectacular, and the racing through the field hasn’t been too shabby either, with the exception of Daytona. Maybe someday, FOX will see fit to show that part to fans at home… 2. A few new …

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The Frontstretch 5: Unrestricted Plate Track Musings

1. Do we really need these restrictor plates? Define need. Do the cars need to be slowed down? Absolutely. A few years back, Rusty Wallace tested an unrestricted Cup car at Talladega and ran speeds of almost 240 mph. That’s too fast. But do they have to do it with plates? Technically, no. It could …

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The Big Six: Questions Answered After the 2016 Sprint Unlimited

Who … gets my shoutout of the race? When you’re involved in a crash that sends the race into overtime and suffer a bashed-in front end in the process, it would be easy to cash in your chips for the night.  That might be especially true if you had already tangled with a Daytona 500 …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Team Alliances a Key to NASCAR Success

2015 Daytona I Cup Pack Racing V Credit Yvonne Leonard

(Photo: Yvonne Leonard)

As the 2016 season rolls closer and some form of franchising (NASCAR calls it a charter system, but it’s essentially franchising) seems inevitable, the sport will only get more competitive.  The elite teams will still be the elite, but things will really heat up in the middle of the field.  For teams without charters and …

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NASCAR Announces Eligible Drivers for Sprint Unlimited

Sprint Unlimited Daytona

(Credit: NASCAR)

On Monday, NASCAR announced the eligibility criteria for this year’s Sprint Unlimited, scheduled for Feb. 13.  While winning a pole during the previous season will get you into the race, it’s not the only way into the 75-lap show.  Regardless of circumstances, 25 cars will start the 187.5-mile race. The first criteria to qualify for …

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2015 NASCAR Rewind: Casey Mears

2014 Dover I Cup Casey Mears Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)­

How hard is it to succeed in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series? Ask single-car Germain Racing. A two-time Camping World Truck Series championship organization, they entered the Sprint Cup fray in 2009 on a part-time basis with veteran Max Papis behind the wheel. In 2010, they attempted the whole schedule with Papis, making a driver switch …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead

2015 Homestead Cup Martin Truex Jr Car Chase Cia

Photo credit: CIA Stock Photography

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Had it not been for a piece of debris – about which there is some debate about whether or not it was actually in the racing groove – Kyle Larson might have had his first Sprint Cup win in the bag. Larson won the Xfinity Series race at Homestead Saturday …

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Kyle Larson Tops Rain-Shortened 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 Practice No. 2 at Homestead

Larson, Kyle 2015 Ford Ecoboost 400 Practice Homestead

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/NASCAR via Getty Images)

The Sprint Cup Series is two-for-two so far this weekend in Homestead. Unfortunately, they’re two-for-two in practice sessions being shortened by rain. The session itself started about five minutes late due to track drying from overnight rains. Because of that, the session was going to be extended to 11 a.m. That did not turn to …

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Finally, Casey Mears Is Where He Belongs

2014 Indianapolis Cup Casey Mears Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

Finally. After four years of sweat equity, pouring everything a driver can pour into every single race, coming up just short and enduring whispers and questions from certain factions, Casey Mears stood in Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  For a long moment, Mears simply stared at the scoring pylon with his car number at the …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2015 Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at Phoenix

Nascar Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500

(Photo by Robert Laberge/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? If we learned one thing this year, it’s that with the current race car configuration, it’s hard to pass. Even if you have a fast car, making a pass is easier said than done. And while both Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson put themselves in bad positions via penalties …

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